Five Trucks by Brian Floca

Intro and technique

Five Trucks by Brian Floca

Five different trucks do five different jobs to get an airplane ready for takeoff.

• Read the title of the book from the cover, pointing to the words. Have the child point to each of the five trucks. Ask: What are the drivers doing? (They are waving and looking.) Have you ever seen a truck? What did it look like?

Reading the Story for the First Time

• Read the story, moving your finger under the words as you read. Give the child plenty of time to look at the pictures.
• After reading, ask: Did you guess that all the trucks help the airplane take off?

Reading the Book Again and Again

• Reread Five Trucks. You might focus on the descriptions of the trucks: large and heavy, small and quick, long and straight, one that twists and turns, and one that goes up and down.
• Give open-ended prompts on each page. For example, ask: What is happening in this picture? Give prompts about objects or activities in the pictures. For example, ask: What is the man holding? (He is holding earphones.) Use your finger to point to what you are asking about. Evaluate the child's response. Expand it by giving more information. Ask the child to repeat the answer. If he or she needs help in answering a question, ask that question again the next time you read the book. Good words to ask about are listed in the vocabulary section below. Be sure to talk about objects and actions the child brings up, too.
• You may wish to use the prompts shown below.

Building Literacy

• Use this book to start the child talking about trucks and other vehicles you see when you are out together.