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443 Pages·2007·3.75 MB·English

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CREATED BY
UTAH READING FIRST EDUCATORS
Utah State Office of Education 
250 East 500 South 
PO Box 144200 
Salt Lake City, UT 84114­4200 
Patti Harrington 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
Rebecca Donaldson, Specialist 
Utah Reading First
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INTRODUCTION
Text Talk is an approach to read alouds that is designed to enhance young children’s ability
to construct meaning from decontextualized language. (Beck & McKeown, 2001; Beck,
McKeown, & Kucan, 2002). The idea of creating this collection of Text Talk lessons was
sparked from the work of Beck and McKeown’s research and findings. These lessons
provide educators with a resource to accomplish the complex and demanding task of
developing children’s literacy using read-alouds. The ultimate goal of a Text Talk lesson is
twofold: 1.) Getting children to talk about the text, considering ideas using decontextualized
language to improve comprehension, and 2.) the acquisition of vocabulary. (Beck and
McKeown’s journal article can be found at the end of this book.)
In order to increase comprehension, teachers are reading while adding interspersed
discussion to focus, monitor, and scaffold learning; helping the children to respond to the
text rather than the illustrations. Discussions are based on the actual text instead of
permitting students’ responses to rely strictly on their background knowledge.
Using explicit instruction, 3 or 4 vocabulary words are taught after the story has been read.
These words are chosen based on their ability to be generalized, the frequency the word
will likely occur in future text, and their importance in comprehending the text. The teacher
gives the word within the context it was used in the story and then provides a child-friendly
definition. Students repeat the word to create a phonological representation of the word.
This is followed by interactions with the word by the students in different contexts to assure
understanding. The word is then repeated, and this process continues with the remaining 2
or 3 words. Finally, students are asked a series of questions comparing, giving examples and
then given a scenario from which to choose the correct word.
The Text Talk lessons contained in this book have been created by educators involved in
Utah’s Reading First project—primarily classroom teachers. We would like to thank each of
them for their hard work and creative ideas. These teachers are dedicated to the cause of
teaching all children to read. We applaud their efforts and dedication on behalf of Utah’s
children.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 A Bad Case of Stripes  1 
Elizabeth Moore, Granite District
2 A Bad Case of Stripes  5 
Nancy West, Duchesne District
3 Abiyoyo  10 
Jileen Boydstun, Ogden District
4 Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse  14 
Karen Percival, Duchesne District
5 Amazing Grace  18 
Sara Payne, Salt Lake District
6 Amber On the Mountain  22 
Linda Roundy, Salt Lake District
7 Anansi and the Talking Melon  27 
Brady Donaldson, Salt Lake District
8 Applemando’s Dream  32 
Michele Paoletti-Schelp, Salt Lake District
9 Armadillo Tattletale  37 
Lisa Fulton, Ogden District
10 Art Lesson, The  41 
Margie Ikeda, Salt Lake District
11 Barefoot Escape on the Underground Railroad  45 
Mary Heslop, Ogden District
12 Baseball in April and Other Stories: La Bamba  49 
Ursula Martinez Olivo, Ogden District
13 Betsy Who Cried Wolf  54 
Ursula Jones, Ogden District
14 Bubble Factory, The  58
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Natalie Eberhard, Duchesne District
15 Chrysanthemum  63 
Sara Payne, Salt Lake District
16 Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down, The  67 
Brenda Cook, Duchesne District
17 Coyote Steals the Blanket; A Ute Tale  71 
Christena Anderson, San Juan District
18 Dandelions  76 
Anita Marx, Duchesne District
19 Detective LaRue-Letters From the Investigation  81 
Cathy Heiner, Duchesne District
20 Detective LaRue-Letters from the Investigation  87 
Anita Marx, Duchesne District
21 Dog Who Cried Wolf, The  92 
Melody Francis, Salt Lake District
22 Drop Goes Plop, A First Look at the Water Cycle, The  95 
Chris Panas, Duchesne District
23 Ducky  99 
Daphne Marchant, Salt Lake District
24 Easter Egg Farm, The  102 
Adalee Wall, Duchesne District
25 Edward and The Pirates  107 
Mary Heslop, Ogden District
26 Elbert’s Bad Word  110 
Paula Bickerton, Salt Lake District
27 Empty Pot, The  113 
Kathy Carson, San Juan District
28 Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea  117
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Ann L. Andersen, Duchesne District
29 Fancy Nancy  120 
Jeannie Rowland, USOE
30 Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy  124 
Jeannie Rowland, USOE
31 Fireflies!  128 
Kim Gianelo, Salt Lake District
32 Friend Frog  132 
Susan Hardy, Salt Lake District
33 Friends  136 
Fran Hall, Ogden District
34 Gardener, The  140 
Sandi Barber-Baker, Ogden District
35 Gem  144 
Lori Gammon, Ogden District
36 Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Diego Rivera  148 
Ursula Martinez Olivo, Ogden District
37 Ghost-Eye Tree, The  153 
Margie Ikeda, Salt Lake District
38 Giant Jam Sandwich, The  157 
Janice Jenkins, Duchesne District
39 Goldilocks Returns  161 
Roxanne Slaugh, Duchesne District
40 Graves Family, The  165 
Kathryn Hall, Ogden District
41 Heckedy Peg  172 
Kathy Huber, Duchesne District
42 How I Became a Pirate  175
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Kappy Lyn Williams, Ogden District
43 How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend  178 
Christena Anderson, San Juan District
44 I Wanna Iguana  182 
Paula Bickerton, Salt Lake District
45 If You Could Go To Antarctica  186 
Crystal Riser, Duchesne District
46 Imogene’s Antlers  190 
Annabelle Rutledge, Duchesne District
47 Julius, Baby of the World  195 
Kristi Sorenson, Salt Lake District
48 Katie’s Trunk  199 
Marla Atkinson, San Juan District
49 Library, The  203 
Sandi Barber-Baker, Ogden District
50 Lilly’s Big Day  208 
Linda Roundy, Salt Lake District
51 Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse  212 
Patsy Mecham, Duchesne District
52 Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The  216 
Amy Shirts, Ogden District
53 Little Grunt and the Big Egg  221 
Jennifer Davila, San Juan District
54 Little Red Riding Hood  225 
Debra Tjoland, Ogden District
55 Magic Hat, The  229 
Sara Johnson, Salt Lake District
56 Mailing May  233
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Tami Zirker, Duchesne District
57 Man Who Walked Between The Towers, The  237 
Jileen Boydstun, Ogden District
58 Market Square Dog, The  241 
Karen Toledo, San Juan District
59 Midnight Fridge, The  245 
Ben Moser, Ogden District
60 Ming Lo Moves the Mountain  249 
Kim Gianelo, Salt Lake District
61 Miss Rumphius  253 
Valerie Dixon, Ogden District
62 Moondance  256 
Melissa Brock, Ogden District
63 Mr. Peabody’s Apples  259 
Brenda Cook, Duchesne District
64 Mud Puddle  262 
Fran Hall, Ogden District
65 Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters  266 
Rona Wood, Duchesne District
66 My Brother Needs a Boa  270 
Melody Francis, Salt Lake District
67 My Lucky Day  273 
Brenda Perry, Ogden District
68 Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo  277 
Lisa Fulton, Ogden District
69 Never Trust a Squirrel  281 
Kristi Sorenson, Salt Lake District
70 Nonna’s Porch  284
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Lori Gammon, Ogden District
71 Odd Velvet  288 
Kathy Lien, Salt Lake District
72 One Giant Leap–The Story of Neil Armstrong  292 
Angela Child, Duchesne District
73 Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship  297 
Michele Paoletti-Schelp, Salt Lake District
74 Paper Dragon, The  302 
Marla Atkinson, San Juan District
75 Patchwork Quilt, The  306 
Sharon McKenzie, Duchesne District
76 Pecos Bill  310 
Daphne Marchant, Salt Lake City District
77 Principal from the Black Lagoon, The  314 
Julia Martinez, Salt Lake District
78 Polar Express, The  317 
Ben Moser, Ogden District
79 Relatives Came, The  321 
Valerie Dixon, Ogden District
80 Royal Nap, The  324 
Chris Panas, Duchesne District
81 Ruby the Copy Cat  329 
Marcia Machado, Granite District
82 Rude Giants  333 
Stephanie Hyder, Duchesne District
83 Signmaker’s Assistant, The  340 
Wendy Betts, Duchesne District
84 Somewhere In The Ocean  344
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Colleen Bowcutt, Duchesne District
85 Stellaluna  349 
Barb Gallagher, Salt Lake District
86 Story of Jumping Mouse, The  353 
Kathryn Hall, Ogden District
87 Stranger, The  359 
Jen Knight, Duchesne District
88 Stray Dog, The  363 
Kathy Carson, San Juan District
89 Sunflower House  366 
Susan Hardy, Salt Lake District
90 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble  370 
Melissa Brock, Ogden District
91 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble  374 
Barbara Gallagher, Salt Lake District
92 Thunder Cake  378 
Sheila Davis, Duchesne District
93 Too Many Tamales  381 
Amy Shirts, Ogden District
94 Ugly Duckling, The  385 
Jennifer Davila, San Juan District
95 Umbrella, The  388 
Sara Johnson, Salt Lake District
96 Uncle Jed’s Barbershop  392 
Sharon Oakes, Duchesne District
97 When Jessie Came Across the Sea  396 
Ursula Jones, Ogden District
98 Widow’s Broom, The  400
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Elizabeth Beebe, Salt Lake District
99 Widow’s Broom, The  404 
Brenda Perry, Ogden District
100 Wolf!  408 
Rebecca Donaldson, USOE
101 Zen Shorts  413 
Johanna Wight, Duchesne District
Article  Text Talk: Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young 417 
children (2001)--Beck & McKeown
Reading Teacher, 55(1), 10-20
Index List of books, authors, and ISBNs  427
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