LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

English Language Arts — Grade 3

Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.

Objective 4.09. Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal narrative, short report, friendly letter, directions and instructions).

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Yarns, whoppers, and tall tales
The following lessons will introduce students to characteristics of tall tales and help them develop an appreciation of this genre of American fiction. They will practice writing summaries from information they have gathered and organized. They will plan and write their own tall tales.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts)
By Deborah Mitchell.
Spring cinquain poems
Students will review parts of speech by learning what a cinquain poem is and then writing and typing a Spring cinquain.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Computer/Technology Skills and English Language Arts)
By Jennifer Williams.
Pigs and wolf on a map!
The students will construct a Double Bubble Map (Venn Diagram) to compare and contrast two versions of a familiar fairytale.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)
By Cherry Randall.
Modern folk tales: Playwriting
Working in teams, students will rewrite short folk tale or fable plays, modernizing them. Then, they will present the old and new versions of the play.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts)
By Dayle Payne.
The life cycle of a seed
This lesson integrates science into the language arts block. Students will read about plant life cycle events and then write their own books about the life cycle of a plant.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts and Science)
By Joni Kight.
Inside and outside: Paradox of the box
This lesson serves to introduce students to symbolism (the box), to the literary element paradox, and to the abstract notion of ambiguity (freedom vs. confinement). It is designed for 2nd and 3rd graders, but may be adapted for use with upper elementary or early middle school grades.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2–3 English Language Arts)
By Edie McDowell.
Haiku and photography: A natural connection
This lesson will allow students to combine photographing nature with creating a Haiku poem to express what they see in the photograph.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)
By steven sather.
A brochure of safety tips
The students summarize information they have read and learned in school to create a brochure of important safety tips. They work in teams, each on a specific area of safety, to create a multimedia presentation on the computer using HyperStudio for text, graphics, and sound or other publishing or presentation software.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts and Healthful Living)
By Shanti Kudva.
The Sign of the Beaver real estate advertisement
Having read The Sign of the Beaver and the Sunday Real Estate section of the newspaper, create a slide show designed to sell Matt's cabin to buyers in early America.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By CarrieAnne Blocker.
Love Letters: Using imagery to convey feelings
After listening to Arnold Adoff's Love Letters, students will write and share their own love letters. This lesson is especially fun around Valentine's Day.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)
By Jennifer Reid.

Resources on the web

Writing Poetry Like Pros
This set of four lesson plans from EDSITEment utilizes poetry to serve as the inspiration for some terrific writing. Using poems available through EDSITEment resources, educators can make poetry an exciting teaching and learning tool in the classroom. ... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: EDSITEment
Writing and assessing an autobiographical incident
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will build upon their knowledge of biographies to write their own autobiographical incident. Students will be given a rubric and shown several examples. They will then complete the writing process and share their... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Who's got mail? Using literature to promote authentic letter writing
This lesson uses literature and shared writing to teach letter-writing format and promote authentic writing skills. Students listen to and talk about The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and Dear Mr. Blueberry... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
What's in a mystery? Exploring and identifying mystery elements
This lesson teaches students about plot structure, character, and setting through an exploration of mystery books. Prior to reading a mystery book to the class, the teacher engages students in a brainstorming activity about the characteristics of the mystery... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Using timeline games and Mexican history to improve comprehension
This lesson offers teachers a step-by-step plan for using interactive technology to explore Mexican History. Teachers model comprehension skills to help students identify major historical events and put them in a logical order. After conducting online research... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Information Skills)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Using "Snowflake Bentley" as a framing text for multigenre writing
Students work together to create their own multi-genre piece about winter, using Snowflake Bentley as a model. After students participate in a brainstorming activity about winter and books they have read about snow, they categorize... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Using science texts to teach the organizational features of nonfiction
In this lesson, students explore the organizational features of nonfiction texts. In the introductory activity, students work in small groups to quickly gather information about a scientific topic related to teacher-prepared paragraph. Then, students compare... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Unwinding a circular plot: Prediction strategies in reading and writing
This ReadWriteThink lesson builds on students' existing knowledge of plot structure and of cycles in other content areas, and invites students to use a circle plot graphic organizer to explore the structure of this type of story. The cyclical nature of... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Thundering tall tales: Using read-aloud as a springboard to writing
This lesson from ReadWriteThink is intended for the end of a unit on tall tales. It uses the book Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen to reinforce the common elements, or text structure, of tall tales. As the text is read aloud, students examine... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Thundering tall tales: Using read-aloud as a springboard to writing
This lesson from ReadWriteThink is intended for the end of a unit on tall tales. It uses the book Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen to reinforce the common elements, or text structure, of tall tales. As the text is read aloud, students examine... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink