Suggested lesson plan for
"Four YSL.com kids to help at conference meets"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Missouri Valley Conference, Matt Causino, Tanner Cochran, Dajae Williams, Lianna Doty, Matt Brobeck, Kirkwood High School, St. Margaret Mary School, Missouri State University, Billiken, J. T. Tiller, Matt Lawrence, North Carolina Tarheels, Tyler Hansborough, Cleveland Cavaliers, Rutgers University, Coach Pat Summitt

Other words: tournament, venues, moisture, coincidence, reputation, counterparts, accountant

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 assistance. If no more than three require help, have the child 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. In all three instances point out questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader simply offer to help with words if asked for help. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome 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 stimulate discussion.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Langston kids use basketball in artwork"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: : Verleshia Roberts, Langston Middle School, Scottrade Center, Mr. James Reed, Daquane Cole, James Boutte', Courtney Townsend

Other words: combination, concentrate, significance, lasagna, primitive, curriculum

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 help. If three or fewer require your assistance, have the young reader read the article silently. If four to six items require assistance, have him or her read the article aloud to you. If seven or more are problems, you offer to read the article aloud. In all three instances point out that questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with names or words if asked. For the one reading aloud, provide troublesome 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 stimulate discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Kids learn how body works in 3D session"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Jen Rustige, Mr. Jay Nastav, Mr. Ray Vollmer, Adventures in Medicine and Science, Eddie McInerney, Clay Bruner

Other words: dissection, demonstration, anatomy, skeletal, deteriorated, manipulation

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep track of how many items require assistance. If three or fewer require your help, ask the child to 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 help, you offer to read the article aloud. In all three examples point out questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help out with words if asked for help. 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 promote discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Kids help with wild bird inventory"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Missouri Botanical Garden, Cornell University's Laboratory on Ornithology, Audubon Society, Ms. Laura Schaefer, Millstadt

Other words: inventory, species, binoculars, stabilized, migration, habitats, adaptations

BEFORE READING: To get an idea of how difficult or easy 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 count of the number of items requiring help. If three or fewer items require your assistance, ask the child to read the article silently. If four to six require help, have the child read the article aloud to you. If seven or more require help, you offer to read the article aloud. In all three of these instances point out questions will be raised after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, offer to help out with words if asked for help. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome 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 stimulate discussion of the article.

Suggested lesson plan for
"Kids learn how to paint Missouri birds"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Busch Conservation Area, Carol Price, Abbey and Evan Lawrence, Great Blue Heron, Mrs. Carol Price

Other words: characteristics, realistic, variety, brochures, tempura, cartooning

BEFORE READING: To help the young reader anticipate the names and words to be met in the article, have him or her read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed. Then ask him or her to read the article aloud to you and be ready to discuss it afterward.

DURING READING: Provide help with any troublesome words 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
"Activities for spring…and spring break"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Trailnet, St. Louis Science Center, Ecology in a Jar, Chemistry, Upland Prairie Walk, Fort Belle Fontaine County Park, Dennis Hogan, Monarch Chesterfield Levee Trail Hike It or Bike It, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, West Alton, Columbia Bottom Conservation Area, Giro and Tour of Missouri Bicycle Ride, Giro della Montagna

Other words: geocaching, participants

BEFORE READING: To help the young reader anticipate the vocabulary to be met in the article have him or her read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed. Then have him or her read the article aloud to you and be ready to discuss it afterward.

DURING READING: Provide any troublesome names or 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
"Mom gives her son new life - twice"

Possible hard words:

Proper names: Josh Nelson, Ms. Carolyn Nelson, Children's Miracle Network, Mid-America Transplant Services, Cardinal Glennon Hospital, Holy Family School, Marquette High School, Granite City, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Scottrade Center

Other words: functioned, recipient, transplants, compatible, dialysis, pathologist

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed but keep track 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 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. In all three instances, point out questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with words if asked. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome 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 stimulate discussion of the article.

This Month's Book Reviews

A biography for kids of a popular past president
still talked about today

A relatively new paperback series featuring the lives of famous people is the DK Biographies, heavily illustrated and explicitly written for kids throughout the English speaking world. The books in the series sell for only $4.99 in bookstores in the U.S. and there are more than two dozen titles published so far. Reviewed this month is "John F. Kennedy" authored by Howard S. Kaplan, who has previously written books for children. It seems especially pertinent that middle graders today know something of the details of the life of this former president since so many references are continually being made to his life and times both in the news and in adult discussions. The short and highly readable DK biography provides a quick and accessible way for young readers to be well-briefed on the JFK mystique.

 

Do kids really have to get tougher
when they become fourth graders?

Author Jerry Spinelli is famous as the author of the Newbery-award-winning "Maniac Magee." So his short, tongue-in-cheek paperback, "Fourth Grade Rats" follows a pattern found in others of his kids' books. In this one, a "wimpy" kid tries to live up to a classmate's demand that as a fourth-grader he "toughen up", even to the point of bullying younger kids. It turns out the two boys' mothers have something to say about that. It's a short book that doesn't place much demand on a young reader's reading skills.

A novelization of a recent animated movie
based on a prize-winning novel

"The Tale of Despereaux" is a little novel with an interesting history. Written by Kate DiCamillo, the original novel won the Newbery Award for Children's Literature in 2003. In 2008, an animated movie was released based on the original novel. The book reviewed here, published in 2008, is based on the script of the film. The story itself is very different from DiCamillo's earlier writing, which tended to be realistic and based on modern day kids ("Because of Winn-Dixie", YSL review October 2001 and "The Tiger Rising", YSL review October 2007). Despereaux is actually a huge-eared little mouse who aspires to engage in heroic actions. And so he does, in the fanciful novel. The original novel, as is often the case, is able to leisurely develop the characters and the plot more so than the movie version. A serious reader normally would be better off reading the original rather than script-based version. However, some kids would prefer to read the book based on the movie, especially if they had seen the film version first. Of course, this second version contains color photographs from the movie as well.

A young girl finds strength in the positive memories
of her lost sister

"Kira-kira" by Cynthia Kadohata was winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children. It is the story of two Japanese-American sisters in late 1950's America - Katie and Lynn Takeshima. The little novel does deal with the racism of the American South in that era. However, its main focus is how one younger sister's memories of her positive-thinking older sister help her cope with life after the older sister succumbs to a terminal illness. The memories of Lynn not only help the younger Katie cope with her own problems but help her provide strength for her overly-stressed family.