Grade 3 Language Arts/Reading

Course Overview

Grade 3 Language Arts/Reading builds on students' basic language arts and reading skills by engaging them with different types of texts and a variety of writing forms and structures. The course helps students develop their command of the conventions of standard English in writing and speaking, including grammar and usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. It also helps students expand their vocabulary and develop their listening skills. Course topics include:

Nouns and Pronouns
Writing Personal Narrative
Explanatory Writing
Verbs, Adjectives and Adverbs
Opinion Writing
Writing That Compares
Expository Writing
Writing a Story

Scope and Sequence

Unit 1 - NounsIn this unit, students are introduced to the study of language arts, to this course, and to nouns. They learn about using nouns, plural nouns, analyzing stories, chapters, main idea and details. They study using plural nouns, irregular nouns, short vowels, unusual nouns (abstract), applying their knowledge of nouns, and using main idea and details. They review abstract nouns and discuss dialogue.Unit 2 - Personal NarrativeIn this unit students study the final e, long a, and the long o. They study the use of quotation marks in dialogue, commas in dialogue, and commas in addresses. They learn about analyzing stories through asking questions and discover personal narrative. They learn about beginning a narrative with situations, developing narrative through the senses and dialogue, and concluding narrative. They further study proofing narrative for dialogue and spelling, and practice applying their new knowledge of narrative.Unit 3 - Word Parts - Root WordsIn this unit students study word parts beginning with root words. They discuss main idea with details, science root words, root word clues for science words, and long i. They review synonyms and antonyms and study math root words, root word clues for math words, and applications of root words. They explore word families, finding word families, and application of word families.Unit 4 - PronounsIn this unit students investigate long e, pronouns, plural pronouns, prefixes i, subjects and objects, using subject-object pronouns, silent letters, and analyzing stories through characters. They also explore subject-verb agreement, review sentences, study pronoun-antecedent agreement, and learn applications for pronouns.Unit 5 - Opinion WritingIn this unit students study three-letter blends, as well as analyzing text through asking and answering questions. They learn to capitalize titles, and they discover opinion writing. They learn to write beginnings for opinion writing, study digraphs, and review pronouns . They explore developing opinion writing by connecting opinions, concluding and proofing opinion writing, and applications for opinion writing.Unit 6 - PrefixesIn this unit students explore contractions, the word parts called prefixes, and more main idea and details. They investigate number prefixes, math prefixes, a contractions review, and applications of prefixes.Unit 7 - PossessivesIn this unit students study words with ar and or, singular possessive nouns, plural possessive nouns, reading words with prefixes, more about drawing conclusions, and common mistakes with plurals and possessives. They also learn about analyzing text through illustrations, possessive pronouns, contractions, and possessive pronouns.Unit 8 - Informative WritingIn this unit students discuss words with oi and oy, discover informative writing, and study more problem and solution combinations. They learn to begin informative writing projects, and to do research through computer resources, taking notes, and organizing details. They study variant vowels, understanding words with prefixes, and introducing a topic through writing. They learn to develop informative writing using research, to develop a topic through writing, to develop informative connections, and to connect ideas with their writing. They also learn to conclude and proof informative writing, and examine applications of informative writing.Unit 9 - Reading and Listening ComprehensionIn this unit students learn more variant vowels, how to summarize and sequence, and how to find the main idea in oral presentations, diagrams, and visuals. They also learn literal words and phrases, as well as understanding figurative language.Unit 10 - Dictionaries and GlossariesIn this unit students study words with ou and ow, cause and effect, dictionaries, more compare and contrast, synonyms, and antonyms. They learn to search a dictionary for unknown words, they learn applications of dictionaries, they learn what glossaries are, and they learn to use a glossary for unknown words. They also explore analyzing a text for cause and effect. Following this unit, students are presented with the Mid-Term Review and Exam.Unit 11 - DiscussionsIn this unit students explore homophones and examine discussions. They investigate context clues, and rules for appropriate discussions. They learn to draw conclusions, and learn about preparation for discussions, asking questions and sharing ideas in discussions, and they gain understanding of applications of discussions. They learn to analyze stories such as fables, and to find and understand morals.Unit 12 - VerbsIn this unit students study soft c and g, and are introduced to verbs. They learn about analyzing stories through character sequence, as well as about using verbs, helping verbs, paragraph clues, and linking verbs, and analyzing text for point of view.Unit 13 - Explanatory WritingIn this unit students explore compound words, review verbs, investigate words with er, ir, and ur, get more experience with using a dictionary for unknown words, and discover explanatory writing. They learn how to begin explanatory writing and how to develop explanatory details. They explore generating questions for story structure and developing explanatory steps. They learn to develop explanatory illustrations, study concluding and proofing explanatory writing, and discover applications of explanatory writing. They also learn about analyzing stories through illustrations and analyzing text through academic words.Unit 14 - Sentence StructureIn this unit students gain understanding of analyzing stories through comparing and contrasting. They learn about closed syllables, sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, writing complex sentences, mistakes with complex sentences, more about making inferences, using sentences, and applications of sentences.Unit 15 - SuffixesIn this unit students learn about inflectional endings, analyzing text through comparing and contrasting, the word parts called suffixes, and words with latin suffixes. They learn to visualize and draw conclusions, and they learn about analyzing stories such as myths, and to analyzing such stories to find their morals. Students review complex sentences and learn about analyzing a text through text connections and through finding connections.Unit 16 - Drama and PoetryIn this unit students learn what open syllables are and what drama is. They learn about scenes, literal and non-literal, point of view in drama, and learn about applications of drama. Students also learn what poetry is and what stanzas are. They understand how to generate questions to contrast, learn what literal and non-literal are, and how to build meaning in poetry.Unit 17 - Verb Tenses and Irregular VerbsIn this unit students learn about consonant plus l ending syllables, word clues, and more about author’s purpose. They learn about present-tense, past-tense, and future-tense verbs. They learn to analyze text structure, learn about irregular verbs, review future tense verbs, learn applications of verb tenses, and learn to find context clues in sentences.Unit 18 - AdjectivesIn this unit students explore generating questions to compare, as well as vowel team syllables. They are introduced to adjectives, and learn to visualize and recognize theme. They learn about adjectives for amounts, adjectives for comparing two, and adjectives using more and er. They review past tense verbs, and learn about adjectives for comparing with groups, adjectives using most and est, comparing and contrasting, adjectives that are comparative or superlative, and common mistakes with adjectives. They study the suffixes er and est, adjectives in real-life connections, and applications of adjectives.Unit 19 - AdverbsIn this unit students learn to make and confirm predictions, and learn about r-controlled vowel syllables. They learn to make inferences and are introduced to adverbs, including how, where, and when. They review adjectives and learn more about cause and effect. They learn about using adverbs, including using more and er, they learn the suffixes ful, less, ly, and they learn about using adverbs with most and est. They learn about applications for adverbs, and study prefixes and suffixes.Unit 20 - Speaking and PublishingIn this unit students learn about problems and solutions, and about changing inflectional ending y to i. They study cause and effect text structure, as well as publishing and presenting, reading poetry aloud, speaking versus writing, oral reports, using words and phrases for effect, and using sequence. They review adverbs and learn to analyze stories, specifically folktales, including finding the moral. Finally, they learn applications of reading and language arts.

Following this unit, students are presented with the Final Review and Exam.