The Swamp by Patricia J. Birtwistle
Nick and Kim should not be in the swamp. Then, one day they find a hand with a red ring on it and a locked bag. By the end of the day they get into a big mess. more...
“This is baby stuff. I want to read a novel.” Comments like this are being expressed daily by young people across the country. The dilemma is that the reader’s independent or instructional reading level is at grade two or three while chronological age may be significantly higher. Reading materials at that level now look like books for the six-, seven- or eight-year olds. Parents, teachers and librarians are frustrated by the lack of high interest, low vocabulary materials. The focus in these novelettes is on the reluctant reader, learning disabled, brain injured, those with attention deficit disorder and anyone learning English as their second language. The vocabulary is level two and a word list is provided to assist the instructor/parent in assessing the material quickly and determining its use as instructional or independent. However, it does not look like “baby stuff”.
About the Author
Patricia Birtwistle was a teacher and consultant of Special Education for most of her career. One of her biggest challenges was finding appropriate reading materials for the many and varied student learning needs within the boundaries of her jurisdiction. After being retired for a number of years, she was asked to find some reading materials for a sixteen-year-old brain injured young man. She searched libraries, bookstores and catalogues to no avail. It was then that Patricia began writing this series and she looks forward to seeing them in the hands of many young people who need or want to read.
Objectives
To fill the gap in the literary field by providing high interest, low vocabulary novelettes for reluctant readers, English as a Second Language students, the brain injured and the learning disabled. The author believes that reluctant readers will begin to make progress when they experience a level of comfort with interesting, readable material.
Featured Books
The Old House by Patricia J. Birtwistle
The old house is in the swamp. Crying had come from the house. The kids go into the swamp and to the old house. When they are in the house there is a crash and crying from upstairs.
The rain is coming down, and they have to run to get out of there. Should they go back the next day? more...
What a Day by Patricia J. Birtwistle
It is hot and the kids wanted to be at the lake and have some fun in the water. Nick is a good swimmer. When the kids see stuff way out on the lake, Nick swims out to see what is out there. He does not come back. The rest of the kids are not good swimmers and cannot think of what to do. They cannot see Nick, and they do not think that they can get the raft out to the stuff to look for him. They must do something, but what? more...
The Junkyard by Patricia J. Birtwistle
Kim wants to be rich. One day she goes to the junk yard to look for stuff that could make her rich. Things get bad for her when she gets trapped. No one can find her. The kids do not want Kim’s mom to find out that she is lost. They look in all the spots that they can think of, but still no Kim. At last, Dan says that they should go to the junk yard. When they get there the gate is shut and has “Keep Out” on it. more...
The Trip by Patricia J. Birtwistle
It is just a trip to a farm for horseback riding. The kids had been in so much trouble that their folks do not want them to go. At last, they let them go on the trip. The kids had made a pact that they will stay out of trouble. When they are riding, the horses get spooked. Beth had ridden a horse
before, but the rest of the kids had not. The kids end up in big trouble once again. more...
At The Mall by Patricia J. Birtwistle
The kids must get their stuff for school. They split up so that they can get all their things and then have lunch. Kim, the one who wants to get rich, finds a bag of money and wants to keep it. The rest of the kids tell her that she should not keep it. Someone must be looking for it. Kim takes the bag of money to try to get it back to the one who lost it. Someone has seen Kim with the
money. Trouble begins again for the kids.more...
