GLEN RIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Curriculum Guide

Course Title: Language Arts

Subject: Language Arts

Grade Level: Grade 3

Department/School: Language Arts/ Ridgewood Avenue School

Duration: Full year

Number of Credits: N/A

Prerequisite: N/A

Elective or Required: N/A

Author: Charlene Dalton

Lauren Liberman

Date Submitted: Summer 2006

Course Description

The third grade language arts curriculum prepares students to achieve their maximum potential in language arts literacy through exposure to quality children’s literature in a wide variety of genres from which grade-appropriate strategies and skills are specifically taught.

GLEN RIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LANGUAGE ARTS MISSION STATEMENT

In order to pursue interdisciplinary lifelong learning, students need the skills to communicate effectively. Through a challenging, sequential academic curriculum, the Glen Ridge Language Arts Literacy Program provides all students with varied and integrated experiences. The skills of reading, writing listening, speaking, viewing, presenting, and researching will enable them to effectively participate in school and in society, respectful of various points of views while displaying creative and critical thinking skills.

Goals of the Glen Ridge Language Arts Literacy Program

Provided with an environment that encourages creativity as well as expression of unique feelings and thoughts, students will:

• become competent critical readers who learn to analyze, evaluate, reflect upon and respond to the ideas of others;
• approach reading with an appreciation for a variety of literary styles, genres and contexts;
• implement the writing process including: pre-writing, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing;
• write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes;
• apply appropriate conventions of spelling, grammar, punctuation and language usage;
• speak for a variety of real purposes and audiences;
• listen interactively in diverse situations to information from a variety of sources;
• view, understand, and construct meaning from non-textual sources;
• gather, evaluate, synthesize and cite data from a variety of technological sources and print materials, and
• share, display, and/or publish individual and collaborative products.

New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards

All skills of the New Jersey Core Content Curriculum Standards for Language Arts Literacy and the NJASK 3 are met or exceeded and referenced throughout the curriculum.

Standard: 3.1 All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and words in written English to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.

• Recognize that printed materials provide specific information; purposes for and use of print conventions.
• Use a glossary or index to locate information in a text.
• Identify differences of various print formats.
• Identify and locate features that support text meaning.

• Demonstrate a sophisticated sense of sound-symbol relationships, including phonemes.
• Know sounds for a range of prefixes and suffixes.
• Use letter-sound knowledge and structural analysis to decode words.
• Use context to accurately read words with more than one pronunciation.
• Use letter-sound correspondence and structural analysis (e.g. roots, affixes) to decode words.
• Know and use common word families to decode unfamiliar words.
• Recognize compound words, contractions, and common abbreviations.
• Recognize grade-level words accurately and with ease so that a text sounds like spoken language when read aloud.
• Read longer text and chapter books independently and silently.
• Read aloud with proper phrasing, inflection, and intonation.
• Use appropriate rhythm, flow, meter, and pronunciation in demonstrating understanding of punctuation marks.
• Read at different speeds using scanning, skimming, or careful reading as appropriate.

• Set purpose for reading and check to verify or change predictions during/after reading.
• Monitor comprehension and accuracy while reading in context and self-correct errors.
• Use picture and context clues to assist with decoding/meaning of new words.
• Develop and use graphic organizers to build on experiences and extend learning.
• Use knowledge of word meaning, language structure, and sound-symbol relationships to check understanding when reading.
• Identify specific words or passages causing comprehension difficulties and seek clarification.
• Select useful visual organizers before, during, and after reading to organize information.
• Spell previously studied words and spelling patterns accurately.

• Infer word meanings from taught/learned roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
• Infer specific word meanings in the context of reading passages.
• Identify and correctly use antonyms, synonyms, homophones, and homographs.
• Use a grade-appropriate dictionary (independently to define unknown words).

• Recognize purpose of text.
• Discuss underlying themes across cultures in various texts.
• Distinguish cause/effect, fact/opinion, and main idea/supporting details in nonfiction texts (e.g. science, social studies).
• Interpret information in graphs, charts, and diagrams.
• Cite evidence from text to support conclusions.
• Ask how, why, and what-if questions in interpreting nonfiction texts.
• Recognize how authors use humor, sarcasm, and imagery to extend meaning.
• Discuss underlying theme or message in interpreting fiction.
• Summarize major points from fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Draw conclusions and inferences from texts.
• Recognize first-person “I” point of view.
• Compare and contrast story plots, characters, settings, and themes.
• Participate in creative responses to texts (e.g. dramatizations, oral presentation).
• Read and comprehend regularly both fiction and nonfiction that is appropriately designed for grade level.
• Use information and reasoning to examine bases of hypotheses and opinions.
• Understand author’s opinions and how they address culture, ethnicity, gender, and historical periods.
• Follow simple multiple-steps in written instructions.
• Recognize an author’s point of view.
• Identify and summarize central ideas in information texts.
• Recognize differences among forms of literature, including poetry, drama, fiction, and non-fiction.
• Identify some literary devices in stories.
• Identify the structure in drama.

• Use library classification systems, print or electronic, to locate information.
• Draw conclusions from information and data gathered.
• Read a variety of nonfiction and fiction books and produce evidence of understanding.
• Investigate a favorite author and produce evidence of research.
• Read independently and research topics using a variety of material to satisfy personal, academic, and social needs, and produce evidence of reading.

Standard: 3.2 All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that caries in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

• Generate ideas for writing through recalling experiences, listening to stories, reading, brainstorming, and discussing models of writing.
• Examine real-world examples of writing in various genres.
• Use graphic organizers to assist with planning writing.
• Compose first drafts from prewriting work.
• Revise a draft by rereading for meaning, narrowing the focus, sequencing, elaborating with detail, improving openings, closings, and word choice to show voice.
• Peer edit.
• Build awareness of ways authors use paragraphs.
• Develop and awareness of form, structure, and author’s voice in various genres.
• Revise work using reference resources.
• Use computer word-processing applications during parts of the writing process.
• Understand and use a checklist and/or rubric to improve writing.
• Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and areas needing improvement.
• Draft writing in a selected genre with supporting structure according to the intended message, audience, and purpose for writing.
• Review own writing with others to understand the reader’s perspective and to consider ideas for revision.
• Review and edit work for spelling, mechanics, clarity, and fluency.
• Understand and apply elements of grade-appropriate rubrics to improve and evaluate writing.

• Write a descriptive piece, such as a description of a person, place or object.
• Present and discuss setting with other students.
• Develop a collection of writings (e.g. a literacy folder or portfolio).
• Create narrative pieces, such as memoir or personal narrative, which contain description and relate ideas, observations, or recollections of an event or experience.
• Write information reports across the curriculum that frame an issue or topic, include facts and details, and draw from more than one source of information.
• Craft writing to elevate its quality by adding detail, changing the order of ideas, strengthening opening and closings, and using dialogue.
• Build knowledge of the characteristics and structures of a variety of genres.
• Sharpen focus and improve coherence by considering the relevancy of included details, and adding, deleting, and rearranging appropriately.
• Write sentences of varying lengths and complexity, using specific nouns, verbs, and descriptive words.
• Recognize the difference between complete sentences and sentence fragments and examine the uses of each in real world writing.
• Improve the clarity of writing by rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs.
• Examine real-world writing to expand knowledge of sentences, paragraphs, usage, and authors’ writing styles.
• Provide logical sequence and support the purpose of writing by refining organizational structure and developing transitions between ideas.
• Engage the reader from beginning to end with an interesting opening, logical sequence, and satisfying conclusion.

• Use Standard English conventions that are appropriate to the grade level, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation (ending, commas, and quotation marks) capitalization, spelling, and handwriting.
• Use increasingly complex sentence structure and syntax to express ideas.
• Use grade-appropriate knowledge of English grammar and usage to craft writing, such as singular and plural nouns, pronoun usage and agreement, subject/verb agreement, appropriate verb tenses and appropriate parts of speech.
• Study examples of narrative and expository writing to develop understanding of paragraphs and indentation.
• Develop knowledge of English spelling through the use of patterns, structural analysis, and high frequency words.
• Write legibly in manuscript or cursive to meet district standards.
• Use capital letters correctly in sentences, for proper nouns, and in titles.
• Indent in own writing to show the beginning of a paragraph.
• Spell grade-appropriate words correctly with particular attention to frequently used words, contractions, and homophones. Use knowledge of base word, structural analysis and spelling patterns to expand spelling competency in writing.
• Use a variety of reference materials, such as a dictionary, grammar reference, and internet/software resources to edit written work.

• Write for different purposes (e.g. to express ideas, to inform, to entertain, to respond to literature, to persuade, to question, to share) and a variety of audiences (e.g. self, peers, community).
• Develop fluency by writing daily and for sustained amounts of time.
• Generate ideas for writing in a variety of situations and across the curriculum.
• Write to express thoughts and ideas, to share experiences, and to communicate socially.
• Write the events of a story sequentially.
• Produce writing that demonstrates the use of a variety of sentence types, such as declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative.
• Write a narrative text (e.g. realistic or humorous story).
• Write non-fiction text (e.g. reports, procedure, and letters).
• Study the characteristics of a variety of genres, including expository, narrative, poetry, and reflection.
• Develop independence by setting self-selected purposes and generating topics for writing.
• Write independently to satisfy personal, academic, and social needs (e.g. stories, summaries, letters, or poetry).
• Use writing to paraphrase, clarify, and reflect on new learning across the curriculum.
• Respond to literature in writing to demonstrate an understanding of the text, to explore personal reactions, and to connect personal experiences with the text.
• Write narratives that relate recollections of an event or experience and establish a setting, characters, point of view, and sequence of events.
• Write formal and informal letters for a variety of audiences and purposes.
• Use a variety of strategies to organize writing, including sequence, chronology, and cause/effect.
• Demonstrate higher-order thinking skills through responses to open-ended and essay questions in content areas or as responses to literature.
• Use relevant graphics in writing (e.g. maps, charts, and illustrations).
• Demonstrate the development of a personal style and voice in writing.
• Review scoring criteria of a writing rubric.
• Develop a collection of writings (a literacy folder or portfolio).

Standard: 3.3 All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

• Listen and follow a discussion in order to contribute appropriately.
• Stay focused on topic and ask relevant questions.
• Take turns without dominating.
• Support an opinion with details.
• Use details, examples and reasons to support central ideas or clarify a point of view.
• Develop appropriate questions to explore a topic.
• Develop questioning techniques (e.g. who, what, when, where, why, how).
• Contribute information, idea, and experiences to classroom inquiry.
• Use interview techniques to develop inquiry skills.
• Explore concepts by describing, narrating, or explaining how and why things happen.
• Discuss information heard, offer personal opinions, and ask for restatement or general explanation to clarify meaning.
• Reflect and evaluate information leaned as a result of the inquiry.
• Solve a problem or understand a task through group cooperation.
• Use vocabulary related to a particular topic.
• Adapt language to persuade, explain, or seek information.
• Use new vocabulary and figurative language learned from literature and classroom experiences.
• Use convincing dialogue to role-play short scenes involving familiar situations or emotions.
• Use figurative language purposefully in speaking situations.
• Use appropriate vocabulary to support or clarify a message.
• Adapt language to persuade, explain, or seek information.

• Use pictures to support an oral presentation.
• Attempt to revise future presentations based on feedback from peers and teacher.
• Use appropriate strategies to prepare, rehearse, and deliver an oral presentation, such as word choice, expression, eye contact, and volume.
• Speak for a variety of audiences and purposes.
• Prepare, rehearse, and deliver a formal presentation in logical or sequential order, including an opening, supportive detail, and a closing statement.
• Use notes or other memory aids to structure a presentation.
• Maintain audience interest during formal presentation, incorporating adequate volume, proper pacing, and clear enunciation.
• Participate in a dramatization or role-play across the curriculum.
• Read aloud with fluency.
• Understand and use criteria for a rubric to improve an oral presentation.

Standard: 3.4 All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situations.

• Connect messages heard to prior knowledge and experiences.
• Exchange information through verbal and nonverbal messages.
• Listen actively for a variety of purposes.
• Listen attentively and critically to a variety of speakers.
• Interpret vocabulary gained through listening.

• Follow two-, three-, and -four step directions.
• Listen to a story read aloud and/or information from television or film, and summarize main idea.
• Paraphrase information shared by others.
• Demonstrate competence in active listening through comprehension of a story, interview, and oral report of an event or incident, by interpreting and applying received information to new situations and solving problems.
• Develop listening strategies (e.g. asking questions and taking notes to understand what is heard).
• Make inferences based on an oral report or presentation.
• Describe how language reflects specific regions and/or cultures.

Standard: 3.5 All students will access, view, evaluate, and respond to print, non-print, and electronic texts and resources.

• Begin to demonstrate an awareness of different media forms and how they contribute to communication.
• Identify the central theme and main ideas in different media.
• Interpret information found in pictorial graphs, map keys, and icons on a computer screen.
• Respond to and evaluate the use of illustrations to support text.
• Use graphs, charts, and diagrams to report data.
• Distinguish between factual and fictional visual representations.
• Identify the central theme in a movie, film, or illustration.
• Identify the target audience of a particular program, story, or advertisement.

• Recognize the effects of visual arts on one’s mood and emotion.
• Understand that creators of both print media and electronic media have a purpose and target audience for their work. Explore and interpret various messages found in advertisements and other texts.
• Discuss the emotional impact of photos and how they aid understanding.
• Compare and contrast media sources.

• Express preferences for media choices.

Curriculum Description

UNIT 1: OUR WORLD

Objectives:

After completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Read and discuss selections in different genres that develop the theme of “our world.” (3.1)

2. Identify elements of different genres. (3.1)

3. Apply a variety of reading strategies such as setting purposes for reading, making predictions, and monitoring comprehension before, during, and after reading. (3.1)

4. Read longer texts and chapter books independently and silently. (3.1)

5. Use knowledge of word meaning, language structure, and sound-symbol relationships to check understanding when reading.

6. Analyze story structure. (3.1)

7. Demonstrate comprehension through retelling or summarizing ideas. (3.1)

8. Cite evidence from text to support conclusions. (3.1)

9. Identify elements of a story, such as characters, setting, plot, problem and solution. (3.1)

10. Interpret the main idea and details. (3.1)

11. Increase vocabulary by using a variety of vocabulary strategies, in particular to use a dictionary, word parts and context clues for meaning. (3.1)

12. Use a glossary and/or index to locate information in a text. (3.1)

13. Understand and use a variety of text features, in particular diagrams, time lines, and bar graphs. (3.1)

14. Decode and spell grade appropriate words, in particular those with short vowels, CVCe pattern, and words with /ā/, /ō/ and /ī/. (3.2)

15. Differentiate between complete and fragment sentences; correct fragments. (3.2)

16. Identify and utilize the four different types of sentences. (3.2)

17. Write sentences with subjects and predicates. (3.2)

18. Combine sentences to form compound sentences. (3.2)

19. Use commas correctly in compound sentences/ (3.2)

20. Write regularly for a variety of reasons, including to express ideas, develop voice, and to respond to selections and prompts. (3.2)

21. Generate ideas for writing. (3.2)

22. Write in a variety of modes, in particular to complete a personal narrative from prewriting to publication including use of relevant graphics.

23. Maintain a personal writing portfolio. (3.2)

24. Use a variety of revision and editing skills in writing. (3.2)

25. Develop listening and speaking skills by completing activities. (3.3, 3.4)

26. Make presentations and listen, follow, and contribute to group discussions using grade appropriate strategies and techniques. (3.3,3.4)

27. Read aloud with fluency including proper phrasing, intonation, rhythm, flow, meter, and proper use of punctuation. (3.1, 3.3)

28. View images critically and create visual interpretations by completing activities. (3.5)

29. Review writing legibly in manuscript. (3.2)

30. Begin writing legibly in cursive. (3.2)

Approximate Duration: 6 weeks

Activities:

- Read unit selections and self-selections and respond in a variety of ways.

- Produce a personal narrative.

- Other writing activities may include: a personal narrative, friendly letter, response to literature, and poem utilizing the writer’s process.

Suggested activities:

- Investigate travel ads from print and electronic media sources. Students research and create a travel ad for a real or imaginary place.

UNIT 2: INVESTIGATIONS

Objectives:

After completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Read selections in different genres that develop the theme of “investigations.” (3.1)

2. Apply a variety of reading strategies such as setting purposes for reading, making predictions, and monitoring comprehension before, during, and after reading. (3.1)

3. Generate questioning while reading. (3.1)

4. Demonstrate comprehension through retelling or summarizing ideas. (3.1)

5. Differentiate between fact and opinion. (3.1)

6. Identify author’s purpose or purpose of the text. (3.1)

7. Recognize author’s point of view and opinions, as well as use of humor, sarcasm, and imagery. (3.1)

8. Differentiate between fantasy and reality. (3.1)

9. Define and identify antonyms. (3.1)

10. Identify parts of a book. (3.1)

11. Identify photos with captions. (3.1)

12. Recognize purposes for print conventions such as italics, pronunciation keys, boldface, and headings. (3.1)

13. Decode and spell grade appropriate words, in particular those with /ē/, /ch/, /th/, /wh/, /sh/, consonant blends, and words with /n/ gn, kn; /r/ wr. (3.2)

14. Identify nouns (common and proper, singular and plural, irregular plural, possessive). (3.2)

15. Combine sentences with nouns. (3.2)

16. Capitalize proper nouns. (3.2)

17. Utilize proper end marks. (3.2)

18. Spell plural nouns correctly. (3.2)

19. Correctly use apostrophes in possessive nouns. (3.2)

20. Capitalize book titles. (3.2)

21. Write in a variety of modes, in particular to complete a persuasive writing piece from prewriting to publication including use of relevant graphics. (3.2)

22. Use a variety of revision and editing skills in writing. (3.2)

23. Develop listening and speaking skills by completing activities. (3.3, 3.4)

24. Make presentations and listen, follow, and contribute to group discussions using grade appropriate strategies and techniques. (3.3,3.4)

25. Continue to read aloud with fluency. (3.1, 3.3)

26. View images critically and create visual interpretations by completing activities. (3.5)

Approximate Duration: 6 weeks

Activities:

- Read unit selections and self-selections and respond in a variety of ways.

- Produce a persuasive writing piece.

- Other writing activities may include: a persuasive paragraph, persuasive poster, personal narrative, radio ad, and book review utilizing the writer’s process.

Suggested activities:

- Students will create a historical fiction journal after investigation of the time period.

- Students will create a persuasive poster to convince viewer to live during that time period.

UNIT 3: DISCOVERIES

Objectives:

After completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Read selections in different genres that develop the theme of “discoveries.” (3.1)

2. Analyze story/text structure. (3.1)

3. Visualize while reading. (3.1)

4. Make inferences. (3.1)

5. Identify setting and plot. (3.1)

6. Distinguish between cause and effect. (3.1)

7. Retell or summarize stories in proper sequence. (3.1)

8. Define and identify synonyms. (3.1)

9. Use thesaurus to find synonyms. (3.1)