Reading is a fundamental skill. In 3rd grade, your child begins the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Some key skills we will master in 3rd grade include:

• Reading closely to find main ideas and supporting details in a story
• Describing the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in stories (e.g., first, second, third; cause and effect)
• Comparing the most important points and key details presented in two books on the same topic
• Writing opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts and details
• Writing stories that establish a situation and include details and clear sequences of events that describe the actions, thoughts, and feelings of characters
• Independently conducting short research projects that build knowledge about various topics
• Asking and answering questions about information he or she hears from a speaker or while participating in classroom discussions, offering appropriate elaboration and detail that build on what others have said
• Reading stories and poems aloud fluently, without pausing to figure out what each word means
• Distinguishing the literal and nonliteral meanings of words, such as something’s fishy and cold shoulder
• Spelling correctly and consulting dictionaries to clarify meanings of words