Feeding a Young Reader’s Hunger for Challenge

Got a very young reader who has already cut their proverbial reading teeth on Harry Potter novels or the like? So, what can teachers and parents offer these advanced readers who have already mastered the basics of reading and thirst for more complex offerings?

This past year my book, Very Able, Ms. Mable, debuted and offered primary grade advanced readers something more for them to sink their teeth into. Written on the 3rd-4th grade instructional reading level but targeted to 1st-2nd grade readers, this novel offers advanced vocabulary, sophisticated sentence structure, and events in the story that reflect upon social and emotional needs encountered by many gifted learners. There are also mathematics problems sprinkled throughout the novel to add further engagement for the reader.

To aid in the successful reading of this challenging book, I am proud to announce there is now an accompanying English/Language Arts teacher’s guide that provides student activities in four areas of development:

· Vocabulary- There are activities to provide definition practice of new words as well as lessons that promote the study of word formation in order to assist readers in acquiring new vocabulary. In addition, there are lessons in the area of word choice designed to strengthen their ability to more precisely communicate their thoughts.

· Reading-Pre-Reading, During-the-Read, and Post-Reading guiding questions are tied to both TEKS and Common Core Standards and are provided for each chapter of the novel.

· Affective Exploration-Discussions and activities revolve around various social and emotional issues that may be pertinent to many advanced learners, such as making mistakes, working with others, and learning styles.

· Writing-A variety of writing types are introduced and explored that include: How-To, Descriptive, Compare/Contrast, and Poetry, among others, and can dovetail with the affective lesson. Rubrics are included.

These lessons can be taught as an entire unit of study or as stand-alones as needed by the students. Click here to find out more about the novel, Very Able, Ms. Mable. Click here to learn about the two-part teacher’s guide. Let me know how well your young reader liked this serving of challenge by contacting me here -I’d love to hear their critiques!