READING

Reading is about interacting with a text and making meaning based on the words, pictures, and your own thinking. Your child will read a wide variety of chapter books, picture books, articles, and more this year.

How can you help at home?

• First and foremost, have fun with reading! Read, laugh, talk, and notice together what's on the page.
• Provide a quiet time and place to read free from distractions every day.
• Ask your child what s/he is thinking about as they read.

These are questions you can use to discuss a book of fiction witih your child:

Character Questions:

• What kind of person is __________ (near the beginning of the book; main and secondary characters)?  
• How is ___________ acting differently than s/he did before (about midway through a book)?
• Explain how ______ reacts to the events in this chapter.
• How is _________ changing (closer to the end of the book)?

Vocabulary and Figurative Language Questions

• When a student notices new vocabulary words or figurative language, ask her what she thinks the word or phrase means, checking to see how she uses what she knows from reading the book to interpret the word/figurative language.

Themes & Ideas Questions

• What is a lesson ________ learns by the end of the story (again, focusing on the main character)?  Is your child able to name a universal theme rather than a partial theme just from one section of the book.  For example, a universal thing would be “It’s important to stand up for yourself.”  A partial theme might be “Andy learns to like school.”
• What is a lesson you learned from reading this book?

Plot and Setting Questions

• Retell what happens in this chapter.
• What is the problem in this story?
• Retell the three or four most important events from the whole story so far.

Here is a link to "10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader".

• 3rd Grade Curriculum

This document may be a little overwhelming to read, but don't worry. Our reading curriculum is chunked into literature and informational reading units to be taught throughout the year.

• 3rd Grade Snap Words - Words we want students to be able to read in a "snap."