Curriculum

• One short familiar picture book or a 3–5 sentence printed note
• Paper for a quick retell sketch or three word labels

1. Step 1. Your child reads or echoes a short page aloud.
2. Step 2. Close the book and ask, “What was that about?” Wait for a meaning answer, not a reread of random words.
3. Step 3. If the retell is empty, reread one sentence and ask who or what it was about and what happened.
4. Step 4. Have your child draw or label one key idea that proves the meaning landed.
5. Quick check. Success means after reading a short familiar text, your child tells what it was about in their own words without looking, naming at least who/what and one thing that happened.

Worked example. Text about a cat sleeping on a chair. A meaning answer is “The cat is sleeping on the chair,” not only sounding out c-a-t again with no message.

Optional challenge. Ask one “why” or “how do you know?” question about the same text and have your child point to the words that support the answer.

What to notice. Save a parent note quoting the child’s retell, or a photo of the retell sketch with a one-line meaning caption.