Books and Reading

A Book Speaks

When you drop me on the floor
I get stepped on – my sides are sore;
Torn-out pages make me groan;
I feel dizzy if I’m thrown;
Every mark and every stain
On my covers gives me pain;
Please don’t bend me, if you do
I don’t want to talk to you;
But we will both be friends together,
If you protect me from the weather
And keep me clean so that I look
A tidy, neat and happy book.


Look in a Book

Look
in a book
and you will see
words
and magic
and mystery.

Look
in a book
and you will find
sense
and nonsense
of every kind.

Look
in a book
and you will know
all
the things
that can help you grow.

Ivy O. Eastwick


Books

I like books
I really do –
Books with stories
And pictures, too.

Books of birds
And things that grow
Books of people
We should know.

Books of animals
And places, too,
I like books
I really do!


In a Story Book

At night when sunshine goes away,
And it’s too dark for me to play,
I like to come inside, and look
For new friends in a story book.


Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you’ll never feel lonely
at night when you’re in bed.

The little poem will sing to you.
The little picture it brings to you
A dozen dreams to dance to you
At night when your in bed.

So—
Keep a picture in your pocket
And a poem in your head
And you’ll never feel lonely
At night when your in bed.

Beatrice Schenkde Regniers


My Book

I did it!
I did it!
Come and look at what I’ve done!
I read a book!
When someone wrote it
Long ago
For me to read,
How did he know
That this was the book
I’d take from the shelf
And lie on the floor
And read by myself?
I really read it!
Just like that!
Word by word,
From first to last!
I’m sleeping with
This book in bed,
This is the FIRST book
I’ve ever read!

David L. Harrison


More

The more you read,
The more you know.

The more you know,
The smarter you grow.

The smarter you grow,
The stronger your voice,

When speaking your mind
or making your choice.


Now That I Can Read

I used to need somebody
To sit and read to me.
I’d look at every page they read
And listen carefully.

But now that I am in first grade,
I’m filling up a shelf
With stories, poems, and other books
That I can read myself.


Learning to Read

I’m trying hard to learn to read
But what’s a kid to do
When there’s a NO and a GO and a
SO and a HO
And then there’s a word like TO!

Reading BONE and CONE and LONE
and TONE
Can almost be kind of fun,
But I get upset when I have to believe
That D-O-N-E spells DONE!

It’s plain to see a kid like me
Sure needs a helping hand.
No matter how much I really try
I Just don’t understand.

I’m trying hard to learn to read.
Somehow that’s what I’ll do.
But for now if you’ll just read to me
Someday I’ll read to you.

DONE


Reading

A story is a special thing
The ones that I have read
They do not stay inside the books
They stay inside my head.


Independent Strategies

When I get stuck on a word in a book,
There are lots of things I can do.
I can do them all, please, by myself;
I don’t need help from you.

I can look at the picture to get a hint.
Or think what the story’s about.
I can “get my mouth ready” to say the first letter.
A kind of “sounding out”.
I can chop up the words into smaller parts,
Like on or ing or ly,
Or find smaller words in compound words
Like raincoat and bumblebee.
I can think of a word that makes sense in that place,
Guess or say “blank” and read on
Until the sentence has reached its end,
Then go back and try these on:
“Does it make sense?”
“Can we say it that way?”
“Does it look right to me?”
Chances are the right word will pop out like the sun
In my own mind, can’t you see?

If I’ve thought of and tried out most of these things
And I still do not know what to do,
Then I may turn around and ask
For some help to get me through.

Jill Marie Warner


Reading Strategies Song

(to the tune of “I’m a Little Tea Pot)

Look at the pictures, still no clue?
Read it again all the way through.
When you get to the place where you are stuck,
Get your mouth ready and the word pops up!

(AND NOW… let’s check it)

Think about the word you’re trying to say.
Does it make good sense? Does it sound okay?
Do all the letters look right to you?
These are the things good readers do!

(STILL CAN’T GET IT?)

Read it again all the way through.
When you come to the tricky part, don’t get blue.
Get your mouth ready but go on by.
Read to the end then give it a try.

(AND NOW…let’s check it again)

Think about the word you’re trying to say
Does it make good sense? Does it sound okay?
Do all the letters look right to you?
These are the things good readers do!