Third grade is a pivotal year when it comes to reading instruction. It is the year that we focus less on “how to read” and we begin focusing more on “reading to learn.” Along with this change comes a push for students to be thinking at a higher level while reading. Teaching with paired reading passages is a great way to do this. With paired reading passages, students have the opportunity to work on thinking skills that they generally don’t get with a single passage. Paired passages are great opportunities for comparing author’s purpose, drawing conclusions, comparing & contrasting, and inferencing.

Learning to read is a process, a long process. I have found that there are two primary phases. From kindergarten through 2nd grade, students are ‘learning to read.’ From about 3rd grade forward, students move into a phase that I refer to as ‘reading to learn.’ Learning to think critically while reading is a goal of this second phase of reading instruction. Using paired passages is a great way to teach these important thinking skills.