North Coventry Reading Corner
Literacy News: November 2018
Congratulations, North Coventry Elementary School!
How can I help my child comprehend a story?
Who-What
1. After reading a portion of the story, stop and ask your child, "Who is the most important character?"
2. Then ask, "What did he or she do?"
Continue to ask these questions while reading the story.
Beginning-Middle-End (B-M-E)
1. After reading the story, discuss the story with your child.
2. Have your child discuss what happened in the beginning of the story, choosing the most important part. You can use the sentence starter, "At the beginning..."
3. Next, discuss the middle using the sentence starter, "In the middle..."
4. Finally, discuss the ending using the sentence starter, "At the end..."
By the time you are finished retelling, your child should have said the most important parts from the beginning, middle, and end.
Somebody-Wanted-But-So (Then)
1. After reading the story, your child can use the following sentence starter to summarize the story.
2. __________________ (somebody) wanted ______________ but ________________ so ________________. Then ___________________________.
Book Suggestions for Retelling
Turkey Trouble by: Wendi Silvano
Alexander and the No Good Very Bad Day by: Judith Viorst
The Keeping Quilt by: Patricia Polacco
And so it was. From a basket of old clothes, Anna's babushka, Uncle Vladimir's shirt, Aunt Havalah's nightdress and an apron of Aunt Natasha's become The Keeping Quilt, passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. For four generations the quilt is a Sabbath tablecloth, a wedding canopy, and a blanket that welcomes babies warmly into the world.