3rd Quarter Reading Update

Hello 3^rd Grade Families!

Over this last quarter in reading, we have been working on quite a variety of skills. We have been comparing and contrasting different National Parks by using short reading passages. Each third grader also is a part of a Book Club or Literature Circle. These small reading groups have focused on chapter books and giving students ownership over their learning. When we meet, students report on, reflect on, and connect with what they read. Each group has been working on reading a chapter book at his/her appropriate level.

In addition to the reading and weekly spelling/vocabulary work we do, we also have our weekly writing prompt. This quarter, third graders have focused of learning the art of paragraph writing. We have been practicing writing topic sentences, sentences with supporting details, and closing sentences. Learning how to write paragraphs is hard, and we have been using the “hamburger paragraph” method to help us keep our thoughts straight. The “buns” are the topic/closing sentences, and the “meat/veggies” are the supporting details. Third graders have also been using a rubric for scoring their writing as a way of reflecting on how they are meeting the criteria. I have been really impressed with how much growth I have seen this quarter in their writing, and they were able to use this knowledge to help write their bee research papers!

As always, if you have any questions about our work or your child’s progress, please do not hesitate to get in touch! I hope you have a restful Spring Break! See you in April!

Katie