What would you say?
Your friend says, “I’m feeling sad today.”
What would you say?
-I’m sorry you feel sad. Do you want to talk about it?
"The cake was good."
Swap “good” for a stronger word.
Delicious; tasty; scrumptious; etc.
In Chrysanthemum, why is Miss Twinkle's belly so big?
She's pregnant/going to have a baby!
"The kitten was tiny, much smaller than the others."
What does “tiny” mean?
very small
"Sam put on his helmet and grabbed his bike."
Where is Sam probably going?
On a bike ride
You are talking about your favorite animals, and your friend suddenly starts talking about their favorite color.
What could you say to stay on topic?
“That’s cool! But let’s talk about animals first.”
"He said something loud during class."
Swap “said” for a more vivid verb.
Shouted; yelled; etc.
In "Piper," who helps Piper get over his fear of the water?
"She was thrilled to open her birthday present; she smiled and jumped up and down."
What does “thrilled” mean?
"Maya’s hands were covered in flour, and she smelled cookies in the oven."
What is Maya doing?
Baking cookies
Your friend starts talking about a TV show, but you’re talking about food.
What could you say to stay on topic?
"That sounds fun, but I wanted to talk about food right now.”
"The dog is big."
Swap “big” for a more descriptive word.
Huge; enormous
In "Ciao Alberto," why does Alberto want to leave Massimo in the middle of the night?
He thought Massimo didn't want him to stay anymore because he kept messing up his tasks.
"After running in the race, he felt exhausted and needed to lie down."
What does “exhausted” mean?
"Liam put on his coat, boots, and hat. He saw snow falling outside."
What season is it?
Winter
Your friend says, “I can’t find my toy anywhere!”
What would you say to help them?
-I'll help you find it!
"She was nice to her sister."
Swap “nice” for a more specific word.
Kind; thoughtful; caring
In "Snack Attack," what is the moral of the story? What lesson does it teach us?
Possible: Don't judge a book by its cover.
"We had to postpone the picnic because it started raining."
What does “postpone” mean?
to delay; to do later
"Jenny smiled and hugged her trophy after the race."
What probably happened?
She won the race!
Your friend starts talking about their weekend trip while you’re talking about your favorite book.
How can you bring the conversation back to the book?
"That sounds fun! But let me tell you about my favorite book!"
"The student did a bad job on the project."
Swap “bad” and “did” for more precise and descriptive words.
The student performed poorly on the project;
The student struggled with the project;
etc.
In "Snack Attack," why does the old lady dislike the teenager?
For ex: She thinks he is rude because of his appearance/loud music, and thought he took her cookies.
"The magician’s trick was so mysterious, no one could figure out how he did it."
What does “mysterious” mean?
hard to understand; a secret
"Ben looked at the broken vase on the floor. He heard footsteps coming and quickly grabbed a broom."
What can you infer about what just happened?
Ben accidentally broke the vase and is trying to clean up before someone sees.