Third Grade – Unit 3 - Discoveries
Stage 1 Desired Results
Transfer
ESTABLISHED
GOALS AND
STANDARDS
Language Arts:
3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5,
3.6, 3.8, 3.9, 3.11,
3,12, 3.14
Math: 3.7, 3.13
Science: 3.7, 3.12,
3.13
Social Studies: 3.2,
3.3, 3.6, 3.8
Evaluative
Criteria
The performance
task includes a
student checklist a
teacher checklist,
and a rubric to
evaluate the
research and
presentation.
Students will be able to independently use their learning in reading, writing, math, science and social studies
to…appreciate the importance of making investigations. Students will be inspired to conduct their own
investigations in order to learn about and make the world a better place.
G
○
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will understand that…
 How can mistakes lead to discoveries?
Discoveries give us new information.
 How can discoveries be helpful and harmful at the
same time?
Acquisition
Students will know…
Students will be skilled at…
 stories and informational text have specific
 identifying story and text structures: setting and plot,
structures that help the reader to
cause/effect, problem/solution, compare/contrast,
understand
sequence, and description
 good readers use “clues” in text to
 inferring authors purpose
understand better (between author & me)
 good readers make “pictures” in their head
 visualizing
to understand better
 nouns are a person, place, or thing
 recognizing nouns in written text
 verbs show action (verb…it’s what you do)
 recognizing verbs in written text
 conjunctions join words and/or sentences
 recognizing conjunctions in written text
 patterns can be in number or geometric
 recognizing a given numeric and geometric pattern
form
 spinners can be used to determine the
 determining the likelihood of determining different
likelihood of different outcomes
outcomes
Stage 2 - Evidence
Assessment Evidence
Performance TASK(S):
 Tell students they will choose an idea for a discovery they want to learn more about. You may wish to use a
concept map to help students come up with key words to help them with their research.
 Tell students to think of sources that probably have information about their discovery. You might suggest
print and electronic books, databases, graphs, maps, time lines, magazines, and newspapers.
 Have students find information in at least three of the sources they identified. Encourage them to use the
following: tables of contents, drop-down menus, prefaces, indexes, glossaries, titles and subtitles, headings
and subheadings, photos, illustrations, and captions.
 After students find information on their discovery, have them paraphrase information, list all sources, and
sort it into categories. Remind students to cite all sources properly.
 Have students share what they have learned about their discovery in an oral report with accompanying
props or visuals. Remind them to follow a logical sequence. Tell students to choose a Cause-and Effect or
Problem-and-Solution format. When students student have completed their self-selected or cross-curricular
projects, plan a time when they can present.
 Use the Student Checklist questions to help you and students evaluate their research and presentation.
OTHER EVIDENCE: What other evidence will I collect to determine whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?
 Weekly Comprehension Tests, Unit Skills Tests, and Mid-Year CRT
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Literature in Unit:Stone Soup, One Riddle-One Answer, Saving the Sand Dunes, The Jones Family Express, and What Do Illustrators Do?
Third Grade – Unit 3 - Discoveries