Read a short paragraph

What it looks like when your child can do it

• — After reading a paragraph about a boy who planted two seeds, your child can tell you what he did first, what he did next, and what happened.
• — Asked a question about the paragraph, your child looks back to find the sentence with the answer instead of answering from memory.
• — Your child can put a finger on the one sentence where something changed or went wrong.

How to teach it at the kitchen table

1. 01

   Read it twice, for two jobs

   The first read is for the story: who, what, where. The second read is for hunting. Tell your child the question before the second read so they know what they are looking for.

2. 02

   Say it back in your own words

   After reading, your child tells you what happened in two or three sentences without looking. Retelling shows whether the paragraph went in or only went past their eyes.

3. 03

   Point to the proof

   When your child answers a question, ask which sentence says so. Pointing to the actual words, not the general idea, is the habit that matters most.

4. 04

   Number the sentences

   For a harder paragraph, write small numbers above each sentence. Then you can ask which sentence tells us what she changed, and your child can answer with a number.

You will need: A short paragraph from a book, or one you write yourself · A pencil for numbering sentences

Try it together

1. Try 1

   Read this with your child: Maya wanted to know if a warm room melts ice faster. She put one ice cube on a plate in the kitchen and one on a plate on the cold porch. She checked them every ten minutes. The kitchen cube was gone in forty minutes. The porch cube was still there. Ask what Maya wanted to find out.

   Listen for  Whether a warm room melts ice faster. Watch that your child finds it in the first sentence rather than making up a question of their own.

2. Try 2

   Using the same paragraph, ask how often Maya checked the ice.

   Listen for  Every ten minutes. Ask your child to point to the sentence. Looking back is the skill here, not remembering.

3. Try 3

   Ask your child to tell you the whole paragraph in their own words, in order.

   Listen for  Something like: she wondered about warm rooms, set out two ice cubes in two places, kept checking, and the kitchen one melted first. The order should match the paragraph.

4. Try 4

   Ask your child to point to the part of the paragraph that answers Maya's question.

   Listen for  It takes the last two sentences together: the kitchen cube was gone and the porch cube was still there. Needing two sentences for one answer makes this the stretch question.

Watch for

• — Answering from what usually happens instead of what this paragraph says. Ask where it says that, every time, until your child starts asking it first.

If it is not there yet

• — Use three-sentence paragraphs about your own family, like what happened at breakfast, until retelling feels natural.
• — Read the paragraph out loud to your child first, then let them read it, so the words are familiar before they have to hunt for anything.

A few days of this is normal, and it is time well spent. The lesson will still be there, and it will go faster.

Where this skill comes up

• How Scientists Actually Find Out · Lesson 1

  What Scientists Actually Do

  Needs it because the sheet gives a short story of one real investigation and asks your child to find each move inside it.

• How Scientists Actually Find Out · Lesson 18

  Spot the Unfair Test

  Needs it because each flawed investigation arrives as a paragraph your child has to take apart.