3rd Grade

• Say the word and have your child repeat the word while looking at it.
• Ask if the word is familiar and what it makes them think about (examples).
• Use the word in a sentence and have your child come up with a sentence of their own.
• Draw a picture that illustrates the word.
• Find the definition of the word in a dictionary.
• Come up with synonyms (words that mean the same thing).
• Act out the word. Switch roles acting out the word and guessing the word.
• Headbands: Write the words on notecards and place them face down. One person puts the notecard on their forehead with the word facing the other person (the person with the notecard can't peek at the word). The person that can read the card gives clues to the person with the notecard on their forehead while the person holding the notecard tries to guess which word they have.
• Concentration: Make two sets of cards (use notecards or cut scratch paper) with vocabulary words written on them. Flip over all words so they can't be seen. Each person takes turns turning over one word at a time, reading the word, and then using it in a sentence. They turn over a second card and repeat (trying to get a match). If they get a match, they keep both cards. If not, they turn them back over and it is the next player’s turn.

• Karaoke: Find a song. There are many Karaoke songs on Youtube. Print out the lyrics and read through them. The first time, you read them out loud while they follow along. The second time have them read through silently, underlining or highlighting words they don't know. Go over any unfamiliar words with them and then have them read the words aloud. Turn on the Karaoke and sing along.
• Turn the captions on and the volume off of a TV show. Have them read the captions out loud.
• Echo reading: You read a sentence/paragraph while your child is looking at the words. Then have your child read back the same text. *This works great if you have two copies of the same text but if not, have the text be in front of your child when you are reading and move your finger across the text.
• Shared reading: You read a sentence/paragraph/page of a text and then your child reads the next sentence/paragraph/page. *It is important that they are following along when you are reading.
• Recording reading: Have your child read and record themselves. This way they can listen back and reflect on their reading. They will probably want to do it again and again to see if they can improve. Voice Memos is an app that can be used on both i-phones and android phones.
• Read to a pet. Have your child cuddle up with a dog or cat and read a story to them. If you don't have a real pet, they can pick a favorite stuffed animal to read aloud to.

• Ask questions before, during, and after reading.

Before reading: Go on a picture walk before reading the book. Look at the cover, talk about the title and the pictures. Flip through the pages and talk about what your child notices or wonders.

During reading: Ask questions about characters in the story. Who is this story about? Tell me about them. Do the characters remind you of anyone you know?

Ask questions about the setting. Where is this story happening? What time of the day is it? Do you think this story is taking place in the past, current times, or in the future? What makes you think so? Have you ever been somewhere like this?

Ask questions about the plot. What problem is the character having? What would you do to solve the problem? What do you think the character might do next?

After reading: How did the character solve their problem? Did you learn anything? What would you do if you were in that character's shoes? What was your favorite part? Why?

• Cut out the paragraphs in a short newspaper, magazine, or copy of a text. Mix up the paragraphs. Have your child read each paragraph and then put the article back together in the correct order.
• Have your child read a short informational article (newspaper, magazine, or copy of text). Have them circle opinions and underline facts.
• Cook! Have your child read through the ingredients and directions. Go back to the ingredients and have them get everything ready. Continue through the directions following one step at a time. Talk about what might happen if you followed the directions out of order.
• Summarize: Using the five finger technique - Someone, Wanted, But, So, Then... Example:Cinderella wanted to go to the ball, but her evil stepmother wouldn't allow her to go, so her fairy godmother showed up and used magic to give her a dress, shoes, and a carriage so she could go. Then…she met the Prince, they fell in love, and lived happily ever after.

• Long vowels: Brainstorm words that have the long vowel sound. Make a list of the words and underline the letters that make the long sound. Example: If you are working on long o - your words might be boat, snow, go, rose. Your student would underline oa, ow, o, and o_e.
• Write each digraph or consonant blend on a small piece of paper. Put the papers in a container or bag. Have your child pick a paper out of the bag, say the name of the letters and the sound(s) that they make. If they don't know, tell them and put it back in the container. Digraphs (sh, ch, wh, ph, qu, ck, th) or consonant blends (tr, sw, st, sp, sn, sm, sl, sc, pl, gr, fl, dr, cr, cl, br, and bl).
• Base words: Pick a base word such as "do". Add prefixes and/or suffixes to the word (redo, undo, doable, doing...) and talk about how the meaning of the word changes. Try to include prefixes (un-,pre-,re-, bi-) and suffixes (-ful, -y, -ous, -ly, -er, -less, -ness, -able)
• Three letter clusters: Make a picture book using three letter clusters (spr, str, thr). Brainstorm words that have these clusters, fold a piece of paper into six sections. Write each word you think of in a box and illustrate.
• Make a compound word riddle book. What do you get when you add butter and fly? Butterfly!