Rex Wrecks It! Dinosaur Book Literacy Activity
It’s time to introduce you all to this month’s focus book.
Our Lil’s are going to be reading Rex Wrecks It!
by Ben Clanton.
by Ben Clanton.This is another book that was recommended to us by the librarian I’ve mentioned in previous lessons. It is about Rex the T-Rex and how he destroys all of his friends’ creations. Obviously, this upsets his friends and they try to find a way to build something Rex cannot wreck.
This book is great for teaching our kids about respecting our friends and their things. It also teaches them to work together and when certain behaviors, like wrecking a toy building, are appropriate and when they’re not.
Required Materials
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*Rex Wrecks It!
Read for Enjoyment (July 2, 2018)
Your first time reading this book is the perfect opportunity to read and relax with your Lil’. This is also your first opportunity to meet and get to know the characters who your Lil’s will come to love. So invite your Lil’ to sit in your lap and get to know Rex and his friends!
Concepts About Print
We have talked about the different concepts about print and the major one is that the text holds meaning and tells the story. When we first start reading to our children, they don’t realize that the letters and words on the page are telling us what to say. They just think Mommy and Daddy are awesome at creating great stories with some really cool pictures. Well, now it’s time to start teaching them that the stories are not coming from their awesome parents but rather from the symbols (letters and words) that are written on the pages.
How do you teach this? It is really simple, just use your finger to point to each word as you read it.
Rex Wrecks It! is a great book for this skill because it is not heavy in text. We often read faster than our finger can move, but if you pick books that have minimal text per page, you can really accentuate the fact that you are reading each word as you touch it.
Make Observations and Draw Conclusions
We learn to read because eventually, we will read to learn. This is why comprehension skills like observing and concluding are so important. Simply reading a text doesn’t automatically lead to comprehending a text. You have to actively engage with the text, identify the main ideas and details and then make your own conclusions about what it all means. While most of the texts our Lil’s are reading are picture books that are meant for enjoyment, they are also a great way to introduce and teach the skill of making observations and drawing conclusions.
Here are some of the observations and conclusions Rea and I made while reading Rex Wrecks It!
- Oh no! Rex knocked over all the blocks! His friends don’t look very happy…
- Wow! Sprinkles built an awesome heart.
- Oh no! Rex ruined all of his friends’ buildings!
- Wow! Gizmo, Sprinkles, and Wild built a big castle.
- All of Rex’s friends are sad because he ruined their castle. Rex is sad too.
- Wow! Rex is going to build with them. Maybe that will keep Rex from wrecking their building.
- All the friends wrecked their big tower together. They’re all happy and having fun because they did it together.
Make Connections
Being able to make connections to text is a critical skill because it is what gives a text purpose and meaning in your life. This is true even for our littlest learners. When your preschooler reads a book about dinosaurs and is able to connect the book to their toy dinosaur that they absolutely love, suddenly that book full of words becomes invaluable. Practicing and modeling this skill for your Lil’ will help them grow as a reader and learner.
Here are some of the connections we made while reading Rex Wrecks It!
- They built a tower out of blocks; we have blocks too! We should try to build a tower later.
- Sprinkle’s built a heart. I like hearts.
- They are drawing a plan just like when you draw a picture.
- They built a big tower. It looks like the castle in Rapunzel.
- They are all building together, just like when you play with your friends together.
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