Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Still Learning to Read: A Great New Early Chapter Series

 


This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016 and continue through the school year.



Having the right books for our readers is one of the most important things we can do.  Third grade is a little tricky because kids are at so many different stages as readers.  And if we want kids to read independently every day, we need lots of books that are right for them. So I am always looking for good early chapter books that support readers who are just learning to read longer books.  This week I received two books in the new Agnes and Clarabella series (Agnes and Clarabelle and Agnes and Clarabella Celebrate!) from the publisher.  This is a fun new series about 2 friends and t is perfect for our transitional readers.  

This book is perfect for the beginning of the year 3rd grader  who is just starting to read chapter books. There is so much that I love about these books:

I feel in love with both characters. They have very distinct traits which is good for our young readers when thinking about what to expect from characters we love.
  • There are 4 chapters in each book and each chapter is its own little story. That is perfect for readers just learning to read longer books. Holding onto one story over time is often challenging so this is a perfect transition.
  • There is enough sophisticated humor that kids will love these books no matter what--I laughed aloud a few times.
  • There are chapter titles. I think that is important for young readers so they can use the titles to think about what's coming up.
  • The illustrations and font size are perfect. Lots of white space on a page so text is not overwhelming for readers.  I also like that many sentences start on one page and finish on the next.  This is something new for lots of transitional readers and this book handles it well.
  • The books are small and they feel like a chapter book but there are lots of visual supports for readers. 
So happy to have this new book! Can't wait for more books about these characters!  

*These are part of "Read and Bloom" based on the cover. There seem to be 3 other books/series in this collection that I'd like to check out--Stinky Spike, Wallace and Grace and The Adventures of Caveboy. I am hoping they support readers in similar was--if so they will be perfect for 2nd and 3rd graders!



(Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released in August!  You can order it online at StenhouseYou can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead.)

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1 comment:

  1. I am always looking for chapter books for those readers who are struggling but want to feel like they can read chapters books too. Are there only two books in this series? I would love to hear more about Stinky Spike, Wallace and Grace and The Adventures of Caveboy. Are they also good for early chapter book readers?

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