Below is a list of skills a third grader should learn or have by the end of the year. This list is adapted from World Book Encyclopedia but I have added curriculum recommendations.
Silent reading: Your third grader should be able to read silently. Here is a third grade reading list you can use.
Reading prose and poetry aloud: Poetry Grades 3-4 is a great workbook to use another option is Instant Activities for Poetry for grade 3-6.
Oral presentations: Your third grader should be able to tell a story, describe a book, or report an experience accurately. Give him or her opportunities to speak publicly either in church, in plays, or through academic groups.
Developing word-attack methods: Daily warm ups is a good book for this.
Spelling should include lessons on synonyms, antonyms, homonyms as well as vocabulary development. A good book for this would be 240 Vocabulary words 3rd Grade Kids Need to Know.
Alphabetizing through the third letter of a word: A good way of teaching this skill is to write a child’s spelling words on index cards each week and have them alphabetize the cards. Then have them write down the words in the correct order.
Dictionary skills: Also using your child’s spelling list, have them look up the words and write down the definitions.
Beginning cursive writing: See this families.com guide for penmanship which includes cursive writing don’t forget to read part 2 which specifically talks about cursive writing.
Writing skills should teach the Concept of paragraph, punctuation such as using period, comma, question mark, apostrophe, quotation marks, and writing short, original stories and poems. Look for Spectrum writing books to help you teach these skills. These books are excellent preparation for standardized tests.
Post writing skills: editing and proofreading for these lessons I prefer Critical Thinking books Editor in Chief which teaches children the how and why of proofing their work.
It is of course not necessary to purchase all of the recommended books to get through third grade language arts, but if you as a parent find you are weak in one or more of these areas, having a book on hand can really help.
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