Reading is something that many kids have problems with. But it is more than just recognizing the words, they have problems with reading comprehension. Some studies associate the ability to form mental pictures to reading comprehension. In other words, kids need to imagine what is happening instead of always seeing a picture.
“Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com”
I don’t have to have an excuse for “make-believe” but I now I can say it will help kids with their reading. YEA!!! With this objective in mind let’s make a “Janice’s Magic Viewer.”
Make Viewers
Using on-hand craft supplies, including crayons, markers, and/or stickers, kids need to decorate a cardboard toilet tissue tube. Make sure there is nothing on the tube that could injure eyes and skin.
I need pictures of Magic Viewers–Please send them to me at:
ASKVANCLEAVE@aol.com
Use the Magic Viewers
Kids need to get ready for the activity by putting on their “pretend hats.” Model this by pretending to pull a stocking hat on your head.
Demonstrate Using the Viewer
Look through the viewer at a leaf taken from a living plant.
Say: “Wow! There are hundreds of tiny critters running around. They look kinda like Micky Mouse. They seem to be going in and out of boxes.”
(You can later compare the shape of a water molecule to Micky Mouse.)
Do: Pass out leaves to each each kid in the group. Ask them to look at the leaf through their magic viewer.Call on someone and ——
Say: Can you see the boxes? What are the critters doing in them?
[If the observations get too far from the basic topic of water molecules moving into and out of the plant cells, ask to see the observers viewer. Hold the viewer so that it doesn’t touch your face and agree that you see what was described. Then, pretend to make adjustments to the viewer and explain that it had accidentally been switched to the wrong channel. Return the viewer to the child with a comment that he or she should be able to see the critters in the boxes now.]
Use Your Imagination to Introduce these Facts
1. Plant cells look like shoe boxes.
2. Water molecules are made of two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. The three atoms connect in a way that looks like a Micky Mouse head.
3. Water molecules move into and out of cells.
4.Only water vapor has single water molecules. In other states, liquid and solid, the molecules are linked together.
