Third graders can:
1. Read fluently and enjoy reading.
2. Use a range of strategies when drawing meaning from the text.
3. Use word identification strategies appropriately and automatically when encountering unknown words.
4. Recognize and discuss elements of different text structures.
5. Make critical connections between texts.
6. Write expressively in many different forms (stories, poems, reports).
7. Use a rich variety of vocabulary and sentences appropriate to text forms..
8. Revise and edit their own writing during and after composing. 9. Spell words correctly in final writing drafts.
What parents and family members can do:
1. Continue to support children's learning and interest by visiting the library and bookstores with them
2. Find ways to highlight children's progress in reading and writing
3. Stay in regular contact with your child's teachers about activities and progress in reading and writing
4. Encourage children to use and enjoy print for many purposes (such as recipes, directions, games, and sports)
5. Build a love of language in all its forms and engage children in conversation
In your child’s classroom
In third grade, your child will move beyond “learning to read” and will begin “reading to learn”. They will start reading more for pleasure. Your child should enter third grade reading fluently and with comprehension. Your child will be learning how to use a more formalized writing process of drafting, editing, and finalizing.
At the beginning of third grade your child may want things to be perfect. They may pout if he makes a handwriting mistake or he may not want to expand on his writing if he doesn’t know how to spell everything correctly. It is important to encourage him and explain that everyone makes mistakes.
Read with your child
To prepare for third grade, take your child to your local library and have them pick out books of interest at their reading level. Continue to read aloud to your child and ask comprehension questions about the text, to see if he understands the who, what, where, when and how of what he is reading. Our teacher consultant suggests: “If your is reading nonfiction, you could have them pick out interesting facts about the topic. I have children use sticky notes to jot down their facts and then tell me what they wrote.”
Power reading talk
This activity helps build your child’s reading comprehension strategies. People underestimate the power of talk, when reading with a child. In the classroom it is the most powerful tool that we as teachers have to direct thinking. So, as parents, you can continue to reinforce this at home, by coaching your child with positive statements, by questioning and using the five W’s and H (who, what, where, why, when, and how) and by modeling your thinking out loud as you read. “This reminds me of…” Or predicting what will happen next, using evidence from the text.
What you’ll need
- Books on your child’s reading level and interest level
Here’s how to do it
Create a quiet, distraction-free reading environment that has a special time and place for you and your child to read together, on a nightly basis. Choose a book appropriate to your child’s reading level, and keep in mind that even if your child can read every word correctly in the book, he may not understand the story.
Start by reading aloud to your child and modeling the strategies you use to comprehend. Discuss the story, helping your child connect his own experiences to events or characters in the book. Pause as you read and make predictions about what you think might happen next. Discuss evidence from the book that supports your prediction, and read on to see if you can confirm or disprove your prediction. Ask questions periodically while you read, such as, “Why do you think the character did that?” “What seems to be the problem in the story?” “How do you think the problem will be solved?” With practice, these strategies should become automatic for your child.
Master Math skills at home
In math your child will learn the multiplication tables, how to tell time to the minute and how to solve problems with fractions. To practice fractions at home you can ask your child to divide fruit such as an apple into fractional parts of halves, thirds and fourths. You can also have your child divide into equal shares. For example, if there are six cookies and three people, you can ask, “How many cookies does each person receive equally?” Learning to solve problems in math is a critical skill, and many of the math standards and tests expect children to be able to reason through problems. Ask your child to explain how they found the answer.