R E A D I N G I S F U N D A M E N T A L

Share the Message: Read!

ANIMAL COMMUNICATIONS VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY GUIDE A

FEATURING:

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Table of Contents

1 Letter to Volunteers 2 Motivational Activities and Read-Aloud Tips 3 Featured Activity: Create Your Own Animal Mask 4 Additional Activity: Human Animal 5 Human Animal Activity Handout

Dear Pitney Bowes Employee,

hank you for choosing to volunteer on behalf of childrens literacy. Without a doubt, the time you spend volunteering will make a difference in childrens livesand yours!

N Motivational activities. Weve developed two activities for the read-aloud book. Just decide which activity is approriate for your group. N Materials. One of the activities requires arts and crafts supplies. Weve provided these to ensure a successful volunteer experience. N Read-aloud tips. Its helpful to review these tips before heading to your school. A well-prepared volunteer is a happy volunteer! N Books for distribution. The hallmark of a genuine RIF experience is the book distribution. RIF will send you a selection of 35-40 books so that you can experience the joy of helping kids choose their very own books to keep and take home. N Collateral materials. Because everyone loves a good giveaway or two, weve included stickers and bookplates for you to share with the kids. Please help the children attach the bookplates to their new RIF books. Copies of the communication resource guide and the three volunteer activity guides may be found at www.rif.org/pb. If you have any questions, dont hesitate to contact us at employee.involvement@pb.com. Again, thank you for your commitment to childrens literacy. The time you spend with these children will benefit them for years to come. You are helping to build a nation of readers!

As you might know, Pitney Bowes and the Pitney Bowes Foundation have been proud supporters of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) since 2004. Together, we have: N Trained caregivers on effective reading techniques;

N Given thousands of books to kids in need;

N Created a communication resource guide called Share the Message: Read!, which provides engaging motivational activities that take the excitement of reading one step further; and N Held communications-themed family literacy nights at schools across the country.

This support has been a wonderful addition to the work RIF has been doing over the past 44 years. Building on these successes, we are thrilled to provide three volunteer activity guides on the themes of Animal Communications, Languages of the World, and Communicating Through the Arts. This guide works in conjunction with Pitney Bowes volunteer toolkits that provide everything youll need as you prepare for the activity at a local school or community organization, including: N A read-aloud book. Weve carefully selected Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, which falls under the Animal Communications theme. We know you will enjoy reading this fantastic book with the children at your site.

HAPPY READING!
From Pitney Bowes, the Pitney Bowes Foundation, and Reading Is Fundamental

Motivational Activities and Read-Aloud Tips

MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Children love a great read-aloud. It can spark their imagination, tickle their funny bone, teach them something new, or transport them to a different place. And one of the most wonderful things about a read-aloud is what occurs afterwardthe motivational activity. A good motivational activity builds upon a theme from the book. It allows students to connect with what happened in the text in a new way, whether it is making a craft or writing a story. It rounds out the experience for every child, regardless of age. This activity guide includes two possible activities for you to choose from. The featured activity involves using arts and crafts supplies; the additional activity requires only a printed handout. If you decide to use the featured activity, make sure to gather all your materials before you visit your school.

READ-ALOUD TIPS
We know that reading aloud does not come naturally for many people. With that in mind, the following tips will ensure your experience is as enjoyable as possible:
N Familiarize yourself with the book before

you arrive at the school.

N Practice by reading the book aloud to a

friend, coworker, or family member.

N Talk about the book before you begin.

Let your audience guess what the book will be about. Point out interesting things on the cover.
N Dont be afraid to get silly. Use voices,

change tones, and speed up or slow down as needed.

N Take your time. Children love to look at

illustrations. Make sure that each child has time to look at every page.
N Most importantly, HAVE FUN!
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Featured Activity: Create Your Own Animal Mask

CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE
by Doreen Cronin Book summary: Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears:

DIRECTIONS
Click, clack, MOO. Click, clack, MOO. Clickety, clack, MOO. But Farmer Browns problems REALLY begin when his cows start leaving him notes.... Estimated time: 30 minutes 1. Read Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type to the class. Talk to the children about the book. Did they think it was funny? Were they surprised that the cows could type? What was their favorite part? 2. Tell the class that theyll be making a fun craft that builds upon the animal communication theme. Explain that while cows cant really type, all animals have their own ways of talking. 3. Ask the students: Do you know how animals communicate? Ask a few children for examples, such as lions roar, birds chirp, or snakes hiss. 4. Explain that everyone will be making an animal mask. Invite each child to choose an animal that they would like to imitate. 5. Using the provided materials, help the students assemble their masks. 6. After the masks are finished, have each child become their animal by neighing, mooing, braying, and so on.

Additional Activity: Human Animal

DIRECTIONS
Estimated time: 20 minutes 1. Before visiting the school, print out copies of the Human Animal handout. Create one or two examples of human animals to share with the group. 2. Read Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type to the class. Talk to the children about the book. Did they think it was funny? Were they surprised that the cows could type? What was their favorite part? 3. Explain to the group that theyll be doing a fun imagination activity. Ask them to think about their favorite animal. Call on a few volunteers and ask them to share which animal they like best. 4. Tell the students that they will be creating a fun human animal. 5. Distribute the Human Animal handout. Ask children to draw a picture of themselves with some of the features of their favorite animal. For example, a child who likes birds would draw himself with wings and feathers. 6. After they have finished drawing, ask a few students to talk about their creations.

Volunteers: Please make copies from the original on page 5.

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HUMAN ANIMAL
Name

Find more activities at Reading Is Fundamentals websitewww.RIF.org

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), founded in 1966, motivates children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIFs highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provided 4 million children with 15 million new, free books and literacy resources last year. For more information and to access reading resources, visit RIFs website at www.RIF.org.
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. 1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20037 1-877-RIF-READ N www.RIF.org

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The Pitney Bowes Foundation is a private entity with a mission to support education, literacy and the diverse community interests of Pitney Bowes employees. We commit our resources to closing the achievement gap and preparing the workforce of tomorrow. For information about these programs, go to www.pb.com/community. General information about Pitney Bowes is available at www.pb.com.

2011 Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. All rights reserved.