How to Read a Story

Have you heard of the book, How to Read a Story? The author is Kate Messner. Mark Siegel illustrated it.

I purchased the book last spring at our school’s Scholastic Book Fair. The cover illustrations caught my eye as I looked thru the books on the bookshelves. All it took was reading a couple of pages, and I was hooked. It includes 10 steps on how to read a story. I started thinking of all the ways I could use it with my students. It was a keeper!

How to Read a Story by Kate Messner

I couldn’t wait to read it to my class this year.

It’s the perfect book to use as an introduction to The Daily 5 by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser. I read it to introduce “Read to Self” (independent reading) to my students.

After reading the entire story, we went back to Step 1: "Find a Story." We talked about finding just the right book.  

The illustrations are ideal for a discussion of the different kinds of stories that may interest your students.

Step 2 is called, “Find a Reading Buddy," and Step 7 is about how to hold a book so a reading buddy can see the pictures. I read these steps to talk about “Buddy Reading” or reading with a partner. My favorite part is when the author says, “Make sure your reading buddy is nice and snuggly."

The students read to a partner during our language arts block. We also have some "nice and snuggly"  reading buddies that students can choose to hold as they read. Some of my students have shared that they sometimes use their stuffed animals as reading buddies at home, too.

Steps 5, 6, and 9 are useful for showing children that good readers read with expression. The author includes pictures of story characters with words that children can practice reading using their “character voices.” My students especially loved using their LOUD and EXCITED voices.

The book portrays reading as fun and enjoyable. That's exactly what I want all my students to realize about reading. 

If you haven't seen this book, you'll definitely have to check it out. Learn more about it HERE. If you have the book, I'd love to hear how you use it in your classroom.

Happy reading,