Reading: Reading In School: We've been exploring a variety of genres as we being reading lives as third grade.rs We spend some time looking at fantasy stories for the first few weeks and are now focusing on reading some realistic fiction. We're currently reading the story Because of Winn Dixie. We've been taking an in-depth look at how the characters change in this story and the traits that make this a realistic fiction book. Our daily focus lessons also explore a wide variety of strategies for building comprehension and fluency in our personal reading. Each week we spend time reading and discussing a text as a whole group, working in book clubs, reading on our own and working in strategy groups. Reading At Home: When your student is picking out books to read at home please have them use our classroom guidelines for "Just Right Books": 1.) Read the title and see if you think it sounds interesting 2.) Read the summary on the back cover and see if it sounds interesting 3.) Read the first two pages to an adult and see how your fluency is - if you make 5 or more errors on either page you need to save this book for later in the year. 4.) Most of your 3rd grade reading books should be chapter books!
A Note from Mrs. Lukaart: Here are a couple of reading suggestions from our Reading Interventionist here at North Oakview.. These are great tips for readers of all ages and levels. Books, Books, Books! Help your child find reading material that is a good fit and that he/she really enjoys. To find out if a book is a good fit, have your child complete the five finger trick: Open the book to the middle and choose any page to read aloud Put up 1 finger for every word that you do not know or cannot pronounce If you have 5 fingers up at the end of the page, it is too difficult to read without help. If you do not have any fingers up , but are reading very slowly and decoding almost every word, you will not enjoy the book. 1 or 2 fingers up means that it is probably a good fit book for you. Visit the public library or local book store to find new titles. Talk with Mrs. Davies, our school librarian. She is a great resource for book recommendations, and she already knows your child J! Explore a variety of text types. Maybe your child would love to read graphic novels, poetry or magazines. Maybe he/she would prefer to read on an electronic device, such as a kindle, iPad, or nook. Set The Stage For Reading Help your child find a quiet, comfortable place to read. Carve out time in your busy schedule for reading. Reading can also happen in transition times, such as riding in the car to sports practice or waiting at the doctor’s office. Set up a special place for your child to keep his/her books. Have your child see you as a reading model. Read to and with your child. Keep reading time enjoyable and relaxed. Be A Reading Coach Many of us were taught to “sound it out” when we came to an unknown word. To help our children become independent readers who monitor and correct themselves as they read, try the following ideas before saying “sound it out”: When your child has trouble reading a word, give him or her wait time of 5 to 10 seconds. See what he/she attempts to do to help him/herself. Then use one or more of the following questions or prompts. What would make sense there? What do you think that word could be? Use the picture to help you figure out what it could be. Get your mouth ready and run into the first three sounds in the word. Now what do you think it could be? Go back to the beginning and try it again. Skip over it and read to the end of the sentence (paragraph). Now what do you think it is? Put in a word that makes sense there. Does it look like the word on the page? You read the word on another page. See if you can find it. Help your child stretch out the sounds in the word. Tell the word to your child. Focus on what your child is doing well and attempting to do. Remain supportive and praise your child’s effort. Try using comments like these when your child is trying to work through the tricky spots. “Good for you. I like the way you worked that out.” “That was a good try. Yes, that word made sense there.” “I like the way you… That is what strong readers do.” “You are really doing some strong reading work! I am proud of you!” Readers Are Thinkers! Talk with your child about what he/she is reading. Reading is social! Before reading: Discuss the title and front and back cover of the book. Make some predictions about what you think might happen or what you might learn in the book. During reading: Talk about the characters. What type of people are they? Do you like them? Why or why not? Why do the characters act the way they do? How are the characters learning or changing? Make connections with your life or other texts that you have read. What does this book remind you of? Ask questions. What are you wondering? Discuss new vocabulary. Share your “Mind Movies”. What are you picturing while you are reading. Talk about how any of your thinking is changing while you are reading. At first I thought … but now I think… After reading: Discuss the author’s message. What was the author trying to teach you in the book? Discuss the most important parts of the text. What would be important to remember if you were to tell others about this book? Practice retelling the text from the beginning to the end. Use transition words such as first, next, then, after that, and finally to help you retell. What are you still wondering? Can you find answers to your unanswered questions? Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not? Set Reading Goals Work with your child to set some realistic goals for at home reading. You could set goals based on length of reading time, number of pages or books read, finishing a book series, different types of books read, or many other options. Find ways to celebrate achieving those reading goals. Attend the North Oakview Family Literacy Events We will be having our first family literacy event in January. Look for more information coming home about this event in Friday Folders before the holiday break. Please feel free to contact me at anytime. I would love to discuss ways that we can work together to support your child in his/her reading development. Tara Lukaart Literacy Specialist [email protected] 616-361-3450 ext. 24217
Writing: We're just wrapping up a unit on personal narrative. Our published pieces are in the hallways. Our next step is to focus on some specific skills that help writers stay on the "main idea". We'll use these strategies as we begin some fiction writing. Math: Our first two units in math have involved using multiplication and division, collecting data, measurement and graphing. Please keep an eye on homework that comes home. It's a great connection for keeping you posted on current work in the classroom! Throughout the year we will continue to work on multiplication and division strategies. Here are some ideas to help you work with your child at home: *Practice skip counting out loud or on paper (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 20) *Get a spiral note book for home and call it your “Multiplication Notebook”. Use it for drawing arrays, multiplication pictures, making fact family triangles and skip counting. *Look up some apps for your phone or iPads – just search “multiplication facts for kids”. *Look up some games, worksheets or activities on the computer. Just Google “multiplication facts for kids” and you’ll get a ton! *Focus on facts you know to help you figure out harder facts (ex. 5x6=30 so 6x6 is 6 higher which is 36) *Buy some multiplication and division flash cards at the dollar store and practice them 5 minutes a night with your student! *Play “Multiplication Top It” with your student – you can use two dice or cards 0-9 from a deck of cards (FYI – the dollar store has decks of cards) A little extra practice really helps! THANK YOU!
Social Studies/Science: Social Studies - We've looked at the geography of Michigan and are moving on to economics in Michigan. Science - We' completed our Light and Sound Unit and and will start our Forces of Motion unit shortly.