**Grade 3 Language Arts Lesson Plan: Reading Comprehension (Stories and Poems)**
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### Objective:
Students will enhance their reading comprehension skills by understanding and analyzing stories and poems. Specifically, they will learn to identify main ideas, themes, setting, characters, and plot.
### Materials Needed:
- **Books**: "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White (for the story segment)
- **Poem**: "Sick" by Shel Silverstein
- **Worksheets**: Comprehension questions for both story and poem
- **Chart Paper and Markers**
- **Sticky Notes**
- **Highlighters**
- **Individual whiteboards and markers**
### Common Core Standards:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.
### Time Frame:
1 hour
### Introduction (10 minutes):
1. **Hook**:
- Start the lesson by asking students about their favorite stories or poems and why they like them.
- Briefly discuss the importance of understanding what you read.
2. **Objective**:
- Explain that today they will be practicing how to understand both stories and poems better by focusing on who, what, when, where, why, and how questions.
### Lesson Development (30 minutes):
**Story Comprehension (15 minutes):**
1. **Read Aloud**:
- Read an excerpt from "Charlotte's Web" (Choose a short, engaging passage that includes dialogue and description).
- Pause occasionally to ask guiding questions (e.g., "Who is talking here?", "What is happening in this scene?", "How do you think this character feels?").
2. **Guided Practice**:
- Discuss the main idea of the passage and identify key details with the students.
- Use chart paper to create a story map that includes main characters, settings, and major events.
**Poem Comprehension (15 minutes):**
1. **Read Aloud**:
- Read "Sick" by Shel Silverstein to the class.
- Encourage students to listen for rhymes and visualize what is happening.
2. **Think-Pair-Share**:
- Have students turn to a partner and discuss what the poem is about.
- Ask questions like, "Why do you think the character is pretending to be sick?", "What clues in the poem tell you that?"
### Guided Practice (10 minutes):
1. **Comprehension Questions**:
- Hand out worksheets with comprehension questions for the story and poem. Questions should include multiple choice, short answer, and drawing interpretations.
- Example questions: "What is the main idea of the poem?", "How does Wilbur feel when...?", "Draw a part of the story that was exciting."
2. **Interactive Whiteboard**:
- Use individual whiteboards for students to write or draw their answers. This can be particularly useful for visual learners.
### Conclusion (10 minutes):
1. **Review and Discuss**:
- Go over the answers together as a class. Highlight different students' responses and affirm their reasoning.
- Reiterate the importance of referring back to the text to find answers.
2. **Exit Ticket**:
- Ask students to write one thing they learned about reading comprehension today on a sticky note and place it on the board as they leave.
### Homework:
- **Reading Assignment**: Read a short story or another poem at home and complete a similar comprehension worksheet.
- **Parental Engagement**: Encourage students to discuss the story or poem with a family member and share their thoughts on it.
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### Assessment:
- Formative assessment through observation and participation during discussions.
- Review of comprehension worksheet answers.
- Assessment of exit tickets for understanding and reflection.
This plan aims to develop students' critical thinking and analytical skills while making reading a fun and interactive experience.