Our goal is to teach the children to enjoy writing and to see themselves as writers. The Houghton Mifflin reading series introduces many activities in which reading, writing and language are mutually supportive. Grade Three Reading Literature is integrated throughout our entire third grade curriculum. Children are given the opportunity to spend time both reading silently and listening to the teacher read material. Several themes including fantasy, the family, magic, beneath the sea and fairy tales are explored through the use of a basal reader, theme books and classroom literature collections.
Various genres are explored, including realistic fiction, biography, mystery and non-fiction.
Children learn to respond to exaggeration, to recognize the characteristics of fantasy and to identify the elements in folk and fairy tales, not only through their reading but also through their daily writing. Writing occurs throughout the curriculum. Dictionary and encyclopedia skills are introduced at this level. Phonics and language skills are taught through the literature experiences, language and phonics texts. The role of the teacher is critically important in the fourth grade writing program.