SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Grade 03 Unit 02 Reading Unit Template
Special Education and Consultant Teacher Resource Guide
**denotes supports and scaffolds from original reading template**
**Accommodations:
 Extra time
 Offer partially filled in graphic organizers, audio or, SMART board recordings of text as needed
 Break down multi step directions into individual elements
 Use sentence frame, sentence starter, or a cloze sentence to assist with language production, as
needed.
 Consider providing smaller chunks of text to allow maximal independence
Teaching Points
(Lesson Objectives)
2.1 Readers recognize non-fiction text by
the way it is structured.
Scaffolds and Support
Identify the structure/components of informational text by comparing
and contrasting features of a brief fiction and non-fiction text (guided
readers?) using Venn Diagram with Lines, as needed.
Using SMART board, review Nonfiction text features PDF. Students
match text features from PDF to non-fiction text.
2.2 Readers locate and hold on to
information in a text by using a table of
contents, chapter titles, and indexes.
Review/re-teach Nonfiction text features PDF.
**Answer written and/or multiple choice questions by using the features
in a non-fiction text/textbook.
 In which section would you find information about…?
 On what page would you find information on...?
Outcome Assessment #1
2.3 Readers identify key information or
deepen understanding by interpreting
text features (bold, italics, caption,
Subheading.
**Given informational articles or magazines (e.g., The Post Standard,
Syracuse Visitor’s Guide) students will search for text features, cut them
out, glue them to a large piece of paper, and label each feature.
Display an example for illustrative purposes.
Or
Complete a nonfiction text features sort using premade examples of
features.
2.4 Readers make predictions about
informational text by reading titles and
subheadings.
**Given small sections of informational text and strips with titles
subheadings, students match the title or subheading to the correct
text.
2.5 Readers understand what they have
read by having a conversation in their
heads as they read and thinking “I
wonder why...” “How did...?”
Pre-teach wh-question types processes such as “how to ask questions,”
using anchor charts containing question words, picture cues and
sentence stems appropriate to the target text.
2.6 Readers make sense of what they are
reading by pausing and thinking at the
end of each section or chunk of text.
Outcome Assessment #2
Stop and Jot: After reading a pre-assigned section of text, students
answer “What do I know so far? “What does the author want me to
know?” or similar wh-questions using sentence stems.
KWL Chart or KWL w/main idea (see note below)
2.7 Readers learn how to add on new
important information from a text to
identify what they have already learned
by keeping what they know in their minds
as they read.
2.8 Readers check their understanding
after reading a text by answering the
basic questions of who, what, where,
when, why, and how.
KWL Chart - KWL charts would be useful throughout this unit to focus
students' thinking on "What I know", "What I want to know ", "What I
have learned " as an example of how we add new information in our
minds to old information we already have in our minds. For other
Teaching Point, consider changing column headings slightly to match
unit questions – i.e. “What does the author want me to know:”
Outcome Assessment #3
**Students complete a graphic organizer. Write the topic in the center
a bubblemap and answer as many of the “five w’s + how” in the
surrounding bubbles.
Students respond in writing to questions about a non-fiction text;
answers must be supported with text based evidence.
Use anchor chart for wh-qs as needed.
2.9 Readers learn how to find the main
idea of a section of text by looking for
stand-out sentences (many times the first
or last sentence) that summarize what
they are reading.
2.10 Readers recognize relevant details
that support the main idea by knowing
which ideas extend their thinking or clarify
their understanding.
2.11 Readers can retell key ideas from an
informational text by identifying relevant
details in the text.
Pre-teach/Re-teach with Brain pop Jr. Main idea video.
**Small group lesson ideas on main idea in expository text: Treasures
Unit 1 TM77Q,R,Y,CC
Using non-fiction text (guided readers?) highlight stand out sentences
using highlighter tape, wiki stix, or highlighters. Highlight supporting
details with contrasting color.
**Given a main idea card and several details written on index cards,
students sort details into categories of relevant/irrelevant (or helpful/not
helpful, more important/less important) to clarify their understanding.
Match cards/sentence strips containing main ideas with supporting
details. Retell key ideas using appropriate sentence stems and
sequence terms.
Or
Complete Main Idea Supporting Details Graphic Organizer or Box and
Bullet (Write the main idea in the box, bullet each relevant detail) for
sections of text. Retell key ideas using appropriate sentence stems and
sequence terms.
2.12 Readers gain a sense of what they
will learn from informational text by
previewing photos/images, captions and
charts and asking, “What do I already
know about this topic?” ”What else might
I learn from this text?”
**Reading Response Journals “What do I already know about this
topic?”
2.13 Readers deepen their understanding
about a text by paying attention to
details in a visual.
Match captions to illustrations from the target text.
2.14 Readers make connections between
text and illustrations by asking how do the
illustration and the text support the same
idea?
2.15 Readers locate information by using
online search tools.
2.16 Readers locate relevant information
on a given topic by using focused key
word searches
Perform a picture walk writing in “K” and “W” sections of personal KWL
chart.
Write own captions about photos or illustrations. Explain thinking with
sticky notes recording how a picture supports text or text support a
picture using sentence stems.
Outcome Assessment #4
After reading informational text, students choose an illustration and
answer, “What does this tell me? How does it help me better
understand the text?” using multiple choice, sentence stems.
Given a landmark, students brainstorm and complete graphic
organizer or Bubblemap of words related to the topic using key words
from previous main idea/supporting details activities.
After completing graphic organizer students do research online to learn
more about their landmark using key words from the bubblemap.