Reading Sled Ride Down Unrue Street

Reading Skill: Background Knowledge

When we connect what we read to what we already know, we are using our background knowledge. Making these connections helps us better understand and remember what we read. 

One way you can help your child develop this skill is by sharing your related experiences. When reading Sled Ride Down Unrue Street with your child, share your sledding memories or snowy stories. Your child will not only love hearing about your adventures, but will also be able to start connecting to his or her own stories. 

Another way to develop background knowledge is by asking questions. Ask your child about his or her experiences. Try these questions: Do you have a favorite memory or activity you like when it snows? Did you ever do anything that you were so proud of that you wanted to shout “I did it!”? Was it something that was scary or hard? What made it so special?

Sometimes, when a reading topic is new, we have to create background knowledge in order to make connections. A quick internet search for related pictures can help. On the other hand, simply spending a few minutes discussing what your child notices in the illustrations can build background knowledge and help your child make his or her own connections. 

While connecting to background knowledge increases reading comprehension, it also makes reading more enjoyable. When what we read reminds us of our own experiences or knowledge, reading becomes a pleasure. When reading is fun for kids, they read more, which alone improves reading ability.

Recognizing Rhyme in Poetry

Many poems include rhyme, but not all. While Sled Ride Down Unrue Street is full of rhyming words, Carol June Franks’ previous books, Potatoes, Papaw, and Me, and The Silent Tree Remembers, both poems, do not include rhyme. 

Rhyme is created when two or more words have the same, or very similar, ending sound. For example, the words night, tight, and fight all have the same ending sound. Notice the end spelling (-ight) is also exactly the same. Sometimes words have the same sound, but their endings are spelled differently. The words go and snow are one example. On the other hand, the words scene and trees, or roll and snow, have somewhat similar sounds and different end spellings. However, their ending sounds are close enough that they can be used in rhyme.

In poetry, rhyming words are usually found at the end of a line. However, sometimes words within a line of poetry rhyme. Either way, the rhyming words help to create the rhythm in a poem. Including rhyme is one way that authors incorporate rhythm into a text. It is the rhythm that makes poetry fun and entertaining to read, especially when read out loud.

So you try it.  Read the poem out loud. See if you can identify the words that rhyme. Then read it again. Use the line breaks, commas, the emphasized text, and the rhyming words to help you create a sing-song rhythm. Read it a few more times and you’ll soon learn how fun poetry can be. Don’t be surprised when you start tapping your feet and feeling the beat of the poem when it is read as intended.

Noticing Imagery

When you read Sled Ride Down Unrue Street could you almost feel the cold snowflakes on your face and the rush of the sled racing down Unrue Street? Could you hear the cheerful shout of success at the end of the downhill ride? 

If so, then you experienced the imagery in the poem. Imagery is the use of descriptive language in a text designed to help the reader imagine being in the very scene of the story. Authors create imagery by selecting precise words that make an image come alive in the minds of readers. Imagery is at its best when the reader can imagine the scene playing like a movie in his or her head. 

In Sled Ride Down Unrue Street, the description of the downhill ride “as your sled glides, grinds, and thumps, rattling over ALL the bumps” certainly helps the reader visualize a bouncing sled, turning on one side then the other as it glides over the bumps down the icy road. Anyone who has played for hours outside in the snow can relate to “fingers, numb, try to steer” and “giant snowflakes sting your face” when it is so cold that the snow on your gloves sticks your fingers together and makes them freeze. 

It is this appeal to our senses that creates imagery. When the language in the text helps us, as the reader, see, smell, hear, feel, and even taste what it is like to be there, then we can experience the story and truly enjoy being in the moment.