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English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 30 minutes

What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.3.10CCSS RL.3.2CCSS RI.3.10England: Y3/4 Reading (range of books)England: Y3 Reading (fiction, poetry, non-fiction)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions….

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Fiction or non-fiction? Spot the clues

Leads to: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features; Words from myths (a Herculean task, an Achilles' heel)

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Fiction or non-fiction? Spot the clues). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Is this book fiction or non-fiction? A book with step-by-step instructions to plant seeds (fiction / non-fiction) → non-fictionPrompt: Fiction = made-up stories. Non-fiction = true facts.
  2. Read the question. Which would you most likely find in a FICTION book? (a list of facts / a diagram with labels / an index / characters and a problem to solve) → characters and a problem to solvePrompt: Fiction tells a made-up story; non-fiction gives real information.
  3. Is this book fiction or non-fiction? A book about a robot who goes on a pirate adventure (fiction / non-fiction) → fictionPrompt: Fiction = made-up stories. Non-fiction = true facts.

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which kind of text is this? An old story that explains something in nature, often with gods or heroes.
  • Step 1: Each genre has features that help you recognise it.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: myth
  • Answer: myth
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • 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 kind of text is this? A made-up story that could really happen in everyday life. (fantasy / science fiction / realistic fiction / myth) → realistic fictionPrompt: Is it true (non-fiction) or made up (fiction)?
  2. The tiny dragon sneezed, and the whole library filled with glittering purple smoke. When it cleared, every book had sprouted wings. What kind of text is this? (fantasy / news report / biography / realistic fiction) → fantasyPrompt: Is it true or made up?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • 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.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which kind of text is this? A story where the characters must solve a puzzling secret or crime. (recipe / biography / mystery / fable) → mysteryPrompt: Is it true (non-fiction) or made up (fiction)?
  2. Mae Jemison was born in 1956 in Alabama, in the United States. She trained as a doctor and an engineer, and in 1992 she became the first African American woman to travel into space. What kind of text is this? (fantasy / biography / myth / autobiography) → biographyPrompt: Is it true or made up?

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Fiction or non-fiction? Spot the clues.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features; Words from myths (a Herculean task, an Achilles' heel).
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

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

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Which kind of text is this? The true story of a real person's life, written by someone else.

    • A. autobiography
    • B. fantasy
    • C. poem
    • D. biography

Bugs in the Code

Theo had been looking forward to Coding Club all week. Ms Rivera had promised they would make their own animated story on the classroom tablets. Theo chose a cartoon cat and wrote the code: when the green flag is clicked, move ten steps, then turn and wave. He clicked the flag. The cat spun round and round like a washing machine and never stopped. "It's broken!" Theo groaned, and he pushed the tablet away. Ms Rivera sat down beside him. "It's not broken," she said. "It's got a bug. Every coder gets bugs. The trick is to be a detective." Together they read the code one block at a time. Theo had put the turn block inside a forever loop by mistake, so the cat kept turning for ever. Theo dragged the block out of the loop and clicked the flag again. The cat walked ten steps, turned and waved. Theo cheered so loudly that the whole club looked up. The next week, a younger girl called Ivy was close to tears because her rocket would not take off. Theo pulled up a chair. "It's not broken," he told her. "It's got a bug. Let's be detectives."

  1. Question 2

    Read "Bugs in the Code". What kind of text is this?

    • A. fantasy
    • B. a biography
    • C. realistic fiction
    • D. instructions

  1. Question 3

    A greedy crow hid every berry it found and would not share. When winter came, the other birds had moved south together, and the crow was left alone with a pile of frozen berries. Sharing makes friends; greed makes you lonely. What kind of text is this?

    • A. biography
    • B. instructions
    • C. fable
    • D. news report

  2. Question 4

    Which kind of text is this? Numbered steps that tell you how to make or do something.

    • A. biography
    • B. myth
    • C. instructions
    • D. poem

  3. Question 5

    LOCAL PUPILS CLEAN UP BEACH On Saturday morning, forty children from Gull Bay Primary collected over 200 kilograms of rubbish from the town beach. What kind of text is this?

    • A. fantasy
    • B. fable
    • C. poem
    • D. news report

  4. Question 6

    Which kind of text is this? A made-up story that could really happen in everyday life.

    • A. science fiction
    • B. myth
    • C. realistic fiction
    • D. fantasy

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Answer key: What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…

  1. 1. D. biography

  2. 2. C. realistic fiction

  3. 3. C. fable

  4. 4. C. instructions

  5. 5. D. news report

  6. 6. C. realistic fiction