English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes
Alphabetical order to the second and third letter
Vocabulary
CCSS L.3.2.GEngland: Y3/4 Reading (using a dictionary)England: Y3 Spelling (dictionary use)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Alphabetical order to the second and third letter.
- 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: Alphabet order: before, after and missing letters
Leads to: Dictionary guide words: is the word on this page?
Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Alphabet order: before, after and missing letters). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Sing the alphabet in your head. Which letter comes just after "a"? Type it. → bPrompt: Start a few letters before "a" and keep going.
- Which letter comes just BEFORE "w" in the alphabet? (x / u / v / b) → vPrompt: Before means the letter you say first.
- Which letter is missing? Type it. b, c, d, __ → ePrompt: Read the letters in order, like the alphabet song.
Hook · 5 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Alphabetical order to the second and third letter. 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: Which word comes FIRST in a dictionary?
- Step 1: In order: grape, grill, grow, grumpy.
- Step 2: So the answer is: grape
- Answer: grape
- 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.
- Which word comes FIRST in a dictionary? (shut / shine / shell / short) → shellPrompt: Compare the words letter by letter until they are different.
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 1 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.
- Which word comes FIRST in a dictionary? (stream / stick / stamp / stone) → stampPrompt: Compare the words letter by letter until they are different.
Watch out for
- Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
- Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Alphabet order: before, after and missing letters.
- Use concrete materials: word cards.
- 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: Dictionary guide words: is the word on this page?.
- 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