http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/celebrating-black-history-month.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/celebrating-black-history-month.html Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600
African-American Inventors and Their Inventions

1. Sarah Boone - ironing board
2. Alexander Miles - elevator
3. Garrett Morgan - traffic signal
4. Robert F. Flemmings - guitar
5. John Standard - refrigerator
6. George T. Sampson - clothes drier
7. D. Johnson - lawn mower
8. Bessie Blount - a device that allows amputees to feed themselves
9. Otis Boykin - a variable resistor used in guided missile parts
10. George Grant - world's first patent for a golf tee
11. John Lee Love - pencil sharpener rotated by hand
12. Richard Spikes - automobile directional signals
13. William Purvis - self-inking hand stamp
14. Kevin Woolfolk - hamster workout wheel
15. Patricia Bath - first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention, a method for removing cataract lenses using a laser device
16. W. A. Martin - lock
17. G. W. Murray - planter
18. F. M. Jones - air conditioning unit
19. A. C. Richardson - bottle
20. E. R. Robinson - electric railway trolley
21. J. R. Winters - fire escape ladder
22. B. H. Taylor - rotary engine
23. Donald Cotton - propellants for nuclear reactors
24. Norbert Rillieux - a method for refining sugar
25. Emmett W. Chappelle - techniques for the detection of bacteria in urine, blood, drinking water, and foods
26. J. W. Smith - lawn sprinkler
27. W. U. Moody - game board design
28. A. L. Cradle - ice cream mold

Activities

1. Research other inventions by African Americans.
2. Find the dates of these inventions and make a timeline of them.
3. Discuss how life would be very different without these inventions.
4. Discuss the process of inventing something and have your students come up with their own inventions. They should give their inventions a name and write a description.
5. Classify these inventions into such categories as Things Around the House and Things for Safety.
6. Alphabetize the inventors' names.
7. Have some children cut out pictures of the inventions and paste them on the left side of index cards. Have other children use sticky labels to write or type the invention and paste them on the right side of the index cards to match the pictures. Make puzzles by cutting down the center of these cards using different patterns. You can also use craft scissors which come in a variety of patterns.
8. Create a criss-cross puzzle or a word-find puzzle with these inventors' last names.

I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking!



--
Freda J. Glatt, MS, is a retired K-6 teacher. Helping others reinforce reading comprehension through FUNdamental Reading Activities, including games and worksheets, is her new educational goal. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/kids/happy-new-year.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/kids/happy-new-year.html Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600
January Starts the Year

January, February, March, April, May.
The first five months are A-OK.

June and July, August, September,
How many summers can you remember?

October, November, December's the end,
Any month's a good time to make a new friend.

Fifty-two weeks or twelve months in a year,
As each month ends, a new one is here.

Winter and fall, summer and spring.
These are the seasons that each year brings.

The days in a year come to three hundred sixty-five.
Isn't it great to be alive?

This poem was written by Risa Jordan and is included in "A Poem A Day" by Helen H. Moore, Scholastic, 1997.

It presents an opportunity to teach or review the months in sequential order and for children to discuss the calendar. Why are there twelve months? How did each month get its name? Do other cultures use the same calendar as our's? What are the names of their months? Why are there 365 days in a year? What causes Leap Year? A calendar is a great tool for Social Studies and Science!

New Year Puzzles

January was named after the Roman god, Janus. He was said to have two faces and could look both forward and backward simultaneously. On January 1, we look back on the previous year and ahead to the new one. Solve this FACE puzzle, then, by changing one letter at a time while keeping the letter order the same. Each change will result in a new word until all the original letters have been changed and you can LOOK ahead to a wonderful new year!

FACE
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _

LOOK

It was considered good luck, in Scotland, if a dark-haired man was the first person to enter the door of your house on New Year's Day. Boy, are you GLAD that your dark-haired uncle just put his FOOT in your door! Solve this puzzle with the same directions as above.

FOOT
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _

GLAD

Every New Year's Day, in Pasadena, California, the Tournament of Roses Parade is seen by millions of people. The floats are made entirely of real flowers! Solve the flower riddles below according to this secret code:

1=H 5=A 9=S 13=Y 17=P
2=D 6=W 10=I 14=V
3=O 7=E 11=N 15=L
4=T 8=B 12=U 16=R

What did the big flower say to the little flower? 1 10, 8 12 2!
Why are flowers so lazy? 4 1 7 13 5 16 7 5 15 6 5 13 9 10 11 8 7 2.
Why is a spring garden like your mouth? 8 3 4 1 1 5 14 7 4 12 15 10 17 9.

Create the rest of the code and make up more riddles for your friends and family!
These puzzles and riddles are from Instructor's Big Book of Holiday Puzzles by Diane Hellriegel, Scholastic, 1985.

New Year's Resolutions

1. Have children write 20 realistic New Year's Resolutions and circle six they think are the best. Place a star by the resolutions they think no one else would have thought of! Let them share.

2. Divide your class into small groups and have them write funny New Year's Resolutions they think the principal, teacher, office staff, cafeteria staff, janitorial staff, school bus driver, parents, babysitter, or anyone else they know should make!
These two ideas are adapted from Springboards to Creative Thinking by Patricia Tyler Muncy, The Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 1985.

3. Make New Year's smocks for young children and have the children decorate them, around the edges, with crayons, markers, or paint. Write one of their favorite resolutions in the middle and let them wear their smocks proudly!

4. For a bulletin board, outline a large, old-fashioned sleigh on brown butcher paper; write HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US! in the middle of it; cut out and staple to the bulletin board. Using 8"-diameter circles of construction paper or the middle of small paper plates, have children draw their faces. They can use yarn for hair, felt for hats or earmuffs, and other odds-and-ends. Staple finished faces, starting at the rim of the sleigh, to give the impression of a crowd of children riding in the sleigh. Along the sides of the sleigh, put up children's resolutions or goals for the new year.
These two ideas are from Macmillan Seasonal Activity Packs, Macmillan Educational Company, 1986.

New Year Recipe

In Holland and other European countries, many people eat something shaped like a ring on New Year's Day in the belief that if brings good luck. A ring symbolizes completion...in this case, the circle of the entire year, with month following month. Here is a simple recipe you might want to try.

Pineapple New Year Rings - Makes 20 servings

1. Drain the juice, reserving it, from two 12-oz cans of unsweetened pineapple rings. Place one ring on each plate.
2. Place 1/4 cup of the 2 1/2 pints of cottage cheese in the center of each ring and pour 1-2 TB of the reserved juice over it.
3. Enjoy while talking about the upcoming year!

New Year Game

In keeping with the 'ring' concept, play this circular game to welcome the New Year. Have fun!

Ring on a String - Grades 2-6

Have a string long enough for all players to hold and an inexpensive ring large enough to slide along the string.

Place the ring on the string and tie the ends together. With children sitting or standing in a circle, they should hold the string with their palms down; one child, the 'detective,' stands in the middle. The players in the circle pass the ring from one to the other as the detective tries to decide who is holding it. If he is right, the two players exchange places. If the detective has guessed wrong five times, he sits in the circle and is replaced by the last person he thought had it.

To all of our customers, subscribers, and viewers, here's to a Healthy, Happy New Year!!
The recipe and game come from Macmillan Seasonal Activity Packs, Macmillan Educational Company, 1986.

I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking!

Answers to Puzzles: FACE, LACE, LACK, LOCK, LOOK; FOOT, FOOD, GOOD, GOAD, GLAD; Hi, Bud! They are always in bed. Both have tulips.



--
Freda J. Glatt, MS, is a retired K-6 teacher. Helping others reinforce reading comprehension through FUNdamental Reading Activities, including games and worksheets, is her new educational goal. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/kids/a-christmas-and-chanukah-play.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/kids/a-christmas-and-chanukah-play.html Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600
Greg: Hi, Charlie! Want to shoot some hoops?!
Charlie: I surely would, Greg, but the court looks crowded right now. How about taking a walk, first?
Greg: Okay.

Narrator: The two boys start walking and Greg dribbles the ball as they go.

Greg: Is your family getting ready for Christmas, yet?
Charlie: Well, actually, we celebrate Chanukah. Since it starts in two weeks, this year, my parents have started shopping for presents, I'm sure. My sister and I are making them a calendar. Boy, will they be surprised when they see the pictures we chose! I can't wait to give it to them.
Greg: I guess we have more time to get ready because Christmas is December 25. My little sister and brother still think Santa brings their gifts and leaves them under our tree. Your calendar sounds like a neat idea but I think I'll buy my family some presents at the mall.
Charlie: For Chanukah, my parents give my sister and me a present on each of the eight nights the holiday lasts. Some Jewish families give presents all at once, like you do.
Greg: Why does Hanukkah last for eight days?
Charlie: Well, you see, the Assyrian Greek King Antiochus IV captured and desecrated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. By the time the Maccabees recaptured it, there was enough holy oil to last for only one day. But guess what! It wound up lasting for eight days instead!! We light candles in a menorah, or candelabra, every night. On the first night, we light one; on the second night, two; and so on until all candles are lit on the eighth night. The tallest candle is the shammash and we use it to light all the others.
Greg: Wow! We light candles, too, but for a different reason. You know that Christmas is the day Jesus was born. Well, in medieval times, there was a legend that the Christ Child would be wandering the Earth in search of places He would be welcomed. When we put candles in our windows or along our walkways, it's to signify that He is welcome at our house. Of course, no one knew how He would be dressed so the custom arose that people were not turned away on Christmas.
Charlie: That's interesting. What do you do on Christmas Eve?
Greg: We celebrate Christmas Eve by having a big mass at church and singing Christmas carols. Did you know the most famous carol service comes from Cambridge in England? It was first performed in 1918 from King's College as a way to celebrate that World War I had ended!
Charlie: Well, for Chanukah, there is no special temple service. We do have parties, though, and celebrate with eating festive meals, dancing, playing games, and opening presents. All our relatives get together and that makes me happy. Because oil is so important to Chanukah, many foods are made with it. My favorite is potato latkes, or pancakes, served with applesauce...yum! Do you eat anything special for Christmas?
Greg: Yep! Our family eats roast turkey! Some of my friends' families eat ham, though. You want to know what I love most? The Christmas cookies and apple pie! My grandparents like the fruitcake. I love that my entire family comes over. What else do you do on Hanukkah?
Charlie: My family plays our favorite game, dreidel. A dreidel is a spinning top with four Hebrew letters on it. We play with nuts and everyone puts three into the kitty to begin. If someone spins and lands on three of the letters, they either do nothing, take half the kitty, or put in three more nuts. The lucky player who lands on Gimmel, though, wins the whole pot! We also like getting chocolate candy wrapped in gold paper to resemble coins. It's called Chanukah gelt because gelt is the Hebrew word for money. What is your favorite part of Christmas?
Greg: Hmm. I love so many things about it but I guess I really enjoy how my family comes together and decorates our Christmas tree. Everyone does his part and hangs glass ornaments, tinsel, and strung popcorn. And, oh, the singing! All of us are smiling and happy. By the way, did you know that many Christmas customs we observe today started in Germany? The English Queen, Victoria, visited relatives over there and fell in love with Prince Albert. After they got married and returned to England, the English people loved their tree and hand-blown glass ornaments. In the US, the tree tradition probably began with the Hessian troops during the American Revolution or with German immigrants. In 1851, a farmer from the Catskill Mountains sold evergreen trees in New York City and by 1920, the custom of having a Christmas tree was very common. I can't imagine Christmas without one!

Narrator: The boys are close to the basketball court, again.

Charlie: Well, we're back where we started! I learned alot about Christmas. You know, even though we have different religions and celebrate different holidays, we both love getting together with our families at this time of year and enjoy the spirit of exchanging presents.
Greg: Yeah, it's nice to know we have something in common besides basketball. Thanks for telling me about Hanukkah. The court's pretty empty, now. Do you still have time to shoot some hoops?
Charlie: You bet!

Narrator: The boys take off for the court and start playing basketball.


Activities for use with this play
1. The above play can be read by three children or used as part of a program with the inclusion of Christmas, Chanukah, and winter songs and dances.
2. Have children attempt writing a similar play about two other countries' observances.
3. Make a comparison chart for Christmas and Chanukah and include this information from the play: religious significance, presents, candles, celebrations, and foods.
4. Do further research on other symbols of each holiday.

However you celebrate the season, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!


--
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year career in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com. Reading is FUNdamental!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/native-american-culture-activities.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/native-american-culture-activities.html Thu, 02 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0600
Do you like barbecues? How about clambakes? Well, the next time you attend one, thank the Indians! Native Americans invented them, along with chewing gum, ponchos, chocolate, snowshoes, parkas, and moccasins. Do research to find out what else our first citizens invented!

Chief Seattle's Lesson

Seattle was a teacher
Who taught us how to care
For all the living things on earth,
Fresh water, and clean air.
"The earth does not belong to us,"
Great Chief Seattle said.
"We sometimes think it does, but we
Belong to earth, instead."

This poem was written by Helen H. Moore and reflects a basic belief of the Indians. Discuss its meaning and make a collage of fresh water vs polluted water and the effects of each, as well as clean air vs smog and the effects of each.

Beanbag Bunt

Many games that were played by Native American children when the Pilgrims landed are still played to this day. Here is a variation of a game played by the Zuni Indians of the Southwest.

Create a circle about 30' in diameter and make a horizontal starting line inside toward the edge. Put two different-colored beanbags behind the starting line and choose two children to be the first players; other children should be forming a ring around the circle.

The object of this game is to be the first to kick your beanbag around the inside of the circle without crossing its border. If a player misses, he must step outside the circle. In order to win, the other player must successfully complete his trip around the circle. Should there be a tie, or both players miss, they play another round. The winner of each round chooses a new opponent from the rest of the children.

Bird Feeder

After a good harvest, Native Americans made an offering of three ears of Indian corn tied to a gourd filled with corn kernels; this was hung outside their teepee in order to feed the birds. When the birds ate, the Indians were happy because they believed their offering had been accepted by the gods. Here are directions for you to make a bird feeder.

Cut a gourd in half vertically, scoop out the insides, and use a skewer or metal dowel to poke two holes about 1" from the top through both sides of each half of the gourd. Using a long piece of thin wire, thread one of the halves and wrap a loose end around an ear of Indian corn at the husk near the top of the ear. The longer end of wire should still be through the other hole so you can add another ear of Indian corn, then the other half of the gourd, and end with another ear of Indian corn. Finally, tie the loose ends together to form a loop and hang your bird feeder outside. Put some birdseed in each hollow end of the gourd and watch the birds eat!

Learn the names of birds in your area and keep a record of the kinds of birds that come to your feeder. Choose several birds and count how many of each kind come within a certain time frame; then make a pictograph showing the data.

Wampum

The Indian money was called wampum and consisted of strings of beads made from the shells of clams and other shellfish. Purple was worth more than white. Here is how to make your own wampum.

Put half of a small box of macaroni into a bowl and cover it with purple paint, letting it soak for two hours. Strain the macaroni and let it dry on paper towels during the night. At last, create your wampum by stringing purple and white macaroni. Tie the ends of the string together for a necklace or a bracelet.

For variation, try stringing the macaroni in various patterns and assigning different numbers to the purple and white. How much is your wampum worth? Open a little store and use your wampum for money! If you can find seashells with small holes for stringing, try using them instead of macaroni.

League of the Iroquois

One of the first governments in America was the Five Nations, or the League of the Iroquois. The Mohawk chief, Hiawatha, helped found it in 1570 to unite the separate tribes, or nations, in war and peace. Consisting of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, each tribe took care of its own business. When their affairs affected another tribe, however, the League Council stepped in.

Answer these True or False statements about the paragraph above...using the Cree Indian letters for T and F! The T looks like a lowercase b with more of a heart-shaped right side than a circle; and the F looks like an inverted capital V with a vertical side on the right rather than a diagonal.

Mohawk chief Hiawatha helped start the Five Nations. ____
The Seminoles were part of the League of the Iroquois. ____
The League told all its members how to conduct their business. ____
The Five Nations was one of the first governments in America. ____

Research to find out more about the Iroquois nation. Does the League still exist?

Totem Poles

In the Pacific Northwest, Native Americans such as the Tlingit, pronounced klink-it, still make totem poles to record their family and clan histories. The poles are carved of wood and brightly painted to resemble birds, animals, or people. An angry-looking bear, for instance, could symbolize a warlike relative; while a deer might symbolize a gentle one. Make a totem pole to reflect your family! Here's how.

Measure various colors of construction paper, exactly, to fit 6-8 1-lb cans, such as coffee cans. Laying the papers flat, use crayons, markers, or paint to draw a different face or design on each. Wrap a paper around each can and tape the edges together. Place each can down with the open side up and decorate with eyes, ears, noses, teeth, and other 3-dimensional features. Use fabric, buttons, sticks...any odds and ends you have.

Decide the order in which the cans will be stacked; then add sand to the bottom one to prevent the totem pole from tipping over. Put one can on top of another, taping them together as you go. Decorate the top of your totem pole!

There are many Native American tribes in our country today. On a map, pinpoint where each tribe lives. Find out which live in your region and take a field trip to learn more about them.

I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking.

Happy Thanksgiving!!



--
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year career in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com. Reading is FUNdamental!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/motivating-children-to-read-at-home.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/motivating-children-to-read-at-home.html Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500
1. Start when they are non-readers. Toddlers love colorful picture books and can learn vocabulary, colors, shapes, turning pages, and other pre-reading skills by talking about pictures.

2. Read poetry and finger plays. Not only are they funny and interactive, but the rhythm makes them easy to learn.

3. Listen to books on tape and follow along with the printed version. These tapes should engage youngsters through different voices for different characters. Use them on long rides, vacations, rainy days, or when you are too busy to sit with your children.

4. Buy books for presents, especially personalized books which have your children's names in them. They will want to read these books over and over again!

5. Have many kinds of books available in the house. Try to organize them in tubs. For example, have separate tubs for books about animals, places, biographies, sports, and so on. Label the tubs with pictures for non-readers and words for readers.

6. Read to your children DAILY. Have a special time to read together in a comfortable setting and let them choose the book. You will notice their interests and have a special bonding experience.

7. Read with intonation and different voices for all the characters. By sounding happy, sad, or angry, the words will come to life and the story will become more meaningful. As your children become older, let them read the words of a character so you can read together.

8. Let your children ask questions and discuss pictures. When they are older, discuss characters and plot. If your children feel comfortable asking questions, that will carry over to the classroom.

9. Subscribe to a magazine of your children's choice. This will let them practice making decisions and affirm that their interests matter.

10. Write positive notes to each other and leave them around the house. A personalized note at breakfast will set the tone for a great day!

11. Get your children a library card and make sure they use it!

12. Be a role model for your children by reading all kinds of printed material yourself, such as cereal boxes, newspapers, mysteries, cartoons, word puzzles, billboards...whatever you want. The more variety your children see you read, the more variety they are likely to read, too.

13. Show your youngsters that reading is a part of daily life. Do you watch television? Read a TV schedule. Do you cook? Read a recipe. Do you like sports? Read the newspaper's sports section. Do you need to assemble something? Read the directions. Do you want to go to a restaurant? Read the menu. Your children need to see that reading is relevant to their lives!

14. Write a family book and add to it once a month. Each person could be responsible for his own chapter. After three months, for instance, sit altogether and read the book. At the end of the year, reread the entire book!

15. Instead of giving sweet treats for a job well done, reward your children with extra reading time before going to sleep, a trip to the bookstore, a trip to the library, a bookmark, or something else to do with reading.

16. Have a Reading Theme Party where guests dress up like their favorite book characters. They can play Musical Chairs with a twist. Under each chair, place a book. When the music stops, the guests read part of that book. Take note of one child and make sure to stop the music when he is at different places. In that way, everyone gets to read several books. As a party treat, try giving a gift certificate to a bookstore where children may want to find a particular book and finish reading the whole thing!

17. If your children are struggling, start with their interests and have them choose books they will enjoy. Have them write their own books around a theme they like and read it to everyone they know. Let them create a word puzzle focusing on one of their interests and give it to people to fill in. Your children could also write a book or make a word puzzle about someone else and give it as a present.

I hope these ideas are useful and inspire your own creative thinking.

And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!


--
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year career in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com. Reading is FUNdamental!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/reading-comprehension-skills-part-i.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/reading-comprehension-skills-part-i.html Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500
One definition of 'read' is "to utter aloud written matter;" if using this definition alone, of course you are reading. There is another definition, though, which says "to understand or interpret." After reading the page, if you cannot answer questions about the material, you really just called out words. Yes, you must know the
words, but you also have to understand the author's message. THEN, you are truly reading.

Reading comprehension includes a number of specific skills. When reading with your children, ask questions that will reinforce these concepts, especially during long absences from school. Here are a few:

1. Main Idea - What is the most important thing the paragraph, page, chapter, story, article, or cartoon is about? When students are first learning this skill, the main idea is usually found in the first sentence; later on, it may not be stated at all. The detail sentences tell about the main idea.

Example: I went to a pet shop. It had food and toys for all kinds of pets. The animal sections had birds, fish, and kittens. I wound up buying some cat litter.

In this example, the first sentence tells the main idea and the rest of the sentences tell more about what happened at the pet shop.

2. Inferences - To infer means "to conclude by reasoning from something known or assumed." In other words, use your prior knowledge to figure out something.

Example: The Eagle has made an historic landing. There are craters and rocks as far as the eye can see. Pretty soon, I will don a special suit and be the first man to step on the surface.

From these clues, you can infer that a man will soon step on the moon. The first man who did that was Neil
Armstrong.

3. Predicting Outcomes - If you understand what you are reading, you will be able to guess what will happen next. Reinforce this skill during commercials when you are watching TV!

Example: I took a bath, brushed my teeth, and put on my pajamas. My mother came in to read me a story. When she was finished, she kissed me goodnight.

You can predict that the child will now go to sleep.

4. Fact or Opinion - A fact is something you can prove to be true, whether or not you like it, while an opinion is what you think or believe.

Example: I am in the Bank Atlantic Center. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are going to give a concert. They are the best singers of all!

The first two sentences are facts but the last is an opinion. Your opinion does not have to agree with anyone else's because it reflects what YOU think. Clues can be comparison words ending in 'er' (ie: prettier) or 'est' (ie: happiest), as well as phrases such as 'of all' or 'in the whole world.'

To review, then, along with knowing words, you must be able to interpret their meaning in order to read. Some specific skills that help in comprehension are main idea, inferences, predicting outcomes, and fact or opinion. In a future article, I will write about other reading-comprehension skills.

I hope these examples are useful and inspire your own creative thinking.

And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!


--
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year career in Early-Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com. Reading is FUNdamental!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/reading-comprehension-skills-part-ii.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/reading-comprehension-skills-part-ii.html Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500
There are specific reading-comprehension skills that will help you understand what you are reading. Whereas my last article focused on Main Idea, Predicting Outcomes, Inferences, and Fact or Opinion; this article will cover Context Clues, Cause and Effect, Drawing Conclusions, and Sequencing. When reading with your children, be sure to ask questions that reinforce these comprehension skills, especially during summer vacation or other long absences from school.

1. Context Clues - When you are reading, suppose you come across a word that you have never seen or heard before. If you understand the other words, sentences, and paragraphs that come before and after the new word, you will be able to figure out what that new word means.

Example: Two friends met and had a persiflage over lunch. They talked about seeing a movie, going shopping, or going to the beach.

Can you tell that 'persiflage' means light, frivolous talk? The two friends did not discuss anything of major importance.

2. Cause and Effect - We all know that actions have consequences. Think of the actions as causes and the effects as their consequences.

Example: The Miami Heat want the fans to wear white during the NBA Finals games. As a result, the seats in the arena are filled with fans wearing White Hot shirts!

WHY are the fans wearing White Hot shirts? They are wearing white shirts BECAUSE the Miami Heat requested it. When you ask a why question (the effect), you want to know the reason (the cause). Clue phrases that indicate a cause is to follow include 'as a result' and 'in order to'.

3. Drawing Conclusions - Sometimes you will be asked a question about information that has not been given. There will be enough clues, however, for you to imply the meaning.

Example: Marvin was exuberant that his parents were allowing him to stay up past his bedtime so he could see the fireworks at a nearby park. Luckily, there would be a great view from his own patio! The fireworks were scheduled to start at 11:30 PM but, by 10:30, Marvin was feeling extremely tired. When he woke up the next morning, Marvin asked his mother why the fireworks had been cancelled.

Although the information is not directly given, you can draw the conclusion that Marvin was so tired that he fell asleep and missed the fireworks.

4. Sequencing - As the old saying goes, "Put one step in front of the other." When you are putting directions or events in sequential order, you start at the beginning and go step-by-step, in a logical or chronological order, to reach a conclusion. Young children just learning this skill begin their sentences with First, Next, Then, and Last; older children do not necessarily need those key words.

Example: She rubbed some oil on top of it. My mom went to the store and bought a chicken. Into the oven it went! Following that, she sprinkled some seasoning over it.

As written above, this story does not make sense. Who put oil on top of what? Do you really season a chicken after it is in the oven? (Basting does not count!) The correct version would read like this:

My mom went to the store and bought a chicken. She rubbed some oil on top of it. Following that, she sprinkled some seasoning over it. Into the oven it went!

To review, then, there are specific reading-comprehension skills that will aid in your understanding of the written word. A few of these skills are context clues, cause and effect, drawing conclusions, and sequencing.

I hope these examples are useful and inspire your own creative thinking.

And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!



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Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year career in Early-Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com. Reading is FUNdamental!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>