Unit Plan 19 (Grade 3 ELA): Understanding Theme and Moral

Grade Level: 3

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

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

I. Introduction

This week invites students into fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures to uncover theme/lesson/moral and to compare how different stories convey similar ideas. Learners practice recounting a story (beginning–middle–end), identifying how characters’ actions and consequences reveal a lesson, and comparing/contrasting themes across two tales. Students also build vocabulary strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues and word parts. By Friday, each student reads a fresh tale, states the theme with evidence, compares it to a familiar tale, and explains one new word using context or affixes.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Recount a fable/folktale/myth and determine its theme/lesson/moral, explaining how it is conveyed through events and character actions.
2. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of two stories on a similar topic or pattern.
3. Determine meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases using context clues, affixes, and known roots; confirm meanings when possible.

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 3

• Reading Literature: RL.3.2 (recount; determine message/lesson/moral; explain how conveyed)
• Reading Literature: RL.3.9 (compare/contrast themes, settings, plots)
• Language: L.3.4a–d (use context, affixes, and reference materials to determine word meaning)

Success Criteria — student language

• I can retell the story in order and name the problem/solution.
• I can state the theme or moral in one sentence and point to two moments that show it.
• I can tell how two different stories are alike and different in theme, setting, and plot.
• I can figure out a new word using context or word parts and explain the clue I used.