Gaining Understanding and Information from Introductory Material, Headings, and Other Division Markers in Texts (English III Reading)
You will learn how to look at introductory material, headings, and other subdivisions to gain an understanding and an overview of the text’s organization.
Developing a Thesis and Introduction (English III Writing)
You will learn how to write a thesis statement that explains your position about a topic.
Organizing the Structure of a Paper (English III Writing)
You will learn how to organize your essay with relevant evidence that supports your thesis.
Editing for Proper Voice, Tense, and Syntax (English III Writing and Research)
You will practice checking for proper voice, tense, and syntax.
Annotating to Deepen Understanding (English III Reading)
You will learn how to annotate or mark a text as you read and re-read to gain deeper understanding of the text.
Documenting Sources and Writing a Bibliography/Works Cited (English III Research )
You will learn how to cite your sources in the body of your research paper and write a works cited page according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style manual.
Exploring Identity and Diving Deep into the Complex Meaning of Poetry
This lesson is designed to teach students to make complex inferences, choose specific text evidence that strongly supports the inference, and develop a coherent explanation of how the evidence strongly supports the validity of the idea within the genre of poetry.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Related to the Unit
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Revising Sentences
Students will revise a simple sentence by copying it on a series of sticky notes and adding new words using glitter pens and star-shaped sticky notes.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Vertical Alignment
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Rhyming with Visuals
The teacher will model how to recognize rhyming words by hearing them, seeing them, reading them, and writing them. Then the students will practice hearing, seeing, reading, and writing “at” word family words.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Related to the Unit
This unit connects to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) by fostering a continuance in the area of phonological awareness as begun in previous lessons and introducing the exploration of nursery rhymes, poetry, and lullabies through literature and language play.
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My Version of the Three Little Pigs
Students will create their own version of "The Three Little Pigs" using story elements on a Beginning, Middle, End (BME) story map. First, students will draft their story map with detailed pictures in sequential order, and then go back and add their words later. Once their story is completed, students will be able to retell their story to peers and their teacher.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Vertical Alignment
Click below to learn about the TEKS related to the unit and Research Lesson. The highlighted student expectation(s) is the chosen focus for the Research Lesson.
A Lesson in Kindness and Thematic Complexity
Students explore their internal definition of kindness, using visual and textual evidence to collaboratively expand that definition and perform a close reading of a poem. Students then use internal text to express the author’s complex and subtle thematic message.
Inferring Through Imagery and Figurative Language
Students rotate to four posters which contain a single stanza from a common poem (“Digging” by Seamus Heaney), marking key literary elements (imagery, diction, figurative language) before rotating to explain the connotation of the words and phrases selected by the previous group. After text marking, students regroup to discuss the inferential connections between literary terms and their connotative meaning to theorize thematic meaning within the poem.
Making an Inference
The class will review previous learning about how authors describe characters using speech, thoughts, effects on others, actions, and looks (STEAL). Students will make annotations on an excerpt using the STEAL strategy. We will talk them through making a guided inference. Students will complete a short-answer response on chart paper with evidence and inference for the focus question
Denotation and Connotation (English I Reading)
You will be able to distinguish between the denotative (dictionary) meaning of a word and its connotative (emotions or associations that are implied rather than literal) meaning.
Understatement/Overstatement (English I Reading)
You will be able to recognize and explain the purpose of understatement and overstatement in a text.
Diction and Tone (English I Reading)
You will be able to evaluate the diction in a text and discover the author's tone.
Close Reading of Prose: Practice 1 (English I Reading)
You will read carefully in order to identify diction, tone, and irony and evaluate their impact on the meaning of a text.
Development of Characters Through Literary Devices (English I Reading)
You will be able to recognize how literary devices such as character foils can create complex characters in a short story.
Linguistic Roots and Affixes (English 8 Reading)
You will be able to recognize linguistic roots and affixes to use in determining the meanings of academic English words and in other content areas.
Cognates (English I Reading)
You will use your knowledge of cognates from other languages to help you understand unfamiliar words.