Using Brainpower
Good readers are problem solvers. They use critical thinking skills to
process the words they read. They construct meaning while they read by
interpreting information, making predictions, and hypothesizing. Good
readers bring a sense of curiosity to what they read. They are
detectives searching for significance. They reflect on the words they
process and draw conclusions based on their own prior knowledge. Good
readers think while they read. Problem solving is a skill, and like any
skill, it takes practice. Problem solving is not just for math anymore!!
1. What If? 
Make up an interesting “what if” situation, and invite the child to act out a response. The following are some suggestions:
What if a bird flew in the window and started playing with your toys?
What if it started raining in your house?
What if you ate a hamburger that tasted like pizza?
Have the child dramatize or explain what actions might be taken if a
particular event occurred. How would the child react to each situation?
2. The Same and Different 
Name any two items and invite the child to tell one way in which the
items are similar and one way in which they are different. Begin with
easy comparisons, such as cat and a dog, and increase the difficulty as
you go along. Answers for easy comparisons will be more obvious while
the more difficult comparisons will require some creative thinking. The
child might suggest a dog and cat are similar because they both are
animals, but different because one meows and the other barks. For a
comparison of a star and a television, the child might suggest they both
glow or you can look at both of them, but one is close and the other is
far away. Accept all answers that make good connections, and encourage
the child to be creative in his or her responses.
3. Revealing Sentences
Choose a word that represents a person, place, or thing. The word
should be plural unless it is someone’s name. Invite the child to make a
sentence using the letters of the word to determine the first letter of
each word in the sentence. The chosen word should be the first word of
the sentence. For example, if the word chosen was cars, the sentence could be:
C ars A re R eally S uper.
A sentence for cats might be:
C ats A re T imid S ometimes.
A sentence for Jim might be:
J im I s M essy.
4. Good News, Bad News
Create a good news, bad news story together. Each person takes a turn
telling something good that happened followed by something bad. The next
person must continue the story by adding the next good thing followed
by the next bad thing. For example, the first person might start by
saying, “I found a magic stone in the park. That was good. I lost it on
the way home. That was bad.” The second person might then continue with,
“My friend found my stone. That was good. He wouldn’t give it back.
That was bad.”
5. Hinkie- Pinkie
A “hinkie-pinkie” is a riddle in which the answer is a two-word rhyme.
If the rhyming words have one syllable, the riddle is a “hink-pink”. If
the words have two syllables it is a “hinkie-pinkie”. Begin by telling
the child whether the riddle is a hink-pink or a hinkie-pinkie, then
present the riddle. Here are two examples:
Hink-Pink: What is a chubby pet that meows? (fat cat)
Hinkie-Pinkie: What is a puppy that got all soaking wet in
the rain? (soggy doggy)
6. Peekaboo Pictures
Create peekaboo pictures by cutting a picture from an old magazine and
gluing or taping it onto a sheet of paper. Do not let the child see the
picture. Next cut a small circle or square in a second piece of paper.
This will be the guessing page. Then take the guessing page, and lay it
on top if the picture. The small portion of the picture viewed through
the peekaboo hole becomes the clue for the child to guess the identity
of the bigger picture. Repeat with several pictures.
7. What’s the Story?
Begin by looking at a picture in a book or magazine together, and
discuss what you see. Pretend that one picture illustrates an entire
story. Invite the child to tell you what he or she thinks the story
might be about. Discuss possible details of the story. Then have the
child invent a title that would fit the story.