TYPICAL DAY – What your child does in a 3rd grade reading class:

            a. Enter the classroom and check the Homework board for any Reading homework, which will only be about once or twice a week.  If there is a homework assignment, students will write it down in their planners and a teacher will check it off with a checkmark.  This means the student wrote the assignment correctly, not that he/she has completed it yet. 

            b. Students will then read silently at this time for about 8-10 minutes as it allows the students to calm down, and read a chapter book for enjoyment.  I do allow students to bring their chapter books to and from class each day so they can continue reading it at other times in the school day and at home.  However, I also explain to them that they need a chapter book and if they are forgetful, it is a smart choice to have one in the reading pocket folder which remains in this classroom.  Once a student has finished a chapter book, he/she will write a summary sheet about it, and a teacher will write back to him/her.  Daily, after our silent reading time, I ask 2-3 students to share a little about their books.  I feel this may help others choose interesting literature in the future and it promotes oral discussion.

            c. Next, the students will read our literature selection in a variety of forms.  They include the following:  whole class read aloud, Popcorn Reading in which one student reads about a paragraph and another picks up where he/she left off, Around the World in which we sit in a circle and each get a chance to read, with a buddy, or in a small group with a teacher.  *We will always read text at least twice and hold a class discussion about it before working on written comprehension, sequencing, or vocabulary activities.

            d. Lesson/instruction continued so the students know what product they are to complete/construct.  One example could be something as simple as a mini-lesson on use of contractions in the literature and in our lives.  Another is using the characters in a story to create a Venn Diagram to compare how they are similar and different.  Vocabulary, comprehension, synonyms/antonyms, character traits, and reading strategies all fall into this part of our reading class schedule. 

            e. Last, I read aloud to our class, as it promotes and models oral reading skills such as intonation, voice control, and allows students more opportunities to create oral predictions.  We also locate vocabulary terms to remember while I read, which are located on the circular table.