5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Recommended, May 31, 2007
This review is from: Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn (Paperback)
I found this book while browsing in the library, towards the end of my son's third grade (one more month to go). I just wish I had found the book sooner! My son has special needs, and goes to a special ed program. Like most other parents in a similar situation, I feel like his learning needs to be supplemented at home, but I have no clue about what to teach and how, especially in science and social studies, where no materials come home. This book addressed my needs very well. It appears to be a supplemental guide for parents to teach at home, for kids already learning in school. The book also claims it can help home-schoolers, and I can see that happening as well. I think it would also be useful for third grade teachers, to give them ideas about presenting the materials for the students, in different ways.
It starts with a few chapters about third graders in general. That helped me get perspective about what is "typical" and what is unique to my son. There is a section on Learning styles (which I found quite useful in referencing later chapters) and Learning Standards, which I barely skimmed through, so I can't comment on that.
The rest of the book is devoted to Third Grade curriculum. Each chapter starts with a nice, bulleted checklist of what a typical third grader should already know, and goes on to provide introduction about the chapter, e.g., reading, life science etc. And then there are suggested activities to help the child learn the topic. There are several activities for each topic, so you can pick and choose. Each activity lists expected time taken, materials required, and description. It is then followed by a key, explaining which parts will be useful for visual, auditory or kinesthetic learners (refer to Learning Styles chapter). All the topics that I looked at, seem to match-up with what was supposed to have been covered in our California school. Then, the chapters end with a bulleted checklist of what your third grader should have learned by now. Wonderful!!! Both the before and after checklists helped me identify "holes" in my son's learning, and hopefully, I will be able to address those areas later. The over-all layout of each chapter is very appealing, and it feels very pleasant to read.
I was very sure my son had no clue about the "sound" topic, even though it had been taught in class. We picked an easy "rubber chicken" activity. The book said it would take about a half hour, which I thought was too liberal... it is such an easy activity. But when we were actually done with it, it was right on the half-hour mark!! My son really loved doing it!! Then we did the spoon-gong activity, and I explained the concept of vibrations producing sounds... and my son just "got it". This coming from a child who needs at least a couple of days of constant repetition before he gets any new concept!! And he did not "zone-out" at all!!
I absolutely love this book, and look forward to using the Fourth Grade edition next year. I have not compared with other parent guides, so I cannot comment on which are better. In fact, I'm really considering buying this book to use over the summer.
One observation is that this book is completely geared towards parents. It would be great if there were some sections/activities for kids to read and follow-along by themselves. Or at least, conclusion to each topic, addressed to kids. I would find that very useful, as it would introduce the formal "terminology" to the kids, after the parents have already explained the topic to them. Even without this additional feature, I think it is quite a useful book.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything You Need to Know, June 24, 2007
This review is from: Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn (Paperback)
This is an exceptional piece of work. Amy charts a wonderful path through the world of a 3rd grader starting with the developmental stages, learning styles and learning standards. This background is crucial for understanding the chapters on reading, writing, math, science, social studies and thinking skills. Each chapter includes check lists, fun, practical exercises and a discussion of how to apply the material in everyday life. The chapter on 3rd grade society is a detailed look into the world every 3rd grader experiences daily - very insightful. She concludes with reading suggestions and software recommendations.
This is a MUST have for every parent/grand parent with a little one in the third grade. Buy 2 copies - one for use and one for reference, it's that good!!
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