Lesson length30 min 45 min 60 min

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Print the plan for yourself; the student sheet prints on its own page after it.

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

Finding and retrieving information

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.3.1CCSS RL.3.1England: Y3/4 Reading (retrieval)England: KS2 SATs Reading

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Finding and retrieving information.

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: Key details

Leads to: Fact and opinion; Citing textual evidence; Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?

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 (Key details). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Ducks have webbed feet. The skin between their toes helps them paddle. What helps ducks paddle? (their tails / their beaks / their feathers / the skin between their toes) → the skin between their toesPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
Squirrels bury nuts in autumn. In winter, they dig them up to eat. When do squirrels dig up the nuts? (at night / in spring / in winter / in summer) → in winterPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
Penguins are birds, but they cannot fly. They use their wings to swim. What do penguins use their wings for? (to swim / to dig / to eat / to fly) → to swimPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.

Hook · 3 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Finding and retrieving information. 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: Hedgehogs are covered in about 5,000 spines. When they are scared, they curl into a tight ball so that only the spines show. What do hedgehogs do when they are scared?
Step 1: The answer is stated directly in the text.
Step 2: So the answer is: curl into a ball
Answer: curl into a ball
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.

To make a paper boat, fold a sheet of paper in half. Fold the corners down to make a triangle. Then fold up the bottom edges and open out the middle. What shape do you make after folding the corners? (a triangle / a circle / a star / a square) → a trianglePrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
The town library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays. When does the library close on Saturdays? (9 a.m. / 5 p.m. / 2 p.m. / It is closed all day.) → 2 p.m.Prompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.

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.

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: Key details.
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: Fact and opinion; Citing textual evidence; Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?.
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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Finding and retrieving information

Name

Date

Score/ 6

Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?

In many parts of the world, autumn turns forests into blazes of yellow, orange and red. But where do these bright shades come from? The answer is hidden inside every leaf. During spring and summer, leaves are busy making food for the tree. To do this, they use sunlight, water and air. A green substance called chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight. There is so much chlorophyll in a leaf that it hides all the other shades. As autumn arrives, the days grow shorter and there is less sunlight. Trees such as maples and oaks begin to get ready for winter. They stop making chlorophyll. As the green fades away, the yellows and oranges that were in the leaf all along begin to show. Some trees, such as certain maples, also make a brand-new red substance in autumn. This is why some leaves turn bright red or purple. Finally, the tree seals off each leaf where it joins the branch. The leaf dries out and falls. Without leaves, the tree uses less water during the cold winter months. In spring, new green leaves will grow, and the cycle will begin again.

1
Question 1
Read "Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?". Why do some leaves turn red?
- A. The leaves get sunburnt.
- B. Some trees make a new red substance in autumn.
- C. Chlorophyll turns red when cold.
- D. Insects paint them.

The Kite Festival

Amara had spent three weeks building her kite. She had bent the bamboo sticks, stretched the paper tight and painted a fierce golden dragon across the front. It was going to win the prize for best design at the town's kite festival. She was sure of it. On the morning of the festival, the field was crowded with families. Kites shaped like fish, birds and boats bobbed in the breeze. Amara's little brother, Kofi, trailed behind her, clutching a small diamond kite he had made from a plastic bag and two straws. "Mine's not very good," Kofi mumbled. Amara ran, and her dragon rose beautifully – until a sudden gust snapped one of the bamboo sticks. The kite twisted, spun and crashed into the grass. The paper ripped right through the dragon's face. Amara's eyes stung. Three weeks of work, ruined in three seconds. Kofi tugged her sleeve. "You can fly mine with me," he offered. At first Amara shook her head. Then she looked at Kofi's hopeful face and took the string. Together they ran, and the little plastic kite shot up higher than any other kite in the sky. People pointed and cheered. That afternoon, the judges gave Kofi a ribbon for "Highest Flyer". Amara clapped louder than anyone. She realised she was smiling more than she would have if she had won the prize herself.

2
Question 2
Read "The Kite Festival". What made Amara's kite crash?
- A. A gust of wind snapped a stick.
- B. The paint was too heavy.
- C. It got caught in a tree.
- D. Kofi pulled the string.

Inside a Volcano

Deep beneath our feet, the Earth is extremely hot – hot enough to melt rock. This melted rock is called magma. Because magma is lighter than the solid rock around it, it slowly rises upward. Sometimes it collects in a huge underground pool called a magma chamber. A volcano forms where magma finds a way to the surface. When the pressure in the magma chamber becomes too great, the magma bursts out through cracks or vents. Once it reaches the surface, it is called lava. Over time, layers of cooled lava and ash can build up to form a mountain. Most volcanoes are found near the edges of tectonic plates, the giant slabs of rock that make up the Earth's outer layer. More than half of the world's active volcanoes surround the Pacific Ocean, in a horseshoe-shaped zone known as the Ring of Fire. Scientists sort volcanoes into three groups. Active volcanoes have erupted recently and could erupt again. Dormant volcanoes have not erupted for a very long time but might wake up in the future. Extinct volcanoes are not expected to erupt ever again. Although eruptions can be deadly, volcanoes also bring benefits. Volcanic ash breaks down into rich soil, which is why many farms are found on the slopes of old volcanoes. In some countries, such as Iceland, the heat from underground is used to warm homes and produce electricity.

3
Question 3
Read "Inside a Volcano". What is the Ring of Fire?
- A. a ring of lava around a crater
- B. the hottest layer of the Earth
- C. a volcano in Iceland
- D. a zone of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

The storm had been building all afternoon. By the time the sun set, waves as tall as houses were hurling themselves against the rocks below Gull Point Lighthouse, and the wind screamed around the tower like a wild animal. Nell pressed her face to the window of the little cottage. Her father had rowed to the mainland that morning to fetch the doctor for Mrs Penrose, and the sea had turned before he could return. Now, for the first time in her twelve years, Nell was alone at the lighthouse. She knew what that meant. Every night at dusk, the great lamp at the top of the tower had to be lit. Without it, ships would have no warning of the rocks. Nell grabbed the lantern and her father's oilskin coat, which hung down past her knees, and pushed open the door. The wind nearly knocked her flat. Bent double, she stumbled across the yard and into the tower. There were one hundred and twelve steps to the top. Nell had climbed them hundreds of times, but never in the dark, never with the whole tower trembling. Halfway up, her lantern flickered and almost went out. She stopped, cupped her hand around the flame and whispered, "Not now. Please, not now." At the top, her fingers were numb with cold. She trimmed the wick the way her father had shown her, filled the oil and struck a match. Nothing. A second match. Nothing. With the third, a tiny flame caught, grew and then blazed, and the great lens began to turn, sweeping its beam across the furious sea. Far out in the darkness, a ship's horn sounded twice. Nell did not know whose ship it was. But she knew that, tonight, it would find its way home.

4
Question 4
Read "The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter". Why was Nell alone at the lighthouse?
- A. Her father had gone fishing.
- B. Her father had gone to fetch a doctor and could not get back.
- C. She had run away from home.
- D. Her father was asleep.

The Kite Festival

5
Question 5
Read "The Kite Festival". What was painted on Amara's kite?
- A. a diamond
- B. a fish
- C. a boat
- D. a golden dragon

The Margin

Zainab had read the library book three times before she noticed the handwriting. It was in the margin of page 112, so faint she had taken it for a smudge. In tiny, slanted letters, someone had written: "Don't trust the narrator." Underneath, in different ink and a rounder hand, someone else had replied: "Why not?" And beneath that, in the first writer's slant: "Read chapter 9 again." She read chapter 9 again. Then she read it a fourth time, and a fifth, and on the sixth she saw it – a single sentence where the narrator claimed to have been at home when, three chapters earlier, he had described himself on a train. A lie, hidden in plain sight. The whole story tilted, like a picture knocked crooked on a wall. Zainab sat back. She checked the date stamps on the card inside the front cover. The book had been borrowed forty-seven times since 1994. Somewhere among those forty-seven readers were two people who had held a conversation across years without ever meeting. She found a pencil. For a long time she hesitated over the page, feeling as if she were about to speak in a room full of strangers. Then, carefully, beneath the other two, she wrote: "Found it. Thank you." When she returned the book, the librarian frowned at the pencil marks. Zainab apologised. But as she walked home, she wondered who would be next to find them.

6
Question 6
Read "The Margin". What did the first note in the margin say?
- A. "Found it. Thank you."
- B. "Why not?"
- C. "Read chapter 3 again."
- D. "Don't trust the narrator."

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Answer key: Finding and retrieving information

1. B. Some trees make a new red substance in autumn.
2. A. A gust of wind snapped a stick.
3. D. a zone of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean
4. B. Her father had gone to fetch a doctor and could not get back.
5. D. a golden dragon
6. D. "Don't trust the narrator."