Grade 3 Requirements

For Rising 3rd Graders
The ACDS Reading and Response Journal project is required summer work. Students may choose to keep either a hard copy journal, an online blog, or a combination of the two.  The requirements are the same for blogging or journaling; it is just the format that is different.Students should view the journal as a way to chronicle their summer and to share their personality with their classmates and teachers in September. Students will not receive a grade on this project, but will receive teacher feedback, and the journal will provide the basis for conversations that will allow teachers to get to know students better. Everyone will want to keep a journal that helps them document a great summer and one that makes them proud.

Required Entries (You must complete each of these)

Remember:  all entries should include the date the entry was written. (It is okay if a student does multiple entries on the same date.) Don't forget to use complete sentences, correct capitalization, punctuation and spelling. 
1.  Create a cover for your journal or design the format for your blog.

2.  Read the grade 3 & 4 community read:
Everyone at ACDS is reading a book relating to the theme of new beginnings. The rising third  and fourth graders' book will be El Deafo by Cece Bell.

Read or listen to someone read this book. As you read, pay attention to the story. Look through the book again and pay close attention to the pictures. 

Write the name of the book and the author in your journal. Select two of these questions and write a sentence to answer each question. Draw a picture to go with your answer.
  • How does Cece change and grow throughout the book? Can you place yourself in her shoes for any of these situations?
  • What is the message of this story? Use evidence from the text to support yout thinking. 
  • What do you think that this book teaches kids, both hearing and deaf, if anything?
  • Why do you think Cece liked dreaming about being a superhero?
  • Throughout the book, Cece has a hard time expressing herself. By the end of the book, she seems to find her voice. What changed for her to help her get past her shyness?
  • Why do you think Cece Bell decided to make this story a graphic novel? Did this format help or hinder you in any way?
  • On the back cover of the book you can read the blurb. Imagine it’s your job to write the blurb for El Deafo: what would you write? How important is the blurb? What’s it for?
  • How much do you care what other people think of you? Is it good to care? Is it bad to care
  • If you were/are deaf, would you rather go to a school with only other children who are deaf, like Cece does in chapter three when she first starts school, or to a mixed school like Cece does later in the book?
  • Read ‘A note from the author’ at the end of the book. Can you imagine what it might be like to be deaf? What would be different for you?

​This book is available on EPIC and at Hooray for Books and elsewhere.
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3.  Just Right Books (3 or more)
Read:  At least three books at your "just right" level. Then you should enter the following information in the journal for each book:
  • Title of the Book
  • Author's Name
  • Draw a picture of a favorite character or part of the book. If you're blogging, take a picture of your drawing and post it.
You can find more "just right" books here.
4.  Book of Your Choice (1 or more)
Read: One book of your choice. Please select a book that you have not read before. Select a book of interest to you. It can be any book-- fiction, nonfiction, biography, graphic novel, any book, at any level, with your parents approval.

Write (or create a multimedia) Book Review.  Remember to include:
  • The full title of the book
  • The author's full name
  • A short summary of the plot. (Don't give away any surprises!)
  • What you liked about it
  • A rating from 1 to 5 where 5 stars is the best
 
Looking for ideas? Here are some great sources for book recommendations.
We are tracking all the books we are reading as a community here:

Optional Entries (Complete as many of these as you would like)

Students are encouraged to try some of the suggested optional entries, ideas from the Summer Ideas blog, or to use the rest of the journal to pursue other projects of interest. Be sure to click on the hyperlink in each task to see the specific reflection questions to inspire your answers. The reflection questions are a guide to help format your answers-- you may address other questions that interest you instead or as well. ​