SCSD Grade 3 Reading
Unit 3: Poetry
~16 instructional days/4 weeks
Power Standard: RL.3.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
distinguishing literal from non-literal language.
Supporting Standards: RL.3.1, RL.3.2, W.3.2
Unit Focus:
In this unit, students immerse themselves in the world of poetry, a genre that carries
enormous power in small packages. Students learn to pay close attention to poetic
techniques; poetry necessitates that readers think about how the author’s language and
structural decisions impact the meaning of the poem.
Unit Outcomes:
I can use literary terms to describe parts of a poem.
I can determine the message or theme of a poem.
I can use details and examples from the text to explain my thinking.
Text Set:
Final Task:
The following poems are recommended for this unit:
“City” - Langston Hughes
“A Bulldog’s Face” - Marilyn Singer
“Gotta Go” - Carol Diggery Shields
“Safety Pin” - Valerie Worth
“Marbles” - Valerie Worth
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” - Robert Frost
“And My Heart Soars” - Chief Dan George
“When Tonya’s Friends Spend the Night” - Eloise Greenfield
“April Rain Song” - Langston Hughes
“Eating While Reading” - Gary Soto
After closely reading “Eating While Reading,” explain how the author uses poetic
devices to support his messages about treats and reading.
*Please note that all of the above poems are from the 2014-15 poetry packets, except for the
addition of “Eating While Reading” which is recommended in CCSS Appendix B
**Unlike previous units, the minilessons in this unit rely on newly introduced text, since the
selected poems are short and teachers can easily read them aloud before demonstrating the
day’s teaching point.
Unit Overview
UNIT LAUNCH
DIRECT SKILLS
INSTRUCTION
CLOSE
READING
DIRECT
SKILLS
INSTRUCTION
CLOSE
READING
Text
“City”
“A Bulldog’s
Face”
“Gotta Go”
“Safety Pin”
“Marbles”
“Stopping by
Woods on a
Snowy Evening”
“And My Heart
Soars”
Lesso
n
1
2
3
Reading Minilesson
Reading Minilesson
5
7
8
9
“When Tonya’s
Friends Come
Spend the
Night”
“Eating While
Reading”
Reading Minilesson
4
6
“April Rain
Song”
Lesson Type for
Whole Group
Instruction
Launching:
Read Aloud/Unit
Vocabulary
Close Reading: Phase 1
Close Reading: Phase 2
Close Reading: Phase 3
Reading Minilesson
Reading Minilesson
Reading Minilesson
10
11
12
13
WRITTEN
RESPONSE TO
TEXT
14
UNIT CLOSING
15
16
Close Reading: Phase 1
Close Reading: Phase 2
Close Reading: Phase 3
Writing Minilesson
Writing Minilesson
Celebration
Objective
SWBAT recognize poetic devices by looking for rhyme, repetition, personification and
alliteration.
(Define terms for students, then read aloud the recommended poems and have students
identify examples of the terms)
SWBAT visualize the poem by paying attention to words that impact the senses (words that
help us see, hear, smell, feel, etc.) and creating a mental image with those words
SWBAT visualize the poem by paying attention to words that impact the senses and creating a
quick sketch to match
SWBAT monitor understanding of a poem by reading a stanza, pausing, and jotting/sketching
what’s happening in that part
SWBAT explain what happens in “And My Heart Soars” using details and examples from the
text
SWBAT understand the author’s use of structural elements and literary devices in “And My
Heart Soars”
SWBAT determine the theme of “And My Heart Soars”
SWBAT describe how personification brings objects to life by finding a place where an object is
described as a human and asking, “What does this make me, the reader, feel or understand?”
SWBAT discuss an author’s purpose in writing a poem by asking, “How does this whole poem
make me feel? What did the author do to make that feeling?”
SWBAT determine a deeper meaning of a poem by asking: What is the author trying to teach
us about the subject of the poem, or about life overall?
SWBAT explain what happens in “Eating While Reading”
SWBAT understand the author’s use of alliteration and figurative language in “Eating While
Reading”
SWBAT determine the theme of “Eating While Reading”
SWBAT draft a response to the final task by explaining the kinds of devices Soto uses and then
how those devices help the reader make the connection between eating treat and reading.
(Guiding questions to answer: Where does Soto use alliteration? What effect does this have?
Where does he use personification? What effect does this have? How do these devices support
the message in the poem?)
SWBAT revise the final task after receiving peer or teacher feedback.
SWBAT celebrate classmates’ hard work by reading aloud class favorites!