I want to discuss reading. Specifically, moving beyond merely reading words on the pages of a book.
When our children are young and we read to them, reading time is special and children begin to show their love of books. They’ll bring books to us saying, “Read to me!”.
At such an early age, they aren’t necessarily loving the stories as much as cherishing the relationship between parent and child, the time spent together and the interactions that occur while we read to them. Perhaps you change your voice for different characters, you ask them questions and make reading a fun interactive parent child time….and during that process, they are learning about the world around them.
…and then comes the time that they begin to read those same stories themselves.
Once children are tasked with reading those written words themselves, many lose that initial love for the written story as they have to sound out letters, say the words and put sentences together. Now, of course, it is essential that they do these things! They need to learn those letter sounds, the words and how sentences are formed…but often, during the process they begin to lose their initial love of the written word…the stories that are being told.
So, how can we nurture the love of books during this process…and beyond? How can we implement reading strategies and activities that will help our children ‘get into’ and ‘stay into’ the story? How do the inspire our children to delve deep into the stories being told, the thoughts of the characters, the differing points of view, the role of illustrations…to find whimsy, excitement, adventure!
To help you with this task, I’ve created 12 book units for (1st – 4th) elementary students that will help! These units are fun and engaging and will give you, the parent teacher, specific guidance while providing fun, interactive activities for your child(ren).
Have multiple children just a couple grades apart, you’ll be able to use these units to teach them together. Have an older child that could benefit from teaching their younger sibling(s)? Have them use these resources with their younger sibling(s).
I’ve placed all of these 12 units together in an easy to access: Literature Bundle. Every book included in this bundle is a Caldecott award winning book!
This BUNDLE offers 12 fun and engaging book units, all offering guided reading questions and student activities designed to increase student interest, test student comprehension, help students use critical thinking skills and explore their creativity.
Included book units:
- Black and White | Caldecott Book Unit
- Chrysanthemum Book Unit
- The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses | Caldecott Book Unit
- The Lion and the Mouse | Teaching Aesop’s Fable 2 Ways
- Smoky Night | Caldecott Book Unit
- The Egg Tree | Caldecott Book Unit
- Make Way for Ducklings Guided Reading and Activities
- Saint George and the Dragon | Caldecott Book Guided Reading
- Jumanji Book Guided Reading Unit
- Hey, Al – A Guided Reading Unit
- Grandfather’s Journey | Caldecott Book Guided Reading Activities
- Snowflake Bentley Guided Reading
What can you expect in each of these units? Let me give you one example of what you’ll find in them…
In “The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses“, you’ll find:
For the Teacher: Suggested Pre-Reading, About the Cover, After Reading and About the Artwork questions. What type of questions can you expect? Here are just a few examples of the questions you’ll find…
- Pre-reading – What do you think this book will be about? Do you like horses? Why or why not?
- After reading – Do you think the storm was just a bad dream or did it really happen? Talk about a bad dream you’ve had and what you did to make yourself feel better. Do you think this story could be true?
- About the art – What do the pictures tell you about the time in which the story takes place? Which picture is your favorite?
For the Students:
- Worksheet for students to answer questions from the story (comprehension and critical thinking)
- Worksheets to produce questions both while reading and after reading (to engage both during and after)
- 3 Art responses (emotional and creative response)
- A poster of horse and label the parts worksheet (going beyond the story)
- A Teepee shape book to create a book report, a summary; to record and define unfamiliar vocabulary; use to create a poem inspired by the book (from study skills to creative expression)
Here are just a few preview images from a few of the included units:
Now, I do offer each of these book units as separate book unit resources. If you are an All-Access member, you can download each for FREE or the ENTIRE BUNDLE for FREE.
Not an All-Access member? When you purchase the Literature Bundle, you’ll save 20% off purchasing each individually!
Need the books for the above units?
If you do not already have these books, you can go to your local library to borrow them or you can purchase them and have them delivered to your door. The following links will take you to view and purchase on Amazon. My Teaching Library is an Amazon associate:
- Black and White
- Chrysanthemum
- The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
- The Lion and the Mouse
- Smoky Night
- The Egg Tree
- Make Way for Ducklings
- Saint George and the Dragon
- Jumanji
- Hey, Al!
- Grandfather’s Journey
- Snowflake Bentley
Ready to get your 12 engaging book units? Do so now!
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