Grade 3, Unit 2 Inspired by the Sea



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Grade 3, Unit 2

Inspired by the Sea



Writing Resources

Document Name

Page

Vocabulary’s CODE

2-3

“Horses”

4-7

“Recorders”

8-9

“Cheetahs”

10-11

“Loggerhead Turtle”

12-15

What Makes a Great Informative Essay

17

Questions For Analyzing and Interpreting Informative Writing

18

Grade 3 Informative Rubric

19-20

Grade 3 Informative Checklist

21

What Strong Informative Writers Do

22

Goal Setting Sheet

23

Thought Map (hyperlink in the curriculum document)




Gathering Grid

24

Boxes and Bullets

25

Linking Words List

26

Loggerhead Turtle Linking Word passage

27

Content Word Wall (portable)

28

Techniques for Introductions (Go sentence)

30

Techniques for Conclusions (Go back sentence)

29

Text Feature Scavenger Hunt

31

Using Text Features (purposes)

32-33

Kid’s Notes: Loggerhead Turtle (hyperlinked)




Key Qualities of the Word Choice Trait

34

Thinking About Using Strong Verbs

35

Adjective Collection Sheet

36

Adverb Collection Sheet

37

Antecedent-Pronoun Collection Sheet

38

CUPS

39

ARMS

40

Self-Reflection Sheet

41

Elephant Poem

42

Animal Cinquain

43

Crack Vocabulary’s CODE

From The Core Six: Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core (Silver, Dewing & Perini)



  • Connecting with new words.

  • Organizing new words into meaningful categories.

  • Deep-processing the most important concepts and terms.

  • Exercising the mind through strategic review and practice.

Key findings from research:

  • Vocabulary instruction has the greatest effect when it focuses on a reasonable number of important academic terms rather than on high-frequency word lists (Marzano, 2004).

  • Developing anything more than a superficial understanding of new terms requires multiple exposures to the terms (Jenkins, Stein, & Wysocki, 1984).

  • Understanding and retention improve when students interact with words in a variety of ways (Beck, Mckeown, & Kucan, 2002).

  • Students need opportunities to think deeply about new words using thinking strategies like comparison, metaphors, and nonlinguistic representation (Marzano, 2004).



C

O

D

E

Word Wall

A collection of words is organized into categories and posted on the wall for students to use in their reading and writing.



Prioritizing Vocaulary

The teacher or students determine which words are essential, which words are important, and which are good to know.



Visualizing Vocabulary

Students create images, sketches, or icons with brief explanations to demonstrate understanding.



Vocabulary Games

Students play games like Bingo, Jeopardy!, and Word Baseball to review vocabulary in a competitive and fun manner.



Power Decoding

Students use “attack skills” (prefixes, suffixes, roots, context clues, and substitutions) to decode new words.



Concept Maps

Students create visual representations of hierarchical relationships among a central concept, supporting ideas, and important details.



Storytelling

Students analyze a selection of stories and then use basic story elements to define important concepts.



Use It or Lose It

Students use a specified number of new words in their writing assignments.



Associations

Students generate words, pictures, feelings, physical reactions to words, or whatever else comes to mind.



Fist Lists and Word Spiders

The teacher provides a category in the “palm” of a hand organizer, and students generate five words that fit the category, one for each “finger” of the organizer. Word spiders are similar, only with a “body” and eight “legs.”



Metaphors and Similes

Students use words deeply by exploring their relationships to other words and concepts (e.g., How is democracy like baseball?).



Vocabulary Carousel

The teacher sets up five or six stations that include a variety of vocabulary activities. Students rotate through all the stations, working in small groups.



See It, Say It, Show It,

Store It

Students look at the word, pronounce it slowly, write it out, and record its definition in their own words.



Word Banks

Students examine a list of words and place them in specific categories or the appropriate slots of a visual organizer.



Defining Characteristics

Students build multilayered definitions by focusing on essential characteristics: What is it? What is it used for? Why is it valued? Where does it come from?



Practice Makes Perfect

The teacher instructs students in the principles of effective practice, including how to mass and distribute review sessions, use words often, and make stronger connections.



Glossary

Students keep a glossary of new words, defining the terms in their own words and including icons or other images of the terms.



Group and Label

Students examine a list of vocabulary words and place them into groups based on common characteristics. For each group, students devise a label that describes what all the grouped words have in common.



Etymologies

Students investigate word histories, analyzing how a word’s original meaning is intact and how it has changed.



Three’s a Crowd

Students decide which word from a group of three words doesn’t belong and explain why.



Word Catcher

Students “catch” a new word each day and record it in their vocabulary journals.



A Diagram to Die For

Students create a diagram that shows the relationship among the words on the Word Wall.



Three-Way Tie

Students select three words from a unit’s vocabulary and arrange them on a triangle. They connect the words with lines and explain the relationship between each pair of words by writing along the connected lines. They may also summarize these relationships in the middle of the triangle.



Peer Practice

Students work as peer partners. On student serves as a coach, the other as a player. While the player works to define key terms from the unit, the coach provides assistance, feedback and praise. Students then reverse roles.










Annotation

The writer of this piece…
introduces a topic.
I chose horses because I like to ride them. . . . Horses are so beautiful and fun to ride.
creates an organizational structure (using headers) that groups related information

together.
Horse Families; Markings; Breeds and Color Coats; Horses from Different Countries
develops the topic with facts and details.
Hocaidos are from Japan, Sumbas are from Indonesia, and Pintos are from America.

A horse can walk, trot, canter, and gallop.

They [horses] live about 12 to 14 years.

The most dangerous horse is the Percheron.
uses linking words and phrases to connect ideas within categories of information.
I like Morgans because they have a beautiful reddish-brown coat.

When a foal is ready to be born, the mare (the mother horse) lies down.

The first horses were no bigger than a fox and looked like a donkey.

Most horses live on farms or ranches, but some horses are wild.
provides a concluding section.
I like horses and I know a lot about them. I like to ride them and theyre so beautiful!

Their coats are beautiful, I wish I had a horse of my own!
demonstrates growing command of the conventions of standard written English

Occasional errors do not interfere materially with the underlying message.
At the camp I go to everybody gets to have horses back riding lessons. (paragraph #1)
Correction: At the camp I go to everybody gets to have a horseback riding lesson.
A forelock is the horses forehead. (paragraph #3)
Correction: A forelock is the horse’s forehead.


Recorders
Screech, screech, screech! The first time we tried to play the recorders it sounded like a lion running his claws down a chalkboard. In other words we made a TERRIBLE noise!

See, a recorder is an instrument with a very high pitch. If you don’t blow in it correctly, it does sound pretty bad. After Mrs. Romland told us there is a special place for our tongue to be, we understood why we sounded so bad. She said the place was right behind your upper front

teeth, and then she said once your tongue is there, put the recorder up to your mouth and try to say “too, too, too, too”. It’s called tonguing. Then we almost got the right sound.

A recorder looks like a short skinny tube with one hole on the bottom, and 7 holes on the top.

There are a few different types of recorders. The one we are playing is called the soprano, it is the smallest with the highest sound. Another is the alto, it is bigger with a lower sound. Next comes the tenor, it is bigger yet, with an even lower sound. Last but not least is the bass, it is the

biggest of them all and the lowest sounding too.

The recorder originally came from Europe. It has been an instrument for over 100 years. If you think it is related to the flute, it’s not.

Student sample papers are © copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and are provided here for non-commercial educational purposes only. For more information, or for additional teaching materials, please contact: Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. • E-mail stevepeha@aol.com • Web www.ttms.org

Annotations
introduces a topic.

Screech, screech, screech! The first time we tried to play the recorders it sounded like a lion running his claws down a chalkboard. In other words we made a TERRIBLE noise!
creates an organizational structure that groups related information together.

Recorders contains an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion. The writer has grouped information about how to play it, what it’s like, and different types of recorders. The writer also crafted a concluding paragraph that gave even more information and ended with a surprising fact

develops the topic with facts and details.


See, a recorder is an instrument with a very high pitch.
A recorder looks like a short skinny tube with one hole on the

bottom, and 7 holes on the top.
The recorder originally came from Europe. It has been an instrument

for over 100 years.
uses linking words and phrases to connect ideas within categories of information.

(Note that linking words are part of the compound and complex sentence



structures and not used in isolation. The same goes for “Horses” in Appendix C.)
In other words we made a TERRIBLE noise!

After Mrs. Romland told us there is a special place for our tongue to be, we

understood why we sounded so bad.
Then we almost got the right sound.

Another is the alto, it is bigger with a lower sound.
provides a concluding section.

(The conclusion directly addresses the reader and corrects what the writer anticipates is a misconception.)

The recorder originally came from Europe. It has been an instrument for over 100 years. If you think it is related to the flute, it’s not.

demonstrates growing command of the conventions of standard written English



Occasional errors do not interfere materially with the underlying message

Student Model

The beginning paragraph of this writer's report invites the reader to keep going. The details show that she knows a lot about cheetahs.
Cheetahs
You should never race a cheetah. Do you know why? Because you'll always lose. That’s because cheetahs are very fast runners. They can run up to 75 miles per hour.

The cheetah gets its food by running. But sometimes the lion takes over and grabs the food. That's mean!

Cheetahs are carnivores. That means they eat meat. Their prey are gazelles and rodents. The cheetah lives and finds food in Africa.

The cheetah and the lion eat each other. If the cheetah is weaker, the lion eats the cheetah, and it's the same with the other.

The cheetah has up to three to five babies. The cheetah has larger litters than other cats, but on average only two cubs live into adulthood.

Cheetahs are amazing. I hope you like cheetahs. I know I do!



Annotations
introduces a topic.
You should never race a cheetah. Do you know why? Because you'll always lose.
creates an organizational structure that groups related information together.

(Some of the paragraphs could be combined.)
The writer has broken up the information into several paragraphs. The first paragraph is about its speed. The body paragraphs contain information about how it gets its food and explains why it is a carnivore.
develops the topic with facts and details.
They can run up to 75 miles per hour.

The cheetah lives and finds food in Africa.

The cheetah has up to three to five babies.
uses linking words and phrases to connect ideas within categories of information.

(Note that linking words are part of the compound and complex sentence



structures and not used in isolation. The same goes for “Horses” in Appendix C.)
The cheetah has larger litters than other cats, but on average only two cubs live

into adulthood.

If the cheetah is weaker, the lion eats the cheetah, and it's the same with the other.
provides a concluding section.

(This is not an effective example of a concluding section. Cheetahs are amazing. is a good opening statement for a conclusion. The remaining sentences are not. An effective conclusion ties in to the introduction which is about how fast cheetahs are.)
Cheetahs are amazing. I hope you like cheetahs. I know I do!
demonstrates growing command of the conventions of standard written English

Occasional errors do not interfere materially with the underlying message.

Do you know why? Because you'll always lose. (fragment)

Loggerhead Turtles

The loggerhead turtle is a reptile. It has a thick, straight neck, wrinkled skin, and a hard shell. The head is wide, and has a beak formed by two hooked jaws. Even though the loggerhead turtle has a shell for protection, it is still an endangered animal.

A loggerhead turtle is a large sea turtle, and it has flippers to swim and to get around. Its skin is light green to dark green, and its shell is reddish brown. An adult loggerhead turtle can weigh up to 880 pounds and is about three and one-half feet long. It has very strong jaws, which it uses to crack the hard bodies of clams, conches, and crustaceans that it eats.

The loggerhead turtle lives in the subtropical zones of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Pacific Oceans. In the United States, it usually visits the coasts of Florida and South Carolina.

When the female reaches the coast, she comes onto shore to lay eggs. She digs a hold to store about 100 eggs. The female can lay between 64 and 200 eggs. The baby turtles that hatch from the eggs are about four and one-half inches long. When they are old enough, they come out of the sand and head for the ocean.

Pollution, hunters, oil spills, and shrimp nets are some of the turtle’s enemies. People can protect the turtles by being careful about throwing away plastic bags or soda-can holders. If these items are thrown away carelessly, they cause the turtles to choke. People can also help to save baby loggerhead turtles by putting up fences to protect them when they are heading to the ocean.

Loggerhead turtles have been on Earth a long time. Protecting them can get them off the endangered species list.

Annotations

introduces a topic.


The loggerhead turtle is a reptile. (lead)

Even though the loggerhead turtle has a shell for protection, it is still an endangered animal. (concluding sentence of the introduction)
creates an organizational structure that groups related information together.
The loggerhead turtle report contains an introduction, four body paragraphs (what it is like, where it lives, laying eggs and its hatchlings, how to protect loggerhead turtles), and a conclusion.
develops the topic with facts and details.
An adult loggerhead turtle can weigh up to 880 pounds and is about three and one-half feet long.
The loggerhead turtle lives in the subtropical zones of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Pacific Oceans.
The female can lay between 64 and 200 eggs
uses linking words and phrases to connect ideas within categories of information.

(Note that linking words are part of the compound and complex sentence



structures and not used in isolation. The same applies to “Horses” in Appendix C.)
Even though the loggerhead turtle has a shell for protection, it is still an

endangered animal.
Its skin is light green to dark green, and its shell is reddish brown.
When they are old enough, they come out of the sand and head for the ocean
provides a concluding section.

(Bolded text ties into the preceding paragraph and the concluding sentence of the

introduction.)
Loggerhead turtles have been on Earth a long time. Protecting them can get them off the endangered species list.
demonstrates growing command of the conventions of standard written English

Occasional errors do not interfere materially with the underlying message.

Loggerhead Turtles

by Mark F.

The loggerhead turtle is a reptile. It has a thick, straight neck, wrinkled skin and a hard shell. The head is wide, and has a beak formed by two hook jaws. Even though the loggerhead turtle has a shell for protection, it is still an endangered animal.

A loggerhead turtle is a large sea turtle, and it has flippers to swim and to get around. Its skin is light green to dark green, and its shell is reddish brown. An adult loggerhead turtle can weigh up to 880 pounds and is about three and one half feet long. It has very strong jaws, which it uses to crack the hard bodies of the clams, conches, and crustaceans that it eats.

The loggerhead turtle lives in the subtropical zones of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In the United States, it usually visits the coasts of Florida and South Carolina.

When the female reaches the coast, she comes onto the shore to lay eggs. She digs a hole to store about 100 eggs. The female can lay between 64 and 200 eggs. The baby turtles that hatch from the eggs are about four and one half inches long. When they are old enough, they come out of the sand and head for the ocean.

Pollution, hunters, oil spills, and shrimp nets are some of the turtle’s enemies. People can protect the turtles by being careful about throwing away plastic bags or soda-can holders. If these items are thrown away carelessly, they can cause the turtles to choke. People can also help to save the baby loggerhead turtles by putting up fences to protect them when they are heading to the ocean.

Loggerhead turtles have been on Earth a long time. Protecting them can get them off of the endangered species list.

List of Sources

The Grolier Student Encyclopedia of Endangered Species. Vol. IX. 1995.

Endangered Wildlife of the World. Vol. 9. Marshall Cavendish Corp. 1993.

Gibbons, Gail. Sea Turtles. Holiday House, New York. 1995.

Houghton Mifflin, Grade 3, Unit 4, Animal Habitats, pages 40-43. Teacher’s Edition 39S-43H

.

What Makes a Great Informative Essay?


An informative essay presents facts about a topic and used details to support the facts.


  • Choose a topic that interests you.

  • Find enough interesting and important facts about your topic.

  • Use a variety of sources including books, magazines, videos, web sites, and interviews.

  • Write an introduction to give your reader some basic information and hook your reader.

  • Put information in your own words. Don’t copy!

  • Organize your information into paragraphs with clear topic sentences.

  • Summarize your findings in your conclusion.

  • Include a list of sources.


Adapted from Houghton Mifflin transparency RWW4-1, Grade Three, Theme 4, Animal Habitats.

Questions for Analyzing and Evaluating Informative/Explanatory Pieces
Focus

  • What is the topic of this piece/section/page?

  • How does the author introduce the topic?

  • What techniques does the author use to hook the reader?



Content

  • Do we have more questions about the topic? What are they?

  • What does the author teach about the topic?

  • What do the illustrations teach? What details could have been added to help the reader understand the information?


Organization

  • How is this piece organized?

  • What headings are used?

  • What other types of formatting are used?

  • What linking words are used to create clarity and flow?

  • Are there places in which the sequence is not clear or evident?


Style

  • What precise words did the author use to help explain the topic?

  • What important vocabulary did the author use?

  • How did the author help you understand the content vocabulary?

  • What did the author provide to help determine the definitions?



Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric-Grade 3

Write informative/explanatory

texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly

4-Exceeds Expectations

3-Meets Expectations

2-Approaching Expectations

1-Needs Support

Introduction/Topic Sentence/Organization

I have introduced my topic clearly with information grouped into paragraphs and sections.

I have written a clear

topic sentence and information is

grouped into paragraphs

and sections.



I have introduced a topic and grouped information together.

I have named a topic and listed information.

Topic Development
FEED your reasons, ideas, or topics with:

facts,

examples,

explanations,

definitions or details

I have developed my topic

with facts, definitions,

concrete details, quotations, or other information and

examples related to the

topic including formatting, illustrations, and

multimedia when useful.



I have developed my

topic using facts,

definitions, and

details and illustrations if appropriate.



I have developed my

points using facts or

details.


I have supplied some facts about my topic.

Linking Ideas

I have used linking

words/phrases (e.g. another, for example, also, because)to connect my ideas within all

categories of information.


I have used linking

words/phrases (e.g. also, another, and, more, but) to connect my ideas within categories of information.



I have used some linking

words/phrases to connect some of my

ideas together.


I have not used linking

words/phrases to connect my ideas.



Vocabulary

I have used precise language and domain (content)-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

I have used precise

language to inform about

or explain my topic.


I have used some words that are precise.

I have not used precise

words.


Conclusion

I have written a concluding

statement or section related to the information or

explanation presented.


I have written a clear

concluding statement or section that is related to



the information presented.

I have provided a concluding statement or section

I have not provided some sense of closure.

Revising
Add

Remove

Move

Substitute



I have revised my writing to include:

  • Complete sentences

  • Linking words

  • Logical order

that makes sense

  • Precise words




I have revised most of my writing for:

  • Complete sentences

  • Linking words

  • Logical order

that makes sense

  • Precise words

I have revised my writing for some of the following:

  • Complete sentences

  • Linking words

  • Logical order

that makes sense

  • Precise words

I have not revised for:


  • Complete sentences

  • Linking words

  • Logical order

that makes sense

  • Precise words

Editing

  • Capitalization

  • Punctuation

  • Subject/verb agreement

  • Noun/pronoun agreement

  • Apostrophes


Capitalization

Usage

Punctuation

Spelling


I have edited for all of the following:

  • Capitalization

  • Punctuation

  • Subject/verb agreement

  • Noun/pronoun agreement

  • Apostrophes

I have edited for most of the following:

  • Capitalization

  • Punctuation

  • Subject/verb agreement

  • Noun/pronoun agreement

  • Apostrophes

I have edited for some of the following:

  • Capitalization

  • Punctuation

  • Subject/verb agreement

  • Noun/pronoun agreement

  • Apostrophes

I have not edited for:

  • Capitalization

  • Punctuation

  • Subject/verb agreement

  • Noun/pronoun agreement

  • Apostrophes


Third Grade Informative Writing Checklist




Structure

4-Exceeds

3-Yes!

Meets

2- Working

towards

1-Not Yet

Focus

I focused on one topic.













introduction

I wrote an introduction that explained why the subject mattered and what the reader would be learning.













Organization

essay structure

I created an organizational structure (introduction, body, conclusion).













paragraphs

I grouped the information into sections or paragraphs. Each body paragraph or section was about one subtopic.













linking words and conjunctions

I used linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect my ideas and sentences.













conclusion

I wrote a conclusion related to what I wrote about my topic.
















Development













Content

elaboration

I supported my topic and subtopics with facts, examples, explanations, definitions, details, and illustrations useful to help my readers understand.













essential vs.

non-essential

I decided which information was important to include and which was not important.













Style

precise words

I chose precise words often repeating key words about my topic.













sentence

variety

I used a variety of sentence lengths and types to keep my readers interested













Editing

Language and Conventions













Capitalization

I used correct capitalization.













Usage grammar

I have used:

  • Correct regular and irregular verb tenses.

  • Correct subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.

  • Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs correctly.













Punctuation

I used apostrophes, commas, quotation marks, and ending punctuation correctly.













Spelling

I used what I know about word families, prefixes and suffixes, and spelling rules to help me spell and edit my work before I wrote my final draft.

I got help from others to check my spelling before writing my final draft.


















I used word walls and reference tools such as dictionaries to edit my work when needed.













What Strong Informative Writers Do

  • Explain what the piece will be about (lead).

  • Tell about the key points you will be teaching the reader (subtopics).

  • Organize their writing in a logical order and into paragraphs (organization).

  • After making a key point, tell more about it in a few sentences (content).

  • Use facts, explanations, examples, and description to elaborate on their subtopics (content).

  • Talk like an expert (word choice and tone).

  • Use expert words and explain what they mean (word choice).

  • Cover your whole topic (content).

  • Don’t repeat information (revising).

  • Write a conclusion that asks questions of the reader or asks the reader to take action (organization).

Goal Setting and Reflection Sheet Writer:________________________________________

Date

Writing Piece

Goals Set

Date Goal Was Met and Evidence







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