I was in an annual review yesterday for a first grader that I work with and his teacher was saying that next year they will be talking about relating information in a story they read to their personal experience. We have already had some fun with this since my student really enjoys pointing out similarities and connections and then saying, “Book to life!” or “Book to book!”
Today I was reading a new book from the library (for some reason the kids get just as excited as I do when I come with a book that has a “NEW!” sticker on the book jacket:) “My First Day” by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page lets us in on the first day of life of 22 animal babies from Darwin’s frog, a musk ox, and emperor penguin to a kiwi or Siberian tiger. As we made our way through the book, I began to ask, “What other animal could swim on his first day of life? walk? open his eyes? ride on his mother? or hatch from a shell? My little friend was listening so intently to answer my questions and make the comparisons. I praised him and said, “Good job! Book to book.” and he said, no, “Page to page!” What a fun conclusion he had come to as he gets better command of his language skills.