Teacher’s Guide
2
Grade3•Unit6
Week
BENCHMARK
LITERACY
TM
Fix-Up Monitoring/
Distinguish and Evaluate Fact and Opinion
Unit 6/Week 2 at a Glance
Day
Mini-Lessons
ONE
•IntroducetheGenre:Persuasive Letters
•BuildGenreKnowledge
•ReadandAnalyzeaPersuasiveLetter
TWO •ReviewtheGenre:Persuasive Letters
•ReadandAnalyzeaPersuasiveLetter
•IntegrateKnowledgeandIdeas:Compare and Contrast Persuasive
Letters
THREE •ReadandSummarizeaLongerPersuasiveLetter
FOUR •RereadandAnalyzeaPersuasiveLetter
FIVE
•ReflectonGenreKnowledge:Persuasive Letters
•WritetoSources:Opinion/Argument
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Day One
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library
with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Fix-Up Monitoring.” Use the
sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Getting Started Guide.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Persuasive Letters Poster 1 (BLM 1)
Introduce the Genre: Persuasive Letters
SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c
Before this lesson, conceal the “Features of a Persuasive Letter” web on the
right side of the “Focus on the Genre: Persuasive Letters” poster and gather
several examples of persuasive letters. These can be texts in your Unit 6
class set, examples of letters to the editor from a local newspaper, or letters
previous groups of students have written.
Display Persuasive Letter Poster 1. Show students examples of persuasive
letters and ask them to share any persuasive letters they have read or written.
Persuasive Letters Poster 2 (BLM 2)
Texts for Close Reading, page 81
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
• Create a Persuasive Letters anchor
chart to demonstrate their prior
knowledge.
• Discuss and analyze “Eat a Salad!”
• Build academic oral language
and vocabulary as they engage
in partner and whole-group
discussion.
Say: Last week we learned that strong readers use many kinds of fixup strategies to help them understand a text. We also learned how to
differentiate between facts and opinions in a text. Those strategies will be very
important this week as we focus on reading persuasive letters.
Read each question on the poster and encourage volunteers to share their
knowledge of the genre. As needed, review your rules for group discussions
and remind students to follow them during whole-, partner-, and/or smallgroup discussions throughout the week.
Record students’ ideas on Poster 1. Based on students’ prior knowledge,
provide additional genre background information as needed to fill in the
answers to each question.
Related Resources
• Persuasive Letter Poster 1 (BLM 1)
• Persuasive Letter Poster 2 (BLM 2)
• Texts for Close Reading, page 81
• Grade 3 Writing to Sources, page 14
• BenchmarkUniverse.com
2 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day One
Build Genre Knowledge SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c
Uncover the “Features of a Persuasive Letter” web.
Make Content Comprehensible
for ELLs
Beginning
Say: We’ve seen how every genre has specific characteristics, and so do
persuasive letters. Imagine yourself writing a letter to persuade someone
about something. What features would your letter include?
Role-play what it means to persuade
someone to think or do something. Invite
a volunteer to play the role of a parent,
and you play the role of a young person.
Invite volunteers to name features of persuasive letters. Together, decide
which ones, if any, to record on Poster 1. As necessary, prompt students with
the following questions:
Say to the volunteer: Please can we go
to the park, [Mom or Dad]? I want to go
to the park so badly! It is sunny out and
I want to play with my friends on the
swings. Please take me to the park!
• Why do you write a persuasive letter? What are you trying to
communicate when you write one?
• What kind of information would help you persuade someone?
• Would you be writing your letter to everyone or to a specific person or
persons?
• How might you end your persuasive letter?
Show English learners a letter.
Say: Sometimes we write letters to friends
to say “hi.” Other times we write letters
to ask for something. For example, if
you believe recess should be longer, you
might write a letter to the principal giving
reasons to convince, or persuade, him or
her to make recess longer.
Intermediate and Advanced
Pair English learners with fluent English
readers during independent reading of
the persuasive letter.
All Levels
If you have students whose first language
is Spanish, share the English/Spanish
cognates: persuade/persuadir.
Challenge Advanced Readers
Persuasive Letters Poster 1, sample annotations
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Make available more complex persuasive
texts for students to read. Invite pairs
or small groups of readers to discuss
teacher-approved questions during
small-group time as they read the letters.
Suggested texts: Organic Farming, Old
Oak Park from Benchmark Education
Company, or selected letters to the editor
from local and national news publications
or websites. Sample discussion questions:
What is the writer’s point of view? What
evidence does the writer present to
support his or her point of view? Is your
point of view the same as or different
from the writer’s, and why?
Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
3
Day One
Close Reading Support for ELLs
Read and Analyze a Persuasive Letter: “Eat a Salad!”
RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.10, RF.3.4a, RF.3.4c, SL.3.1a, SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c, SL.3.1d, SL.3.2
Beginning
Read the text with students in a small
group, and explain the meaning and
most important parts to the students. Use
some or all of the following strategies to
support comprehension.
• Directly teach key vocabulary words in
the text, such as exercise, habits, and
healthy.
Intermediate and Advanced
Pair English learners with fluent English
readers during the independent reading
of the persuasive letter.
All Levels
Display images of healthy foods, including
a salad, to build visual context for the
poster. Demonstrate exercise by doing
jumping jacks or other activities. Invite
students to show exercises they know. If
you have students whose first language
is Spanish, share these English/Spanish
cognates: habit/el hábito; hospital/el
hospital; problem/el problema; salad/
la ensalada.
Make Connections Across
Text Types
To compare the facts and opinions in “Eat
a Salad!” to a suggested healthy diet, visit
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/ for information about different
food groups.
Comprehension Quick-Check
Observe which students do or do not
actively contribute to the discussion of the
persuasive letter genre. The students who
do not contribute may not have as much
experience with the genre and may need
additional support throughout the week.
Set a purpose for close reading. Say: Today we’re going to read a short
persuasive letter called “Eat a Salad!” As you read, pay attention to the
features we just listed on our web. Which of those features are present in this
letter? Note: You may wish to supply students with self-stick notes so that they
can write annotations in the margins as they read.
Read the persuasive letter. Ask students to turn to page 81 in their
Texts for Close Reading and read “Eat a Salad!” independently or with a
partner. Remind them that strong readers pay attention to when they stop
understanding the text, and they go back and use fix-up strategies to help
themselves. Note: If you feel your students need more scaffolding, you
may also provide a fluent read-aloud first, and then have students read
independently or in pairs. Support English learners as needed using the
strategies provided.
Listen to a fluent reading. Display the text on Persuasive Letters Poster 2 and
read aloud the text to students in a fluent, expressive voice (or play the talking
interactive whiteboard version), asking students to listen carefully to identify
the key ideas, details, and opinions in the text.
Summarize key ideas and details (think/pair/share). Invite students to
discuss the text briefly with a partner to identify what the letter is mostly
about. Ask pairs of students to share their ideas.
Discuss craft and structure. Ask students to point out specific genre features
they noted in “Eat a Salad!” Students should be able to reference specific
places in the text where they found the features. Refer to Poster 1 during the
discussion. You may wish to use the text-dependent questions below to begin
your discussion.
• Who is this letter directed to, and how do you know?
The writer is addressing the people of Springfield. We know this because
he begins, “Dear People of Springfield”
• What is his letter mostly about? What clues help you know that?
Answer: The letter is mostly about eating well to stay healthy. Sample
Clues: Paragraph 1: “I want everyone to live a long, healthy life . . .”
Paragraph 3: “Many sicknesses come from bad eating habits . . .”
Paragraph 4: “Trips to the hospital could be avoided if people had wellbalanced diets.”
• Reread paragraph 5. What solutions to unhealthy eating does this author
recommend? Summarize his ideas in your own words.
The writer’s recommendation is that the people of Springfield should eat
more salad, consume less sugar and salt, avoid fatty foods, and get more
exercise.
4 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day One
Say: Today, we learned the key features of persuasive letters and we
discussed the important ideas and details in “Eat a Salad!” Tomorrow, we’ll
read and analyze another persuasive letter, and then we’ll draw conclusions
about the letters to deepen our understanding.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Home/School Connection:
Writing to Sources W.3.3, W.3.4, W.3.10
Narrative Writing
Assign students the Week 2 Narrative
writing prompt for “Eat a Salad!” from
Grade 3 Writing to Sources, page 14.
Based on students’ instructional reading levels, select titles that provide
opportunities to focus on persuasive letters, or select titles or pairs of titles
with which to distinguish and evaluate fact and fiction. See the Leveled Text
Titles chart provided at the back of this Teacher’s Resource System.
Use the instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each title to introduce
the text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about the persuasive letter
genre. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on page 32 of Informal
Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your conferences.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 1 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Unit 17.
Support Special Needs Learners
Throughout the week, use these
strategies to help students with learning
disabilities access the content and focus
on genre studies and text-dependent
comprehension.
• Project the reading texts on the
whiteboard. Allow students to come to
the whiteboard and circle, underline,
or highlight features of the genre and
textual evidence.
• Provide opportunities for active
involvement. Invite partners to play the
role of the writer who feels strongly
about a topic and the read whom the
writer is trying to convince. Partners can
use details from the text to role-play
their parts.
• Provide repeated opportunities for
students to analyze the features of
persuasive letters. Find examples in text
examples from read-alouds, smallgroup, and independent reading. Chart
the features on graphic organizers and
post them in your classroom.
• Encourage students to look in
magazines and newspapers for
persuasive letters they can relate to.
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
5
Day Two
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library
with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Fix-Up Monitoring.” Use the
sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Getting Started Guide.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Persuasive Letters Poster 3 (BLM 3)
Texts for Close Reading, page 82
Review the Genre: Persuasive Letters SL.3.1d
Invite students to briefly summarize what they learned on Day 1 about
persuasive letters. Display and review the “Features of a Persuasive Letter”
anchor chart.
Read and Analyze a Persuasive Letter: “Don’t Smoke!”
RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.6, RI.3.8, RF.3.4a, RF.3.4c, SL.3.1a, SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c, SL.3.1d
Persuasive Letters Poster 4 (BLM 4)
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
• Review features of persuasive
letters.
• Read and analyze a persuasive
letter.
• Compare and contrast two
persuasive letters using a graphic
organizer.
Related Resources
• Persuasive Letter Poster 3 (BLM 3)
• Persuasive Letter Poster 4 (BLM 4)
• Texts for Close Reading, pages 81–82
• BenchmarkUniverse.com
6 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
Set a purpose for close reading. Say: Today we’re going to read a short
persuasive letter called “Don’t Smoke!” As you read, pay attention to what
reasons this writer gives to defend his opinion that people should not smoke.
Note: You may wish to supply students with self-stick notes so that they can
write annotations in the margin as they read.
Read the persuasive letter. Ask students to turn to page 82 in their Texts
for Close Reading and read “Don’t Smoke!” independently or with a partner.
Remind them that strong readers use fix-up monitoring strategies as they read.
Note: You may also provide a fluent reading first to support struggling readers.
Listen to a fluent reading. Display the same text on Persuasive Letter Poster
3 and read aloud the text to students in a fluent voice, asking them to listen
carefully to the important arguments and support in the letter.
Discuss key ideas and details/craft and structure. Ask students the textdependent questions below to ensure their understanding of the text and
guide them to reread specific sections to find information, clues, and evidence
to support their answers and inferences.
• Reread paragraph 2. What reason does the author give in this paragraph
for why you shouldn’t smoke?
She discusses the unpleasant effects of cigarette smoke: it “smells terrible,”
“makes your clothes stink,” “makes your friends’ clothes reek,” makes
your “lips and teeth yellow,” and causes people to cough.
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Two
• Now reread paragraph 3. The author has a second reason for
condemning cigarette smoking. Restate her main idea in your own words.
Smoking causes terrible diseases.
• Show me where in the letter Min Wah Quo explains why she feels so
strongly about people not smoking. Let’s find and reread that part.
Paragraph 5: Her grandma died of lung cancer from smoking cigarettes.
• How does knowing about her grandmother affect your point of view as a
reader?
Students’ answers will vary, but discuss the idea that by revealing her
personal experience of losing a grandparent, the writer adds power to her
own point of view. She is speaking from personal experience, and this adds
credibility to her opinions.
Integrate Knowledge and Ideas: Compare and Contrast
Persuasive Letters RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.9, RF.3.4a, RF.3.4c, SL.3.1a, SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c, SL.3.1d
Ask students to turn to page 81 in their Texts for Close Reading and silently
reread “Eat a Salad!”
Display Persuasive Letter Poster 4.
Close Reading Support for ELLs
Beginning
Read “Don’t Smoke!” with students in
a small group, and support students’
comprehension in the following ways:
• Show images of people smoking
cigarettes and images of healthy people
doing physical activities such as jogging
or exercising. Point to the images of
people smoking and say, “unhealthy”
and then role-play coughing and
wheezing. Then point to the images of
healthy activities and say, “healthy” and
then raise your arms and show your
muscles.
Intermediate and Advanced
•C
larify the meaning of difficult words,
such as ache and rot, in the text.
• Pair English learners with fluent English
readers during the independent reading
of “Don’t Smoke!”
All Levels
Say: We can compare and contrast persuasive letters to see how they are
alike and different. We can analyze the points of view, the structure of each
persuasive letter, and the arguments and opinions. To compare/contrast the
persuasive letters, we will look for information in both texts.
• If you have students whose first
language is Spanish, share these
English/Spanish cognates: cancer/el
cancer; cigarette/el cigarillo.
Use the questions on the poster to launch students’ analysis. Record students’
ideas on Persuasive Letter Poster 4, using the sample annotations to guide
you. Require students to support their comparisons and contrasts with
information directly from the two texts. After recording your findings, pose the
question below to encourage deeper thinking about the two texts. (Note: If
time does not allow, you may also have students discuss the question during
workstation time and briefly report their ideas the following day.)
• Both of these letters addressed the important topic of being healthy.
Which letter, in your opinion, did the more effective job of convincing you
to follow the writer’s call to action? Tell me why you think so, referring to
specific information from the texts.
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
7
Day Two
Comprehension Quick-Check
Note whether students can identify the
writer’s point of view and facts to support
it. If they need additional support, review
the features of a persuasive letter using
Poster 1. Then circle facts and underline
opinions about smoking on Poster 3 using
a write-on/wipe-off marker.
Say: In a persuasive letter, the writer
uses facts to support and strengthen his
or her opinion, or point of view.
Have students circle and underline
additional facts and details on the poster
with you.
Workstation Extension: Peer
Writing Review W.3.3a, W.3.3b, W.3.3c,
W.3.3d, W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.10
Narrative Writing
Have pairs of students peer-check each
other’s narrative writing (the homework
assignment from Day One) and provide
supportive feedback and suggestions
based on the Student Writing Checklist:
Narrative Writing (see Grade 3 Writing to
Sources, page 24).
Home/School Connection: Revise
and Edit W.3.3a, W.3.3b, W.3.3c, W.3.3d,
People of Springfield
Smokers and anyone who is thinking
about smoking
Poor eating habits of the community
Smoking is bad for you.
Being unhealthy feels terrible and makes
problems. Sicknesses come from bad eating
habits. Hospitals and doctors cost money.
Smoking is one of the deadliest habits.
Cigarette smoke turns things yellow. You can
get diseases from smoking. Author’s grandma
died from lung cancer brought on by smoking.
We do not always do the best for our bodies.
Don’t kill yourself. Cigarette smoke smells
terrible. Cancer is a horrible way to die.
Eat healthy foods and cut back on sugar,
salt, and fatty foods.
Stop smoking.
Yes. The author shows what can happen if
we don’t eat good foods. I don’t want to end
up in the hospital.
Yes. The paragraph about her
grandmother and the pictures of the
grandmother’s lungs.
Connect and Transfer Say: Today, we compared and contrasted two
persuasive letters. We found similarities and differences between the
opinions they presented, the reasons they gave, and the solutions they posed.
Remember that all persuasive letters are designed to express a strong point
of view about something. And it’s up to you, as a reader, to decide whether or
not the writer has made a strong enough case for you to agree.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.10
Narrative Writing
Ask students to revise and edit their
narrative writing based on their peer
review and their own ideas. Students
should have a final draft for submission
on Day 3.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Confer with individual students to discuss their understanding of genre and
comprehension strategies. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on
page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your
conferences.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 2 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Unit 17.
8 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Three
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library
with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Fix-Up Monitoring.” Use the
sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Getting Started Guide.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Read and Summarize a Longer Persuasive Letter: “Clean
Up City Park!” RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c
Set a purpose for close reading. Say: Today’s reading is a longer persuasive
letter. As you read it, ask yourself, “What is this letter mostly about?” After
reading, we will summarize the letter’s key ideas together.
Note: You may wish to supply students with self-stick notes so that they can
write annotations in the margins as they read.
Read the persuasive letter. Invite students to read the text independently
or with a partner. Based on the needs of your students, you may choose to
conduct a fluent read-aloud before students read the text. Remind students
that strong readers use fix-up monitoring strategies as they read to help them
comprehend.
Listen to a fluent reading. Read aloud the text to students in a fluent voice
(or play the talking e-book on your interactive whiteboard). Ask students to
listen carefully to understand the important facts and details, and to identify
and try to define difficult words using context clues.
Find and discuss text evidence. Draw from the text-dependent questions to
engage students in orally identifying the key ideas in the text. Require students
to support all of their answers to questions by citing specific information,
clues, or evidence from the text. (Note: a second close read on Day 4 will take
students beyond the key ideas to focus on the writer’s point of view and how
he supports it.)
• Look closely at the first paragraph and the ending of this letter. Who is the
audience? Who is the writer?
Students should recognize that the audience is the mayor of a city, and the
writer is a boy named Jason Bolton who lived in that city.
• What is the topic of this letter? How do you know?
Texts for Close Reading, pages 83–86
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
• Read and summarize a longer
persuasive letter.
• Answer text-dependent
comprehension questions to
demonstrate their understanding of
key ideas.
• Build oral language and vocabulary
through whole-group and partner
discussion.
Related Resources
• Texts for Close Reading,
pages 83–86
• BenchmarkUniverse.com
Make Connections Across
Text Types
Have students view the National Park
Foundation’s mission statement:
http://www.nationalparks.org/
about-us to compare it to Jason
Bolton’s goal of cleaning up City Park.
Answer: The topic of the letter is the state of City Park and what should
be done about it. Evidence from paragraph 1: “. . . City Park is a mess.
The baseball fields need repair. Trash is all over the ground. Garbage is
floating in the lake . . . If something isn’t done, no one will want to go there
anymore.”
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
9
Day Three
Close Reading Support for ELLs
Beginning
Read the text with students in a
small group, and support students’
comprehension in the following ways:
• Point to the photographs in the letter
and name the items using a simple
sentence frame, such as “I see the
______.” Build vocabulary including
the words garbage, lake, park, trash.
• Discuss things you can do in a park. Use
a simple sentence frame such as “We
can ______” to concepts like fish, swim,
play baseball, have a picnic, etc. Use
pantomime to support understanding.
Intermediate and Advanced
Pair English learners with fluent English
readers during independent reading of
the persuasive letter.
All Levels
If you have students whose first language
is Spanish, share these English/Spanish
cognates: baseball/el béisbol; lake/el
lago; park/el parque; picnic/el picnic.
Comprehension Quick-Check
Note whether students can discuss
the persuasive letters in a way that
demonstrates understanding.
• Can students identify the writer of the
letter and audience for the letter?
• Do they understand the writer’s purpose
for writing a letter to the mayor?
• Reread paragraphs 2–4. The writer compares and contrasts City Park in
the past and in the present. How has it changed?
In the past: the park “used to be beautiful” and “people would swim, fish,
and have picnics.”
In the present: The “baseball fields are dangerous” (p. 83) and the lake “is
filled with garbage” (p. 84)
• Look closely at the photographs of City Park. How do these pictures
contribute to your understanding of how the park has changed?
Encourage students to discuss how this visual information provides a level
of detail the text itself does not. It contributes to readers’ understanding of
how people have failed to maintain the park.
• Reread paragraph 1 on page 85. How does this paragraph contribute to
your understanding of the park’s situation?
Students should understand that the bad conditions in the park are
“effects,” and the “cause” of these effects is lack of funds to pay for park
maintenance.
Connect and transfer. Say: Today, we read a letter about terrible conditions
in a city park. Tomorrow, we’re going to reread this letter and look more
closely at the writer’s opinion, or point of view, about the park and the
evidence he gives to support his point of view.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instructions provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
• Can students articulate what the
problems are in City Park?
Confer with individual students to discuss their developing understanding of
genre and comprehension strategies. Use the Individual Reading Conference
Form on page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help
guide your conferences.
Home/School Connections:
Writing to Sources W.3.2a, W.3.2b,
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
W.3.2c, W.3.2d, W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.10
Informative/Explanatory Writing
Use the Day 3 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Unit 17.
Assign students the Week 2 Informative/
Explanatory writing prompt for “Eat a
Salad!” and “Don’t Smoke!” from Grade 3
Writing to Sources, page 14.
10 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Four
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library
with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Fix-Up Monitoring.” Use the
sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles in the Getting Started Guide.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Reread and Analyze a Persuasive Letter: “Clean Up City
Park!” RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.10, RF.3.4a, SL.3.1a, SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c, SL.3.1d
Set a purpose for the close rereading. Say: Remember, this letter is written
to the mayor of a town from a concerned citizen. As we discussed yesterday,
he’s written to the mayor about the conditions in City Park. Today as you read
the letter again, pay attention to how the writer supports his point of view
with evidence—facts, details, and examples. Note: You may wish to supply
students with self-stick notes so that they can write annotations in the margins.
Reread the persuasive letter. Based on the needs of your students, either
reread aloud the set of letters as students follow along or have them peer-read
with a partner or read independently. Remind students that context clues such
as direct definitions, descriptions, synonyms, and antonyms can help them
figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words as they read.
Identify and analyze the author’s point of view. Guide a discussion about
the author’s position and evidence using the text-dependent questions below
and/or your own questions to challenge students to analyze, infer, and
evaluate the text. As students cite clues and evidence, create a chart like the
sample shown here. Remind students to quote accurately from the text as they
support their text analyses. See the sample chart for the opinions/evidence
for each question below. In the course of your discussion, point out that this
author has used firsthand observations, personal experiences, examples,
photographs, and historical information (from his father) as proof that his
opinions about the park are valid.
Texts for Close Reading, pages 83–86
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
• Reread and analyze a persuasive
letter.
• Analyze the reasons and evidence
an author uses to support specific
opinions in a persuasive letter.
• Build oral language and vocabulary
through whole-group and partner
discussion.
Related Resources
• Texts for Close Reading,
pages 83–86
• BenchmarkUniverse.com
• The letter writer, Jason Bolton, states some strong opinions about City
Park. Read paragraph 3 on page 83 and paragraph 1 on page 84. What
opinion does he state here? What evidence does he give to support his
opinion?
• Now reread paragraphs 2 and 3 on page 84. Who does the writer hold
responsible for the garbage in the park? How does he support his claim?
• The writer believes people would use the lake if it were not so dirty. How
does he support this opinion?
• This writer proposes a solution to the problem in City Park. Show me
where he makes his recommendation?
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
11
Day Four
Close Reading Support for ELLs
Beginning
Work with students in a small group.
Point to the photographs on pages 83 and
85. Name the places in the images (City
Park and City Lake) using the sentence
frame “ I see ______.” Ask students to
use the sentence frame with you to talk
about City Park. Have students draw a
picture of what City Park looks like now,
and what City Park would look like if the
volunteers were to clean it up. Encourage
students to tell you about their drawings.
Intermediate and Advanced
Pair English learners with fluent English
readers as they search the text to identify
how the writer supports his opinions with
evidence.
Comprehension Quick-Check
Take note of whether students are able
to link specific opinions to supporting
evidence.
• Can students identify the writer’s
opinions?
• Are students able to articulate exactly
what evidence the writer has used to
support the opinion?
• Can students distinguish their own point
of view from that of the writer?
• Do students support their points of view
in meaningful, thoughtful ways?
12 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
Opinion/Point of View
Text Evidence
City Park is dangerous.
“. . . the baseball fields are
dangerous. . . . The grass is really
high. One player . . . hurt his knee.
He tripped on a weed . . .” (pages
83–84)
People are contributing to the
park’s condition by not removing
their garbage.
“We saw two teenagers throw softdrink cans into the lake. I saw a
little kid drop his candy wrapper.
A man and woman left a plastic
bag of garbage under a tree.”
(page 84)
More people would use the lake if
it weren’t so dirty.
“. . . The water is brown. You can
see garbage floating in it.” (page
84) The writer’s photo is proof.
(page 85)
The city should organize a park
cleanup once a month.
“Volunteers could work in teams.
They would pick up trash. They
would cut the grass.” (page 85)
“We could put up posters around
the town to advertise the cleanup
effort . . . My baseball team and I
would make posters.” (page 85)
Think/Pair/Share. Say: Now turn to a partner. Discuss whether or not the
writer supported his opinions effectively. If you were the mayor, would the
letter make you take action? Why or why not?
Point out that as students evaluate the effectiveness of a writer’s argument,
they must consider their own point of view. Is their point of view the same as
the writer’s or is it different?
Invite a few students to share their ideas. Make sure that each speaker has a
reason to support his or her point of view.
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Four
Connect and transfer. Say: Today, we analyzed how writers use reasons to
support an argument. When you read an opinion piece or a persuasive letter,
look for the facts and opinions that the writer uses. Ask yourself, “Are the
facts and opinions convincing? Do they rely on facts or just more opinions?”
Thinking carefully about the reasons will help you distinguish your own point
of view.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instructions provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Workstation Extension: Peer
Writing Review W.3.2a, W.3.2b, W.3.2c,
W.3.2d, W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.10
Informative/Explanatory Writing
Have pairs of students peer-check each
other’s informative/explanatory writing
(the homework assignment from Day
3) and provide supportive feedback
and suggestions based on the Student
Writing Checklist: Informative/Explanatory
Writing.
Home/School Connection: Revise
and Edit W.3.2a, W.3.2b, W.3.2c, W.3.2d,
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.10
Confer with individual students to discuss their developing understanding of
genre and word-solving strategies. Use the Individual Reading Conference
Form on page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help
guide your conferences.
Ask students to revise and edit their
informative/explanatory writing based on
“Don’t Smoke!” using the feedback from
their peer review and their own ideas.
Students should have a final draft for
submission on Day 5.
Informative/Explanatory Writing
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 4 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Unit 17.
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
13
Day Five
Read-Aloud (10 minutes)
Revisit the week’s read-alouds to make text-to-text connections and provide
opportunities for reader response. Use the suggested activities in the Getting
Started Guide or implement ideas of your own.
Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)
Texts for Close Reading, pages 83–86
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
• Review and summarize features of
persuasive letters.
Reflect on Genre Knowledge: Persuasive Letters
SL.3.1a, SL.3.1b, SL.3.1c, SL.3.1d
Display the “Focus on the Genre: Persuasive Letters” poster you completed
on Day 1. Say: We have read and analyzed three persuasive letters together
this week. How has your understanding of the genre changed as a result of
our readings? What new insights do you have about the genre? What new
questions do you have? Encourage students to cite specific text examples to
support their new understandings.
• Build academic oral language and
vocabulary through small-group
and whole-group discussions.
Write to Sources: Opinion/Argument
• Write an opinion/argument.
Display the following writing prompt and read it aloud with students:
Related Resources
Review “Eat a Salad!,” “Don’t Smoke!,” and “Clean Up City Park!” In your
opinion, which letter writer did the best job of supporting his or her point of
view? Use specific details and examples from more than one letter to support
your position.
• Texts for Close Reading,
pages 83–86
• BenchmarkUniverse.com
RI.3.1, RI.3.3, W.3.1a, W.3.1b, W.3.1c, W.3.1d, W.3.1e, W.3.4, W.3.5, W.3.6, W.3.10
Display the following Student Writing Checklist for a good opinion/argument,
and discuss each checklist item with students. As needed, review specific
elements of a strong opinion piece by referring back to the text examples from
the week. A blackline master version of this checklist is available on page 24 of
Grade 3 Writing to Sources.
Opinion/Argument
__ I stated a strong opinion, position, or point of view.
__ I used well-organized reasons to support my opinion.
__ I supported my reasons with facts and details.
__ I linked my opinions and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses.
__ I wrote a conclusion that supports my position.
__ I reviewed my writing for good grammar.
__ I reviewed my writing for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
14 Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Day Five
Give students time to begin their opinions/arguments during whole-group
time. Provide additional time during small-group workstation rotations. At
that time, students may wish to collaborate with a partner to peer-check their
writing. Allow students to complete their opinions/arguments as homework.
If your students will be using computers to draft, edit, and revise their work,
consider these ways to support online collaboration and digital publishing:
• Google Docs facilitate collaboration and allow teachers and peers to
provide real-time feedback on writing pieces.
• Wikis enable students to share their writing around a common topic.
• Audio tools enable students to record their works (podcasts) for others to
hear on a safe sharing platform.
• Blogs can be used as digital journals where students engage in short-form,
interest-based writing that provides peer and teacher feedback. Blogs can
also be developed and extended into essays, opinion pieces, and research
papers.
• Student writing can be enriched with images, audio, and video, and shared
with a wider audience via numerous web 2.0 technologies.
Connect and transfer. Say: This week we read and analyzed persuasive
letters. And today we used our understanding of the authors’ opinions and
evidence to write and support our own opinion. Whenever you read, ask
yourself, “What is the writer’s point of view, and does the writer support that
point of view well enough?”
Writing Support for ELLs
Beginning
Allow beginning English learners to
participate as active listeners in their
groups. Provide sentence frames to
help them contribute to their groups’
discussions. For example: One feature of
persuasive letters is ______.
Intermediate and Advanced
As students write independently, confer
with them and give them opportunities to
orally rehearse what they plan to write.
Provide language structure support as
needed to get students started.
Support Language Conventions
Based on your observations of
students’ needs, select appropriate
brief mini-lessons from the Grade 3
Writing to Sources to support gradelevel Conventions of English language
expectations.
Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)
Continue small-group reading instruction from the previous day. Use the
instructions provided in the Teacher’s Guide for each text.
Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)
Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about the persuasive letter
genre. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on page 32 of Informal
Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your conferences.
Word Study Workshop (20 minutes)
Use the Day 5 instruction provided in Grade 3 Word Study Unit 17.
©2014 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Benchmark Literacy • Grade 3 • Unit 6/Week 2
15