Title:  3-5  Grandpa’s Corner Store  by: DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan

Photo Credit: Orange County Archives via Compfight

Summary:  In this realistic fiction story, a little girl tries to keep her grandpa from selling his corner grocery store when a large supermarket is opened.  She comes up with solutions to encourage those in her community who love grandpa’s store to help save it.

Spelling Words:  Words with long /u/.  Open and closed syllables.

Words:  open, humid, until, person, cancel, fuel, begin, wagon, number, minus.

Challenge Words:  continue, dial, united, radio, moment.

Vocabulary Words: 

Arrangement (n):  a plan.    Tingle (v):  to have a slight stinging feeling.   Huddled (v):  to crown together.  Sharp (v):  exact.  Construction (v):  the act of building something.  Aisles:  the space between two rows or sections of something.

Grammar Concept:  I can identify the words that make up contractions.  Contractions are commonly used combinations of two words in which an apostrophe replaces letters dropped from one or both words.   Examples:  do not—don’t   they are—they’re   she will—she’ll

Title:  3-3  Jalapeño Bagels  by: Natasha Wing

Photo Credit: Kamyar Adl via Compfight

Summary:  In this realistic fictional story, a young boy is trying to decide what to bring to school for a celebration to show his culture.  His parents own a bakery.  His father is Jewish and would love him to bring lox and bagels.  His mother would like him to bring some lovely Mexican pan fino or other sweet breads to represent her side of the family.  The young man (and the reader) gets to see many aspects of how a bakery is run…and gets to see how the boy solves his dilemma.  CLICK HERE to watch a video on how bagels are made.

Spelling Words:  Words spelled with long /o/ and long /i/.

Words:  dry, tie, fight, why, tow, soap, below, bike, cone, oak.

Challenge Words:  July, twilight, shallow, cocoa, thigh.

 

Vocabulary Words: 

Culture (n):  the customs and beliefs of a group of people.    International (adj):  having to do with two or more nations.  Ingredients (n):  parts that go into a mixture.  Dough (n):  a mixture of flour, liquid, and other things that is usually baked.  Jalapeño (n):  a small hot pepper.

Grammar Concept:  I can identify where commas go in a series.  Commas separate items listed in a series.  They help distinguish each item or person in a group.  They also help a reader know where to pause when reading.   Wrong:  My pets include a dog cat gerbil and fish.  What is a “dog cat gerbil”?  Yikes!  Correct:  My pets include a dog, cat, gerbil, and fish.

Title:  3-2  In the Money: A Book About Banking 

by: Nancy Loewen

Photo Credit: Zagat Buzz via Compfight

Summary:  Another child gets to have a day on the job with his parent.  This time, a little boy goes to work with his mother who is an loan officer at the bank.  As we read, we learn about the Federal Reserve, loans, vaults, ATMs, tellers, and more practical information your child can use as they interact with banks in the community.  This is an expository text piece written in a way your child can understand.  Short and simplified video on how banks work.

Spelling Words:  Long /o/ spelled ow, oa, o and o_e.

Words:  store, loan, grow, boat, know, toad, blow, coat, hello, show.

Challenge Words:  borrow, coast, below, robot, owe.

Vocabulary Words: 

Vault (n):  a room or compartment that is used to store money or other things of value.    Withdrawal (n):  money taken out of a bank account.  Borrow (v):  to receive something with the understanding that it must be given back.  Employees (n):  people who works for a person or business for pay.  Deposits (n):  money added to a bank account.

Grammar Concept:  I can identify the correct words to capitalize.  We are reviewing when to capitalize, mainly focusing on days, months, cities, and states.  Review M.I.N.T.S. with your child and they will do great!

M= Months of the year

I=  the word “I” and initials

N=  Names of specific places, people, states, countries, or businesses.

T= Titles of books, movies, stories, and more…

S= Start of every sentence.

Title:  3-1  Red Light, Green Light, Mama and Me  by: Carl Best

Summary:  A little girl goes with her mama to work at the public library.  She gets to discover all the jobs of the people along the way, the workers at the library, and gets a special job of her own to do.  This is a realistic fiction piece meant to give your child a new insight not only into the library, but into their community.

Spelling Words:  Long /i/ spelled igh, y, ie, i, and i_e.

Words:  pie, night, fly, pile, child, right, shy, lie, mice, try.

Challenge Words:  recognize, skyscraper, style, knight, mighty.

Vocabulary Words: 

Practice (v):  to do something over and over to gain skill.    Public (adj):  for all the people.  Recognize (v):  to know and remember from before.  Automatically (adv):  working by itself.  Perch (v) to stand, sit, or rest on a raised place.

Grammar Concept:  I can identify articles in a sentence.  I can identify comparative and superlative adjectives.  Articles are a special type of adjective.  There are only three:  a, an, the.  Comparative adjectives compare two nouns, while superlative adjectives compare three or more.   He is smaller than she is.   He ate the biggest apple of all.