These are my recommendations for struggling readers.

This page will guide you in helping your child meet 3rd-grade reading expectations. These recommendations are based on the science of reading.

Home support plays a critical role in a child’s academic success, especially during the early years when they develop foundational skills. By actively engaging in your child’s learning journey, you can reinforce what they are taught in school, boost their confidence, and help create positive learning habits. The resources here will empower you with practical tools to make learning fun, effective, and meaningful at home.

1. Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

Master phonological and phonemic awareness. These activities can be done with eyes shut—no print should be in front of the child. Print and follow this! If children cannot hear and manipulate sounds in their heads, they won’t be able to read and spell! Blending and segmenting are the most important phonemic awareness activities because these directly correlate to reading and spelling. You can find these activities by following this link, but you can blend and segment any word!

2. Phonics

Follow the Wilson Fundations Scope & Sequence for 3rd grade. My Wilson Fundations page will give you even more information! Also, check out phonics by grade level. Here are grade 3 phonics workbooks – Wilson Home Practice, grade 3 phonics workbook 1, and grade 3 phonics workbook 2. Pick a workbook and do a few pages each day. Here’s another good workbook. Teach syllabication rules. These are fun and will help your child to sound out any word! If you are ambitious, check this out!

3. Tapping, Blending, Spelling

Teach tapping out and blending sounds into words. Here is an AMAZING activity! Watch the video clip below. (This is not my video.) Word lists are also below.

Say it
Stretch it
Spell it
Change it

Go DOWN the lists, changing 1 sound each time.

Use these templates:

Word Chains with 3 Sounds -CVC words (c-a-t) & CVC words with digraphs (c-a-sh).
Word Chains with 4 Sounds -for blends (p-l-o-p)

Word Lists:

CVC Words 1
CVC Words 2
Consonant Digraphs (even though these have 2 letters – th, wh, sh, ch, ck – they make 1 sound, so the 2 letters go in one box. w/i/sh)
Initial Blends
Final Blends
Initial and Final Blends 1
Initial and Final Blends 2
Magic e
Long and Short Vowels 1
Long and Short Vowels 2
Consonant Differentiation

4. Read Decodable Texts – Tap and Blend to Figure Out Unknown Words!

Read, reread, reread, and reread free decodable and sight word stories. Talk about the stories as a quick comprehension check.

If your child can read these Grade 3 Decodables, they are ready for grade 4!

Research shows decodable texts are the BEST way to learn to read!

Decodable text falls under the phonics approach of the science of reading. When students decode words, they break them down and figure out how to pronounce them. Teaching beginning readers how to sound out words is critical in reading and writing.

Tips for Struggling Readers

If your child struggles to decode, always have him or her read each short story three times for fluency and accuracy.
If your child is still learning to read, having him or her point to each word with 1:1 correspondence is essential because students tend to guess or memorize simpler texts.
Your child should figure out unknown words independently by SOUNDING OUT. Not all words can be perfectly sounded out, but most words have at least parts that can!

When reading any text…

No more than 10 errors per 100 words, including words you had to tell your child, are acceptable.
The child must also demonstrate comprehension. 3rd graders should retell, state the author’s lesson, and describe the most important event and why.
Reading at an appropriate rate (words per minute) is essential. When fluency is achieved, comprehension can occur.
Words Per Minute for Grade 3

To calculate rate—WPM: ___words in the book divided by ___SECONDS it took to read X 60 = __WPM. For example, say there are 207 words in a book. The child read it in 3 min. 25 seconds, which is 205 seconds. 207 divided by 205 is approximately 1.0 words per second x 60 = 60 WPM!

This table shows approximate percentile ranks for correct words per minute at 3 points during the school year. The average 3rd grader should read 83 words correct per minute in the fall, 97 in the winter, and 112 in the spring.

* WCPM = Words Correct Per Minute

5. Master Sight Words

Master a few sight words each day. Third graders should know all of the sight words. Sight words are best learned in context. They should read, reread, and reread:

Grade Three story by Susan M. Serena

220 Dolch Words in One Story

If your child is struggling, for more practice, write words your child doesn’t know in simple sentences for your child to practice reading. Please also go to my sight words page and get the sight word stories for all the grades. Your child should also know how to read and spell the Grade 3 Fundations Trick Words.

6. Vocabulary for 3rd Graders

3rd graders need to know the meaning of these words taken from the Marzano list.

And the meaning of these words, taken from WORDS TO KNOW BY GRADE LEVEL.

7. Spelling

Teach decoding and spelling in this reading and spelling order. Master each column before moving on. This corresponds with the progression of decodable texts. Students should recognize the sounds and spellings of the 44 phonemes. Here is a grade 3 spelling workbook.

8. Are you looking for a tech option?

Lexia Core 5 is a well-respected app used in many schools and is available as a home version which costs $175 for a one-year subscription. My school uses it, and I highly recommend it!

Lexia Core 5 is a research-proven computer program that accelerates the development of literacy skills for students of all abilities, helping them make the critical shift from learning to read to reading to learn. It has 21 levels, spanning from preschool through grade 5. It is based on the science of reading. Each level has 5 areas and includes automaticity/fluency, comprehension, phonics, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Each level should be completed within 5.5 to 9 hours.

9. Read Aloud or Listen to Online Texts – Put the Closed Captioning On

Read aloud more complex books to your child, or have your child listen to books online – not decodable texts – on topics they enjoy to instill a love of reading, improve listening comprehension, and grow vocabulary. 3rd-grade reading and listening comprehension are based on:

Making Connections – Links background knowledge and examples from the text to enhance comprehension.
Questioning – Asks and answers different questions; finds evidence in the text to support questions and answers.
Visualizing/Sensory Imagery – Demonstrates multi-sensory images that extend and enrich the text; demonstration may be through any modality or medium.
Determining Importance – Identifies at least one key idea, theme, or concept, linking it to the text’s overall meaning. Uses supporting details from the text to explain why it is essential.
Monitoring Comprehension – Identifies difficulties. Articulates the need to solve the problem and identifies the appropriate strategy, first by sounding out, then by using meaning, visual, and structural cues. (Sound out words when stuck!)
Predicting/Inferring – Independently makes predictions and interpretations and draws conclusions; clearly explains connections using evidence from the text and personal knowledge, ideas, or beliefs.
Retelling/Summarizing/Synthesizing – Retells text elements in a logical sequence with some extension to the overall theme, message, or background knowledge; refers to characters by specific name and uses vocabulary from the text.

Here are Grade 3 Common Core State Standards Question Stems to start a conversation. These stems are used in school.

We administer the FREE DIBELS 8 3x/year. Each are 1-minute tests:

Read 3-letter short vowel nonsense words ~ these can be sounded out ~ for example, “sil,” “tox,” “paj,” “zev,” and “nud.” The goal is for the child to recognize these chunks automatically.
Read real words. See #4 and #5 above.
Oral reading fluency ~ Can the child read x amount of words in a story with at least 96% accuracy?
Maze Comprehension ~ This test is 3 minutes. The student reads a story that is missing words. Each time a word is missing, the student selects the correct missing word from three words.

The minimum scores to pass:

Here are other free literacy assessments if you want to assess your child!