This morning our young authors listened to the storybook called My Garden by Kevin Henkes. Students focused on the power of visualization, painting a picture in their mind with the author’s words. I would periodically and strategically stop the story and allow students time to record their visualizations. https://watch.vooks.com/videos/my-garden

Ask your young author about the importance of visualizing as we read or listen to a story. How and why does visualizing support our understanding of the text?

We worked on creating 4 beautiful illustrations to match the author’s words in the text. See if your author can recall the illustrations that they created.

Lastly, because this book offered such beautiful opportunities for us to visualize, many students began generating I wonder statements, seeking to learn more information about the text. We then discussed the importance of questioning and the difference between Quick Questions (are questions that if we keep reading we will learn the answer) + Deep Thinking Questions (these questions will quite often not be answered as we continue reading the text. These questions can also provoke more thought that leads to even more questions. They can start with ‘I wonder…’). There are approximately 27 question words, as a class we currently have come up with 13. With your thinking cap on can you think of more question words?

The next time you are reading a book together, encourage your child to ask a quick question as well as a deep thinking question to extending their thinking.