®
GUIded
readInG
A: one Tree, Three Branches
B: Who Makes the Laws?
infoPairs
Social Studies
820L/830L
LiTeraCY STanDarDS aDDreSSeD in THiS PLan
ri.3.1
Main FOCUS Key ideas & Details
ri.3.10
range of reading & Level of Text Complexity
By the end of the year, read and comprehend
informational texts, including history/social
studies, science, and technical texts, at the high
end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
rF.3.3a
Phonics & Word recognition
Sessions 1, 2, 3
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers.
ri.3.4
Main FOCUS Craft & Structure
Sessions 2, 3
Determine the meaning of general academic
and domain-specific words and phrases in a text
relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
ri.3.7
integration of Knowledge & ideas
session 3
session 2
Identify and know the meaning of the most
common prefixes and derivational suffixes.
SL.3.1c
ri.3.9
Main FOCUS integration of Knowledge & ideas
Comprehension & Collaboration
sessions 1, 2
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g.,
maps, photographs) and the words in a text to
demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g.,
where, when, why, and how key events occur).
Ask questions to check understanding of
information presented, stay on topic, and link their
comments to the remarks of others.
W.3.8*
research to Build & Present Knowledge
sessions 2, 3
Session 3
Recall information from experiences or gather
information from provided sources to answer a
question.
*Standard adapted from another grade
Compare and contrast the most important
points and key details presented in two texts on
the same topic.
W.3.10
range of Writing
Write routinely over extended time frames
and shorter time frames for a range of
discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Session 1: Text A
PREVIEWING THE TEXT
5 minutes
IsBn 978-1-62889-488-2
Ask students to read the title and scan the article. Encourage them to think
about what type of information this article might provide.
Let’s read the title and scan the article. . . . What do you think we’ll
read about?
Learning FOCUS
ri.3.1
Students read closely and
ask and answer questions
to show understanding of a
text. They refer to the text
as a basis for answers.
the government; how the government works
What special features do you notice about this article?
There are three sections that show three different parts of
the government.
Thinking about the title and noticing text features can help us focus our
thinking as we begin to read.
KeY iDea
The executive, legislative,
and judicial branches of the
government work together
to protect the rights of
citizens and help the country
run smoothly.
Mondo Bookshop Grade 3
1
READING THE TEXT CLOSELY
VOCaBULarY
ri.3.4 Point out that
sometimes a common word
takes on a new, specialized
meaning in an informational
text. In this article, the
word cabinet has a special
meaning. Ask students to
use their own words to
explain what the President’s
cabinet is.
5 minutes
Explain the learning focus and ask students to read the introduction and the
first section about the executive branch of government. Check to see how
well they are applying the focus and their understanding of the key ideas.
Our purpose for reading today is to find out more about how the branches
of the government work together. We’ll also ask questions as we read.
Let’s read the introduction and the first section. . . . What did you learn?
The government has three parts, and each part does a different job.
What does the author want us to learn about the executive branch?
The President is in charge and makes sure we follow the laws.
I had a few questions about this. Did anyone else?
I’m not sure what the cabinet is.
Can someone help with the answer?
It’s a group of people that work with the President to give advice.
How did you find that answer?
I used clues in the text.
I see the sentence that gives that information at the end of the paragraph.
When you have a question, return to the text and try to find the answer.
Now let’s read the rest of the article.
SL.3.1c
DiSCUSSiOn
Collaborative
eLL SUPPOrT
ri.3.1 Discussing the Text
Ask questions at students’
language proficiency levels
and provide the following
sentence frames for student
responses:
B: What is ___? Why does
___? Who is ___?
I/A: I want to know what ___
means. I want to learn about
___. I found an answer to my
question. It is ___.
DISCUSSING THE TEXT
10 minutes
Invite students to share what they learned about the three branches of
government. Encourage them to listen closely, stay on topic, and link their
comments to the responses of others.
Our purpose for reading is to learn more about the branches of
government. Let’s talk about the legislative branch. What does the author
want us to learn?
Congress creates the laws for the country.
That’s an important idea. Can someone continue?
Congress has the House of representatives and the Senate.
Does anyone have a question about that? And will someone find an answer?
Does every state have the same number of representatives? no, a state
with more people has more representatives.
How did the text help you answer this question?
The text says there are two senators for each state, but the number of
representatives is based on state populations.
You used what you know about the word population to answer this
question. These types of questions help us understand what the author
wants us to know.
ri.3.1
COMPreHenSiOn
ask and answer Questions
2
InfoPaIrS
TEACHER’S
CHOICE COMPREHENSION: ASK AND ANSWER QUESTIONS
ERESOURCE
Summative assessment Have students use the blackline
master on page 7 to ask questions about “One Tree, Three Branches” and
look for answers in the text. Review students’ answers as you evaluate their
mastery of the learning focus.
Session 2: Text B
PREVIEWING THE TEXT
5 minutes
Have students read the title and briefly scan the article. Encourage them to
think about what type of information this article might provide.
Let’s read the title and scan the text and photographs. . . . What do you
remember about laws after reading the first article?
Congress makes the laws; the President and the courts make sure people
obey the laws.
Learning FOCUSeS
ri.3.1, ri.3.4
Students determine the
meaning of domainspecific words and
phrases and continue
to ask and answer
questions to demonstrate
understanding of the text.
As we read this next article, we’ll find out more about how laws are made.
READING THE TEXT CLOSELY
5 minutes
Explain the learning focuses for this session. Guide students to note
unfamiliar words and encourage them to ask questions as they read. Check
to see how well students are applying the focuses and comprehending the
information. Then read to the end.
Our purpose for reading today is to find out how laws are made. Let’s read
the introduction and the first two steps. . . . What did you learn?
Someone writes a bill, and then a committee studies the bill.
Those ideas are important. I noticed some unfamiliar words in this section,
such as legislators. How could we find out what this word means?
We could use what we know, context clues, or a dictionary. I think we can
use the context here. other sentences tell about a committee, or people
who study bills. I think the legislators are the people in Congress.
We could have also used a dictionary to find the definition. Who has
another question about this information?
I didn’t understand the section about tabling the bill.
Let’s look back to the text and see what we can find out. Any ideas?
The text says that nothing else happens, so I think the bill doesn’t
become a law if it is tabled. It’s just over.
I see you used the text as a basis for your answer. Now let’s read to the
end. Make notes to help you remember your questions about unfamiliar
words and key ideas.
KeY iDea
A bill goes through many
steps before it becomes a
law. Members of Congress
discuss a bill and make
necessary changes. Then
Congress votes to decide
if the bill should become
a law.
TEACHER’S CLOSe reaDing
CHOICE
ERESOURCE
OPTiOn
Summative
Print the online blackline
master for independent
close reading. Ask students
to read Text B and respond
to the prompts (summarize
author’s message, identify
critical vocabulary, respond
to constructed response
questions) before returning
for a small-group discussion.
VOCaBULarY
ri.3.4 Use context to
determine the meanings
of the words bill, table,
veto, and override as
used to describe the lawmaking process.
Mondo Bookshop Grade 3
3
SL.3.1c
DiSCUSSiOn
Collaborative
WOrD reCOgniTiOn/
STUDY
rF.3.3a Point out the word
senator. Help students find
the root word (senate).
Then discuss how the suffix
-or changes the noun to
senator, a person who works
in the Senate. Make a list
of other words with the -or
suffix, such as collector,
actor, and creator. Talk about
how the suffix changes each
word to mean a person
who does something,
such as collecting, acting,
or creating.
DISCUSSING THE TEXT
10 minutes
Invite students to share what they learned about how a law is made.
Encourage them to listen to each other, stay on topic, and add to each
other’s ideas.
Let’s talk about the third and fourth steps in the process to make a law.
What does the author want you to learn?
If enough senators vote and pass the bill, then it goes to the House of
representatives. Then they vote on it.
Did anyone have a question about this?
When I read the fourth step, I wondered what the committee does when
they study the bill.
Well, let’s scan the text. . . . Is there a section that helps?
Back in Step 2, the author writes that when they study a bill they leave it
as it is or make changes. I think that’s what the next group does, too.
I like the way you went back to an earlier step to find some help in
the text. Now let’s look at some of the interesting words in these sections.
What did you notice?
I noticed that the word passes is used a few times. The meaning seems
to be a little different than what the word usually means.
Can anyone add to that?
COMPreHenSiOn SHare
After you read a section
of the text, ask yourself,
“What does the author
want me to understand and
remember?” As you answer
this question, you’ll focus on
the key ideas of the section.
I looked back at the sentences. In Step 3, the author writes that the bill
passes if it gets enough votes. So I think passes means “moves on” or
“goes to the next step.”
That meaning makes sense.
Confirm students’ good use of the learning focuses and encourage
them to keep the focuses in mind whenever they read articles or other
informational texts.
We asked questions as we read and looked for answers in the text. We
also used context clues, a dictionary, and our own knowledge to figure
out unfamiliar words. Remember to use these strategies when you read
an article with new information.
TEACHER’S
W.3.8*, ri.3.1
WriTing
gather information
4
InfoPaIrS
CHOICE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE: COLLECT TEXT EVIDENCE
ERESOURCE
Formative/Summative assessment Use the blackline master
on page 8 to introduce the constructed response questions: Can you think
of a new law that would be helpful in your community? How would this bill
become a law? Use details from both articles to support your answer. Have
students use self-stick notes to mark places in the texts that help them
answer the question. Point out that the details they include can come from
the illustrations as well as the main texts of both articles. Review students’
self-stick notes as you evaluate their mastery of the learning focus.
Session 3: Texts A and B
REFLECTING ON THE TEXTS 5 minutes
Ask students to reflect on what they learned about their reading work over
the past sessions. Invite them to review and reflect on both articles.
et’s think about what we’ve learned and practiced in our reading to help
L
us understand the main ideas.
We asked and answered questions about key ideas. We made sure we
understood unfamiliar words.
Who can tell us the main ideas of the first article?
The government has three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial.
Learning FOCUSES
RI.3.1, RI.3.4, RI.3.9
Students read to compare
and contrast key ideas
presented in texts on
the same subject. They
determine the meaning
of domain-specific words
and phrases. Students also
continue to ask and answer
questions to demonstrate
understanding of the text.
What are the main ideas of the second article?
It explains how a bill becomes a law. The bill is written, discussed, and
changed, and then Congress votes to see if it should be a law.
CROSS-TEXT ANALYSIS 5 minutes
Encourage students to draw on the specific information they identified in
each article to compare and contrast the two texts.
e summarized the main ideas from both articles. Now let’s look for some
W
connections. How is the information from the two articles alike?
They both explain how government works.
ow let’s talk about how the two articles explain different information
N
about that topic.
The first article tells about the three parts of the government. The
second article explains what each part does to write and pass a law.
Who has a question that relates to these key ideas?
The first article tells about the United States Constitution, but I’m not
really sure what that is.
Can anyone help out with the answer?
The introduction says that men wrote the Constitution when they were
designing the government for their new country. I think the Constitution
explains how the government is going to be set up. I remember reading
about that in another book.
VOCABULARY
RI.3.4 Discuss with
students that the word
legislative has the Latin root
legis, meaning “law.” Other
words with this root are
legislation, legislator, and
legal. The suffix -ive means
“related to.” Discuss how
this information and the
context can help to figure
out the meaning of these
words.
You used the text and what you already know to answer that question.
Guide students to synthesize the information from the articles. The analysis
should lead to making connections and new understandings based on facts
from both texts.
et’s think about how the two articles together helped you understand
L
more about how the government works. Talk with a partner about
connections you can make between the two articles. . . . Who would like to
share their ideas?
Both articles tell how the government works to protect the rights of the
people. They tell what each part of the government does and how the
branches work together to write and pass a bill into a law.
Can anyone add to that?
They show how the parts of government work together to run the country.
Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 5
ri.3.7
inTegraTiOn
illustrations and Details
INTEGRATING THE LEARNING
10 minutes
Guide students to integrate information from both articles and concisely
state the big ideas learned across both texts.
Remember how we asked and answered questions to help us understand
the text? Now we’re going to use that information to pull together the
key ideas from both articles so we can state what the two articles together
are mostly about. Talk with a partner and decide how you could share with
someone the key ideas from both articles. Don’t forget to consider how
the images in the articles helped you deepen your understanding of the
main ideas. . . . Who would like to share?
We learned that there are three branches of government that work
together to protect the people. one way they do this is by writing bills
and making laws.
Have students reflect on the strategies they learned for gaining the key
ideas from multiple informational texts.
Let’s review what strategies helped us deepen our understanding of
both texts.
We asked and answered questions. We made sure we understood new
words and phrases by using context and a dictionary. We combined the
ideas we learned from both articles to understand the main topic.
Remember that these strategies will be helpful whenever you read
informational texts on your own.
W.3.8*, ri.3.1
WriTing
respond to Question
TEACHER’S
CHOICE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE: WRITE TO SOURCE
ERESOURCE
Formative/Summative assessment Have students use the
blackline master on page 8 to write a response to the questions: Can you
think of a new law that would be helpful in your community? How would this
bill become a law? Use details from both articles to support your answer.
Tell students that they can use their self-stick notes to help them write their
answer.
6
InfoPaIrS
Name
Date
Comprehension: Ask and Answer
Questions
Use this chart to ask questions about the article “One Tree, Three
Branches” and look for answers in the text. Be sure to write the number
of the page where you found an answer.
Question 1
Answer I Found in the Text
Page Number _____
Question 2
Answer I Found in the Text
© Mondo Publishing
Page Number _____
Score:
Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 7
Name
Date
Constructed Response:
Write to Source
Can you think of a new law that would be helpful in your
community? How would this bill become a law? Use
details from both articles to support your answer.
REMEMBER:
• Clearly explain why your law would help others.
• Make sure your facts are correct.
• Include details from both articles that help explain your answer.
• Write a closing statement that briefly restates your answer.
© Mondo Publishing
• Proofread your work to revise and edit.
Score:
8 InfoPairs