Unit Plan 1 (Grade 3 ELA): Launching Our Reading & Writing Community + Fluency Bootcamp

Grade Level: 3

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Language)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

This kickoff week builds the classroom literacy community, daily reading/writing routines, and discussion norms while running a short, daily fluency “bootcamp.” Students learn to ask and answer text-dependent questions, build independent reading stamina, and draft a short small-moment narrative. By the end of the week, students complete a brief comprehension task, a one-minute oral reading check, and a polished narrative paragraph with dialogue and precise word choice.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Ask and answer questions about a text and support answers with evidence.
2. Read grade-level text aloud with accuracy, phrasing, and expression.
3. Participate in partner and small-group discussions using sentence stems and turn-taking.
4. Write a small-moment narrative with a clear beginning–middle–end, including dialogue.
5. Determine meanings of unfamiliar words using context clues and common affixes.

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 3

• Reading Literature: RL.3.1, RL.3.3, RL.3.5, RL.3.10
• Reading Informational: RI.3.1, RI.3.5, RI.3.7, RI.3.10
• Foundational Skills: RF.3.4a–c
• Writing: W.3.3a–d, W.3.5, W.3.10
• Speaking & Listening: SL.3.1a–d, SL.3.3, SL.3.6
• Language: L.3.1a–i, L.3.2a–g, L.3.4a–d, L.3.6

Success Criteria — student language

• I underline a sentence or detail that proves my answer.
• I pause at punctuation and group words into phrases when I read aloud.
• I use sentence stems to respond to my partner.
• My small-moment paragraph has a strong lead, dialogue, and precise words.
• I can explain how I figured out a new word (context clue or word part).