3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

My niece is in 3rd gr, and im going to help her prepare for the ELAs this weekend.

SHe's LD (auditory processing) and has a para as well as an IEP, etc.

i want to help her do her best. She's very smart, has a great memory for things, comprehends well, reads above grade level, but sometimes gets easily distracted and will lose focus. and I know the listening portion is a big part of it, right ?

are there any pointers you can give me for when working with her ?

Any very important things to focus on?

Thanks so much !

Re: 3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

Is she using any system to organize info when she is listening the second time?

Re: 3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

i don't teach 3rd grade, but i am a special ed. teacher. with an IEP, I am sure there are going to be special modifications in place to ensure her success. please don't worry about the listening part, she will get the selection read to her at least twice, have extended time on the test, and if she has a scribe on her IEP, they will be able to write down her notes for her.

the reading is the bulk of the ELA test. sicne you say she is an above average reader, as long as she does well on the reading portion, she can bomb the rest and still pass well.

i hate these tests... they are not good indicators of a child's true performance anyway. i wouldn't stress about them.
Hope this helps!

Re: 3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

I'm a third grade teacher. I have focused my test prep mostly on the reading comprehension which is all multiple choice. That is the bulk of the test. If you have a sample test to look at just make sure she is familiar with the structure of the questions. Also make sure she is going back to the text to find/verify answers (not just relying on her memory or guessing).
The listening section is not worth as much on the test. But you can make sure that she realizes that she can take notes the second time it's read - but the notes aren't graded. So she can just jot down words and phrases. Also, I tell my kids to focus on the main idea, the problem, the solution, setting, characters. I don't want them writing every little detail. I also tell them to pay attention to patterns. For example if a character goes to three different places have her jot down the three places. They always seem to ask about that.

Anyway, hope that helps. Most of all just encourage her. She has probably already prepared quite a bit. Plus, as the above poster said, she will probably have special accomodations and that will help.

Re: 3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

I am also a third grade teacher.. The test is two days with most of it being Multiple Choice. I have reviewed with all my students including ones with IEPS...
read ALL choices
GO BACK to find answer
NEVER leave a multiple choice answer blank
I also taught them the ypes of questions that are sked (i.e. sequencing, main idea, vocabulary, fact opinion etc)


For the listening part I reviewed with my students to listen and take notes on the impoirtant details like the Who, Where, What, When.. If its a mystery like it has been for two years, focus on what the mystery is, where the chracter looked and how it was solved. The story is read twice...
For the listening, there is a few multiple choice to go with it and then usually a web and a short response answer...

seriously I hate this ELA my kids are so sick of it but they i have been downplaying it for them so they are not as nervous..

I read them Testing Miss Malarky today... wuite a funny book about THE TEST... the book shows how the students are fine, its the TEACHERS who are stressed!!!

Re: 3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

I tell my kids to read the questions first before the passage--and if possible number the part of the story that they found the answer--They really could only do this for non inference questions.
Also for the listening, ask her how her teacher taught her to take notes--I am sure she has gone over a format with them :) Good Luck!!!

Re: 3rd Gr Teachers, come in please !

Thanks SOO much ladies for the very helpful info !

that books sounds funny, I gotta look for it !