A New Balloon Level 6-8

In A New Balloon, readers follow a child's joy in exploring a balloon's movements-until a curious kitten causes a surprise ending. The story unfolds with a logical sequence that supports prediction and narrative structure. Well-spaced text and clear illustrations support independent reading, while rhyming words like œblow and œgrow and vowel combinations such as œoo in œlook and œballoon enhance phonics learning. Visual cues-such as the balloon's position and the onomatopoeic œPOP!-add drama and reinforce meaning. Ellipses build suspense and introduce students to varied punctuation. This light-hearted and relatable story allows students to practise identifying rhyme, predicting outcomes, and applying conventions in their own writing.

Educational Benefits:

• Builds phonemic awareness with rhymes and vowel patterns.
• Supports prediction through logical sequence and illustration cues.
• Introduces punctuation features such as ellipses and onomatopoeia.
• Reinforces high-frequency word recognition in context.

Classroom Ideas:

• Create a class chart of rhyming pairs from the book.
• Predict and illustrate alternative endings for the balloon's journey.
• Act out the story using simple props like balloons.
• Write a mini-story using ellipses and sound words.

Information:

• Age Group: 5-7 years
• Reading Level: Level 6-8 (Yellow)
• Text Features: Rhymes, visual cues, ellipses, onomatopoeia
• Themes: Family, Leisure, Change over time