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Standard 2 : Craft and StructureArchived
Cluster Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Visit the specific benchmark webpage to find related instructional resources.

  • LAFS.3.RI.2.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.5 : Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.6 : Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.
Cluster Information
Number:
LAFS.3.RI.2
Title:
Craft and Structure
Type:
Cluster
Subject:
English Language Arts - Archived
Grade:
3
Strand
Reading Standards for Informational Text
Cluster Access Points

This cluster includes the following Access Points.

  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.4a : Determine the meaning of general academic words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.4b : Determine the meaning of domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.5a : Identify and explain the purpose of a variety of text features (table of contents, index, glossary, charts, subheadings).
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.5b : Use text features (captions, maps, illustrations) to locate information relevant to a given topic or question.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.5c : Use search tools (e.g., sidebars, icons, glossary, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.6a : Identify the author’s point of view in an informational text.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.6b : Identify own point of view about a topic.
  • LAFS.3.RI.2.AP.6c : Compare their own point of view to that of the author.
Cluster Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans
  • What is Tourette Syndrome?: This lesson is about a nine-year-old boy s personal experiences living with Tourette syndrome and how he gains the courage to tell his classmates about it. The author is 9-year old Dylan Peters. He provides clear information about Tourette Syndrome in a way that students can easily understand. This lesson plan addresses the following literacy skills: asking and answering questions to demonstrate understanding of a story, referring explicitly to the story as the basis for the answers; distinguishing their own point of view from that of the author of a text; and writing an opinion piece in response to a text-based question.

  • Who's at the Zoo? A Reptile and Mammal Lesson: Have you ever wondered what makes a reptile a reptile or a mammal a mammal? In this lesson, students will learn the physical and behavioral characteristics that represent reptiles and mammals. Students will be able to organize new information on a T-Chart, sort reptile and mammal picture clue cards, and complete a Venn diagram demonstrating their understanding of what represents reptiles and mammals. This lesson intentionally only covers mammals and reptiles, the other animal groups will need to be covered for full mastery of the aligned science standard.

  • Our Amazing World – Informational Reading: Students will write a summary of the text Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest by Steve Jenkins. In doing so, students will focus on identifying the central idea and relevant details in the text. Students will participate in vocabulary development activities to aid in the understanding of the informational text.

  • Turn Up the Heat: Students will learn about heat through a video, a kinesthetic activity and summarizing informational text. This lesson can be completed in two 40 minute time period or over two days. Students will be able to demonstrate and explain the way heat moves from one object to another.

  • Rocking through the Regions (of the United States): Rocking through the Regions (of the United States) is a 27-day third grade research project on the five regions of the United States and the states that are located within the regions. Students will begin by writing letters to states" Departments of Tourism requesting information about their state. Then, students will work in groups to use the information received along with other print and digital resources they locate to gather information about their region. Once all information is gathered, students will begin writing an informative report and publish their report in an engaging presentation. By the end of this unit, students will be able to identify all five regions on a blank map of the United States and label all 50 states.

  • What am I? Classifying Living Things: In this lesson, students will learn how to classify animals. First, they will learn vertebrate versus invertebrate. Next, they will learn the animal classifications: mammal, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, and arthropod. They will practice sorting these animals by different attributes and then do a short research project on one animal classification, which they will share with the class.

  • Can You Find a Clue?: In this lesson students will be working with a new, non-fiction text to identify unknown words and determine their meaning using context clues.

  • Light the Way: Students will learn about some of the behaviors of light, specifically refraction, through a video, a kinesthetic activity and summarizing informational text. Students will be able explain what causes a shadow by understanding the way light travels as well as explain refraction of light. This lesson can be completed in two 40 minute time periods or over two days.

  • Circuit Circus: Students will be able to identify characteristics of electrical energy. This lesson can be completed in one 80 minute time period or over two days. Students will learn about electrical energy, circuits, conductors and insulators through video, a hands on exploration and summarizing informational text.

  • Exploring the States of Water: This is a week long lesson which helps children explore the three states of water: solid, liquid, and gas. Students will explore examples of where and what conditions the states of matter occur and investigate how to collect observations on the various states of water.

  • Classifying Plants: In this lesson students watch an introductory video, read an essay and identify appropriate vocabulary words" meaning within context, and complete an activity on plant classification. During the activity, students will cut out pictures of plants from magazines, classify them, and identify similarities and differences between them.

  • Extra! Extra! Read About Mammals: In this lesson, students will learn about mammals using the book Mammals by Melissa Stewart. Through this book, the students will practice identifying and using text features to understand the text, as well as determine key details and main idea. The students will then create a newspaper article about a mammal of their choice using the main ideas, key details, and text features from Mammals.

  • Using Text Features to Learn About Reptiles: In this lesson, students will identify and use text features to learn about reptiles while reading the book REPTILES by Melissa Stewart. As the students practice identifying and using text features, they will also identify relevant details in the text. Using the text features and relevant details, students will identify the central idea. The students will then create a Reptile Poster using central ideas, relevant details, and text features. This lesson will use the text Reptiles by Melissa Stewart. However, this lesson can be done with any reptile-based book.

  • Do not disturb! A lesson on hibernating and migration: Have you ever wondered why animals hibernate or why they migrate? Have you also ever wondered which animals do? In this lesson, students will learn which common animals hibernate and which ones migrate. They will also learn the importance of hibernation and migration on animals during the winter season. Students will be able to write down their learning, sort picture cards, and complete a Compare and Contrast Chart demonstrating their understanding of hibernation and migration.

  • Going Batty! Using Informational Text about Bats to find the Central Idea and Details: Students will find the central idea and relevant details in informational texts about bats. To support students finding the central idea and details, students will use a fact gathering sheet. Students will write a central idea and details paragraph that includes appropriate content-area vocabulary and grade-level conventions.

  • Changing the State of Water: Freezing: This lesson plan provides students with real life and hands on experience to the freezing process. Students learn what temperature water freezes at and how freezing can affect the environment.

  • Pitch Me A Sound: Students will be able to identify characteristics of sound energy, such as pitch and volume. This lesson can be completed in one 45 minute time period or over two days. Students will learn about sound through video, a hands on project and summarizing informational text.

  • Understanding an Author's use of Text Features in a Non-Fiction Text: This lesson focuses on helping students identify text features in order to better understand author’s purpose. Students will apply this knowledge to understand the informational text Great Migrations Elephants by Laura Marsh.

  • Who's Who?: Students will collect evidence from informational texts and the internet to show the importance of a historical figure. Students will conduct research, write an expository paragraph, and provide and receive peer feedback on their writing.

Student Center Activities
Teaching Idea
  • Taking a Stand: This web resource provides an introduction to the discrimination and segregation that triggered the Civil Rights movement, through the eyes of some of the youngest activists at the time.

    This teaching idea supports the exploration of the purpose of rules and laws in society, as well as some of the basic tenets of the Constitution that address equal rights for all citizens. Also included are ideas on how to help students examine historical examples of segregation to consider their impact and analyze how civil rights activists responded to segregation laws to promote change.

Text Resources
  • Plants Responding to Different Factors: This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article is a description of how a plant responds to light, gravity, and heat.

  • Parts of a Plant: This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article describes the function of the different parts of a plant.

  • Can You Read a Tree?: This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article explains how tree rings are used to determine the Earth's climate many years ago.

Unit/Lesson Sequence
  • Using Science Texts to Teach the Organizational Features of Nonfiction: Science captures even the most reluctant readers and writers. Students are naturally drawn to the colorful photographs and layouts of nonfiction science texts. This lesson supports students in grade 3 as they explore the organizational features of nonfiction texts, such as labels, captions, headings, fonts, and so on. Students then have an opportunity to work together with their classmates to create a two-page spread using those features to present information about their local environment.