Curated OER
What's the Big Idea?
Young scholars choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...
Curated OER
Nonviolent Conflict Resolutions with Cesar Chavez
Third graders investigate nonviolent conflict resolution strategies. In this interpersonal communication lesson, 3rd graders explore conflict resolution. Students construct a newspaper/magazine article detailing nonviolent conflict...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Great Britain
Read to understand! Sounds great and your third graders will read to understand several interesting facts about Great Britain. They read, identify key details in the text, and write to answer five comprehension questions. Learning to...
Curated OER
Media Violence - The Good, the Bad and the Future
Third graders define, identify, measure, and assess the level and impact of violence in media. The media forms evaluated include music, sitcoms, news, and other programs that are identified and shared by the class.
Curated OER
Mannerly Writing
Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.
Curated OER
Learning Paragraph Structure Through Design
Students examine paragraph structure, the writing process, and then design a model for the process. In this writing skills lesson, students explore paragraphs using the SmartBoard. Students create a class T-chart about paragraph...
Curated OER
Counteracting Media Stereotyping
Discuss media stereotypes with your emerging consumers. They view a television program to identify gender bias. After discussing the clip as a class, each learner writes a story showing more equitable roles. Or consider having them...
Curated OER
Media Literacy Skills
You're on camera! Third graders find a news story and research it to get more information. Everyone uses their found information to write a script and create their own news broadcast!
Curated OER
Writer's Toolbox
Present the class with a slide show that will give them a great head start in writing expository and narrative texts. The information is highlighted for easy note taking, well organized, and presented in a kid-friendly manner. It...
Curated OER
Identify Intended Media Messages
How does media convey different messages? Use this lesson to explore media by identifying and analyzing selected images. Middle schoolers analyze a poster and discuss the intended meaning of the imagery and how it makes them feel. They...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Nasreen's Secret School: How Do People Access Books in Afghanistan?
Third graders continue to practice the close reading skills of capturing the gist and reading again for important details in the sixth lesson in a larger unit. This is a great beginning-of-the-year unit for establishing visible thinking...
Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
Introducing the 6 Traits to Students
Put together an English language arts unit on the six traits of writing with this helpful collection of resources. From fun songs to differentiated writing exercises reinforcing each of the traits, great ideas are provided for developing...
Teachnology
Paragraph Review
Writers are asked to examine four sentences that contain details and craft a topic sentence for a paragraph that encapsulates the main idea.
Curated OER
Habitat Hunt
Third graders read several nonfiction texts and practice finding the main idea for the text as well as learn about various habitats. In this main idea lesson, 3rd graders read several nonfiction texts and make habitat cards. Students...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing Using the Book Rumpelstiltskin
Use the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin to teach your third grade class about descriptive writing. Following a teacher read-aloud of the story, the class brainstorms a list of adjectives describing the main character. Students use this list...
Curated OER
Retelling Information
This scripted instructional activity suggests using the journalist’s five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) to teach readers how to summarize a story and to how to distinguish between significant and supporting details. A template and...
Curated OER
Rule of 3 Web
Students create a web with the writing topic in the center of the web. They extend three branches from the center of the web, write the main ideas that support and develop the topic. They draw three branches that extend from each main...
Curated OER
Describing Our Senator
Third graders find the narrator or speaker in a story. In this story elements lesson, 3rd graders listen to the story My Senator and Me and answer comprehension questions. They complete a descriptive writing piece from different points...
Curated OER
Using Children's Literature to Teach Writing: No, David!
Learners review beginning, middle, and end of a story and how details add to a story.
Curated OER
What's the Title?
Third graders engage in a whole group activity with the teacher. They use their knowledge to complete an assessment sheet in which they determine the main idea of several mini stories. They complete a 'Main Idea Worksheet' imbedded in...
Weebly
Cereal Box Book Report
What is is about cereal boxes that draws consumers in? Tap into the effective marketing of cereal boxes and apply those elements to a book report. Pupils cover cereal boxes with information about their chosen books. they must create a...
Curated OER
Pair-Share: Constructing Paragraph Order
Students write with controlled and/or subtle organization. They identify the main idea and explicit details. Students analyze paragraph and essay structure. They utilize context clues to identify organization.
Curated OER
“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help the...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 18: Art Project! Design Your Own Book Cover
Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...