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Master Alabama’s 15 most challenging reading skills with SkillBridge.
With lesson topics chosen based on actual state test data, SkillBridge
offers help in the skills that truly are the most troublesome. As
students move through each lesson, they are equipped with guidance
and connections that allow them to show independent skill mastery
by the end of the lesson. Alabama references in each lesson offer
a unique and familiar point of entry into difficult skills.
Readin
g
Alabama’s 15 most challenging skills
in reading, grade 3
• Context Clues
• Summarizing
• Synonyms and Antonyms
• Author’s Purpose
• Word Order
• Chronological Order
• Roots and Affixes
• Characters
• Genres
• Predictions
• Text Features
• Conclusions
• Main Idea
• Directions
• Details
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
Catalog Number ALB2042W1
P.O. Box 2180
Iowa City, Iowa 52244-2180
ISBN 978-0-7836-6304-3
50599
STUDENT NAME
PHONE: 800-776-3454
FAX: 877-365-0111
www.BuckleDown.com
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Table of Contents
Context Clues (3, 3.8). ...................................................4
Synonyms and Antonyms (2.3)...................................8
Word Order (3.5)......................................................... 12
Roots and Affixes (2.1). ............................................. 16
Genres (5, 3.4)..............................................................20
Text Features (3.11, 4.4, 8). .............................................24
Main Idea (4.2)............................................................28
Details (4.2).................................................................32
Summarizing (4.3)......................................................36
Author’s Purpose (8.1). ..............................................40
AL3 © 2009 Buckle Down – Options Publishing. COPYING IS FORBIDDEN BY LAW.
Chronological Order (4.8, 3.3). ....................................44
Characters (3.2, 7).......................................................48
Predictions (3, 3.10)......................................................52
Conclusions (3.6). ......................................................56
Directions (4.7). ..........................................................60
Acknowledgments...................................................64
3, 3.8
AL
At the beginning of each lesson, you will see a box with the shape of
Alabama and a content standard code in it. This code tells you what is
being covered in the lesson.
3
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3, 3.8
Context Clues
Nobody knows every word. Everybody needs
help sometimes. Where do you get this help?
Sometimes you can use the words you know.
Those words give you clues about new words.
What’s a context clue? Context just means
“words around the new word.” When you use
context clues, you use the words around the
new word to figure out meaning.
Let’s look at an example.
My pet snail was
very happy. In fact,
she was always
thrilled!
What does thrilled
mean? That might be
a new word for you.
But you can still find
out what thrilled means. You do this by
reading both sentences together.
WORD BANK
context
context clues
A
build a bridge
What do you think
the word timid
means? Read these
sentences. They have
a clue.
James is a timid boy.
He’s very shy.
The clue here is the
word shy. If James
is shy and also timid,
then timid most likely
means the same as
shy.
Let’s try it.
What is the snail? She is very happy. If the
snail is very happy, she is not sad. She is not
angry or uncaring, either. By reading carefully,
you can see that thrilled means “very happy.”
The first sentence helps you understand the
second sentence. A
Can you guess
what the word pluck
means?
The blackberry is the
state fruit of Alabama.
I can pluck them from
the bush in my yard!
Pluck means
AL3 © 2009 Buckle Down – Options Publishing. COPYING IS FORBIDDEN BY LAW.
AL
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Guided Practice
Let’s read a story. Be on the lookout for new words.
Aunt Jane’s Farm
My aunt Jane has a farm. On this farm
she raises ducks, cows, and llamas. We
like to look at the animals. We also like to
play in the barn. The barn is gigantic. It is
almost as big as a school! My brother and I
love to pick raspberries. We like them with
fresh cream. B
B
build a bridge
Were any words new
to you? Read the story
again to see. Circle
any words that are
new to you.
Now, let’s make a
chart to help us find
the meanings of some
words in the story.
AL3 © 2009 Buckle Down – Options Publishing. COPYING IS FORBIDDEN BY LAW.
In the first column,
look at the new words.
In the second column,
write down words in
the story that might
help you understand
the new word. These
words are clues.
New Word
llama
Word Clues
Best Guess
ducks, cows,
animals
a type of
animal
In the third column,
make your best guess
about what the word
means.
gigantic
raspberries
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Let’s check our understanding by answering some questions. Circle the
correct answer in each sentence. The first one has been done for you.
1 A llama is a type of
A animal
s
B game
C fruit
2 A barn that is gigantic is
A small
B red
C large
3 What should you do with raspberries?
A throw them
B eat them
There is one way to really make sure you’ve learned a new word.
That way is to use the new word in your own sentence. Let’s try it.
Write a sentence using these words from the story.
4 llamas 5 gigantic 6 raspberries AL3 © 2009 Buckle Down – Options Publishing. COPYING IS FORBIDDEN BY LAW.
C pet them
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Practice
Let’s practice with more new words.
What does the underlined word mean in each sentence? Write your best
guess on the line. It’s okay if you don’t know the exact meaning.
7 The color of Fay’s face was as scarlet as an apple.
8 I don’t like baseball, but I love lacrosse.
9 The mantis crawled along the leaf.
AL3 © 2009 Buckle Down – Options Publishing. COPYING IS FORBIDDEN BY LAW.
Alabama’s state
insect is the monarch
butterfly. After
caterpillars finish
changing into
butterflies, they
emerge from their
cocoons.
What does emerge
mean?
7
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