This page will answer some of the common questions I am asked about our 3rd
grade reading program. Please feel free to email me with questions that I have
not answered on this sheet.
- What reading skills will be taught?
- What kinds of things will my child read in 3rd grade?
- How will my child's reading be assessed?
- Why does my child need to read 100 minutes per week for homework?
What reading skills will be taught?
We touch on many different reading skills throughout the year. Early in the
year we focus on the basics, like choosing books and developing stamina as
readers. As the year progresses we focus on a number of comprehension skills
including:
Visualization
Text Connections
Main Idea/Summary
Inference
Cause & Effect
Sequencing
& Context Clues
What kinds of things will my child read in 3rd grade?
In third grade we read a variety of texts. It is important for students to be
exposed to a number of different genres, writing styles, and purposes in order
to help create well-balanced readers. Each day students will read independent
reading books individually selected to match their reading level and
interests. In addition, we will read some texts as a class in order to
practice good reading strategies and continue our growth as readers.
Some examples of books we've read:
Charlotte's Web
Because of Winn-Dixie
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Penguins (Non-Fiction)
Little House in the Big Woods
Sarah Plain and Tall
Island of the Blue Dolphins
& many more!
How will my child's reading be assessed?
We use a number of assessments to monitor your child's progress in reading.
The two things we will be measuring are:
Reading Fluency: the number of words read correctly in one minute (with
expression & heeding punctuation); research shows students who read fluently
are able to focus on comprehension.
Reading Comprehension: the understanding of what has been read; students who
are able to read fluently may still struggle to understand or recall what has
been read.
Other: assessments like TAKS & Kamico Reading Passages
Both fluency and comprehension are assessed regularly, and this allows me to
quickly identify difficulties or move a student to more difficult reading
materials based on their individual needs.
Some assessments that will be done this year include:
1) DRA
2) R-CBM (a 1-minute measure of reading fluency)
3) Kamico Reading Passages (w/ comprehension questions)
4) MAZE (3-minute comprehension measures)
5) TAKS
6) Reading Response Journals, Assignments, and Projects
Why does my child need to read 100 minutes per week for homework?
Reading 20 minutes per night makes a HUGE difference. Keep reading to see just
how much!(Source: Read Across America- NEA)
"Why Can't I Skip My 20 Minutes of Reading Tonight?"
Let's figure it out -- mathematically!
Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week.
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times per week = 100 min./wk.
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year.
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year.
Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.
By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading
habits..
Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days.
Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.
Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school....and in life?