The Read to Achieve program
is part of The Excellent
Public Schools Act of N.C
(NC House Bill 950)
which became law in July 2012.
The law outlines that if a 3rd grader
is not reading at grade level by the
end of 3rd grade, they will have to
either repeat the third grade or
attend reading camp.
KEY QUESTIONS
• What steps are being taken to get your 3rd grader
reading at or above grade level?
• How will the State determine if your child is reading at
grade level?
• What will happen if your child isn’t reading at grade
level?
• How can you help your child with his or her reading?
What steps are being taken to get your 3rd grader reading at grade level?
We are providing strong instruction in literacy.
What steps are being taken to get your 3rd grader reading at grade level?
We are providing extra help to students who need it.
What steps are being taken to get your 3rd grader reading at grade level?
We are gathering information on your child’s progress.
Your child’s teacher
will continue to
observe and monitor
their progress.
Your child can take
up to 3 passages per
week. Passages are
aligned to specific
standards your child
needs to master.
These assessments
include mCLASS
and CASE 21, along
with the EOG.
What steps are being taken to get your 3rd grader reading at grade level?
We are sharing information on your child’s progress.
We’ll talk about this
specifically during
conferences, emails,
or reports home.
We’ll share standards
and scores.
You will get formal
reports, including the
Home Connect
letter.
What steps are being taken to get your 3rd grader reading at grade level?
We are sharing information on your child’s progress.
TRADITIONAL CALENDAR STUDENTS
How will the State determine that
your child is reading at grade level?
TRADITIONAL CALENDAR STUDENTS
How will the State determine that your child is reading at grade level?
Did your child pass the reading section of the
EOGs?
 Yes. Your child moves
to the 4th grade.
 No. Your child’s
teacher will look at:
Results of portfolio
• mCLASS
• PEP (if applicable)
• Reading passages
-or- Read to Achieve Test
TRADITIONAL CALENDAR STUDENTS
How will the State determine that your child is reading at grade level?
Does your child have a successful portfolio or
did they pass the Read to Achieve Test?
 Yes. Your child moves
to the 4th grade.
 No. It will be determined
that your child is not
reading at grade level.
Your child will be enrolled
in a free, districtsponsored reading camp.
TRADITIONAL CALENDAR STUDENTS
If your child is determined to be reading
below grade level, you have two choices:
 Attend Camp
 Decline Camp
• Your child be enrolled in a
free, district-sponsored
reading camp.
• Your child will repeat the 3rd
grade.
• Your child will receive
additional instruction and
support in reading.
• The law does not
allow us to grant
exceptions.
• Reading camp is scheduled
for 6 weeks during the
summer break.
TRADITIONAL CALENDAR STUDENTS
If your child is determined to be reading
below grade level, you have two choices:
 Attend Camp
 Decline Camp
• Your child will be retested at
the end of camp and move
into the 4th grade.
• Your child will repeat the 3rd
grade.
• Children who are still not
reading at grade level will
have a ‘retention label’ and
receive additional support in
4th grade.
• The retention label will be
removed if the child
demonstrates proficiency by
mid-year of 4th grade.
• The law does not
allow us to grant
exceptions.
Supporting Literacy
at Home
Overview
 Common Core Reading/Writing standards
 Question Stems for Fiction/Non-fiction text
 Reading Fluency/Fluency Strategies
 Comprehension Strategy
 How to Encourage Writing at Home
 Resources
Common Core Standards
 National standards that say what K-12 students are expected to learn
in the English language arts.
 Despite the complexities of the standards, there are several basic
ways parents can support their child's learning. The
recommendations that follow line up with the four broad areas of
the Common Core reading standards:
 Key Ideas and Details
 Craft and Structure
 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
 Range and Level of Complexity.
Key Ideas and Details
 What it means: Your child will be encouraged to carefully read
many books and texts. Within these texts, your child will be
working to understand what is happening, summarize key
events or points, and recall details important to the story or
topic.
 How parents can help: After you share a story, talk about
important story elements such as beginning, middle and end.
Encourage your child to retell or summarize the reading. After
reading nonfiction, ask questions about the information, "Is the
spider an insect? How is a spider different than an insect?"
Craft and Structure
 What it means: The standards within this area (or "strand")
focus on specifics within a book, for example, an author's
specific word choices or phrases. A second emphasis relates to
understanding the underlying structure of common types of
texts, including storybooks, poems and more.
 How parents can help: During and after reading, call attention
to interesting words and phrases. This may include repeated
phrases, metaphors or idioms ("sick as a dog," "a dime a
dozen.") Talk about any new vocabulary and other ways the
author used language or words to make the text interesting,
informative, funny or sad.
Integration of Knowledge and
Ideas
 What it means: Within this strand, students will be working
to compare and contrast details from stories, describe key
ideas using details in fiction/informational text, and tell how
two texts on the same topic differ.
 How parents can help: Encourage your child to describe how
the illustrations within a book support the story. Talk about
the similarities and differences between the two books. Then
switch to nonfiction and read two books on the same topic.
Compare the information in each, again focusing on
similarities and differences. "Let's look at each book and
think about the words used to describe weather. How are the
descriptions alike? How are they different?"
Range of Reading and
Level of Text Complexity
 What it means: Teachers will be using a variety of techniques to introduce
a range of books and other written material that both support and challenge
a child's reading level. This may include nonfiction and fiction, poetry and
more. This will be done with the ultimate goal of making sure students
understand what they're reading.
 How parents can help: Parents can help promote their child's skill while
developing their reading stamina (ability to "stick with it."). This means
helping them avoid frustration or anxiety about tackling a harder book.
Support your reader by talking through some of the things that make a text
complex, including multiple levels of meaning, inferred information
(implied rather than clearly stated) or more sophisticated graphics.
Question Stems for Fiction Texts
 Literal




Key Concepts: Characters, setting,
problem, plot detail
What happened in this story?
Who are the characters?
Where does it happen?
 Inference



Key Concepts: Connects details of
story, grasps implicit meaning.
Is it possible that….?
What might have happened
before/after…?
 Critical



Key Concepts: Evaluates story
information and meaning.
Do you have opinions about the story?
What do you like/not like about the
story?
 Creative



Key Concepts: Imagination sparked by
story
Has anything like this happened to you?
Tell a story that comes to mind after
reading this.
Question Stems for Non-fiction Texts
 Literal
 Key Concepts: Characters,
setting, problem, plot detail
 What is the book about?
 What is the most important
 Critical
Key Concepts: Evaluates story
information and meaning.
 Did you like the book?
 What questions do you still have
about…?

info?
 What did you lear
 Inference
 Key Concepts: Connects
details of story, grasps
implicit meaning.
 What details help you to
know that…?
 Creative
Key Concepts: Imagination
sparked by story
 What else would you like to learn
about this?
 Can you relate this book to your
life?

Why Focus on Fluency?
 Reading fluency is the ability to read phrases and
sentences smoothly and quickly, while understanding
them as expressions of complete ideas.
 If there are weaknesses in fluency, students will not
process groups of words as meaningful phrases. They
may also make decoding errors in reading which slow
them down and prevent them from grasping the
meaning of the sentence. As a result, they do not
understand and remember meanings of passages.
How can we foster reading
fluency?
Paired or "Buddy"
Reading
Reread Favorite Books
Record It
“Click or Clunk” Comprehension
Strategy

Students periodically check their understanding of sentences, paragraphs, and
pages of text as they read. When students encounter problems with vocabulary or
comprehension, they use a checklist to apply simple strategies to solve those
reading difficulties.

Instruct your child that, during any reading assignment, when they come to:

The end of each sentence, they should ask the question, "Did I understand this
sentence?" If students understand the sentence, they say "Click!" and continue
reading. If they do not understand, they say "Clunk!" and refer to the strategy sheet
My Reading Check Sheet to correct the problem.

At the end of each paragraph, they should ask the question, "What did the
paragraph say?" If they do not know the main idea(s) of the paragraph, students
refer to the strategy sheet My Reading Check Sheet to correct the problem.

The end of each page, they should ask the question, "What do I remember?" If they
do not remember sufficient information, students refer to the strategy sheet My
Reading Check Sheet to correct the problem
How can I encourage my child to
write?

Read your child’s writing or have him or her read the writing to you and comment
on the positive aspects, for example, “I really like the way you’ve described this.”

Praise your child for having a go at writing words that are new and explain how to
spell words which are causing difficulty.

Talk to your child about why an author or film maker might create a book, play or
film in a particular way. What points of view are presented? What is the author’s
purpose?

Read and talk about the writing that your child brings home from school. Focus
on the content of their writing and avoid spending too much time on conventions.

In order to develop spelling and vocabulary, play word games such as I Spy,
Scrabble, Boggle, Scattergories and crosswords
Resources to use with your child
 Scoot Pad
 “Just Right” Books (Remember
the “Five-Finger” Rule)
 School Library/Public Library
Books
 Newspaper/Magazines …
How else can I help my child with his or her reading?
Read together for at least
20 minutes each day!
• Parent/Teacher
Communication
• Home Connect Activities
• Visit the library
• Stay involved