In third grade we have guided reading and strategy groups. We work in small groups so students are able to read and learn to use strategies at their level and speed. We also spend time in whole group sessions or mini lessons working on Fluency, Comprehension, and Vocabulary strategies.
We use a Literacy CAFÉ Menu to help us remember and practice reading strategies in third grade. (CAFÉ = Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Extended Vocabulary) There are many comprehension strategies we focus on to ‘check for understanding.’ Good readers will stop to make sure they remember and understand who and what they are reading about. Learning how important it is to pick "good fit" books that are at our individual reading level helps us to read accurately. We have fun with the Fluency strategies as we use punctuation to adjust our voice and try to read like we talk----with expression! We work hard to ‘Tune into Interesting Words’ as we learn and extend our vocabulary knowledge.
We also use "The Daily Five" framework during reading/lang. class. We have five ways of working with reading and writing to practice skills every week. Students are given choices so they are more interested and motivated to complete their work. The Daily Five choices include read to self, word work, work on writing, listen to reading, and reading to someone. Students work very hard to increase their stamina for reading and writing during these classes.