Prek – 3rd grade are the most important grades when it comes to literacy. Kids are just learning the alphabet in the pre k and 1 to 2 letter sight words. As they grow older, they get 3-4 letter sight words and learn how to comprehend texts.
Did you know that prek – 3rd grade reading comprehension has a direct relationship to graduation rates?
You can read more here. Third grade literacy
Some believe that holding a child back can be damaging to their mental health. They are no longer with their friends, if their friends passed. They will feel like a failure. But also, passing a child to the next level without knowing how to read, is just as damaging. They are being set up to fail.
Reading comprehension
I just recently watched a school board meeting in my county and they decided to pass a “law” that if a child cannot read at the 3rd grade level, they will be held back. I was shocked. The nail in the coffin is when they stated that 60 percent of 3rd graders will fail. That was my wow moment.
What is happening that these 3rd graders cannot read? Is the school system ready to fail them? I can think of the burden of the teacher. Their class size will double. You will have new 3rd graders and repeat 3rd graders. Aren’t our teachers going through enough already?
I started thinking, maybe the issue is comprehending the text. I tutor children of all ages and when I have them read to me, I ask questions regarding the text. Some can tell me exactly what happens in the story, while others can only remember the end. Why the end? That was the last part they read.
So I decided, let’s practice reading passages and comprehension.
How To Improve Reading Comprehension
I decided to create a tool to help 3rd grade reading comprehension. Some students may not have access to books at the library for various reasons, and sometimes it’s hard to see a child’s reading level if the books are not marked for their grade level.
Pick a book and read it.
That book can be the ABC book and of course they can read that. It’s for pre k – kindergarten. Not a good choice. That can create a false report. Oh my child can read. Yeah for a lower grade level.
But find one for their grade level, can they read it?
Third grade literacy is very important. No one wants their child to repeat a grade level. This pandemic already cost us a year of learning and some students are trying to catch up. Is this taken into consideration?
Reading activities for third grade will help your child or students practice reading and comprehend the texts.
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
The worksheets for reading comprehension aligns with state standards. Your student will read a passage and questions will be asked about the story. There are also stories for them to create based on the topic. They can also practice their sounds, such as the “CH” sounds.
Matching a sentence to the picture also tests their reading comprehension.
These reading activities are great for the classroom or homeschool. The reading games work with any curriculum.
