Synopses & Reviews
For classroom reading teachers and specialists, this unique resource is one of two volumes of
"Reading Stories for Comprehension Success" packed with ready-to-use story lessons and activities for building students' reading, comprehension, and writing skills in grades 1 through 6.
Volume I, PRIMARY LEVEL, presents 45 detailed lessons, reproducible story selections and questions, and related activities for reading grade levels 1, 2, and 3.
Volume II, INTERMEDIATE LEVEL, presents 45 detailed lessons, reproducible story selections and questions, and related activities for reading grade levels 4, 5, and 6.
The story lessons and activities in both volumes are designed with modifications for the learning disabled built in. They can be used with all regular and special students in any basal or whole language reading program, and help increase students' confidence, interest, and involvement in learning while growing comprehension skills.
You'll find 15 story lessons at each grade level. Each story lesson is organized into the following sections:
About the Story: A brief overview introduces the story's topic, e.g., "Fast-Food Computers" (Reading Level 2) or "The Mystery of St. Elmo's Fire" (Reading Level 4).
Preview Words: A helpful word list introduces students to any unfamiliar vocabulary.
Books to Read: Recommended books relate to the subject of the story lesson.
Videos/CD's, Records & Cassettes: These additional resources will help get students hooked into the story lesson.
Introductory Activities: Role-playing, card games, crafts projects, and other activities familiarize students with the topics of the story.
The Story: Each factual story is designed to capture and hold children's interest and is accompanied by a reproducible full-page picture.
Questions: Specially designed comprehension questions require students to think out their answer and respond with complete, written sentences.
Extension Activities: Projects, plays, and a variety of other activities allow the student to experience the subject beyond the story.
Each grade-level volume also includes a special introduction offering detailed suggestions for using "Reading Stories for Comprehension Success" with students of all abilities. This covers teaching strategies, reading ability guidelines, sentence writing lessons, and directions for effective use of the pre-tests, teacher lesson plans, and student data sheets.
In short, "Reading Stories for Comprehension Success" gives you a single developmental program you can use with all of the regular and special students in your classroom. It provides maximum flexibility in lesson preparation and the freedom to base each lesson on your students' needs.
Synopsis
A flexible, high-interest program that can be used with all regular and special students, grades 4-6. Each volume provides over 45 factual stories with related teaching materials, 15 at each level.
About the Author
Katherine Hall received her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Texas at El Paso. She has worked with elementary students for many years as a first grade, ESL, and resource room teacher. Ms. Hall was an active member of the Texas State Council for the International Reading Association for over ten years and has presented various teacher inservice workshops. She has published articles in several magazines and currently tutors students at the elementary through college levels.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.Using Reading Stories for Comprehension Success.
Introductory Activities.
Extension Activities.
Literal and Interpretive Questions.
Who Can Use Reading Stories for Comprehension Success?.
Classroom Environment.
Attention Deficit Disorder.
Teaching Strategies.
Reading Ability Guidelines.
Presenting the Story Lesson.
Pretest.
Teacher Lesson Plan.
Lesson Plan Form.
Course Synopsis Form.
Student Data Sheet.
In Conclusion.
READING LEVEL 4.
Under Each Title:
About the Story.
Quotes of the Week.
Interview Topic.
Preview Words.
Word-Origin Study.
Books to Read.
Book Club.
Introductory Activities.
Extension Activities.
Story Selection.
Questions Sheet.
Titles:
Warning! Earthquake!
The Mystery of Saint Elmo's Fire.
The Source of Saint Elmo's Fire.
The Newbery Medal.
It's Roadeo Time.
Who Wrote "The Tortoise and the Hare"?.
The Many Faces of the Catfish.
The Runestone.
Bone Hunter.
Who is Uncle Sam?.
They Stood on Top of the World.
Stephen Hawking.
Black Holes.
To Clean or not to Clean.
Chief Seattle.
READING LEVEL 5.
Under Each Title:
About the Story.
Quotes of the Week.
Interview Topic.
Preview Words.
Word-Origin Study.
Books to Read.
Book Club.
Introductory Activities.
Extension Activities.
Story Selection.
Questions Sheet.
Titles:
Robert J. Acosta: Teacher.
Columbus's Mysterious Lights.
The Remarkable Life of Howard Hughes.
The Battles of the Ironclads.
How Fast the Trees Grow.
Beethoven.
The Flags of the American Colonies.
The Flyer.
The Magic of Special Effects.
Making Cartoons Move.
Make Your Own Phenakistoscope.
Mount Pinatubo Erupts.
A Folktale Comes to Life.
Freedom.
The Telephone of the Future.
READING LEVEL 6.
Under Each Title:
About the Story.
Quotes of the Week.
Interview Topic.
Preview Words.
Word-Origin Study.
Books to Read.
Book Club.
Introductory Activities.
Extension Activities.
Story Selection.
Questions Sheet.
Titles:
From the Imagination of Theodor Geisel.
Bushnell's American Turtle.
The Five-Dollar-A-Day Job.
The Birth of McDonald's.
Leonardo's Secret Notebook.
Antipater's Travel Guide.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
George Washington Carver.
The Smithsonian Institution.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Secret.
The March of Dimes.
The Secrets of the Rosetta Stone.
Reading Hieroglyphics.
The Great Explosion of 1908.
The Good Master Kung.