Highlights® May 2009 Parent/Teacher Guide (Beginning Readers)

Looking for opportunities to help your students learn with Highlights? This monthly guide to the magazine will help you find stories and activities that suit your students' reading level.

ACTIVITIES Fun This Month (page 2) See five ways to make a mom smile, and have an outer-space party for Astronomy Day.

Find the Pictures (page 2) Look for the 10 pictures hidden throughout the issue.

What's the Word? (page 8) Solve this word puzzle.

Hidden Pictures® (page 14) Find the muffin, tack, and 39 other objects.

Your Best Self (page 18) These kids ask permission before picking flowers.

The Dragons of Pithany Gulch (page 18) Figure out the names and ages of five dragons.

Thinking (page 19) Ponder what's happening in this river scene.

Crafts (page 28) Make some bendable critters, design a Mother's Day Message Ring, and create a colorful fish.

Check . . . and Double Check (page 30) Find at least 12 differences in these pictures.

BrainPlay (page 38) Imagine that you could freeze time. When might you use that power?

Picture Puzzler (page 43) Look at this photo, and then cover it and try to answer a series of questions about it.

FICTION Always Last (page 12) The Zipster family realizes that being last is sometimes good.

Yammering Yam! (page 36) See what happens when a yam talks in this folktale from Ghana.

HUMOR Jokes (page 18) Readers relate the best jokes they have heard.

The Timbertoes® (page 31) The family members get a surprise when they try to relax.

Riddles (page 39) Kids share their favorite riddles.

NONFICTION Look Who's Awake While You're Asleep (page 26) Discover what jobs people do to help others while you're sleeping.

READERS' CONTRIBUTIONS Your Own Stories (page 9) Kids share tales they have written.

Your Own Pages (page 24) Readers see drawings and poems from their peers all over the world.

Dear Highlights (page 42) The editors deal with readers concerns about being afraid of a video game with scary characters and telling Mom about losing a shirt.

REBUS A Horse to Love (page 21) This child dreams of having a horse.

SCIENCE AND NATURE Science Corner (page 34) Find out why pussy willows grow small tufts that feel like cat fur, and make a simple glider.

Dino Days (page 34) "How do you know that dinosaurs had scales instead of fur?" Dino Don Lessem answers this question.

VALUES Goofus and Gallant® (page 8) Goofus waits until the last minute to do a project; Gallant starts planning right away.

VERSE Audition (page 5)

Chocolate Drops (page 39)