#background knowledge

The Rainbow Snail is a brightly illustrated picture book with easy-to-read text that is great for teaching colors to toddlers and preschoolers.

We follow the charming snail and discover all the colors of the rainbow. This book promotes vocabulary and background knowledge.

This book also encourages talking and playing as you describe the different colors of the rainbow: blue like the raindrops, green like the grass and yellow like the sun.

Extend this book by making a rocking rainbow snail

What you will need:

paper plate

white, black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple construction paper

scissors

tape or glue

black paint

Fold the paper plate in half.

Paint the plate black to match the snail in the book.

Cut out paper circles making the red one the biggest and purple the smallest.

Cut out black strips. Cut out white and black circles for the eyes.

Glue or tape pieces together.

Glue or tape the circles and the eyes on the plate.

Learn to identify different farm animals, and learn all the ways you can give a hi-five!

This book focuses on play.

Identifying the animals in the book helps with background knowledge and knowledge about the world around them.

Children may learn to identify new animals, which expands vocabulary.

Large and simple print makes it easy for children to build letter knowledge.

Extend the book by talking about how you give a high five!

This book helps kids build:

Print Motivation: This one is just plain silly! It can help make reading fun.

Print Awareness: The printing is part of the story; the cows' notes in the pictures draw attention to print.

Narrative Skills: Plot twist ahead! Can you guess what will happen next?

Phonological Awareness: This book is full of onomatopoeia, which emphasizes sounds.

Background Knowledge: This book will build on knowledge of farms and animals.

This book helps kids practice:

Talking: This book offers the chance to talk about farm animals.

Reading: Reading happens on two levels: reading the book, and reading the notes within the book.

Playing: Go ahead and play! Make animal noises along with the characters. Have fun!

Extend the book with an animal game!

Print out this die template and color it with different animal pictures. If you prefer, practice letter knowledge and vocabulary by writing out the names of the animals instead.

Cut out the shape, and fold along the edges of the squares. The black pieces make tabs that can be glued or adhered with double-stick tape.

Feel free to print on stiff paper or card stock if you wish. That said, I only used regular cellophane tape on normal computer paper, and it worked just fine for me.

Practice making fun sounds while learning about new instruments. Emma Garcia shows unique instruments making interesting melodies which is the perfect introduction to music that will be sure to get you moving.

This books builds:

Vocabulary – learning new words to express familiar sounds

Background knowledge – knowing the names of instruments and how to hold them

Print awareness – repetitive words in bold type

This book helps kids practice:

Reading – Notice the repetitive words in bold print.

Playing – Movement and imagination go hand in hand. Practice playing the instruments in the air: air guitar, air drumming, shaking your hands, etc.

Talking – Name the instruments you know, what sounds do they make? Try repeating some of the sequences listed in the story.

Extend the book by making up your own melody.

Try making different sounds and have someone repeat. Also play with your own instruments. If you don't have any, try making some out of household items such as:

drum – use a box, pot, or bowl

castanets – use two spoons

guitar – stretch rubber bands over an empty tissue box

Ten on a Twig by Lo Cole is a delightful, interactive concept book that helps your child learn to count backwards from 10-1.

Ten colorful birds are lined up on a twig, from largest to smallest, across graduated pages. With each turn of a page, a piece of the twig snaps off, and one of the birds falls with it. The fallen birds can be seen marching along the bottom of the pages, each carrying their piece of twig.  

Skills

Phonological Awareness - The (mostly) rhyming text helps your child develop Phonological Awareness, hearing the smaller parts in words, which will be a big help with sounding out words when learning to read.

Background Knowledge – Learning to count back from 10-1 (the first step in learning to subtract) along with the graduated sized birds (largest to smallest), help your child understand size and number relationships and can contribute to your child's background knowledge, or everything they know before learning to read. The more they know, the easier it will be to understand what they read.

Print Awareness – The repeated word “SNAP,” and the numerals, are in a large, bold font, colored to match the birds. This accentuates the word/numerals and aids with your child's print awareness,  knowing that print has meaning.

Practices

Playing  As you are reading, be sure to run your finger under the word “SNAP” every time it appears and have your child snap their fingers (or clap) and call out “snap!” with you. This involvement in the story is enjoyable for your child and helps him/her develop a love for reading.  

Writing Having your child turn the graduated pages helps to develop the muscles they will use later for writing.

Talking Talk about the pictures  -  talk about the different sizes of the birds; the way the colors of the word “SNAP” and the numerals match the colors of the birds; ask questions, such as: “Where do you think the birds are going with their pieces of twig?” and “What do you think the birds will do with the pieces of twigs?”

Make a Bird Feeder!

February is National Bird Feeding month, so extend the book further by making a super simple bird feeder! All you need is:

a pipe cleaner (chenille stem), or shoe lace

some round whole grain oat cereal. You can even add apple slices to your feeder!

Make a small loop at one end of a pipe cleaner (or tie a triple knot on the end of a shoelace) so the cereal won't fall off.

Children thread the cereal (and apple slices, if used) onto the pipe cleaner (or shoelace). Threading the cereal is another way to help develop the muscles later needed for writing!

Make a loop at the other end of the pipe cleaner (or knot at the other end of the shoelace).

Hang the feeder in a tree for your bird friends to enjoy!

Want more? Here are some simple rhymes and fingerplays we like to pair with this book:

Tuesday Truth: Learning Starts Long Before the Classroom

Not every lesson begins in a classroom.

A simple conversation—explaining how something works, asking questions, making connections—can shape how a child understands the world. These everyday interactions build what educators call background knowledge, a critical foundation for reading comprehension and learning.

Before students open a book, they are already developing the knowledge they need to make meaning of text and experiences.

For educators, this is a reminder: teaching is not only about skills. It is also about intentionally building knowledge so every student has access to understanding.

Because when knowledge grows, comprehension follows.

The Wheels On The Tuk Tuk is a fun twist on the traditional song “The Wheels on the Bus” and takes us on a tour of a small town in India that is preparing for a Diwali celebration.

This book is full of vocabulary that you and your children might be unfamiliar with but the context and images make understanding effortless. There is also a helpful glossary in the back of the book.

This book beautifully showcases Indian culture and takes readers on a fun adventure with surprises around every corner.

Practices:

Sing

Play

Skills:

Background Knowledge

Vocabulary

Activity: Popsicle Stick Fireworks

The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk ends with Diwali fireworks, so let's make some fireworks with a few simple supplies.

You will need:

construction paper

washable paints

popsicle sticks

(optional) glitter

Pour paint onto a plate in a long straight line. Dip the side of your popsicle stick into the paint and stamp the paint onto your paper.

Use as many colors as you like to make a sky full of beautiful fireworks. Optionally, sprinkle some glitter over your fireworks before they dry to make them really shine!