Suggested lesson plan for
"Eddie Szewczyk is now college senior"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Eddie Szewczyk, Radio Disney, Harry Potter, Belleville, Penn State University, J. K. Rowling, Daniel Donovan, California, Joe Pentiliano, The Sopranos

Other words: phenomena, alternate, episodes, facets, primary

BEFORE READING: To get some idea of how easy or how difficult the article might be for a young reader, have him or her read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep track of how many items need your assistance. If three or fewer require help, have the reader read the article silently. If four to six items require help, have him or her read the article aloud to you. If seven or more require help, you offer to read the article aloud to the child. In all three instances, point out questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, simply offer to help out with words if asked for help. For the one reading aloud, supply any words fairly promptly that seem to be interfering with fluency. If you read aloud, model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate discussion.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Missouri History Museum asks kids for help with local history stories"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Angie Dietz, Flickr, Holy Ghost Full Gospel Mission, Voices, Great Depression, Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter

Other words: impacted, archivist, interactive, initiatives, digitalized, accessible

BEFORE READING: To help acquaint him or her with the vocabulary to be met in the article have the young reader read the words from the possible hard words list. Provide help as needed. Then ask the child to read the article aloud and be prepared to answer questions about it after the reading.

DURING READING: Provide troublesome words fairly promptly in order to keep the reading fluent.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Local kids set for national disabled meet here"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Nathan Rainge, O'Fallon, National Junior Disability Championships, DASA Dynamites, Hinchcliffe School, Chesterfield Valley, Mike Matheny, Albert Pujols, Ashley Foley, Alex Behlmann, World Para-Olympics, London, Lauren Iffrig, St. Peters RecPlex, Tyler Pickett, St. Louis Wheelchair Marathon, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France

Other words: qualifying, foundations, veterinary, technician, propulsion

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep count of the number of items requiring your assistance. If three or fewer require help, have the child read the article silently. If four to six require help, have him or her read the article aloud to you. If seven or more require your help, offer to read the article aloud to the young reader. In all three instances point out questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader simply offer to help if asked for specific help. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome names or words fairly promptly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and promote discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Kids can join civil air patrol at 12"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Jonathan Romanko, St. Charles Municipal Airport, U. S. Air Force Auxiliary, Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, MO, Colorado, David Daubach, Missouri National Guard, Jeremy Leyden, Coty Ruether, Washington, MO, Puerto Rico

Other words: cadets, stealth, maneuvers, simulator, automatically

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help where needed but keep count of the number of items requiring your assistance. If three or fewer require help, have the young reader read the article silently. If four to six items require help, have him or her read the article aloud to you. If seven or more items are problematic, you offer to read the article aloud. In all instances point out questions will be asked over the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with words if asked. For the one reading aloud supply troublesome names or words promptly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Olivia Martin wants to build useful machinery"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Olivia Martin, City Academy School, Kendra Neely-Martin, Florissant Valley Community College, Washington University Medical School, SLU Physicians and Mid-America Transplant Services Lab, University of Missouri - Rolla, Felicia A. Ezell, Kwanzaa, Princeton, Yale, Spellman University in Atlanta

Other words: etiquette, dissection, intrigued, heritage, equations

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep count of the number of items requiring your assistance. If three or fewer require help, have him or her read the article silently. If four to six require your help, have the child read the article aloud to you. If seven or more are problems, you offer to read the article aloud to the child. In all three instances point out questions will be asked after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to provide help if asked. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome words promptly to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud, model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"All-Star FanFest is for kids during MLB's All-Star Weekend"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: All-Star Charity 5K and Fun Runs, Busch Stadium, Futures Game, Legends and Celebrities softball game, Women of the Diamond, Cooperstown, Skip Shumacher

Other words: ballyhooed, spectators, souvenirs, memorabilia, mockup, replica

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep count of the number of items requiring your assistance. If no more than three require help, have the young reader read the article silently. If four to six require assistance, have him or her read the article aloud to you. If seven or more items are problems, you offer to read the article aloud. In all three instances, point out questions will be raised after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with words if asked. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome words promptly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud model fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate discussion of the article.

This Month's Book Reviews

A biography of a famous children's author
with a Missouri connection

The BK Biography series is a fairly recent series of inexpensive paperbacks that presents interesting biographies of famous persons along with photographs and illustrations that augment the text. "Laura Ingalls Wilder" by Tanya Lee Stone is one of these publications that should especially appeal to kids from Missouri. Wilder's books have been successful largely because she brings history to life for her young readers by graphically portraying life as it was in an earlier era in America. This biography does something similar by bringing the facts of Wilder's life alive for a young reader. This is one I suspect many parents will want to read themselves.

 

Kids and their families cope with a hurricane
in the Florida Keys of 1935

Children's author, Joan Hiatt Harlow, is a prize-winning writer of several adventure stories that feature storms. In "Blown Away" she has built her plot around an actual hurricane that struck the Florida Keys in 1935. She has combined several elements that appeal to young readers into her novel. There is the innocent attraction between a teen-aged boy and girl, a mutual respect and friendship developed between a teen-aged boy and a cantankerous elderly man, family ties, and the fondness that develops for animals, as well as the horrific consequences of a hurricane in a coastal area. This novel should appeal to either a boy or girl.

A book by a popular author who writes about kids' outrageous behavior

Jerry Spinelli is a popular author of kids' books and a winner of the Newbery Award for "Maniac Magee." That "Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?" is in the genre of books that find humor in fairly over-stated kids' behavior is evident in the title. Young readers can identify with the incidents in the novel because they typify the experiences many kids have while growing up. Spinelli tends to end his little novels with serious lessons to be drawn. In this case, the lesson learned is that small aggravations should not ever be allowed to over balance the love siblings really have for each other.

Two sisters deal with stress in a home disrupted
by parental break-up

The narrator in the novel "Just another Day in my Insanely Real Life" by Barbara Dee is twelve-year-old Cassie Baldwin. Cassie is the younger sister in the family, with nearly fifteen-year-old Miranda, and just-turned-six, Jackson. Their mother has just returned to fulltime work in a law office because their father has "recently moved out of the picture." Cassie is seen as a budding creative writer, so we are treated not only with her narrative of everyday life, but her efforts at fiction as well. There is a teacher who is trying to help her with her creative writing efforts. A big part of the story deals with how the two sisters try to keep a life of their own while they take on many of the responsibilities at home. The story ends with the possibility, however remote, that the family might experience a parental reconciliation.