LEARN NC

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

English Language Arts — Grade 3

Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.

Objective 5.04. Compose two or more paragraphs with:

  • topic sentences.
  • supporting details.
  • appropriate, logical sequence.
  • sufficient elaboration.

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

The taste of relevance
Students will learn the importance of selecting relevant details by picking the right toppings for an ice cream sundae. This activity gives the students a concrete visual memory of what good details are.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)
By DPI Writing Strategies.
"So what?" details
Students will learn that adding details to a piece of writing doesn't make it better if the details are "So What?" details. Details and elaboration should be related to the main idea and should move the story along in an interesting manner.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
By DPI Writing Strategies.
Plain Polly: Adding relevant details
This instructional technique creates a lasting visual image of how relevant details help develop a character and a focus. Students learn to add only details that are related to the main idea of a “Plain Polly” stick figure. These mascots serve as reminders to students to be selective with the details they use to support their main idea.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)
By DPI Writing Strategies.
Little Bit - BIG BIT - Little Bit
This lesson helps students who tend to jump right in and tell their entire story in the first few sentences and then struggle to complete their story. Students will learn to start and end their stories with just a "Little Bit" about the setup and closure of the story.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)
By DPI Writing Strategies.
Getting paragraphing down P-A-T
One way to remember when to indent and begin a new paragraph is when (P) the place changes, (A) the action changes, and (T) the time changes (P-A-T). In this lesson, students will learn how to identify appropriate places to indent new paragraphs in their writing.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)
By DPI Writing Strategies.
Adding emotions to your story
One way to make stories even better is to show emotions and not just tell them. In this lesson, students will use actions, gestures, and facial expressions to act out emotions.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)
By DPI Writing Strategies.