• 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. A bird sang. Which sentence adds the most useful detail? (Sang a bird. / A bird sang a song a song. / A tiny robin sang on the frosty fence at dawn. / A bird it sang.) → A tiny robin sang on the frosty fence at dawn.Prompt: Good detail tells us more: what kind, where, when or why.
2. Choose the linking word that fits. Our playground needs more benches ___ there is nowhere to sit. (because / but / then / or) → becausePrompt: 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? (What is your favourite season? / Summer comes after spring. / Summer is my favourite season because the days are long and sunny. / It is summer.) → Summer is my favourite season because the days are long and sunny.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? (That is why everyone should try to save water. / Water is wet. / Fish live in water. / Taps can drip.) → That is why everyone should try to save water.Prompt: Concluding sentences often begin with words like In conclusion, All in all, Overall, So or That is why.
2. Our trip to the science museum was amazing. We touched a real meteorite. We built a robot arm. We even watched a show about lightning. Which sentence would make the best ending? (It was the best school trip I have ever been on. / Robots need batteries. / The bus was blue. / Meteorites are rocks.) → It was the best school trip I have ever been on.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. Which sentence sounds most like a CONCLUDING sentence? (We planted beans. / Carrots are orange. / Worms live in soil. / Overall, our class garden was a big success.) → 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. Hedgehogs are helpful visitors to gardens. They eat slugs and beetles that damage plants. They also need gaps in fences to travel between gardens at night. Which sentence would make the best ending? (What is your favourite animal? / My cousin has a cat called Pepper. / Slugs are slimy. / So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike.) → So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike.Prompt: A concluding sentence wraps up the whole paragraph.

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