Reading in the Classroom
Your child will participate in literacy everyday. During this time there will be multiple opportunities for your child to learn different strategies and skills as well as find a love for reading. Each week we will focus on a certain reading skill but will always be incorporating the other skills that we have learned into our reading. Our reading block is broken into different segments which can include; spelling, templates, whole class literacy, small group literacy, and time in text. If you have any questions about any of these pieces feel free to ask! I love to share how our literacy time works, it is one of my favorite times of the day!
Time in Text
Everyday your child will be able to participate in quiet reading time. We call this time, "Time in Text." During this time they will be reading a self selected book that is at their appropriate reading level. It is my expectation that this book go back and forth between home and school. It is important to me that students read the same book at home and at school. This way students are not trying to keep track of characters, settings, and events in multiple books. The self selected book that they choose should be a book that they enjoy reading or a topic that they are interested in if it is non-fiction.
During the week students will be meeting with me or a peer to discuss their book and what they are reading. It is an expectation that one out of every five books is a non-fiction books. I have found that students enjoy non-fiction books and really enjoy being able to discuss all of the facts that they have learned.
During the week students will be meeting with me or a peer to discuss their book and what they are reading. It is an expectation that one out of every five books is a non-fiction books. I have found that students enjoy non-fiction books and really enjoy being able to discuss all of the facts that they have learned.
Targeted Instruction
Our goal duiring targeted instruction is to differentiate for students depending on the skills and strategies that they need to focus on. During this block of time each day students will go between one of four classrooms in third grade. Each classroom will be working on a different skill to make sure your child becomes a successful reader.
Help at Home
The best way to help your reader at home is to listen to them read. I suggest that each student reads aloud at least 3 nights a week. Reading aloud helps students hear what they are saying. Sometimes when we are reading to ourselves our brain sees the words and we can see it but sometimes they don't always come out the right way when we read it outloud. I always think this is my brain thinking faster than I can spit out the words! When your child is reading aloud to you, please make sure you ask them questions about what is happening, who is in the story, and what they think will happen in the future. This way you can see if you child is truely reading for meaning, or if they are just reading to get the time done. Third grade is when there is a true switch from learning to read, to reading to learn.