ROURKE’S CONNECTIONS SCHOOL to HOME BEFORE AND DURING READING ACTIVITIES Before Reading Building Background Knowledge and Vocabulary Building background knowledge can help children process new information and build upon what they already know Before reading a book it is important to tap into what children already know about the topic This will help them develop their vocabulary and increase their reading comprehension Questions and Activities to Build Background Knowledge 1 Look at the front cover of the book and read the title What do you think this book will be about 2 What do you already know about this topic 3 Take a book walk and skim the pages Look at the table of contents photographs captions and bold words Did these text features give you any information or predictions about what you will read in this book Vocabulary Vocabulary Is Key to Reading Comprehension Use the following directions to prompt a conversation about each word Read the vocabulary words What comes to mind when you see each word What do you think each word means Vocabulary Words ablative prosthetics reconnaissance robotics space blankets technology During Reading Reading for Meaning and Understanding To achieve deep comprehension of a book children are encouraged to use close reading strategies During reading it is important to have children stop and make connections These connections result in deeper analysis and understanding of a book Close Reading a Text During reading have children stop and talk about the following Any confusing parts Any unknown words Text-to-text text-to-self text-to-world connections The main idea in each chapter or heading Encourage children to use context clues to determine the meaning of any unknown words These strategies will help children learn to analyze the text more thoroughly as they read When you are finished reading this book turn to the next-to-last page for After-Reading Questions and an Activity
TABLE OF CONTENTS Gadgets Galore 4 Hot and Cold 16 Preventing Problems 22 Food for Thought 26 Diagram of NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover 30 Index 31 After Reading Questions 31 Activity 31 About the Author 32
GADGETS GALORE Space is in the news Rockets launch hundreds of satellites every year Astronauts visit the International Space Station ISS regularly The National Aeronautic Space Administration’s NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission captured thrilling footage of its rover landing in Mars Jezero Crater on February 18 2021 It’s amazing But if you’re not an astronaut how does any of this affect you You might be surprised Inventions needed to explore space have already changed our lives And new inventions will continue to do so Space technology has improved everything from tennis shoes to cell phone cameras from eyeglasses to firefighting gear 4
technology tek-nah-luh-jee the practical application of knowledge in a specific field such as space 5
