Grades 3–5 Reading Activities

Your child probably loves to talk about her favorite things, such as sports, foods, or games. How did your child learn to play baseball or to make a sandwich? Most likely, someone showed her the necessary steps and explained the process, step-by-step. How-to guides do the same thing. In writing her own how-to guide, your child will need to focus on presenting facts and ordering them logically. These skills are critical for understanding anything that she reads.

	Writing and drawing materials (pens, pencils, markers, crayons)

	Paper

You might begin by deciding on the subject of the guide. Will your child teach a friend to play her favorite game or to make a sandwich? How would she explain this activity to someone who has never tried it before? What materials or equipment are needed for this task? What is the first step? What comes next? What is the last step? It might be helpful to call attention to words that show the reader how to move from one step to another, for example then, next, or finally.

You might encourage your child to make a list of the steps (an outline) before she begins to write out each one. Once she has a rough draft, go over it with her and point out places where she can work in sequence words (particularly if she has a lot of and then... and then... and then...). Once the guide is finished, help your child find someone who can use it!

To take this activity a step further, put your child in charge of the how-to guides for family chores and daily tasks. For example, ask your child to state all the information that a family member who hasn’t done this chore before will need for taking out the garbage. Other examples include how-to information for cleaning up the kitchen or doing homework. Continuing these conversations about processes will raise your child’s awareness of sequence and stated information and develop her understanding about the many informational texts we use every day.

 Grades 3–5 Reading Activities