Mrs. Kruder's Website

Great Parent Websites for Information about Reading

A wonderful website to get many tips about reading at home with children of all ages is:

www.rif.org/parents/

Another great source is Reading Rockets

www.readingrockets.org/audience/parents

Colorin Colorado is excellent too

In Englishwww.colorincolorado.org

and Spanish www.colorincolorado.org/?langswitch=es

Looking for a good book?? Check the site below for recommendations by age!

http://www.twentybyjenny.com/

NEW!! From the International Reading Association

Fantastic literacy activities for your child and tips and information for parents!

Organized by grade level; click below for the Grades 3-4 page!

http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/grade/3-4/

Websites for Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading Practice (Games too!!)

This is not a comprehensive list, just a few of many that are out there. I will add more from time to time- check back again soon! If you find a great website, I would love to hear about it and may even add it to the list below. Have fun!!

Grammar Games

Simple and Compound Sentences

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/language_arts/goforgold/content_builder/dswmedia/g3c5/nadia.htm

Grammar Blast Games

Nouns

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=3&Unit=2&Topic=Nouns

The Sentence

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=3&Unit=1&Topic=The+Sentence

Verbs

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=3&Unit=3&Topic=Verbs

Capitalization and punctuation

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=3&Unit=5&Topic=Capitalization+and+Punctuation

Adjectives and adverbs

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=3&Unit=4&Topic=Adjectives+and+Adverbs

Pronouns

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=3&Unit=6&Topic=Pronouns

Super challenge Game!!! A review of all the grammar games

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi?template=/school/kids/hme/k_5/quizzes/direction.html&Grade=3

Can't Get enough practice?? Look here for --everything Grammar related!!

Click below for a link to ALOT of grammar/writing practice for kids! Be sure to scroll all the way down the page to see all the many games/activities it has to offer!!

http://www.mrsvandyke.com/writingsites.htm

Spelling

Have fun and practice your own spelling words at the same time. Check out www.spellingcity.com

Spelling Bees Game

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/spelling-bees/spelling-bees.html

Vocabulary Games

Word Frog (Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms)

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/frog/frog.html

Furious Frogs Game (Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms)

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/furious-frogs/furious-frogs.html

Homonyms Game- Word Confusion

www.funbrain.com/whichword/index.html

Homophones Game

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/skillswise/mod_quizzes/words/spelling/recognising/homophones/quizengine?quiz=simplequiz1;templateStyle=simplequiz;pagerType=pages;pagerData=1

Compound Words

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/crazy_comp_words/eng/Introduction/default.htm

Context Clues

http://www.toonuniversity.com/flash.asp?err=191

Plural words (a game for one or two players)

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/plural/index_pre.html

Prefixes, Suffixes, and Base words

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/5_6/fishtanks1/fishtanks1.htm

Reading Practice

Reading Strategies Practice

Reading Strategies help a reader to make sense of the story and understand what they are reading

This site contains great information for students about reading strategies and includes games for practicing the strategies.

It is free! You just need to enter your first name and it will give you a code to write down and enter each time you use the site.

http://reading.ecb.org/student/index.html

Reading Skills Practice

Skills are things that a reader can be tested on to see if they have mastered. The following skills listed are important skills for 3rd grade students should be working to master. This is NOT a complete list, rather it highlights some that have been introduced in class. Students should continue to practice these to keep their skills sharp and continue to work towards mastery.

Games for skills practice

Author's Purpose

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/authorpur.cfm

Sequencing

Practice putting story events in order

www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/a/sequence13.cfm

Story Elements

Character, setting, problem, etc.

http://www.learner.org/interactives/story/index.html

Setting

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/setting.cfm

Compare/Contrast

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/m/comparecontrastl2.cfm

Drawing Conclusions

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/inferchar.cfm

Main Idea

http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/GetTheIdea/default.htm

http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/rcmi1.htm

Fact and Opinion

http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/factsopinions/factsopinions.html

Test Prep

As you know, your child will be taking the ISAT reading test this spring.There are several sites that offer practice tests to get students used to the format of the questions. Below I have provided a link to one such site. I will add more from time to time. Check back often!!

Read a story and answer the questions. Try doing this together and talk through the questions. Help them to show you where they found the answer in the story or why they think a particular answer is correct. If they are not right; encourage them to share their thinking and give them clues to help them figure out the correct answer.

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/el/studyzone/330/reading.index.htm

Main Idea Practice

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/h/mainideap2.cfm

Reading Comprehension Practice

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/200/reading/smicat1.htm

Just for fun :o) Learn to type!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Every night

Read for at least 20 minutes!

Weekly Homework Information and Tips

Weekend Reading

Every Friday your child takes home their reading book to re-read a familiar story and I send home a reading tip sheet for parents. You can encourage your child to read in a variety of ways

Take turns reading aloud to one another
Your child can read aloud to you or another family member
Your child can read into a recorder and make their own "book-on-tape" for themselves or someone else

There are also many things you can discuss before, during, and after reading to help your child comprehend (remember and understand) the story better.

Before Reading

look at the pictures and encourage your child to tell you what they remember about the story
ask them if it is fiction, non-fiction, biography, tall-tale, etc. and how they know
discuss the title and if it is a good match for the story

During Reading

Stop every page or two and encourage your child to say something

Ask them one of the following questions

If they can make a connection
What they are visualizing (seeing in their mind)
What is the problem in the story
What do they think the character will do next (and why)
Does the story make sense to them
If they can tell you what the setting (time and place the story happens) of the story is
Who is the main character

Or share your thoughts about the story, what you think will happen next (and why)

After Reading

Discuss the story and ask a couple of questions such as:

Do you agree with what (the character) did? Why or why not?
If you could add more to the story, what do you think would happen next?
Who were the characters?
What was the setting? How do you know?
What was the problem? How do you know?
How was the problem fixed? Do you think you would have solved it the same way? Why or why not?
What connection(s) can you make to this story?

I hope these tips help, if you would like additional information about reading with your child do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your support and cooperation. It is essential to your child's success in reading!