Lesson length30 min 45 min 60 min

Questions🔀 New questions

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

English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes

Word meaning in a text

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.3.4CCSS RI.3.4England: Y3/4 Reading (vocabulary)England: KS2 SATs ReadingEngland: 11+ English

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Word meaning in a text.

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: Using context clues

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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 · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Using context clues). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Use the clues in the sentence. What does the word in brackets mean? The room was so dim that we could hardly see. (dim) (not bright / not warm / not quiet / not clean) → not brightPrompt: Look at the other words in the sentence. What do they tell you?
Use context clues. What does the word in brackets most likely mean? Despite the ominous dark clouds, the picnic stayed dry. (ominous) (threatening / harmless / fluffy / beautiful) → threateningPrompt: Look for signal words: unlike, despite, so…that, a colon or dash that explains.
Use the clues in the sentence. What does the word in brackets mean? Grandpa is very frugal; he never wastes money and always looks for bargains. (frugal) (very generous / very rich / careful with money / forgetful) → careful with moneyPrompt: Look at the other words in the sentence. What do they tell you?

Hook · 5 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Word meaning in a text. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: The giant tortoise is ancient. Some live for more than 150 years. What does "ancient" mean here?
Step 1: The words around an unfamiliar word help show its meaning.
Step 2: So the answer is: very old
Answer: very old
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

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

The giant tortoise is ancient. Some live for more than 150 years. What does "ancient" mean here? (very old / very slow / very large / very rare) → very oldPrompt: Find the word in the text and read the whole sentence around it.
After the race, Ali was so parched that he drank three glasses of water. What does "parched" mean? (very happy / very thirsty / very tired / very hot) → very thirstyPrompt: Find the word in the text and read the whole sentence around it.

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

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

The giant tortoise is ancient. Some live for more than 150 years. What does "ancient" mean here? (very old / very rare / very slow / very large) → very oldPrompt: Find the word in the text and read the whole sentence around it.

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: Using context 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

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

eurekami

Word meaning in a text

Name

Date

Score/ 8

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.

1
Question 1
Read "Lady Montagu and the Smallpox Gamble". What does "eradicated" mean in the final paragraph?
- A. made more dangerous
- B. spread widely
- C. completely wiped out
- D. discovered

How Bees Make Honey

Honey bees are busy insects. They live together in a home called a hive. One hive can hold thousands of bees. Worker bees fly from flower to flower. They suck up a sweet juice called nectar with their long tongues. They carry the nectar back to the hive in a special part of their body called a honey stomach. Back at the hive, the bees pass the nectar to other bees. These bees put it into tiny six-sided rooms made of wax. The nectar is still runny, so the bees fan it with their wings. This dries it out and turns it thick and sticky. Now it is honey! Last, the bees cover each room with a wax lid. The honey is saved for the winter, when there are no flowers.

2
Question 2
Read "How Bees Make Honey". What is nectar?
- A. a kind of wax
- B. a bee's home
- C. a type of insect
- D. a sweet juice from flowers

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 difference between magma and lava?
- A. Lava is underground; magma is on the surface.
- B. Magma is cold; lava is hot.
- C. They are two different kinds of ash.
- D. Magma is underground; lava has reached the surface.

Beavers Come Home

Four hundred years after they were hunted to extinction in Britain, beavers are back. Small populations now live wild in parts of Scotland and England, and several other European countries have reintroduced them too. Ecologists describe beavers as "ecosystem engineers". By building dams, they create ponds and wetlands that slow the flow of water, trap sediment and provide homes for insects, amphibians and birds. In one Devon study, the amount of water flowing downstream during heavy rain was noticeably lower below beaver dams than above them, suggesting that dams can help reduce flooding. Not everyone is delighted. Some farmers report flooded fields and felled trees, and they worry about the cost. Their concerns are real, and schemes in some areas now compensate landowners or move beavers whose dams cause serious damage. Supporters argue that the benefits outweigh the costs. Wetlands created by beavers can store water during droughts, improve water quality and attract visitors. Yet researchers caution that results vary from river to river, and long-term data are still limited. What is clear is that the return of beavers forces us to ask a broader question: how much room are we willing to make for wild animals in a crowded country?

4
Question 4
Read "Beavers Come Home". In paragraph 2, why are beavers called 'ecosystem engineers'?
- A. because they are trained by engineers
- B. because they destroy ecosystems
- C. because they build roads
- D. because they reshape their environment in ways that affect many other species

Rethinking Screen Time

Few debates generate as much anxiety among parents as the question of screen time. Headlines warn that smartphones are "destroying a generation", while technology companies insist that their products connect and empower young people. The truth, as so often, is more complicated than either side admits. Part of the problem is that "screen time" is a crude measure. An hour spent video-calling a grandparent, coding a game or researching a school project is not the same as an hour spent scrolling through an endless feed of short videos. Researchers increasingly argue that what young people do on screens matters more than how long they spend on them. That said, quantity is not irrelevant. Several large studies have linked very heavy use – more than five or six hours a day of recreational screen time – to poorer sleep and lower wellbeing. Screens can displace other activities that support health: exercise, face-to-face friendship and, crucially, sleep. Light from devices and the stimulation of social media late at night can delay sleep for teenagers, whose body clocks already push them towards later bedtimes. It is worth noting, however, that most of these studies show correlation, not causation. Teenagers who are already unhappy may turn to their phones more, rather than their phones making them unhappy. Untangling cause and effect is notoriously difficult. What, then, should families do? Rather than fixating on a single number, experts suggest asking three questions. Is screen use getting in the way of sleep? Is it crowding out exercise and real-world relationships? And does the young person feel in control of it, or controlled by it? If the answers are reassuring, the exact number of minutes may matter less than we fear.

5
Question 5
Read "Rethinking Screen Time". In paragraph 3, "displace" most nearly means…
- A. improve
- B. explain
- C. speed up
- D. take the place of

The Mapmaker's Apprentice

Ines had worked in Master Corvo's shop for three years, and in all that time he had never let her draw a single line on a real map. She ground his inks, stretched his parchment and swept up the shavings from his quills. When she asked why she could not draw, he only said, "A mapmaker must first learn to see." So Ines watched. She watched sailors come in, sunburnt and impatient, to buy charts of the southern coast. She watched merchants argue over which mountain pass was fastest. Most of all, she watched Master Corvo, who spent far longer listening to travellers than he did holding his pen. One winter morning, a fisherman stumbled into the shop, soaked and shaking. A storm had pushed his boat far north, past the edge of every chart in the city. He had found a narrow channel between two islands that no map showed, and it had saved his life. Master Corvo was in bed with a fever. The fisherman was leaving on the evening tide. Ines hesitated only for a moment. Then she sat the fisherman by the fire and asked him questions — not just where the channel was, but how the water changed colour near the rocks, where the gulls gathered, how long it took to row from one island to the other. She wrote down every answer. Only when she had heard everything did she pick up a pen. When Master Corvo recovered, she laid the new chart in front of him. He studied it for a long time without speaking. Then he took his own pen, signed his name in the corner, and beneath it, for the first time, he wrote hers.

6
Question 6
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". What does Master Corvo mean by "A mapmaker must first learn to see"?
- A. Ines needs glasses.
- B. A mapmaker needs very good eyesight.
- C. A mapmaker should travel to every place.
- D. A mapmaker must learn to observe and gather information carefully.

The Vault at the Top of the World

On a frozen island in the Arctic Ocean, between Norway and the North Pole, a narrow concrete doorway sticks out of the side of a mountain. Behind it, a tunnel leads deep into the rock. This is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and it holds more than a million packets of seeds from almost every country on Earth. Why keep seeds in a mountain? Farmers all over the world depend on many different varieties of crops, such as types of rice that survive floods or kinds of wheat that resist disease. If a variety disappears because of war, natural disaster or simple accident, it may be lost for ever. The vault is a back-up copy, like saving a precious file in two places. The location was chosen with care. The vault is high enough above sea level to stay dry even if ice caps melt. Inside, the seeds are kept at about minus 18 degrees Celsius, cold enough to keep many of them alive for decades or even centuries. The surrounding rock is permanently frozen, so even if the power failed, the seeds would stay cold. The vault opened in 2008. In 2015, it was used for the first time: scientists who had lost access to their own seed bank during a war in Syria withdrew samples, grew new plants and later sent fresh seeds back to the vault. The back-up had worked. No one hopes the vault will be needed often. But like a fire extinguisher in a school corridor, it is reassuring to know it is there.

7
Question 7
Read "The Vault at the Top of the World". The text calls the vault a "back-up copy". What does back-up mean here?
- A. a computer game
- B. a copy that is worse than the original
- C. an extra copy kept safe in case the original is lost
- D. a seed that grows backwards

Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?

Every evening, in homes across the country, the same battle takes place: tired children, frustrated parents and a worksheet that nobody wants to finish. It is time for primary schools to ban homework. The most important reason is that, for young children, the evidence for homework is weak. Several large reviews of research have found that homework has little measurable effect on the test results of pupils under eleven. Older students may benefit, but for younger children, the hours spent on worksheets do not seem to pay off. Second, children need time to play, rest and be with their families. Play is not a waste of time; it builds creativity, problem-solving and friendships. A child who has spent six hours concentrating at school deserves an evening to explore, read for pleasure or simply be bored – which is when imagination often kicks in. Some people argue that homework teaches responsibility. This is a fair point. However, children can learn responsibility in many other ways: feeding a pet, helping to cook dinner or practising an instrument they have chosen themselves. Finally, homework can be unfair. Some children have parents who can help them every night and a quiet desk to work at. Others share a small space with siblings or have parents who work late. Homework can widen the gap between these children instead of closing it. Schools should replace homework with something simple: read every day, for fun. That is one habit worth taking home.

8
Question 8
Read "Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?". In paragraph 5, what does "widen the gap" mean?
- A. make the difference between groups bigger
- B. make homework longer
- C. make classrooms larger
- D. open the school gates

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: Word meaning in a text

1. C. completely wiped out
2. D. a sweet juice from flowers
3. D. Magma is underground; lava has reached the surface.
4. D. because they reshape their environment in ways that affect many other species
5. D. take the place of
6. D. A mapmaker must learn to observe and gather information carefully.
7. C. an extra copy kept safe in case the original is lost
8. A. make the difference between groups bigger