I’m guessing that those two are planning a surprise. . . . The author keeps mentioning the storm because she wants us to think that the character’s upset. . . . Wait—yikes, I gotta go back and reread because I’m not getting this part. . . . These are the flickering thoughts of a strategic reader. If only we could bottle all these mental moves and pour them into the minds of our students, then readers’ achievement would grow exponentially. In Think Big With Think Alouds, Molly Ness delivers a process that comes close to bottling that magic. Molly spent a year researching teachers’ think alouds, and she uses these findings to help you know just what to do. The big time-saver? You focus on just these five strategies: asking questions, making inferences, synthesizing, understanding the author’s purpose, and monitoring and clarifying. Select the one or two strategies that align to your text, and get ready with a stack of sticky notes! Grab a pencil, and you are on your way to dynamic lessons using Molly’s three-step planning process: Read Once: Go wild, putting a flurry of sticky notes on spots that strike you Read Twice: Whittle your notes down to the juiciest stopping points Read Three Times: Jot down what you will say so there’s no need to wing it in front of the kids Other practical tools include More than 20 ready-made think aloud scripts for favorite texts by Sandra Cisneros, Seymour Simon, Shel Silverstein, and many others, to use for think alouds for fiction, informational text, and poetry. Fun small group and partner activities to gradually transfer comprehension strategies to your students. Downloads on the companion website, including spinner and dice templates, planning forms, and think aloud scripts Molly Ness is an associate professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University and earned her PhD in reading education from the University of Virginia. A former Teach For America corps member, she is an experienced classroom teacher and reading clinician. Her numerous books and articles focus on reading comprehension, the instructional decisions of teachers, and the assessment and diagnosis of struggling readers.

A think-aloud process that comes close to bottling magic Grab a pencil, and you are on your way to dynamic lessons using Molly’s three-step planning process. Read Once: Go wild, putting a flurry of sticky notes on spots that strike you Read Twice: Whittle your notes down to the juiciest stopping points Read Three Times: Jot down what you will say so there’s no need to wing it in front of the kids Molly helps you focus on just five strategies: asking questions, making inferences, synthesizing, understanding the author’s purpose, and monitoring and clarifying. Includes more than 20 ready-made think aloud scripts, activities, templates, and more.

A new laugh-out-loud tale about the trials and tribulations of an oldest sibling! Jamaal may be the oldest kid in his family, but he somehow got stuck with the smallest room. His parents agree that it isn't fair, but that is just how it is. But Jamaal isn't satisfied by the answer - if his parents aren't going to fix the house, he will use creativity and his own resourcefulness to engineer the perfect space! What will mom and dad say about his home renovation? This brand-new Robert Munsch story has all of the classic Munsch elements -- wit, whimsical illustrations, and -- at its heart -- an ordinary kid who does extraordinary things! Robert Munsch wrote this story for Jamaal, a boy he met at the army base school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, who was the oldest of his siblings and wanted his own big room too!

A potato and his eggplant nemesis struggle to find the perfect pants in this hilarious, heartwarming tale of forgiveness by bestselling Geisel-Award winning creator Laurie Keller. Potato is excited because today—for one day only— Lance Vance’s Fancy Pants Store is selling . . .POTATO PANTS! Potato rushes over early, but just as he’s about to walk in, something makes him stop. What could it be? Find out in this one-of-a-kind story about misunderstandings and forgiveness, and—of course—Potato Pants! A Christy Ottaviano Book This title has Common Core connections.

Suggests activities to be used at home to accompany the reading of Miss Nelson is missing by Harry Allard in the classroom.

In this off-beat book perfect for reading aloud, a Caldecott Honor winner shares the story of a duck who rides a bike with hilarious results. One day down on the farm, Duck got a wild idea. “I bet I could ride a bike,” he thought. He waddled over to where the boy parked his bike, climbed on, and began to ride. At first, he rode slowly and he wobbled a lot, but it was fun! Duck rode past Cow and waved to her. “Hello, Cow!” said Duck. “Moo,” said Cow. But what she thought was, “A duck on a bike? That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever seen!” And so, Duck rides past Sheep, Horse, and all the other barnyard animals. Suddenly, a group of kids ride by on their bikes and run into the farmhouse, leaving the bikes outside. Now ALL the animals can ride bikes, just like Duck! Praise for Duck on a Bike “Shannon serves up a sunny blend of humor and action in this delightful tale of a Duck who spies a red bicycle one day and gets “a wild idea” . . . Add to all this the abundant opportunity for youngsters to chime in with barnyard responses (“M-o-o-o”; “Cluck! Cluck!”), and the result is one swell read-aloud, packed with freewheeling fun.” —Publishers Weekly “Grab your funny bone—Shannon . . . rides again! . . . A “quackerjack” of a terrific escapade.” —Kirkus Reviews

A little boy takes a fantasy trip up the river by his house to fly-fish with his uncle.