Limitless Language Arts for Young Scholars | Spring 3rd Grade ELA block | Q4

Welcome to third grade English Language Arts! This series of 4 classes (Fall, Winter I, Winter II, & Spring) can be used as your student's sole ELA course for their year or as a supplement to another ELA class or curriculum. Students should have successfully completed the first half of grade Language Arts.

In this class, we will work through the fourth quarter of the 3rd grade Common Core English language arts standards. Most classes will have a direct instruction mini lesson, student work time, sharing out of student work (practicing speaking and listening skills), a read aloud, and a word study. In between classes students will be encouraged to spend 20 minutes a day independently reading. Students will be encouraged to contribute to class conversations and work in partners frequently. I believe in creating a classroom community where all students feel valued and safe to make mistakes and celebrate each other's successes. My teaching style is "I do, we do, you do" through this method, I will guide student learning to meet each student where they are at and differentiate their learning. Sometimes students may not be able to finish the "you do" portion of our lessons. What is not completed in class will be expected to be completed for homework. 

Below is a sample schedule for this course. I will adapt this schedule to fit the needs of the learners in each section.

Writing Wednesday: We will complete a writing workshop which will include a mini lesson and student work time. Students will be completing a research project on an animal of their choosing. 
Reading Workshop Thursday: On Thursday's we will practice our reading and language skills. There will be a mini lesson and then students will complete a short in class activity to practice what we have learned. This quarter, we will be completing a digital audio book read by the students in this class. 
Book Club Friday: On Friday's students will meet with their book clubs and discuss the reading from the past week. We will be reading "I Survived the Eruption of Mount. St. Helens,1980" by Lauren Tarshis. This book is included in the price of the course. 

Reading
We will practice reading skills in short passages read in class each week (ex. read a passage and answer comprehension questions by highlighting where the answer was found in the text). Students will also participate in a book club each week. They will rotate "jobs" each week practicing asking questions, summarizing, identifying vocabulary words, and illustrating. They will then meet in their group and practice communication their thoughts. 

RI.3.3 
Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text that relates to time, sequence, and cause/effect
RI.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RL.3.9
Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters 
RF.3.3.C
Decode multisyllable words.
RF.3.3.D
Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Language
Each week students will first participate in a mini lesson introducing the language topic and then play matching games and center activities independently and with a partner emphasizing these standards. 

L.3.2.D
Form and use possessives.
L.3.5.C
Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).
L.3.3.B
Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English
L.3.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L.3.1.I
Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences

Writing 
Students will be completing a long-term research project about an animal of their choosing. Students will learn the parts of research writing and complete rough drafts. Students will self edit these drafts and I will edit them. Students will then apply these edits and present their final research project to the class. 

W.3.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic
W.3.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
W.3.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. 
W.3.6
With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others

Speaking and Listening
We will be creating a class audio book with parts read by each student. 

SL.3.5
Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details