3rd Grade English Language Arts: Unit 3 of 4 Third Grade ELA (FLEX)

Unit 3 of Third Grade English Language Arts uses drama and poetry to teach common core standards, covering literature, foundational skills, writing, speaking and listening. Students practice reading for fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. They will learn about plot, character, setting, lines, stanza, rhyme, rhythm and more. There is a strong focus on grammar, which includes abstract nouns, conjunctions, punctuation, and using possessives.  There are weekly spelling word lists for learners to practice and a weekly spelling quiz. There are also weekly writing assignments and journal prompts with students practicing opinion writing, storytelling, poetry, dialogue, using a dictionary and more. 

Each week on Monday there will be a video introducing that week’s lesson. Also in the online classroom on Mondays, students will find that week’s assignments, spelling words, worksheets and quiz links. I will be available throughout the week to answer questions in the online classroom, to evaluate students’ work and to provide any additional support learners need. On Wednesdays, I will post that week’s discussion question about the assigned reading. 

INTERACTION: We will keep a classroom journal to respond to our learning together. The classroom journal will be a Google Doc where learners will find writing prompts based on scenes or poems that we read. Learners are encouraged to go into our classroom journal after reading and respond to the prompt with a paragraph, and to respond to what their classmates have written. 

For learners who wish to read the scripts and poetry aloud with other learners, a live course meets for 30 minutes three times per week during the flex course. During “Acting Out: Third Grade Theater and Poetry” I facilitate students reading from a script and reading poetry. At the end of each reading session, I check for comprehension and facilitate a class discussion of the completed readings. The reading schedule for “Acting Out: Third Grade Theater and Poetry” corresponds with the reading assignments for this class. 

New sections of each of the third grade units are offered in January, February, March, April, May, August, September, and October. For students seeking a letter of completion, one will be provided following each unit of the class as well as a final letter of completion for those students who complete all four units. If your learner is seeking a letter of completion please message me to let me know so we can work together to ensure success. 

This flex class is for learners who just want to practice their English Language Arts Skills, as well as students who want to get a letter of completion. For learners who are just practicing skills, homework is optional but highly recommended. For those learners seeking a letter of completion, there is 3-4 hours of homework to be completed each week. See the rubric below for how the learner will be evaluated. 

Week 1: 
Grammar Concept: Capitalization
Reading Assignment: Scenes 1-5 of Hamlet and the Magic Beanstalk 

Week 2:
Grammar Concept: Punctuation
Reading Assignment: Scenes 6-10 of Hamlet and the Magic Beanstalk 

Week 3:
Grammar Concept: Dialogue
Reading Assignment: Scenes 1-4 of The Prince and the Pauper

Week 4:
Grammar Concept: Subject-verb agreement  
Reading Assignment: Scenes 5-8 of The Prince and the Pauper

Week 5:
Grammar Concept: Irregular verbs
Monday Night Reading Assignment: Scenes 9-11 of The Prince and the Pauper

Week 6:
Grammar Concept: Contractions
Monday Night Reading Assignment: Poetry Reader

Week 7: 
Grammar Concept: Negative words
Monday Night Reading Assignment: Poetry Reader

Week 8: 
Grammar Concept: Double negatives 
Monday Night Reading Assignment: Poetry Reader

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Weekly Evaluation Rubric 

Reading: 20 Points 
- 3-Minute Reading Aloud Recording 5 Points
- Comprehension Quiz 5 Points
- Classroom Discussion Question Participation 5 Points
- Vocabulary Quiz 5 Points 

Spelling: 15 Points
- Writing Each Word 3 Times 5 Points 
- Spelling Word Project 5 Points 
- Spelling Quiz 5 Points

Grammar: 15 Points
- Grammar Worksheet 5 Points
- Grammar Project 5 Points
- Grammar Quiz 5 Points