3^rd Grade Science

Decoding Strategies

1. Split students into groups and hand each group an extra large, spaced out word from the year’s vocabulary list. Each group will cut and mix up the letters of the word and then another group will come and try to unscramble it. To make it more interesting each group can have more than one word, you can time the game, or make a “round robin” out of it! This uses the idea of mixed up words to help students to decode their vocabulary.
2. Display a paragraph from the chapter with various vocabulary words missing. As a class or split into groups, have the students determine the missing words.
3. Enlarge various vocabulary words and cover each word with a characteristic or definition of the word. The students will guess the word and with each guess you’ll reveal a letter from the word. Finally, the students will guess the word. The teacher can make the definitions hard or modify the guessing game to the student’s levels.