The links noted from the reading series do indeed come from the Houghton Mifflin company. The reading series is just one piece of our reading work. There are some great stories in the series and we share them as a whole class in a variety of ways. The links provide some interesting opportunities if your child is interested. We are currently in Theme 1 Off to Adventure.

Reader's Workshop includes read alouds, buddy reading, independent reading, and reading groups where students are grouped together to read and share specific books. The reading groups provide opportunities to focus in on a variety of reading skills, which are selected based on the concepts we are currently working on as a class and the needs of the particular group. We spend a great deal of time reading books, mostly chapter books. Third graders need to learn how to sustain their reading over time, and to continue to fully process the text over time, including the next day. We spend a great deal of time sharing our thinking about the text, discussing the connections we make from the text to our personal lives, our world knowledge, and to other books (and movies too).