A SHORT TEXT SET AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: CEREAL BOXES

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND

Back in early 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, you may have caught our Short Texts at Your Fingertips Series focused on keeping kids reading, writing, and talking during remote learning.  A lot has changed since then, although not as much as we hoped… Something that remains  constant regardless of Zoom, social distancing and everything else in this new “normal,”  is that kids continue to  crave texts that entertain, inform and  inspire them.

We are amazed at the number of educators worldwide who visit and revisit the original blog posts in this series.  We understand why.  Time is never on our side and having resources at your fingertips is essential.  We’ve spent hours in classrooms and across screens with teachers putting these short text ideas into action and we’ve added on because, let’s face it, that’s what educators do.  We revise, rethink, rework, and redo in order to meet the needs of our learners’ individual and collective needs and wants.  

You know that we love all kinds of short texts.  Some of our favorites are included in the graphic that follows:

The beauty of a short text is that it naturally invites readers to read, write and talk more!  As we co-plan with colleagues, we select one short text and then dream up other possible short texts that will get kids jazzed up and engaged in our literacy work.  From that noodling comes short text sets.  Say it too many times and it becomes a mouthful.  Stick with us and give some of these ideas a try and, before long, we think you’ll have the words, ideas, and texts rolling off your tongues too! 

A SHORT TEXT SET AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: CEREAL BOXES

If you liked our Short Texts at Your Fingertips Blog Posts about Cereal Boxes, we think you’ll love these ideas about taking one short text about a cereal box and expanding it into a short text set.  Just a reminder:  If you don’t have this cereal at your fingertips, swap it out for another type and consider these texts and others to create your text set.  

TRY THIS

Step 1

Use the back panel of the Cheerios cereal box for a shared reading experience.  Use the back panel (and other panels too!) to explore the activities provided so that students can use different skills and strategies. Invite students to:

• Complete a cloze activity similar to a “Mad Libs” and then read the finished piece out loud, showcasing fluent reading.

• Play a word study game by making new words using the letters from “Crunch Time”.

• Use their reading, math and critical problem-solving skills by solving breakfast equations while “Crunching the Numbers”.

Step 2

Ask students to select one or more short texts they’d like to explore independently or with a partner.  In addition, you could:

• Invite readers to find cereal boxes at home, bring them to school and set up a “cereal museum”. Students can label the displays with interesting facts.

• Host a cereal tasting. It’s oodles of fun. Students can design a survey to find out peer opinions about the crunchiest, sugariest, tastiest cereals. 

• Encourage students to design their own cereal.  Draw it, name it, describe it. Then share ideas with others.

GOING DEEP & WIDE

To go beyond cereal boxes, consider:

• Naming the main ingredients listed on the cereal box and research and read to find out more about each. 

• Watching (or reading) some of the “how is this made?” genre of videos and talk about ideas worth remembering. Here’s a note catcher you can use if you are interested.

• Picking a topic from the short text set and going a little further. Invite students to make a list of questions about the topic that pique their interests. Use this to jumpstart a mini-research project. This can be a short-term or long-term inquiry. Regardless, it will get kiddos reading, writing and talking galore!

STAY TUNED!

More about short texts and short text sets coming soon!

Short Texts at Your Fingertips: Game Directions

We offer you Short Texts at Your Fingertips. Twice each week, we provide teaching ideas around a different type of short text that is easily found in the home, so that no family feels under-resourced. These ideas can integrate into virtually any curriculum and pedagogy, from Workshop to basal. If you are a caregiver, teacher, or curriculum director, these brief but mighty texts and lessons are our way of saying thanks. And our way of giving children authentic and enjoyable reading and writing engagements each day. 

Written by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim

SHORT TEXTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: GAME DIRECTIONS

If you are like us, we have favorite go-to games that get played over and over again and some games that we hardly take off the shelf.  Often, that’s because it’s easier to grab the game that we love and already know how to play versus new and unfamiliar ones. Card games, board games, dice games, puzzle games, cooperative games, and more...all include a short text in the form of a set of directions that create reading opportunities galore!   

A messy, but game-filled, shelf filled with oodles of directions to read and enjoy!

VIDEO 

If you’d like to see a short video on how to use game directions to entertain, inform, and inspire watch.

TRY THIS!

Step 1

Take a look at your game shelves.  Grab any card, board, or dice game that sounds like fun and that you want to play.  If you don’t have any board or card games, you can look for games online and take a look at the resources below for some ideas. Once you find the game you want to play, pull out the directions and preview them.  Decide if you want to read the directions once all the way through or read them one section at a time.  Consider asking:

• What do you notice about how the directions are set up?

• Do the directions have headings or subheadings that help you navigate the text?

Dice, card and board games are great because they are easily transportable and can be played in many places.  We are tired of being inside, so we’re taking some of our games outside.

Step 2

Take a closer look at the game directions. Here’s an example of some game directions we love.  

Here’s what we noticed:

• The directions are folded like a leaflet or flyer.

• There are a few headings that help us orient to the game such as Object, Setup, Get Ready.

• The game directions are listed in numbered steps.

• There are colorful images that help demonstrate what the text is talking about.

This text is filled with reading, writing and talking opportunities.  For example, you could:

• Play the game a few times and then read further to learn about Other Ways to Play.

• Compare this 2-player version to the original Rubik’s Cube puzzle.

• Visit the website of the Original Rubik’s Cube to learn about different types of Rubik’s Cubes and lots of hints, tips and challenges.

• Read about and watch short clips on Speedcubing to learn about the world record holder for solving the Rubik’s Cube in the shortest amount of time. 

Step 3

Look for other reading, writing and talking opportunities using this short text type.

Reading  Ideas  

• Depending on the difficulty of the game, reread or revisit the game directions as needed.  

• Compare directions from one game to another.  How are they similar?  How are they different?

• Pick a game -- one that you enjoy, one that is challenging, or one that has you intrigued -- research the history of the game.

  • Who is it made by?

  • Has the company been around for a long time?

  • What other games do they make?

• If the directions are written in more than one language, compare the sets of directions.

Writing  Ideas  

• Rewrite some of the directions to your favorite game, making changes that you think would make the game even better.

• Write, draw or redesign the game box or container.  What would you keep the same?  What would you change?  

• Create your own game, including writing the directions.

• Write a game review for your favorite or least favorite game.

Talking  Ideas 

• Share the strategies you used to play the game.

• Talk about your favorite types of games and explain why you like them.

• Talk about your least favorite types of games and explain why you don’t like them.

• Discuss the games you know how to play without any written directions such as 20 Questions, I Spy, The License Plate Game, and Hopscotch.  How did you learn to play them?

Step 4

Look for other images that you find and read those too! 

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK THESE OUT!

• Check out some of the largest game companies for types of games, interesting facts, and different versions of the same game.

  • Hasbro

  • Mattel

  • Ravensburger

  • MindWare

• There are a lot of games online.  We suggest searching for the types of games that pique the interests and needs of the players.  Some criteria you can use as you search include:

  • Age Ranges [Ex. Ages 7 and up]

  • School [Ex. Preschool, Elementary]

  • Type [Ex. Card, Dice]

  • Number of Players [Ex. 2 Players]

  • Difficulty Level [Ex. Novice, Experienced, Expert]

  • Ratings [Ex. 1 Star, 2, Stars]

• Other sites you might find helpful for online games include:

  • Noggin

  • PBS Kids

  • Funbrain

  • NickJr

  • Disney

  • Cartoon Network

COMING SOON!

Short Texts:  Mighty Mentors That Move Readers and Writers Forward by Julie Wright & Elizabeth Keim (2022)