POCKETFULL OF INFORMATION

Identifying main idea and details

To create this decorative project, a student writes the main idea of a reading passage across the bottom half of a paper plate. Next, he cuts the plate in half and glues its edges to the edges of a whole plate to make a pocket. The student adds construction paper details to the plate to reflect the main idea. Then he writes a different supporting detail on each card in a supply of index cards and places the cards inside the pocket. Finally, he puts his completed project at a reading center for others to review.

---

THINKING AHEAD

Making predictions, setting a purpose for reading

Before reading, provide students with the title of the story they will read and a list of five to ten key words from the story. Have students work in pairs to create a short story that reflects the title and uses as many of the key words as they can. Provide time for each pair to share its resulting story; then encourage students to locate similarities between their stories and the assigned story as they read.

---

SUMMARY SWAP

Responding to literature

Designate a few minutes after independent reading time for each student to write about what he read. Direct him to exchange his paper or journal with a classmate, read what his partner wrote, and then write a response back to his partner. Repeat the process daily, encouraging students to exchange with a different partner each time. Before long, each child will have a personal record of what he's read and his classmates will be exposed to new stories.

---

AWARD-WINNING READER

Reading motivation

To encourage students' best reading, label a paper rectangle like the one shown and tape it to the base of an old or toy trophy. When a student reads with fluency, provides an outstanding response during a reading group, or makes an impressive observation about a story, present the trophy to the student. Allow the student to display the trophy at his desk until another child exhibits an award-winning reading behavior; then pass the trophy on.