These highly-effective, literature-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students in Grades 3-4 need for exceptional reading comprehension. This 192-page activity book is especially effective at helping students understand challenging critical reading concepts such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, using context clues to define vocabulary, and making predictions and generalizations.

Students read and analyze short literature passages and stories that include fiction and nonfiction genres. Then they answer multiple-choice and short-response questions, citing sentence evidence to support their answers. Concepts and skills covered include:

Literary Analysis Skills
• Define vocabulary using context clues
• Recognize figurative language
• Identify main idea, supporting details, and theme
• Recognize literary devices
• Identify story elements: theme, plot, setting, and characters

Reading Detective® Beginning includes the following genres:

Award-Winning Literature Excerpts
• The Barn
• Sable
• Dexter
• The Cricket in Times Square
• The Stories Huey Tells
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School
• Chocolate Fever

Stories and Articles
• Mystery
• Humor
• History
• Adventure

Nonfiction Topics
• Science
• Math
• Geography
• History
• Biography
• Inventions
• Sports

The Grades 3-4 (Beginning) level is organized into single-skills units with a concluding mixed-skills unit. Teaching Support Includes: pretests, post-tests, lesson guidelines, and answers with detailed evidence. Reading and literary analysis skills are based on grade-level standards.