1. 1 st Strand Vocabulary Understanding how to determine the meaning of a word. 3 rd Strand Read to Perform a Task: Looking at Graphs, Charts and Indexes of many kinds to locate information. 4 th Strand Develop an Interpretation Thinking about story meaning beyond what the text may say. 2 nd Strand Develop a General Understanding Finding answers by looking in the text. Dear Parents, In Grade Three your student is aiming for a score of 204 on the OAKS Reading Assessment in four strand areas. Dear Parents, In Grade Three your student is aiming for a score of 204 on the OAKS Reading Assessment in four strand areas.

2. Page 1 Page 14 Blank To the Parents: This booklet can help you and your child work together at home to improve reading comprehension using a format that will enable your child to perform well on the OAKS reading test. This booklet has three goals: 1.For the parent 1.For the parent: To explain what the “strands” (goals) are for each area of reading comprehension your child will be tested on. 2.For parent and child 2.For parent and child: To provide state test samples you can practice at home that are similar to the ones on the test. 3.For parent and child 3.For parent and child: To inform you of books, you can read together and discuss at home that encourage the use of the reading strategies [strands] your child will be tested on. The test samples and strand data for this booklet can be found on the Oregon State Departments of Education web site. The use of this booklet was designed for the Hillsboro School District based on HSD Power Standards along with the ODE strand categories. This booklet is paid for and furnished to teachers for instruction by the HSD. The concept of this booklet was created by Rick & Susan Richmond © Rick & Susan Richmond 2010 Revision: Original 03-2010 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from Rick & Susan Richmond and the Oregon State Department of Education and the Hillsboro School District. To the Teacher: This book is designed as a tool that should be delivered to the parents but with a brief overview and explanation (modeling) on how to use this book throughout the school year.

3. Page 13 Page 2 I can figure out a new word by.. ( SYNONYMS)…  knowing words that mean about the same ( SYNONYMS)… (ANYTONYMS)..  knowing words that mean the opposite (ANYTONYMS).. (HOMOPHONES)…  knowing words that sound the same but have a different meaning (HOMOPHONES)… (HOMOGRAPHS)…  knowing words that are spelled the same but have a different meaning (HOMOGRAPHS)… CONTEXT CLUES! I can figure out a new word by..  looking at other words nearby.  knowing how the word is used in the sentence. Parent Note: Parent Note: Most questions on the OAKS test for the Vocabulary strand, asks students to find a word that means about the same ( synonym) or using context clues. STRAND 1 Grade Three Books to Read at Home that Enhance Developing an Interpretation Books such as Seven Blind Mice encourage Inferring or “Reading Between the Lines!” Balloon Farm & other predictable text, help students to predict what may happen next! Mysteries such as Hour of the Olympics encourage thinking beyond the text. Train to Somewhere help students to connect a story to their own lives. The Magic School Bus encourages questioning about specific topics. Aeosop’s Fables and other folktale stories help students delve into the Author’s Purpose.

4. Page 12Page 3 Synonyms... Squirrel added the feathers to his horde. In this story, a synonym or word with the same meaning as horde would be... A.friends. B.food. C.gifts. D.collection. How the word is used in a sentence… This bark contains chemicals called tannins which help the tree fight off pests and diseases. In this story, what does the word tannins mean? A.Deep rocks. B.Very tiny seeds. C.Chemicals in bark. D.Lower branches. Looking at other words nearby Sequoias are the king of trees. These humongous plants live high on the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sequoias can grow more than 300 feet tall and 110 feet around the trunk. The story calls sequoias humongous plants. Humongous means A.flowering. B.gigantic. C.green. D.cone-bearing Parents Vocabulary Parents, these are the kind of questions your child is asked in Vocabulary on the grade 3 reading test. Parents, Parents, these are the kind of questions your child is asked in Developing an Interpretation Making a Prediction... OLI DIDN’T WANT TO EAT his ugali. He didn’t want to take a nap. He wanted to go bird hunting in the woods with his big brother Mbachu. His mama said no…….. Oli sat up and listened. All was quiet. From under the mattress, he pulled out his slingshot. Then he sneaked out of the house. What do you think Oli probably did after he sneaked out of the house? A.He hunted for birds with his slingshot for a while. B.He stayed away from his house for two days. C.He found his brother, and they went to the village. D.He came right back to his home to take his nap. This article gives facts and opinions. Which statement below is an opinion? A.Apples have a great taste. B.Apples can be divided into four groups. C.The Golden Delicious grew from a seedling. D.Jonagold is a cross between a Jonathan and a Golden Delicious apple. E.The Golden Delicious grew from a seedling. Robby, the little horse at the end of the line, the one who was pestered and pushed around and knew what it meant to be left out, had taken the trouble to help a newcomer learn the ways of his new home. Which of these words best describes Robby? A.Troublesome B.Greedy C.Frisky D.Understanding

5. Page 4 Page 11 Grade Three Books to Read at Home that - Enhance Vocabulary Its not just knowing what a word means, but knowing HOW TO FIGURE OUT THE MEANING of a word when reading! Little House Books and books about eras in history, present new vocabulary in Context. Amelia Bedelia and books about puns on words and joke books, give opportunity to learn about synonyms & antonyms. Charlotte’s Web and books that have characters using “adult vocabulary.” Any science, social studies or non-fiction informational stories, challenge readers with contextual meaning. The Land I Lost and any books about people from other cultures. Lizard and the Sun/ La Lagartija YEL Sol and any FOLK TALE books, present new vocabulary in context. The “old classics” such as The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, have a rich vocabulary. STRAND 4 I can Interpret Informational text by...  predicting what information will be in the text next.  telling about cause and effect relationships.  knowing the difference between fact and opinion. I can Interpret Literary text by... I can Interpret Literary text by...  telling about the characters’ personality traits based on the text.  predicting what may happen next.  telling about the author’s theme or message.  tell about cause and effect relationships. Parent Note: Parent Note: Most questions on the OAKS test for Developing Interpretation asks students to “read between the lines,” or make a guess based on clues in the story.

6. Page 10Page 5 STRAND 2 When I read informational text, I can…  tell about The Main Idea.  find details in the text.  find Problems in the text.  find Solutions in the text. When I read Literary (fiction) text, I can …  tell who the narrator or speaker is (who’s telling the story).  sequence the events in the story (first, next and last).  choose a special event in the sequence and tell about it.  tell which events are special and make me think about the plot. Parent Note: Parent Note: Most questions on the OAKS test for Demonstrating a General Understanding ask students to answer questions that can be directly found in the text. Grade three Books to Read at Home that Enhance Read to Perform a Task Cookbooks encourage following recipes directions! Hobby and “How To” Books teach reading and following directions and illustrations. Reading a “Kids Menu” helps children find information. Student Dictionaries are a great resource for many skills needed in reading for information! Charts and Graphs are amazing tools for children to learn to use!

7. Page 6 Page 9 GLOSSARY: Absorb to soak up the sound. Some of the best absorbing materials are those with rough surfaces or those with holes. Amplifier is something which makes sounds louder. Bagpipes a musical instrument that is pumped with air supplied from an animal bladder Beat a sound made regularly. The beat helps maintain the rhythm and keeps the musical time. Which of these words is a unit that measures sound? A.an amplifier B.a chord C.a decibel D.an eardrum Parents, Parents, Your child will be asked to answer these kind of questions in Read to Perform a Task Parents, Parents, these are the kind of questions your child is asked in Demonstrating a General Understanding on the grade 3 reading test. A shark twists and turns as it swims. That’s because it doesn’t have a bone in its body! A shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage (say “CAR-ti-luj”). A shark’s skeleton is made up of... A.bones. B.fins. C.gills. D.cartilage. Sequoias can grow more than 300 feet tall and 110 feet around the trunk How tall can a sequoia be? A.Around 110 feet B.From 150 to 250 feet C.More than 300 feet D.125,000 feet It is no wonder that giant sequoias are protected so that you and I, our children, and the children after that can continue to enjoy them. What statement best describes the main idea of the story? A.Sequoia trees have thick bark and blue-green needles. B.Don’t stand under a sequoia in a windstorm. C.Scientists don’t know how long sequoias live. D.Sequoias are huge, awesome trees that live a long time.

8. Page 7 Page 8 Grade Three Books to Read at Home that Enhance Demonstrating General Understanding Chapter books such as the Amber Brown series have simple plots, & narrators voice. Chapter books such as the Zac Files series have simple plots and special events. Historical Fiction based on true sequential events such as Freedoms Wings. Literary Text Informational Text Biographies such as Helen Keller teach problems and solutions. Science and Social Studies books present main ideas and details. STRAND 3 When I read to locate information I can…  look in the Table of Contents.  look at illustrations.  look at captions.  look in glossaries.  look in indexes. When I read to Interpret information I can…  interpret information in diagrams.  interpret information in charts.  interpret information in graphs. I Can….  Follow simple multi-step written directions. Parent Note: Parent Note: Most questions on the OAKS test for Read to Perform a Task ask students to show they can read a graph or chart to find answers.