ELA / 3rd Grade / Unit 7: Poetry
Students explore the world of poetry by reading, discussing and writing about a selection of carefully chosen poems, realizing that poetry can inspire, motivate, and help them see things in a new way.
ELA
Unit 7
3rd Grade
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Poetry has been archived. You are welcome to use the resources here, but there are no Fishtank Plus features offered within this unit. If you’d like to implement one of our complete Fishtank Plus units, including all in-lesson and unit-specific Plus features, check out 3rd Grade ELA.
In this unit students begin to explore the world of poetry. By reading a wide variety of poems, students will see the power of the precise words and carefully chosen language used by poets. Students will also understand that poets use poetry, in a way that is different than prose, to share their thoughts, experiences, and strong feelings about something. Additionally, students will realize that poetry can inspire, motivate, awaken, amuse, and help them see things in a new way. It is important to note that the focus of this unit is primarily on familiarizing students with the nuances of the genre. In later units and grades, students will be pushed to think analytically and critically across poems, but in order to do so they need to understand the foundational aspects of poetry.
Because the focus of this unit is on teaching students the foundational aspects of poetry, parts of this unit will feel more skill-based than others. To access poetry at a more complex level in later grades, students must be able to name and explain the different structural elements of poetry. Therefore, these key structural elements are explicitly taught in this unit. After learning about each different element, students will be challenged to think about why the poet wrote with that structure and how the structural decisions a poet makes helps readers better understand the central message of the poem. While one of the main focuses of the unit is learning the structural elements of poetry, these structural elements should never be discussed independent of the central message of the poem. The structural elements a poet includes enhance the overall message of the poem; therefore, it is critical to discuss both simultaneously.
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The following assessments accompany Unit 7.
The Cold Read Assessment tests students' ability to comprehend a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer standards-based questions. The Cold Read Assessment can be given in addition to the Content Assessment as a pulse point for what students can read and analyze independently, a skill often required for standardized testing.
Suggestions for how to prepare to teach this unit
Building Content Knowledge:
Internalizing Text and Standards:
The central thematic questions addressed in the unit or across units
Specific skills to focus on when giving feedback on writing assignments
There are no new language focuses in this unit. The focus of this unit should be on spiraling language focus areas from the previous two units. Use data to plan targeted feedback and review of previously taught focus areas.
As part of the vocabulary routine for this unit students will practice using syllabication patterns to break down vocabulary words. Students will identify practice identifying the number of syllables and use knowledge of syllabication patterns to explain how they determined the number of syllables. This vocabulary and word-work routine should take place daily.
During writing conferences, review with students known spelling patterns and syllabication to spell words correctly. If needed, have students consult a beginning dictionary to confirm the meaning of the word.
Suggested Supports:
There are no new fluency focuses in this unit. The focus of this unit should be on spiraling fluency focus areas from the previous two units, including reading with smoothness, accuracy, and expression. Use data to plan targeted feedback and review of previously taught focus areas.
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
There are no new vocabulary focuses in this unit. Readers should focus on vocabulary strategies from the previous two units; using context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase, and using syllabication rules to sound out and tackle new words. Use data to plan targeted feedback and review of previously taught focus areas.
alliterationfigurative languagemetaphoronomatopoeiapersonificationrepetitionrhyme schemesimile
rhyme scheme, rhythm, stanza, verse, free verse, imagery, simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, repetition
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 7 , view our 3rd Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the intellectual preparation protocol and the Unit Launch to determine which support students will need. To learn more, visit the Supporting all Students teacher tool.
Fishtank ELA units related to the content in this unit.
Explain why some poets choose to write in free verse and other poets choose to include rhyme scheme by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
Standards
RL.3.2RL.3.5
Explain why some poets use alliteration and similes by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
Explain why some poets choose to include onomatopoeia by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
RL.3.5
Analyze and explain why some poets use repetition by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
RL.3.2RL.3.3
Explain how different poets use the structural elements of poetry to help readers better understand the ways of living things by stating a claim and providing evidence from multiple sources to support the claim.
RL.3.2RL.3.5W.3.1
Explain why some poets use personification by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
Explain why some poets choose to use metaphors by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
RL.3.3RL.3.5
Describe how the poet uses the structural elements of poetry to help readers better understand the central message of a poem by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about nature.
Explain how different poets use the structural elements of poetry to help readers better understand the city by stating a claim and providing evidence from multiple sources to support the claim.
3 days
Write a personal poem using strategies learned from studying poets in the unit.
SL.3.5W.3.3
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The content standards covered in this unit
L.3.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.3.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.3.3 — Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
L.3.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.3.5 — Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L.3.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
RF.3.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
RF.3.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
RF.3.4.a — Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.
RF.3.4.c — Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
RL.3.1 — Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RL.3.2 — 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.
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.
RL.3.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.
RL.3.5 — Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.
RL.3.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 2—3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
SL.3.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
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.
SL.3.6 — Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.
W.3.1 — Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
W.3.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
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.
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