Third Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Tornado
Lesson 1
Weather on the Farm
The lesson directly provides definitions (e.g., Tornado Alley is defined in Facts and Definitions) and asks the child to review the definition of setting as "the time and place where a story occurs." Students are instructed to read about tornadoes in a weather book or on the Internet and to write three factual sentences about tornadoes, and skills list includes "Read expository materials for answers to specific questions" and "Locate information about a topic." The map activity has students label and color the shaded Tornado Alley region, reinforcing the domain-specific term in a geographic context.
Lesson 2
The Storm
The Facts and Definitions list names vocabulary (cellar, trembling, bargain, encouragement, command) and provides short definitions. Activity 1 instructs students to read each word in context, guess its meaning using sentence clues, then use a dictionary to find and match each definition and glue the word to its definition. The Student Activity Page directions explicitly tell students to "Look [up] each word in the dictionary and match it to its definition," and Skills include "Discuss meanings of words and develop vocabulary through meaningful experiences."
Lesson 3
The Tornado
Students are asked to explain what Pete's mom means when she says, "I smell a storm," which requires interpreting a phrase in context. Students are directed to underline the words in the "Author's Description" that make the writing exciting and to name the five senses and identify words that appeal to those senses. Students are asked to choose rich and colorful language and to create descriptive paragraphs, practicing selection and use of vocabulary that conveys meaning.
Lesson 5
Turtles
The lesson explicitly defines the word myth in Facts and Definitions: "A myth is a traditional story that can explain natural events." Activity 2 (Turtle Research) directs students to locate information about turtles in books and on the Internet and to fill in facts on a turtle-shaped worksheet (e.g., "Describe a turtle's habitat," "Describe a turtle's diet," "Shells for protection"). Activity 3 has students read multiple cultural myths about how the turtle got its shell, exposing them to domain-specific and cultural vocabulary in context.
Lesson 6
The Best Pet Award
The lesson lists target vocabulary words with brief definitions (mood, pleasure, damage, admitted, fond, miserable) and ties several to specific page numbers. Activity 2 directs students to write each vocabulary word on a note card, look up and discuss the meaning of each word, alphabetize the cards, and place the correct word into sentence strips that model contextual usage. The skills section explicitly includes "Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts" and the activities require students to compose sentences on ribbons using story-based reasons for Tornado.
Lesson 7
Conflict
The Skills section explicitly lists 'key vocabulary' and asks students to 'Explain and describe new concepts and information in own words,' which indicates attention to vocabulary. Activity 2 instructs students to review and name different kinds of conflict and to label the type (character vs. character, character vs. nature, character vs. self) on the Student Activity Page. The Student Activity Page shows the domain-specific terms 'character vs. character,' 'character vs. self,' and 'character vs. nature,' which students are asked to use when describing conflicts.
Lesson 8
The End of the Storm
Students are asked to reread the section describing Pete's sadness (pp. 42-43), read it aloud, and record the words and phrases the author uses to describe his feelings (Activity 2). Students are directed to discuss each phrase and what makes it powerful, and to use a thesaurus to look up "happy" and "sad" and record synonyms and compare shades of meaning (Activity 3 and Wrapping Up).
Lesson 9
Plot
The lesson presents explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (plot, climax, resolution, rising action, falling action, conflict) in the Facts and Definitions and Introduction sections. Activities direct students to identify and label the problem, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution in picture books and in the Tornado text using a Story Plot Diagram. Wrapping Up asks students to describe a story plot and define rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, reinforcing use of those vocabulary words.
Unit 2: Sarah, Plain and Tall
Lesson 1
Getting Started
Students read expository material about Maine and Kansas (Activity 3) and are asked to locate information about weather, geography, and natural resources, exposing them to domain-specific terms. The Skills list asks students to "Discuss the effect of an author's choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers, and specific vocabulary to help the reader comprehend a narrative or expository text," which prompts attention to word choice. Activity 2 defines adjectives and has students form comparative and superlative adjectives, giving direct practice with vocabulary morphology related to descriptive words.
Lesson 2
Story Elements
Students read and explain definitions of domain-specific terms (characters, setting, theme, plot) aloud and put them into their own words. Students apply those terms to texts by identifying story elements in books they read and by completing activities that ask for the plot (problem/conflict, events, solution). The lesson also directs students to use general academic transition words (first, next, after, then, finally) in their writing, and to describe story elements in sentences and a story pyramid.
Lesson 3
The News
The lesson lists eight vocabulary words tied to chapters and gives definitions, and the Skills section explicitly tells students to use dictionaries and context clues to develop word meaning. Activity 3 has students make vocabulary cards, alphabetize the words, look up definitions, and then complete a cloze story ("The Cave") that requires using context to choose the correct word. Option 2 asks students to write a paragraph describing an environment using all the vocabulary words, providing additional practice applying word meanings in context.
Lesson 4
The Letters
The Skills section explicitly lists "Use expanded vocabulary to generate synonyms for commonly used words in written and oral communication." Activity 3 asks students to brainstorm a list of words and phrases describing their environment and to "use interesting and descriptive vocabulary" when writing a paragraph about their environment. Activity 2 discusses differences in formality between written letters and spoken language, prompting students to consider word choice and register.
Lesson 6
Life on the Prairie
Students are asked to record the names of wildflowers mentioned in the book (Indian paintbrush, prairie violet, wild rose, clover, daisy, woolly ragwort, sunflower) and to find pictures and information about five of them using an encyclopedia, field guide, or the Internet. The materials include an explicit explanatory sentence about wildflowers ("Explain to your child that wildflowers grow in nature and are not planted or taken care of by people.") and provide a Wildflower Field Guide activity page where students write the name, where it grows, and an interesting fact. The student activity page also presents the sheet music with the term "Andante," providing a domain-specific music term in the text.
Lesson 7
The Dune
Students are given a written definition of "conflict" in the Facts and Definitions section that explains conflict can be with the environment. Students practice a list of vocabulary words (environment, wildflowers, sea, lonely, perfect, plain, prairie) by writing each word five times and through dictation. Students discuss ways to enjoy the environment and complete an outdoor activity, then illustrate or write about how the environment provides entertainment, providing contextual exposure to the word "environment."
Lesson 8
Work and Play
The lesson explicitly defines "Historical fiction" and reviews the difference between fiction and nonfiction, and it names "biography" as a type of nonfiction. Students are asked to read Chapter 6 and the description of winter, which contains domain-specific words and phrases such as "plow," "prairie," and "frost."
Lesson 10
Neighbors
The Facts and Definitions section gives an explicit definition: "The setting of a story is the time and place where the action occurs." Activity 2 asks students to review that definition and draw the setting using details from the text, which requires them to use textual details to describe the term. Activity 3 prompts discussion about a person's "environment" and asks students to list what they would miss about home, engaging them in using and discussing that domain-related word.
Unit 3: Who Was Helen Keller?
Lesson 1
Helen's Early Years
The Facts and Definitions section provides explicit meanings for domain-specific words: it defines 'deaf', 'blind', and 'biography'. The Spelling Words activity lists vocabulary from the text and directs students to record each word, write each word three times, look up unknown words in the dictionary, and use each word in an oral sentence. The Wrapping Up prompts ask students to name and explain their five senses, reinforcing meanings of sense-related vocabulary tied to the topic.
Lesson 2
Helen's Childhood
Students are asked to complete Activity 3 in which they record each word's definition, a synonym and/or antonym, the number of syllables, and the sentence from the book where the word appears. The directions ask students to locate the words in the text (page numbers are given) and to read aloud and write down the sentence that contains the word. The lesson also includes a follow-up clue game in which students must guess words from definitions, syllable counts, sentences, or synonyms/antonyms, and the Skills list explicitly includes "Develop and use new vocabulary."
Lesson 3
Helen's Challenges
Students are asked in Activity 2 to discuss how Helen relied on smell and touch and to review that writers use words related to the senses to create mental images. Students write a paragraph describing an object using only words that describe smell, feel, or taste and then revise to remove words about looks or sounds. Students are prompted to think of words and phrases to include in their descriptive paragraph, practicing selection of domain-specific sensory vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Inventors
The lesson gives an explicit definition of the domain-specific word "invention" in the Facts and Definitions section and asks the child to read and discuss that definition. Activity 3 reviews that definition and has students write sentences describing inventions, how they helped people, and what changed, which requires using the term and its meaning. Activity 2 asks the child to read an Alexander Graham Bell biography, exposing students to additional domain-related vocabulary in informational texts.
Lesson 5
Annie
The lesson explicitly defines Braille ("Braille is the alphabet blind people use to read.") and directs students to reread the Braille pages, study a Braille alphabet sheet, and produce and read words in Braille. The lesson also reviews the term adjective ("an adjective is a word that describes a noun") and has students generate adjectives and write sentences using them. The skills list includes "Describe concepts and information in own words," which aligns with vocabulary comprehension practice.
Lesson 7
More Learning
Students read Chapters 7 and 8 and answer comprehension questions, exposing them to content-related vocabulary in context. The Skills section explicitly states students will "increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts when responding to literature that is read and heard." Students are asked to write a bio poem and a personal poem, which requires them to choose descriptive words and use vocabulary in writing and discussion.
Lesson 8
All Grown Up
The lesson's Skills list tells students to "Discuss the effect of an author's choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers, and specific vocabulary," which directs attention to word choice. Activity 2 asks students to read Helen's quotes, underline parts they think are very good, and discusses "figurative language and advanced vocabulary." The activity questions ask students to identify "What words or phrases create images in your mind?" which prompts consideration of word meaning and effect.
2: Change
Unit 1: Morning Girl
Lesson 1
Background Information
The Facts and Definitions section explicitly labels and defines domain-specific terms (for example, "Archaeologists are scientists who study historic people and cultures" and "Artifacts are discovered objects that were used by people in the past"), and the Skills list includes "Define geography" and "Use geographic terms." In Activity 5, students identify materials and write how artifacts may have been used, and are instructed to look up information if unsure, which requires engagement with domain-specific vocabulary. Activities 2 and 4 require students to read reference materials and record facts about the Bahamas and the Taino, providing contexts in which academic and domain-specific words appear.
Lesson 2
Point of View
Students are asked to locate and discuss an author's specific word choice and to discuss the effect of an author's choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers, and specific vocabulary that help the reader comprehend a narrative. Activity 1 has students record three thoughts, feelings, or phrases that the character uses, and Activity 3 asks students to identify words, phrases, and sentences that tell about each character's personality. The Skills list explicitly includes "Locate and discuss author's specific word choice" and "Discuss the effect of an author's choices ... and specific vocabulary."
Lesson 3
The News
Students are given explicit vocabulary words and short definitions (hammock, mango, approach, fortunate, hollow) in the Facts and Definitions section. Students complete a Vocabulary activity where they record the vocabulary word in the sentence where it best fits and see a Student Activity Page with fill-in-the-blank sentences using those words in context. Students are instructed to look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary and then use all the vocabulary words in their own island short story, applying the words in a new context.
Lesson 4
The Rock
The lesson explicitly defines pronouns ("Pronouns are words that are used as replacements or substitutes for nouns.") and gives a student activity where students rewrite sentences replacing nouns with pronouns. It instructs students to identify pronouns the author uses in the text and to read pronouns in context to decide which noun was taken out. The introduction uses the word "inanimate" and immediately provides a parenthetical definition (nonliving), linking a domain-specific term to the reading.
Unit 2: Communities and Culture
Lesson 1
Getting Started
The lesson explicitly defines the domain-specific terms BCE and CE and asks students to place texts/events in those time periods (Activity 1). It reviews the definition of setting (time and place) and asks students to look at illustrations and describe settings (Activity 6). The Skills section instructs students to define geography and use geographic terms to describe landforms, bodies of water, weather, and climate, and students record prior knowledge and new information on organizer pages.
Lesson 3
The King
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (plaster, pomegranate, linen, noble, craftsmen, temple, chamber) with brief definitions and page references so they can see the words in context. Activity 3 instructs students to look up each word in a dictionary, write the definitions on note cards, use each word in a sentence if they are familiar with it, and then use every vocabulary word in a short story about an adventure in Egypt. The Skills section and directions explicitly require students to use new vocabulary in speaking and writing and to have their comprehension checked.
Lesson 4
Back Home
Students are asked and expected to answer explicit vocabulary questions such as "What is a mummy?" and would state that it "is the specially preserved body of someone who died." Students examine the diagram of a pyramid (p. 33) and answer questions identifying the mortuary temple, valley temple, and that family and friends were buried in "small pyramids and mastabas (rectangle-shaped tombs)." Students reread the pages describing how pyramids are built (pp. 28-29) and encounter the factual statement that "Pyramids were burial sites for kings in ancient Egypt."
Lesson 6
Middle Ages
The lesson provides explicit definitions of noun types and an example domain term (artifact) in the Facts and Definitions section, which students can read and use. In Activity 2, students read a list of nouns aloud and mark each as concrete or abstract, then write two sentences about the Middle Ages that must include at least one concrete and one abstract noun. In Activity 5 students discuss the concept of freedom and compare power structures, prompting use of general academic language related to government and social class.
Lesson 8
Return Home
The lesson provides domain-specific vocabulary (peasants, lice, poacher, dungeon, chivalry) with definitions and asks students to write a sentence for each word about life in the Middle Ages (Activity 2). The facts/definitions section defines artifact and plural forms, and Activity 6 asks students to label artifacts from Ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages using that definition. The lesson directs students to read the vocabulary words in context (page numbers provided) and to use new vocabulary in speaking and writing.
Lesson 9
Writing About History
The Skills section asks students to "Discuss an author's structural decisions and word choice," which prompts attention to vocabulary. The Editing section encourages students to use complex and interesting words and tells them to look up harder words in a dictionary or request correct spellings. Part 2 asks students to read pages in books and discuss differences between factual and fictional text, which can involve attending to specific word choices in context.
Unit 3: American Heroes
Lesson 1
Heroes
The lesson explicitly defines and practices the general academic term "adjective," asking students to list adjectives that describe heroes and to write sentences using those adjectives. Students are asked to identify proper nouns and capitalization, and to list people who exhibit each adjective. The lesson also explains the purpose of a "table of contents" and asks students to crosscheck their list of American heroes with the book's table of contents.
Lesson 3
Heroes of Freedom
The lesson explicitly defines the term "slave" and explains the Underground Railroad as a route used by runaway slaves, which gives students direct meanings for those domain-specific terms. It directs students to interpret words in Lincoln's poem and explains that people in the past spoke differently, prompting students to work out word/phrase meaning in an older text. The Underground Railroad activity has students read and use "signs in nature" and "signs of safety," which asks students to interpret symbolic phrases and create a key for their own signs.
Lesson 8
Heroes of Science and Invention
The lesson explicitly defines vocabulary: the Facts and Definitions section states that "An adverb describes how, where, when, or to what extent something is done" and that "Perseverance means continuing to try and to keep going even when it gets hard." The Adverbs activities (Option 1 and Option 2) have students match verbs with adverbs, write sentences using those adverbs, and are given examples of adverbs that answer how/when/where/to what extent. The Perseverance activity asks students to identify a challenging experience, name reasons they persevered, and provide supporting details, reinforcing the meaning and use of the word perseverance.
3: Cycles
Unit 1: Poppy
Lesson 1
Preparing for Poppy
Activity 3 asks students to say vocabulary words aloud, decide if they know definitions or can use them in a sentence, write unfamiliar words on note cards with definitions, and record the sentence containing the word from each chapter. The Skills section explicitly states students will "Use resources, references, and context to build word meaning." The research activity pages require students to find and record domain-specific terms (habitat, food source, predators, shelter, size) using books and internet sources.
Lesson 2
Mr. Ocax
The lesson explicitly defines conjunctions in the "Facts and Definitions" section and asks students to make a list of conjunctions in their journal. The "Combining Sentences" activity has students practice using conjunctions to join sentences and provides example combined sentences using words such as and, but, and because. The instructions also ask students to reread chapters and answer comprehension questions, which exposes them to domain-specific words (e.g., porcupine, quills) in context.
Lesson 3
The Emergency Meeting
The Facts and Definitions section explicitly defines the domain-specific term "owl pellets" as remains burped up by owls. The Owl Pellet activity directs students to examine pellets, identify bones using a bone chart, and draw food chains, and it explains that a food chain shows how energy is passed from one organism to the next. The Paragraphs activity defines a paragraph and has students identify central ideas and paragraph boundaries, engaging them with the general academic term "paragraph."
Lesson 5
Poppy and Poppa
The lesson defines synonyms and antonyms and includes multiple activities where students match, write, and choose synonyms and antonyms (Activity 3 and Option 2). The "Choose the Right Word" activity asks students to select words that better convey nuance and to use a thesaurus, requiring them to consider word meanings and shades of meaning. The Facts and Definitions and Activities give students practice with word meanings and word choice in sentences.
Lesson 6
Dimwood Forest
Students review definitions of synonyms and antonyms and discuss how Poppy and Mr. Ocax are opposites, which requires choosing words that match meanings (e.g., large/small; kind/mean). Students write a diamante poem using nouns, adjectives, and -ing words for Poppy and Mr. Ocax, selecting words that convey meaning and relationships. Students reread the author's description of Dimwood Forest and point out the words and phrases that make the place feel more bad than good, identifying how word choices create mood.
Lesson 7
Ereth
The lesson includes a Facts and Definitions entry that defines alliteration and Activities that ask students to locate Ereth's alliterations and create their own examples. The Skills section explicitly asks students to "Discuss an author's choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers, and specific vocabulary," and Activity 3 prompts students to identify and discuss domain-specific terms such as herbivore/carnivore and what porcupines eat. Several student tasks (circle map, journal entry) require students to record and describe vocabulary and character-related phrases from the text.
Lesson 8
On the Way to New House
Students are given an explicit list of vocabulary words with short definitions (Facts and Definitions) and are asked to review those words and use each in an oral sentence. Students complete a Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle that directs them to specific pages (p.107–p.145) to locate the words, and the activity asks them to match definitions to words found on those pages. Skills include developing vocabulary by listening to and discussing selections, and the porcupine puppet and wrap-up prompt students to use words in context and in dialogue.
Lesson 9
The Truth at Last
The Skills list explicitly tells students to "Use structural cues such as prefixes and suffixes to recognize words" and to "Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts." Activity 2 has students choose correct prefixes/suffixes to complete sentences and then locate those words in the chapters, with an answer key showing transformed words (e.g., softly, disappeared, protecting). Wrapping Up and the Life Application game ask students to explain the difference between prefixes and suffixes, give examples, and find prefixed/suffixed words in print.
Lesson 10
The Battle
Students are asked to explain prefixes and suffixes and to review and practice adding the suffixes -ing and -ed (Activity 3). The Skills section explicitly states that students will "use structural cues to recognize words such as compound, base words, and inflections such as -s, -es, -ed, and -ing." The Student Activity Page provides rules and examples for changing base verbs (double consonant, drop e) and asks students to produce -ing and -ed forms and to read sentences aloud comparing present and past action.
Lesson 12
A New Beginning
The lesson provides an explicit definition for the domain-specific word "epitaph" in the Facts and Definitions section and asks students to write epitaphs in Activity 1, with guidance and examples. Activity 2 (Story Tree) includes a "New words" leaf where students can record vocabulary from the book. Activity 2 also instructs students to review the definition of each literary element as they fill in the Story Tree.
Final Project
Poppy
The Language Think-Tac-Toe requires students to use vocabulary words in sentences, write synonyms and antonyms for vocabulary words, and use four vocabulary words in a paragraph. It also asks students to write examples of two prefixes and three suffixes and to "record the meaning of each prefix and suffix," as well as to add -ing and -ed to verbs and record rules for doing so. These tasks require students to work with word meanings and morphological clues.
Unit 2: Charlotte's Web
Lesson 1
Getting Started
The lesson includes an explicit vocabulary activity (Activity 4) where students preview a list of words from Chapters 1–11, identify words with endings (-ed, -ing, -ly), write the base word, locate the words in the text, highlight them, and look up and write definitions on note cards. The Facts and Definitions section instructs students to look up the base word to determine the meaning of suffixed words. Students are asked to use each vocabulary word in a sentence (Option 1) or in a farm-related sentence (Option 2), and to record page numbers where words occur.
Lesson 2
Charlotte
The lesson explicitly gives a definition under Facts and Definitions ("A schedule is a list of activities that someone has planned for the day"), and the Skills list includes "Use expanded vocabulary to generate synonyms for commonly over-used words" which targets vocabulary growth. The reading notes point out that Charlotte "speaks very eloquently, using large words," and the Spider Research activity includes labeled prompts (e.g., "How do spiders reproduce?", "How and why do most spiders use silk?") that expose students to domain-specific terms about spiders.
Lesson 3
Bad News
Students are asked to expand vocabulary and generate synonyms as listed in the Skills section ("Use expanded vocabulary to generate synonyms for commonly over-used words"). Students complete a Senses and Writing activity that provides a word box and asks them to brainstorm and use descriptive words, practicing selection of precise vocabulary. Students also research and list six pig products in Activity 2, which requires encountering and using domain-specific terms related to pigs and farming.
Lesson 5
Progress
Activity 3 directs students to match each target word to its definition, use a dictionary if unfamiliar, find the word in the book (pages given), copy the sentence from the text, and then make up an original sentence. The Skills and Vocabulary sections list academic adjectives (e.g., modest, astonishing) and domain-specific terms and definitions related to spiders and life cycles (e.g., egg sack, shed their skin, spider life cycle). Activity 2 and the thesaurus extension ask students to generate synonyms and explain word choices, reinforcing word meaning and usage in speech and writing.
Lesson 6
The Fair
Students are asked to "Discuss the use of the conjunctions and, or, and but," which directly addresses understanding a general academic word class. Question 6 explicitly explains the domain-specific term "egg sac" by stating that Charlotte is making her egg sac, which has her children in it. Activities ask students to "Review the different cycles found in the story and other cycles found in nature: seasons, life cycles (people, plants, and animals), farming cycles," exposing students to domain-specific vocabulary tied to the topic.
Unit 3: The Family Under the Bridge
Lesson 1
Pre-Reading
The Introduction explicitly tells students that "economics" refers to money, jobs, goods and services and explains the terms "published" and "classic." Activity 3 asks students to define the term "theme," prompting them to explain a literary term in their own words. The Skills list includes locating information in text, which relates to working with words and phrases in texts.
Lesson 2
The French Man
Activity 2 (Vocabulary Webs) directs students to look up vocabulary from Chapters 1–5, read each word in context to choose the correct definition, and fill bubbles for definition, base word, synonym, antonym, a sentence from the book, and a new sentence. The lesson provides web links to learner dictionaries and thesaurus for students to use and includes an answer key with definitions and example sentences for words such as gratitude, charity, vendors, quay, immaculately, and dilapidated. The instructions explicitly tell students to read the word in context to pick the correct definition and to write a sentence showing they understand the meaning.
Lesson 3
A Discovery
The lesson asks students to explain the meaning of the phrase "Families should stick together through the lean times as well as the fat" (Question #5) and provides an answer that models interpreting that phrase in context. The Facts and Definitions section explicitly defines "diary" as a journal where a person writes about their feelings and what happens in life, and Activity 2 has students write diary entries from character perspectives, reinforcing that domain-specific term in use.
Lesson 7
Among Friends
The Skills section explicitly asks students to "use resources such as beginners' dictionaries, glossaries, available technology, and context to build word meanings." Activity 3 (Vocabulary) has students match listed words to definitions, fill blanks in sentences taken from the book with the correct vocabulary words, and then use each word in sentences of their own. The vocabulary activity uses sentences from the text, so students practice determining word meanings in the context of a grade 3 text.
Lesson 9
Saying Goodbye
Students are asked to locate and list "Examples of French words or phrases the author uses" in the Culture Commentary activity, with space for recording those terms. The Skills section includes "Connect life experiences with the ... language, customs, and culture of others," which prompts attention to language in context. The lesson also has an activity for identifying multisyllabic words by using common syllable patterns, which addresses word-level analysis.
4: Relationships
Unit 1: One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest
Lesson 1
The Rain Forests
The text provides explicit definitions and descriptions of domain-specific terms: it states the rainfall requirement for a rain forest (at least 70 inches per year) and explains where tropical and temperate rain forests are located relative to the equator and circles of latitude. The lesson defines "relationship" in an ecological sense (when two or more living things are interconnected and one directly impacts another) and asks students to illustrate and describe such relationships. Activities require students to locate South America, Venezuela, and the equator on a map and to explain the difference between temperate and tropical rain forests, which asks them to use the meanings of those domain-specific terms.
Lesson 2
Morning in the Rain Forest
Activity 2 directs students to locate vocabulary words in the book, read them in context, use context clues to choose the correct definition, look up definitions in a dictionary, record those definitions, and then use each word in a sentence. The Facts and Definitions section and the Answer Key list and define both general academic words (complex, property, hallmark, ritual) and domain-specific words (herpetologist, ornithologist, botanist), giving students explicit target vocabulary related to the rain forest topic.
Lesson 3
The Tree
The Skills section asks students to 'Locate and discuss examples of an author's use of specific word choice' and to 'Discuss the effect of an author's choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers, and specific vocabulary,' which directs students to focus on vocabulary in the text. The Nouns and Adjectives activities require students to locate nouns and the adjectives the author uses, match them, and circle adjectives that help explain relationships (e.g., 'flesh-eating ants'). Activity 2 tells students to look up unfamiliar animals and read about them in a book or online, which requires students to consult additional resources for domain-specific terms.
Lesson 4
Butterfly Search
The lesson lists domain-specific terms with definitions (herpetologist, ornithologist, botanist, mammalogist, lepidopterist) and a definition of symmetry under "Facts and Definitions." Activity 2 asks students to match scientist names with the types of organisms they study and to write examples of animals for each category. Activity 3 explains symmetry and has students produce a symmetrical butterfly and write about the butterfly's relationships with a plant or animal, which asks students to use related vocabulary in writing.
Lesson 5
Rain Forest Relationships
The lesson explicitly defines an academic term: under Facts and Definitions it states, "Plot is the pattern of events in a story," and the Plot Timelines activity asks students to discuss that definition and place events on timelines. The Skills list includes "Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts," which indicates a stated vocabulary goal. Students read chapters and answer questions that use domain words (e.g., piranhas, army ants, liana) and complete written activities that require use of those terms.
Lesson 6
Law of the Jungle
Students are asked to match Chapters 6-10 vocabulary words with their definitions and to look up each word in the book for context clues before using a dictionary. The Skills section directs students to develop vocabulary through listening, discussion, and reading. Students must also use each vocabulary word in a sentence related to the rain forest, reinforcing meaning in a subject-area context.
Lesson 7
Helping a Friend
Students read a description of leaf-cutter ants (page 48) and answer Question #1 asking how the ants work, which requires them to understand the domain-specific concept that ants cut leaves to feed a fungus. Activity 3 directs students to read the description of leaf-cutter ants and optionally consult an external webpage or video to learn more about the ants' roles and relationships. The questions and the extension reading require students to extract the meaning of at least one domain-specific idea from the text.
Lesson 9
A Close Call
The lesson explicitly defines 'metaphor' and 'simile' in the Facts and Definitions section and lists the skill 'Identify the musical elements of literary language, such as metaphor.' Activity 2 directs students to identify the two things being compared in the simile "Tepui grinned like a crocodile" and the metaphor about macaw feathers, and asks students to create their own metaphors and similes for rainforest animals. The activities give students examples and prompt discussion and illustration of the meaning of these figurative phrases.
Unit 2: The Whipping Boy
Lesson 1
Medieval Times
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms such as "democracy," "monarchy," "reference book," and "historical fiction" in the Facts and Definitions section. Students apply those terms in Activity 2 by listing disadvantages of a monarchy and completing a Venn diagram comparing a king and a U.S. president. In Activity 5 students distinguish fiction and nonfiction and name reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses), and they are asked to identify places in The Whipping Boy that reflect factual information about the Middle Ages.
Lesson 2
Jemmy and Prince Brat
The lesson provides a Facts and Definitions list with target words (gloat, thrashing, crest, hospitality, gloom, vagabond, gallows, loot) and definitions. The Skills section explicitly includes "Discuss meanings of words and develop vocabulary through meaningful/concrete experiences." Activity 2 requires students to write definitions, copy the sentence from the book where each vocabulary word appears, and then write a new sentence using the word in the chapter context.
Lesson 3
The Plot Thickens
Students match idiom phrases from the book with their translations on the Idioms activity page and are asked to translate each idiom and use each one in a new sentence. Students are given a list of crest-related vocabulary (colors and symbols) with explicit meanings and asked to create crests for two characters using those meanings. The lesson defines a crest/coat of arms and asks students to describe how the colors and symbols reflect character traits, linking vocabulary meanings to character analysis.
Lesson 4
A Note to the King
Students are given explicit definitions for key terms: the lesson defines a simile and describes the feudal system. Students study a labeled flowchart of the feudal system and answer specific questions (e.g., Who has the most power? What do peasants pay?) that require understanding domain-specific vocabulary (king, lords, knights, peasants, taxes). In the Similes activity students are instructed to read similes in context from the book and record the two things being compared, and to create and illustrate their own similes.
Lesson 5
Disagreements
Students are given a word box with definitions (fuming, imposter, glaring, fend, coach, betray, fathom, fret) and asked to select the best word to fill blanks in a paragraph, with directions to look up unfamiliar words and read each dictionary definition to decide which fits. The activity asks students to locate the vocabulary words in the book's context and read them aloud after completing the paragraph. The hyperbole activity requires students to read figurative phrases from the text, rewrite each without exaggeration, and complete sentences using hyperboles, which asks them to determine the meanings of phrases in context.
Lesson 7
The Rescue
The lesson explicitly defines the domain-specific term "ballad" in Facts and Definitions and reiterates this in Activity 4 where students read, sing, and identify rhyming words in a ballad. Activity 6 has students consider the meaning of "monarch" and what a crown "symbolizes" (power, righteousness, victory, honor) as they write virtues on a crown. Activity 5 prompts discussion of historical English dialect, noting unfamiliar words and spellings in medieval text.
Final Project
A Monologue
The Skills list states students will "increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts," indicating vocabulary work. The Introduction directs students to "review examples of similes, idioms, and hyperboles" and to "locate a variety of figurative language in the book." The monologue activity prompts require students to include a simile or hyperbole and an idiom in their writing and to reread specified pages for evidence about characters.
Unit 3: Iggie's House
Lesson 1
The Move
The Facts and Definitions section directly presents meanings for target words (rate, convinced, racial, sarcastic, approval, glum). Activity 3 (Chapters 1-6 Vocabulary) instructs students to locate the vocabulary in a word search, find page references, and check sentences that use the words correctly, with a note that students may need to look up definitions. The activity also includes an answer key showing correct usage, which requires students to match meanings to contextual sentences.
Lesson 2
Meeting the Neighbors
The Facts and Definitions section provides explicit definitions for "racial relationships," "fact," and "opinion." Activity 2 directs students to discuss what it means to "stereotype" and to read scenarios about racial relationships and decide how they would respond. Activity 3 (Fact or Opinion) has students mark statements as facts or opinions and rewrite statements, practicing the meanings of those terms.
Lesson 6
A New Petition
Students are given a vocabulary list (crusader, questionnaire, firmly, jotted, frantically, permission) with definitions and directed to match words with definitions and create flashcards. Students are instructed to read the words in context in the book or look them up in a dictionary if they do not know which definition fits. Students play a game that requires them to hear a definition and then pick the correct word and use it in a sentence (with an advanced option requiring written sentences).
Lesson 10
I Have a Dream
Students read an excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and answer comprehension questions. They are asked directly, "What does 'all men are created equal' mean?" and "What was Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream?" The Student Activity Page reproduces quotes from the speech, giving students multiple phrases to read in context.
Lesson 11
The End
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific literary terms (theme, protagonist, antagonist, setting) in the Facts and Definitions section. In Activity 2 students must identify and represent the protagonist, antagonist, problem, theme, and setting by selecting items and explaining their choices, requiring application of those terms to the text. Activity 3 and the journal prompts ask students to discuss the theme and relationships and to write about characters, which engages students in using domain-specific vocabulary in relation to the story.