| | |  | | Literacy: Reading, Writing & Spelling | | READING: The Reader's Workshop model is used to differentiate curriculum
and ensure that student needs are being met. Critical thinking skills
are emphasized, and students have many opportunities for discussion and
written responses to literature. We also provide time for independent
reading at a "just right" level. Some of the books used for enrichment
during the year are Mr. Popper's Penguins, James and the Giant Peach,
The Chocolate Touch, Frindle, The Hundred Penny Box, and Charlotte's
Web. Many other chapter books and picture books are used to reinforce
comprehension skills, and to provide experiences with all genres of
literature.
A monthly READING CALENDAR is part of third grade homework; at least
twenty minutes of reading five times a week is required. (See HOMEWORK
SUMMARY page)
Students are also required to read 25 books in the classroom during the
school year. We use a program called Accelerated Reader. Students read
books that are leveled to their independent reading ability and then
take a short comprehension test on the computer.
Research shows conclusively that top readers are the students who spend much of their free time reading!!
WRITING: The Writer's Workshop model is used, incorporating steps of
the writing process: Prewriting, First Draft, Revise/Edit, and Final
Draft. Students learn to write for a variety of purposes, and work is
saved for review at conferences. The Thea Holtan Research method is
taught, and students have three research paper experiences during the
school year. Daily Oral Language sentences (D.O.L.) are edited on a
daily basis to reinforce grammar and conventions of language.
SPELLING: A pretest is given on Monday and the list is sent home. Tests are on Friday.
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