Reading and Viewing
In Grade 3, students develop their reading and viewing skills to interact meaningfully with a variety of texts. They learn to apply comprehension strategies, develop vocabulary, and recognize how authors craft texts to convey meaning. Students read for pleasure, personal growth, and to gather information.
Grade Three Expectations for Reading and Viewing
Read for Pleasure and Personal Growth
- Select and read a variety of materials with fluency at the early to transitional levels
- Participate in independent reading with a book chosen to provide just the right amount of challenge
- Explore texts of interest that may be difficult, but still informative
- Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during and after reading
Specific Curriculum Outcomes
By the end of Grade Three, the learner will be expected to:
Inclusive Assessment Strategies
Assessment strategies that provide information about learning:
- Observations: Teacher observations during independent reading, noting student engagement, strategy use, and comprehension
- Conversations: One-on-one reading conferences to discuss book choices, comprehension, and reading strategies
- Products: Reading response journals, graphic organizers, and visual representations of texts
Sample Assessment Tools:
- Running records to assess reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension
- Reading response rubrics for evaluating understanding and critical thinking
- Self-assessment tools for students to reflect on their reading habits and strategies
- Character analysis charts to assess understanding of characterization
- Vocabulary journals to track new word acquisition and understanding
Inclusive Learning Strategies
Additional Resources and Materials
For Teachers
- Diverse classroom library with books, magazines, pamphlets in various genres
- Digital reading resources and platforms
- Graphic organizers for reading comprehension
- Text feature posters and reference materials
- OECS Grade 3 Language Arts Curriculum Guide
For Students
- Reading response journals
- Bookmarks with reading strategy reminders
- Personal dictionaries for new vocabulary
- Character analysis templates
- Text feature scavenger hunt sheets
Teacher Content Knowledge
The purpose of Reading and Viewing instruction is for pleasure and personal growth and to develop readers who enjoy and interact meaningfully with a wide range of genres and text forms. Meaningful interaction with texts is developed through learning how to access and build on background knowledge and use the information provided by various sources for meaning, developing vocabulary, recognizing and using language structures, and meaningful application of graphophonic elements of the text.
Teachers should be aware that reading comprehension strategies are similar to listening comprehension strategies. These include determining the main idea, making connections, predicting, visualizing, inferring, analyzing, and synthesizing. Regular opportunities for students to practice these strategies with texts at their independent reading level will help them develop as confident, strategic readers.