- Hello, readers.

Welcome to Read, Write, Roar.

Today we're going to be reading a very special story about making a difference and showing kindness.

We're going to learn three new vocabulary words, and we're going to answer some questions about the story.

At the end, we're going to write a sentence and draw a picture about the story.

Before we get started, you're going to need something to write on like a piece of paper or notebook and something to write with like a pencil.

So make sure to get your things so you can get started.

(upbeat music) (roars) (roars) - [Announcer] This program is made possible in part by Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and the Kresge Foundation.

Additional support for educational programming provided by and by viewers like you.

(chimes) - Hi, I'm Mrs. Skelley.

Today, we are going to read a very special book.

As I'm reading the book "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade," we're gonna find lots of rhyming words.

Rhyming words are words that have the same sound at the end like the word fox and box.

Both say ox at the end of them.

Your job is when you hear a rhyming word you're going to touch your head.

We're also going to learn three new vocabulary words during the book.

Let's take a look at the title, "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade."

Let's look at the picture.

What do you think this book is going to be about?

When I think about the title "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade" I think it might be about a girl in kindergarten because that is the smallest grade at my school.

This book is written by Justin Roberts.

He's the author.

And it's illustrated by Christian Robinson.

He's the person that drew the pictures.

Let's read.

This is the title page.

"The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade."

Remember, touch your head (dings) when you hear words that rhyme.

Hardly anyone noticed young Sally McCabe.

She was the smallest girl in the smallest grade.

Sure.

Her name could be heard during the daily roll call, and she marched with her books down the same school hall, (dings) but hardly anyone noticed young Sally McCade.

Call rhymes with hall.

Those words rhyme.

They both say all at the end.

And they certainly didn't know, or at least didn't mention that Sally was paying super special, extra attention.

(dings) (gasps) Mention rhymes with attention.

Did you touch your head?

To the abandoned kite with the tangled string.

(upbeat music) This is the word abandoned?

Can you say that word?

Abandoned means to leave someone or something alone.

I drew a picture of the kite from the story because it was abandoned or left alone in the tree.

Abandoned.

(chimes) To the 27 keys on the janitors ring, to the leaves as they turn green to gold in the fall, to the time Tommy Torino was tripped in the hall.

(dings) Oh no, that's not very nice.

She watched as the wild flowers tipped through the light and heard the howl of a hound dog late one night.

(gasps) (dings) Light rhymes with night.

She was there when the stray cats who normally fought conducted a meeting in the church parking lot.

(dings) Fought rhymes with lot.

She saw Kevin McKuen get pushed off the slide.

Oh, that's not nice.

And the oncoming tears that he wanted to hide.

(dings) Slide rhymes with hide.

And she'll never forget that parent-teacher day when Billy's much larger father suddenly dragged him away.

(dings) But through all the mean words and all the cold stares, no one even noticed that Sally was there.

(dings) Stares rhymes with there.

And they certainly didn't know, or at least they didn't mention, that Sally was paying super, extra special attention.

(dings) She's noticing all of the things that the kids are doing.

They're not being very nice to each other are they?

She'd seen how a whisper could make someone cower like a bulldozer crushing through fields of wildflowers.

(dings) (upbeat music) This is the word cower.

Can you say that word?

Cower means to step back or look down because you are afraid.

This girl in this picture is cowering because she is afraid or scared.

Can you try to cower?

Cower.

(chimes) And it kept piling up this discard debris, those beautiful kites tangled in trees.

(dings) (upbeat music) This word is discarded.

Can you say that word?

Discarded means to throw something away that is unwanted.

This picture has a trash can with things that are unwanted.

They are discarded.

Discarded.

(chimes) So on February 3rd at 11:29, Sally stepped straight out of the lunch room line.

(dings) There've been a lot of rhyming words.

Have you been touching your head?

Nine rhymes with line.

They both say ine at the end.

I can't wait to see what's gonna happen.

She said, I'm tired of seeing this terrible stuff.

Stop hurting each other.

That is enough.

(dings) Now a few laughed out loud or didn't care that there was some girl with her hands in the air.

(dings) But then something super extra special happened that day as Howard O'Henry suddenly set down his tray.

(dings) What do you think's going to happen?

Let's see.

Like waves rolling in one after another, first Molly rose up, and then Michael's twin brother.

(dings) It was Tyrone and Terrance, then Amanda and Paul who pushed out their chairs and stretched their arms tall.

(dings) From the friendly lunch lady with the dishes she carted, to that new third grade teacher who had just only recently started.

(dings) Carted rhymes with started.

Yes, everyone there, even Principal Claire had joined little Sally with their fingers in the air.

Claire, their, air.

So many rhyming words.

And though hound dogs were destined to howl at night, and the most stray cats meetings would end up as fights, (dings) and kites would continue to get stuck in trees, and they all felt for a moment like the janitors keys.

(dings) Fastened together with a heavy steel ring, that held all the secrets to unlock everything.

(dings) Ring rhymes with everything.

And the world returned to the way that it was.

Sally noticed the difference she usually does.

(dings) When Billy paused briefly to open the door for Mrs. O'Connell and 17 more.

(dings) How kind is that?

Or when Molly scooched over to make some space on the choral riser for Ellen and Grace.

(dings) These moments that often get taken for granted, a wildflower appearing that no one had planted.

Wow, they're starting to be really kind to each other.

The swings soon resumed their rhythm and sway, and day turned to night and night turned to day.

(dings) People remembered and would quite often mention that Sally had been paying super extra special attention.

(dings) And how the world could transform and change could be made by the smallest girl in the smallest grade.

(dings) Made rhymes with grade.

The end.

And look, he's doing something kind.

She can't reach the books, so he's getting them for her.

And there she is.

She rescued the discarded kite and she's flying it.

That was a great story.

You did such a good job finding those rhyming words and listening for our new vocabulary.

(chimes) Today in our reading we learned three new vocabulary words, the word cower, abandoned, and discarded.

Let's learn a little bit more about each of those words.

Our first word is the word cower.

Can you say that word?

Good.

The word cower means to step back or look down because you are afraid.

This girl is afraid.

She's covering her face.

She is cowering.

Can you show us again what that looks like to cower?

I'm afraid.

I'm cowering.

Cower.

Let's clap out the syllables in the word cower.

Clap with me.

Cower.

Count it out.

Cower.

There are two syllables in the word cower.

Let's look at our book, "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade.

The author said, she'd seen how a whisper could make someone cower.

If somebody was whispering mean things in your ear, you might cower too.

You might be afraid.

Let's use the word cower in a sentence.

I was cowering when I saw a spider.

Can you think of a sentence that uses cower?

When would you cower?

Good.

Let's say that word one more time.

Cower.

Great.

Our second word is the word abandoned.

Can you say that word?

Abandon means something or someone that is left alone.

I drew a picture of the orange kite from this story because it was abandoned or left all alone in the tree.

Abandoned.

Let's clap out the syllables in the word abandoned.

Clap it out with me.

Abandoned.

Count it out.

Abandoned.

There are three syllables in the word abandoned.

Let's take a look at our book.

The author said, to the abandoned kite with a tangled string.

the kite is abandoned because someone left it all alone up in the tree.

How sad.

Let's use the word abandoned in a sentence.

When I went on a walk, I saw an abandoned toy by the side of the road all alone.

Can you think of a time when you saw something that was abandoned when you were on a walk?

Good.

Let's say that word one more time.

Abandoned.

(chimes) Our third word is the word discarded.

Can you say that word?

Discarded means to throw something away that's unwanted.

In this picture there's a picture of a trash can with things in it that are being thrown away.

They're being discarded.

Somebody doesn't want them anymore.

Discarded.

Let's clap out the syllables in the word discarded.

Clap it out with me.

Discarded.

Count it out.

Discarded.

There are three syllables in the word discarded.

Let's look in the book.

The author wrote, it kept piling up, this discarded debris.

Those beautiful kites tangled in trees.

Debris is trash.

People kept throwing things away that were unwanted.

Let's use the word in a sentence.

My mom discarded some of my toys.

Can you think of something that someone else has discarded before?

Great.

Let's review our three words that we learned today.

Cower.

Abandoned.

And discarded.

Great.

Now, I'm gonna say three sentences, and you're going to find the word that matches the clues that I give you.

(chimes) You did such a great job learning our three new vocabulary words.

Now, I'm gonna give you some clues, and you are going to identify which vocabulary word I'm talking about.

Here's your first clue.

I looked in the trash can and saw an old toy that my mom threw away.

Which word did I describe?

Cower, abandoned, or discarded?

Discarded.

You're right.

My mom threw the toy away.

She discarded it.

It was unwanted.

Okay, here's your next clue?

I was on a walk and found a teddy bear by the side of the road.

What word describes the teddy bear?

Cower, abandoned, or discarded?

You're right, it's abandoned.

The teddy bear was abandoned because it was all alone on the side of the road.

Abandoned.

All right, here's your last clue.

When I was afraid, I saw a spider, and I covered up my eyes like this.

Which word describes me?

Cower, abandoned, or discarded?

That's right, cower.

I cowered where I looked down and stepped back because I saw a spider and I was afraid.

You did such a great job learning our three new vocabulary words.

Now go work on them with someone in your house and use them in a sentence.

(upbeat music) This is your brain break.

Stand up, move, and learn with me.

This game is called head, shoulders, and knees segmenting.

Segmenting is when you break apart the smallest sounds in a word.

Let me show you how it works.

The first word is the word cup.

We can touch our head and say the sounds.

Cuh-uh-puh.

Cup.

Try that with me.

Ready?

Cuh-uh-puh.

Cup.

Great.

The next word is the word bin.

Touch your hat and segment it.

Buh-in-nuh.

Bin.

Great.

The next word is the word fun.

Let's segment it.

F-uh-n. Fun.

Great job.

The next word is the word top.

Tuh-ah-puh.

Top.

Great.

We're gonna do one more word.

It's the word map.

Mm-a-puh.

Map.

Great job segmenting with your head, and shoulders, and knees.

(chimes) Okay, readers and writers, we're gonna do some thinking about what the author was trying to teach us in this book "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade."

Sally was the smallest girl in kindergarten, but she paid extra special close attention to the things that were happening around her.

She noticed that the kids were being super mean to each other.

And then she asked them to stop, and they started being kind to each other, and they started helping each other out.

Even though Sally was the smallest girl in the smallest grade, I think the author wants us to know that no matter how small you are or how small we are, that we can make a difference.

Sally made a difference by spreading kindness.

We can all make a difference by spreading kindness.

So today, we're gonna write a sentence together.

And the sentence is, I can be kind, because that is so important to show kindness to each other.

Make sure that you have something to write with and something to write on so you can write along with us.

Before we get started, we're gonna plan out our sentence by clapping out the words, I can be kind.

Go ahead and get your hands ready to clap, and let's do it together.

Here we go.

(clapping) I can be kind.

Let's count out the words to see how many words we need to write.

I can be kind.

There are four words in that sentence.

Often, I like to draw some lines to help remind me that there's spaces between my words.

So let's draw the lines to help us write the words.

Here we go.

I can be kind.

Go ahead and draw your lines on your paper.

Okay, let's take our finger, and let's practice reading before we get started.

So point to each line, and let say the word that belongs on the line.

I can be kind.

Great job.

Now, we're ready to write.

Here we go.

The first word is the word I.

The word I is just a plain I.

When we have the word I, we have to use a capital.

So let's go ahead and draw capital I for the beginning of our sentence.

Let's slide over, go down, and slide over again.

Great job.

Let's take our finger and read what we've written to help us write the next word.

I can.

Can.

We can stretch this word out.

Let's use our fingers to stretch the sounds out in can.

Here we go.

Cuh-a-nn.

What sound do you hear at the beginning of the word can?

That's right, we hear a cuh.

This could be a C or a K. In this word, it's a C. Let's make C on our paper.

Start in the middle, around like a C. Cuh-a.

That's an A.

Let's make an A.

Start in the middle, around like a C, close it, and go down.

Cuh-a-nn.

Nn, that's an N. Let's make an N. Start in the middle, go down, back up, and make the hump.

Great job.

Let's read what we've written.

I can be.

Be is our next word.

That's a tricky word because it sounds just like the letter B, but we know the word be has two sounds in it.

Let's use our fingers to stretch out the sounds in the word be.

Buh-e, be.

Great job.

Let's write down the sounds that match.

Buh.

What sound says buh?

That's right, that's the letter B.

Let's write a B.

Start at the top, go down, back up, and around.

Buh-e. E says its own name.

Start in the middle, slide over, up and around like a C. Awesome writing.

Let's reread what we've written to help us figure out our last word.

I can be kind.

Kind is a tricky word.

Let's get our hands and say that word slowly before we count the sounds out with our fingers.

Here we go.

Let's say kind slowly.

Kind.

Great.

Now let's use our fingers and stretch up the sounds.

Here we go.

Kuh-I-nn-duh.

Kind.

There's a lot of sounds in the word kind, isn't there?

Listen to the beginning sound.

Kuh-I-n-duh.

What sound is at the beginning of the word kind?

That's right, that's a kuh sound.

It could be a C, or it could be a K. In this word, it's a K. Let's write a K. Start at the top, go down, back up, slant in, slant down.

Kuh-I.

That's an easy one.

I says its own name.

Start in the middle, go down, back up, then make a dot.

Great.

Kuh-I-nn.

Nn, that's an N. Start in the middle, go down, back up, then around.

Kuh-I-nn-duh.

What sound do you hear that the end of the word kind?

That's right, that's a D. Let's draw D. Around like a C, go up and down.

Wow, you wrote a sentence.

Let's take our finger and reread it.

I can be kind.

Great job.

I think something is missing at the end of our sentence.

What do we need to put at the end of our sentence?

That's right, we need a punctuation mark.

I'm going to use a period to tell my reader it's the end of the sentence.

Sentences have to have a period at the end, and they also have to have a capital at the beginning.

Check to make sure you have a capital I at the beginning of your sentence.

Let's read our sentence one more time.

I can be kind.

Awesome.

Let's do some thinking now.

We need to add a picture to our sentence.

Let's do some thinking about one way we can show kindness.

I can show kindness by smiling to my friends.

I'm going to draw a picture of me smiling to my friends.

Can you think of a way that you can show kindness?

Go ahead and draw it.

Here I am sowing kindness to my friends by giving them a smile.

Let's read our sentence one last time before we go.

I can be kind.

Now go show this sentence to someone at home.

Tell them about your picture and tell them how you are going to spread kindness.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This program is made possible in part by Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and the Kresge Foundation.

Additional support for educational programming provided by and by viewers like you.

(upbeat music)