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.

A camel can walk for days in the hot desert. It stores fat in its hump. What does a camel store in its hump? (sand / fat / food bags / water) → fatPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
Owls sleep in the day. At night they wake up and hunt for mice. When do owls hunt? (after lunch / in the morning / in the day / at night) → at nightPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
Dev lost his tooth at school. He put it under his pillow that night. Where did Dev put his tooth? (on the table / under his pillow / in a cup / in his bag) → under his pillowPrompt: 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.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level. It is in the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and China. Which mountain range is Mount Everest in? (the Alps / the Rockies / the Andes / the Himalayas) → the HimalayasPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
The school fair raised $460. The money will buy new books for the library and a bench for the playground. What will the money buy? (football kits / a new school bus / computers / books and a bench) → books and a benchPrompt: 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

Lady Montagu and the Smallpox Gamble

In the early eighteenth century, smallpox was one of the most feared diseases in Europe. It killed around three in every ten people it infected and left many survivors scarred or blind. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu knew its cruelty personally: the disease had killed her brother and marked her own face. In 1717, while living in Constantinople (now Istanbul), where her husband was the British ambassador, she observed a remarkable practice. Local women would take a small amount of material from a mild smallpox sore and scratch it into the skin of a healthy person. The person usually developed a mild illness and was then protected for life. This process was called variolation. Montagu was so impressed that she had her young son variolated. When she returned to England, she campaigned to spread the practice, despite fierce opposition. Some doctors resented being taught by a woman; others distrusted a practice from abroad. To win public confidence, Montagu had her daughter variolated in front of physicians from the royal court. Variolation was not without risk: a small number of patients developed severe smallpox, and they could infect others. Decades later, in 1796, Edward Jenner developed a safer method using cowpox, a related but much milder disease. His method, called vaccination after the Latin word for cow, gradually replaced variolation. Smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Jenner is often called the father of vaccination, but the story began with the courage of a woman who noticed what others had overlooked.

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Question 1
Read "Lady Montagu and the Smallpox Gamble". What were TWO reasons some people opposed Montagu?
- A. Jenner disagreed and the king banned it.
- B. It used cowpox and caused scars.
- C. It was too expensive and too slow.
- D. She was a woman, and the practice came from abroad.

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.

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Question 2
Read "The Kite Festival". What was painted on Amara's kite?
- A. a golden dragon
- B. a diamond
- C. a boat
- D. a fish

My Grandmother's Hands

My grandmother's hands are brown and wrinkled, like a map of rivers that have been flowing for eighty years. When I was small, I used to trace the lines with my finger and ask her where each one went. "This one," she would say, pointing to a deep crease across her palm, "goes back to the farm where I grew up, where I picked cotton until my fingers bled." Then she would point to a thin white scar on her thumb. "And this one leads to the night I learned to cook for eight brothers and sisters." Her hands have kneaded thousands of loaves of bread. They have stitched every quilt in our house and plaited my hair before every first day of school. They once caught my baby brother when he slipped from the top of the slide, faster than anyone thought an old woman could move. These days her hands shake a little when she holds her teacup. Sometimes she drops a stitch and has to start a row again. But when she takes my hands in hers, they are still the strongest hands I know.

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Question 3
Read "My Grandmother's Hands". How did Grandmother get the scar on her thumb?
- A. picking cotton
- B. catching the baby
- C. learning to cook for her brothers and sisters
- D. stitching a quilt

The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment

For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise. The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own. At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch." Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day. The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.

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Question 4
Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". According to the survey, what did many students want?
- A. a break from screens, though they found it hard to stop on their own
- B. more homework
- C. new phones
- D. a longer lunch break

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.

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Question 5
Read "Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?". Why can't we see yellow and orange in leaves during summer?
- A. The sun bleaches them.
- B. They are not made until autumn.
- C. Rain washes them away.
- D. The green chlorophyll hides them.
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Question 6
Read "Why Do Leaves Change in Autumn?". Why do some leaves turn red?
- A. Chlorophyll turns red when cold.
- B. The leaves get sunburnt.
- C. Some trees make a new red substance in autumn.
- D. Insects paint them.

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Answer key: Finding and retrieving information

1. D. She was a woman, and the practice came from abroad.
2. A. a golden dragon
3. C. learning to cook for her brothers and sisters
4. A. a break from screens, though they found it hard to stop on their own
5. D. The green chlorophyll hides them.
6. C. Some trees make a new red substance in autumn.