Reading Thinkers Team: Clara Kitty Helps Readers Make Sense of Tricky Parts

Meet Clara Kitty!

Purr-fectly poised and curious, Clara Kitty the Clarifier is always on the lookout for anything confusing, tricky, or surprising in a story. With a tail that twitches when she’s thinking hard, Clara loves figuring things out, and it makes her an important Reading Thinkers Team member!

Whether it’s a hard word, a strange sentence, or a puzzling idea, Clara helps young readers pause, notice when something doesn’t make sense, and clarify it so they can keep reading with confidence.

If it’s fuzzy or confusing, it’s time to pounce on a clue and dig a little deeper!
Clara Kitty

Why Clarifying Helps Young Readers

Clarifying helps children become independent readers who know it’s okay to get stuck—and that they can do something about it. Good readers don’t just skip tricky parts; they pause, ask questions, and find ways to understand better.

When children clarify, they:

Notice when something is confusing
Slow down to make sense of it
Learn new vocabulary and ideas
Feel confident instead of stuck

Helping Kids Grow This Skill

Help your readers develop Clara’s cool-headed curiosity with these tools and tips:

Teach Kids to Notice “Sticky Spots”

Model what it sounds like when something’s confusing:

“Wait a minute… what does scurried mean?”
“I’m not sure who’s talking here. Let’s go back and check.”

Use phrases like:

“Let’s slow down and figure this out.”
“That part was tricky.”
“Something doesn’t quite make sense here.”

Use the “Clarifier Toolbox”

Teach kids strategies for figuring things out:

Re-read the sentence
Look at the pictures
Break the word into parts
Ask someone for help
Try reading on to get more clues

Clara calls this her “Clarifying Toolbox”—because there’s more than one way to solve a reading puzzle!

Vocabulary Quest

Word: Snuggle

Meaning: to get cozy with someone or something you love, like giving a big, warm hug or cuddling up with a soft blanket or stuffed animal.

Ex: All the penguins waddled into a group huddle, declaring it a “snuggle shuffle” to stay warm on the ice.

Curious Queries Corner?

Stir up your learner’s imagination and create some conversation and connection by asking an unusual question.

Would you rather have spaghetti hair you can eat anytime or rainbow fingers that change colors when you wiggle them?

Use a “Word Sweep”

After reading, go on a “word sweep” with your child or student. Ask:

“Did any words feel hard or new? Let’s go back and talk about them.”

Invite kids to look up words in a picture dictionary and practice using the new word in different sentences.

Teach Clara’s Clarifying Phrase

Clara Kitty loves curiosity!

Teach children to use this simple phrase when they run into tricky words or confusing parts. It encourages them to pause, think, and try a strategy—like rereading, looking at pictures, or asking for help.

“That didn’t make sense, so I tried ___.”

Encouraging children to share how they figured something out builds problem-solving pride!

Here are some examples:
“I didn’t know this meant, so I tried looking at the pictures (or in a picture dictionary) to help me.”

For a really young child, you might say, “Hmmm, wing, that is a new word. Do you know where the bird’s wing is? …. here it is!”

For older children, you might have them explain in more detail. Such as, “That didn’t make sense to me, so I tried re-reading the sentence before again and the sentence after. Then I understood the mouse wanted his friend to help him but the friend didn’t know the mouse needed help.”