Strategies to Model and Share With Parents

Comprehension Strategies

• Show the cover and read the title of the book. Ask parents and children to predict what the story will be about, based on the title and cover illustration.



• Ask what parents and children already know about the topic of the book.



• Ask "wh" questions—who, what, where, why, when—about the book:
  • Before reading ("From the cover, what do you thing this book is about?")
  • During reading ("What do you think Leigh meant when he said, 'It helps to have a friend'?")
  • After reading ("When do you think the Old Woman realized she was lucky?").
  
  
  
• Talk about the book as you read using some of these strategies:
  • Connect the text to children’s lives ("Who would you write a letter to? What would you tell that person?")
  • Point out interesting things about the illustrations in the story ("All the things the Old Woman named look as if they have faces—Betsy, the car; Fred, the chair; Roxanne, the bed; and Franklin, the house")
  • Ask children what has happened so far in the story (summarizing).
  
  
  
• Use a graphic organizer to help define and illustrate a concept, such as main idea, sequence, or character traits.

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