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 login to ACDS summer blog here.

2. Read the grade 3 community read:

The required book for rising third graders is How to Solve a Problem: The Rise and Fall of a Rock-Climbing Champion.

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 Ashima use her falls to help her become a better climber?
How does Ashima feel after she finishes her problem?
What can you learn by making mistakes?
What is a lesson that you learned from reading this book? How can you apply this learning to your own life?

Other fun activities related to the book:
* Watch a video of Ashima Shiraishi

*Name one activity or skill that you want to learn or improve. Then you should design a series of activities that will be difficult enough to build your skill. Draw or write a plan for your personal growth challenge!

This book is available at the Alexandria Public Library, Hooray for Books (20% discount if you mention you're from ACDS) and elsewhere.

3. Choice Books:
(3 or more)

Read: At least three books at your grade level. Click here for a list of suggested book titles. (Use the 5 Finger Rule to pick a perfect book.) 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.

Click here to access additional sources for book recommendations.

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.