• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Expanding sentences with detail; Give reasons with because, also and so). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. The girl laughed. Which sentence adds the most useful detail? (Laughed the girl did. / The girl she laughed. / The little girl laughed when the puppy licked her nose. / The girl laughed laughed.) → The little girl laughed when the puppy licked her nose.Prompt: Good detail tells us more: what kind, where, when or why.
2. Choose the linking word that fits. Reading is great because you learn new things. It ___ helps you relax. (because / so / but / also) → alsoPrompt: Is the writer giving a reason (because), adding another reason (also) or showing a result (so)?
3. Read the question. Which sentence gives an opinion with a reason? (The park has a slide. / Is the park open today? / I think the park is the best place to play because it has a huge slide. / Go to the park.) → I think the park is the best place to play because it has a huge slide.Prompt: An opinion is what someone thinks or feels.

• Show two openings to the same piece of writing and ask which makes them want to read on.
• Share the objective: Choose the best concluding sentence. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Making a bird feeder is easy. First, spread seed butter on a pine cone. Next, roll it in birdseed. Then tie a string to the top. Which sentence would make the best ending?
• Step 1: A good concluding sentence sums up or finishes the main idea of the paragraph.
• Step 2: So the answer is: Finally, hang it on a branch and watch the birds arrive!
• Answer: Finally, hang it on a branch and watch the birds arrive!
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which sentence sounds most like a CONCLUDING sentence? (Overall, our class garden was a big success. / Carrots are orange. / We planted beans. / Worms live in soil.) → Overall, our class garden was a big success.Prompt: Concluding sentences often begin with words like In conclusion, All in all, Overall, So or That is why.
2. Recycling helps our planet. It means fewer trees are cut down to make paper. It also keeps plastic out of rivers and oceans. Which sentence would make the best ending? (I have a red bin at home. / Oceans are salty. / Paper is thin. / If everyone recycles, we can all help protect the Earth.) → If everyone recycles, we can all help protect the Earth.Prompt: A concluding sentence wraps up the whole paragraph.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Our school should have a reading den. It would give us a quiet place to read at lunchtime. It would also help younger children love books. Which sentence would make the best ending? (I like football too. / That is why a reading den would make our school even better. / Lunch is at twelve o'clock. / Some books have pictures.) → That is why a reading den would make our school even better.Prompt: A concluding sentence wraps up the whole paragraph.
2. Which sentence sounds most like a CONCLUDING sentence? (Owls have big eyes. / Some owls are brown. / In conclusion, owls are amazing night-time hunters. / Owls can turn their heads.) → In conclusion, owls are amazing night-time hunters.Prompt: Concluding sentences often begin with words like In conclusion, All in all, Overall, So or That is why.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-3.