Third Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Tornado
Lesson 1
Weather on the Farm
Students label and color a map of Tornado Alley and are presented with the explanation that when cold, dry air meets warm, moist air a tornado can form, giving them practice with cause/effect relationships. Students create a Venn diagram comparing life on a farm with their own life, practicing comparison of ideas. Students write a daily schedule listing activities by hour, practicing putting events in sequence.
Lesson 2
The Storm
Students compare a choppy paragraph and a revised version with underlined transition words, identify those words, and are told that they link thoughts and show order (Activity 3). The Time Transition Words activity asks students to sort transition words into Beginning/Middle/End lists and fill blanks in a paragraph to show sequence. In Activity 4, students are asked to use transitions in chapter summaries to show when events happened.
Lesson 3
The Tornado
Question #2 asks students to compare the tornado at Pete's house with the tornado in the first chapter, prompting a comparison between events. Activity 1 directs students to write a chapter summary and to use transition words to show the order in which events occurred, giving students practice with sequencing. Activity 3 asks students to write a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence, which practices organizing ideas across sentences.
Lesson 4
A Card Trick
Students answer comprehension questions that require causal reasoning about events in the text (Question #5 asks why Tornado dropped the card for Pete's dad but not for Pete, with the provided answer citing the father's more commanding behavior). Students discuss how a dog's environment leads to learning in the journal activity, which connects environmental causes to behavioral effects. Students produce a chapter summary (Question #1 and Activity 1), which can require ordering events and describing what happens in sequence.
Lesson 5
Turtles
Students answer comprehension questions that require cause-and-effect explanations (e.g., why Tornado does not listen and how Pete gets the turtle to drop it). Students compare and evaluate multiple myths by retelling them, naming similarities and differences, and judging believability. Students complete a Story Map organizer that asks them to identify setting, characters, problem, sequential events, and solution, thereby ordering and linking events in the text.
Lesson 6
The Best Pet Award
Students are asked comprehension questions that require identifying cause/effect and routine relationships (e.g., Q1 asks why Five-Thirty gets his name — a daily sequence; Q2 and Q6 ask why Tornado digs the hole and why he digs more dirt, eliciting cause/effect explanations). The introduction and discussion prompt students to explain how animals follow schedules and patterns set by their environment, which supports understanding of sequence and repeated events. The explanatory sentence about the earth being cooler beneath the surface links the action of digging with the effect of finding a comfortable place, prompting students to state the logical reason for Tornado's behavior.
Lesson 8
The End of the Storm
Students are asked to reread Chapter 1 and Chapter 7 and "describe the differences in the way the characters felt in the environment at the beginning of the story and at the end," which asks them to compare parts of the text. The lesson explicitly tells students to "reinforce the idea that changes in the environment can change the way characters feel," putting students in a position to identify cause/effect relationships. In Activity 5 (Happy or Sad Fishbone) students number sentences in the order they will record them and plan a paragraph, which has them practice sequencing events/ideas.
Lesson 9
Plot
Students are directed to identify the order of important events and to place them on a Story Plot Diagram, including labeled sections for Problem, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution. Activities ask students to cut out event descriptions and arrange them on a diagram in the order they occurred and to write one sentence per chapter summary and place them on the Tornado Plot Diagram. Instructions encourage students to use time transition words to reinforce the order of events and to retell or act out the sequence of events.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
The Think-Tac-Toe includes a prompt: "Write a paragraph that describes how the environment and/or weather affects the characters' feelings or actions. The paragraph includes a sentence that clearly explains how the weather or environment affected the actions or feelings of the character(s)," which asks students to state a cause/effect link. The activity "Choose your favorite event... Write about what might have happened if the event had occurred differently. How would it have affected the characters... and why?" asks students to reason about consequences. The center-square instruction lets students use the "Hamburger Paragraph Organizer" to plan a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion, supporting paragraph-level writing about connections.
Unit 2: Sarah, Plain and Tall
Lesson 1
Getting Started
Students are asked to compare and contrast environments (How can environments be compared and contrasted?; discuss differences between Maine and Kansas) and to form and use comparative and superlative adjectives (Activity 2). Students read expository materials about Kansas and Maine and list six facts for each state, which requires locating and discussing information across sentences and paragraphs. The map/activity also has students discuss westward movement and pioneers, which introduces a basic sequence of events (people moved from East to Heartland to West).
Lesson 2
Story Elements
Students are asked to identify plot elements including problem/conflict, events, and solution and to write about the plot of a favorite story, which requires organizing events in sequence. Students create a Story Pyramid with numbered lines that require them to produce one- through seven-word descriptions that order character traits, setting, problems, events, and the solution. Students are reminded to use time transition words (first, next, after, then, finally) when writing their own stories to show sequence.
Lesson 3
The News
Students answer comprehension questions that ask for reasons (e.g., "Why did Anna's father want help?" and "Why did it take Anna three days to begin to love Caleb?"), which requires identifying cause/effect relationships in the text. Students are asked to retell or summarize chapters and to use time transition words and phrases in journal entries to show the order in which events occurred, which practices sequencing (first/second/third). The skills list includes 'Retell written messages by clarifying or summarizing' and activities prompt students to explain setting clues and motivations, supporting identification of connections between sentences and paragraphs.
Lesson 4
The Letters
Students are asked to verbally summarize Chapter 2 after it is read aloud, which requires them to order events and report the sequence of ideas. Question #2 asks students to explain why Anna was worried, prompting them to state a cause/effect relationship (Sarah loves the sea and might not want to leave it). The Hamburger Paragraph Organizer and directions about topic sentence, body details, and concluding sentence teach students to arrange sentences within a paragraph in a logical order.
Lesson 5
The Arrival
Students create a Venn diagram that asks them to compare the coast of Maine and the Kansas prairie, recording three differences for each and two similarities and using examples in the book that mention geography, plants, animals, and transportation. Students answer a question about what Papa does to get ready for Sarah's arrival, listing the actions he takes (getting up early, combing his hair, dressing, hitching the horse, setting off), which requires ordering events. Students are asked to retell written messages and write a journal entry from Anna's point of view, which asks them to summarize and sequence events from the text.
Lesson 6
Life on the Prairie
Students are asked to identify textual clues that show Sarah might stay in Kansas (Question #2), which requires them to connect meaning across sentences. Question #5 asks students to compare life on the prairie 100 years ago with life today, prompting a comparison between ideas in different parts of the text. The listed skill of "Retell written messages by clarifying or summarizing" and the journal activity require students to recount events in order, implying practice with sequence.
Lesson 7
The Dune
Students are asked several "why" questions (e.g., Why do you think Sarah names the sheep after her aunts? Why does Sarah draw pictures to send home? When Sarah says, 'our dune,' why does Caleb get excited?) that require them to explain reasons and infer cause/effect relationships. Students are instructed to retell written messages by clarifying or summarizing and to write a journal entry reflecting the day's events, which requires putting events in order and explaining connections between actions. Students are asked to predict outcomes (whether Sarah will enjoy Kansas and why it might be hard), which prompts them to link ideas across sentences and paragraphs to justify their predictions.
Lesson 8
Work and Play
Students answer explicit comprehension questions that ask for reasons and comparisons (QUESTION #1 asks why Sarah asks about winter; QUESTION #2 asks why Papa teaches Sarah to plow). Activity 3 asks students to describe and compare their winter environment to Kansas and to discuss similarities and differences between activities today and 100 years ago. Activity 2 asks students to list three things from the book they believe are facts and three that are not, which requires comparing elements of the text.
Lesson 9
Writing
Students read two example persuasive paragraphs aloud and discuss what each writer is trying to persuade the reader of and which is more convincing. Students are instructed to record three reasons and to support each reason on a graphic organizer, and the editing checklist asks students to confirm that they "support each reason." Students compare the examples and are told that the first provides support and specific examples for each reason while the second merely states reasons.
Lesson 10
Neighbors
Several comprehension questions require students to state reasons found in the text (QUESTION #1 asks why Maggie and Matthew visit; QUESTION #5 asks why Sarah's eyes fill with tears), which asks students to connect events to causes. Activity 3 asks students to discuss how a person's environment impacts life and what Sarah misses about Maine, prompting students to link sentences about feelings and environment. The wrapping-up prompt asks students to explain whether Sarah would be happier in Maine, asking students to relate details across the chapter to support their explanation.
Lesson 11
Squall
Students read pairs of short sentences (e.g., "Rain poured from the sky. We were soaked in two minutes." and "We went to the restaurant. Then we went to the movies.") and are asked to combine them using the conjunction and. Students underline subjects and circle verbs in each short sentence and rewrite the sentences by connecting them with "and." The wrap-up asks students to explain comma usage before "and" and to write journal sentences that both require and do not require a comma when using "and."
Lesson 12
The End of the Storm
Students create a plot diagram that asks them to identify the problem, events, climax, falling action, and resolution, which requires ordering events in sequence (first/second/third). Students answer a question about what damage the storm does, identifying a clear cause/effect relationship between the storm and the damage. Students complete a theme web that asks them to record examples from characters' actions, words, thoughts, and events that support the theme, linking events to thematic conclusions.
Final Project
Welcome To Kansas
Students write recipes with labeled "Ingredients" and "Directions," which requires them to produce and order steps in a sequence. Students list activities and design a game with "Materials" and "Directions," prompting them to create sequential instructions. The self-editing checklist asks students whether they have "three reasons" and whether they "support each reason," which directs students to organize and connect supporting sentences in a paragraph.
Unit 3: Who Was Helen Keller?
Lesson 1
Helen's Early Years
Students answer Question #2 asking what caused Helen to lose her sight and hearing, which requires identifying a cause/effect relationship. Activity 2 asks students to add important events to a timeline of Helen Keller's life, which has students place events in chronological sequence. Activity 1 asks students to explain the difference between fiction and nonfiction and circle books by category, which has students compare types of texts.
Lesson 2
Helen's Childhood
Students answer Question #2 asking why Helen threw tantrums, which requires explaining cause/effect from the text. Students answer Question #5 and the Wrapping Up prompt comparing their childhoods to Helen's and explaining differences, which practices comparison. Students fill in important events from Chapter 2 on a timeline (Activity 1), which requires ordering events in sequence (first/second/third).
Lesson 3
Helen's Challenges
Students are asked to answer Question #1 about dangerous things that happened "because of her disabilities," which requires them to identify a cause/effect relationship between Helen's disability and specific incidents. Activity 1 directs students to add an event from the chapter to a timeline, prompting them to place events in sequence (first/second/third). The introduction and Question #2 ask students to describe how Helen got information from her environment, encouraging them to connect sentences about her senses to outcomes in the text.
Lesson 4
Inventors
Students are asked to add events from the chapter to a timeline, which requires them to place events in sequence (first/second/third). Students write three sentences for each invention describing the invention, how it helped people, and what changed, which asks them to state cause/effect relationships between an invention and its impact. Students compare information from Chapter 4 with a separate biography of Alexander Graham Bell and discuss similarities and differences, which practices comparative reasoning.
Lesson 5
Annie
Students are asked to add events from the chapter to a timeline, which requires them to place events in first/second/third sequence. In the Before and After Adjectives activity students compare Helen before and after Annie and discuss why Helen changed, which asks them to describe cause/effect and make comparisons. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to describe the relationship between Annie and Helen and predict the future, encouraging them to state connections between events and character changes.
Lesson 6
Helen Leaves Home
Students answer questions that require causal reasoning (e.g., Question #5 asks what happened to Helen after a negative experience, and Question #2 asks why she loved the ocean), which asks them to connect events and reasons in the text. Students create and add events to a timeline of Helen Keller's life and a personal timeline, explicitly organizing events in chronological sequence and discussing how Helen's life and environment changed over time. Students are asked to make predictions about the text and to discuss changes, which requires understanding the order and relationships among events.
Lesson 7
More Learning
Students create a timeline by adding one event from each chapter, which asks them to order events in sequence. Students answer comprehension questions (e.g., why the interviewer was surprised; how Helen's studying affected her appearance) that require understanding contrast and cause/effect relationships. Students discuss how different places and environments influenced Helen and explain why events were important, linking events to outcomes.
Lesson 8
All Grown Up
Students are asked to add later important events from Helen Keller's life to a timeline, which requires ordering events and understanding sequence. Students answer comprehension questions such as "What happened to Helen after Annie died?" which asks them to connect one event to its consequence. The skills list directs students to "Discuss similarities and differences" and to "Connect and compare information within and across selections," prompting comparison and connection activities.
Final Project
Scrapbook or Interview
Students are asked to write a doctor's report explaining Helen's sickness and how she went blind (Page 1), which requires explaining a cause/effect relationship. Students create a sequence of scrapbook pages (birth, learning, family/home, school, postcard, proudest moment), which requires arranging events in chronological order. Students write a journal entry about how Helen's environment shaped who she was, which asks them to describe how one factor influenced another.
2: Change
Unit 1: Morning Girl
Lesson 2
Point of View
Students read multiple first-person accounts (Morning Girl, Star Boy, and the four narrators in Voices in the Park) and answer questions that ask how the stories differ and whose account is most believable. Activity 4 directs students to use a four-part Venn diagram to compare the four characters' accounts and record similarities and unique details. Activity 3 asks students to identify words, phrases, and sentences that reveal each character's personality, prompting analysis of specific sentence-level content.
Lesson 3
The News
Students are asked to discuss similarities and differences in events and characters (Skills) and to record phrases Morning Girl uses to describe Star Boy (Activity 3), which supports comparison. Activity 3 explicitly asks students to think about how family members "cause change" and "change one another's feelings," which addresses cause/effect relationships. The Vocabulary activity reminds students that stories have a beginning, middle, and end, which supports understanding sequence in texts.
Lesson 4
The Rock
Students are asked to explain causes of change when Activity 4 asks how Star Boy changed from the beginning to the end of Chapter 4 and what caused that change (cause/effect). Question #2 asks students to explain differences between a rock and a boy, prompting them to compare ideas (comparison). The journal activities ask students to record events and retell chapters in different voices, which requires sequencing and summarizing of events.
Lesson 6
The Storm
Students are asked to record words or phrases that describe the setting before and after the storm and to draw before/after pictures, which supports comparing text sections. Students are asked to "discuss how the storm changed the environment" and to "list two positive and two negative effects," which asks them to identify cause-and-effect relationships from the chapters. The journal activity asks students to record feelings, thoughts, words, and events that occurred in each of the characters' chapters, which supports recognizing sequence across chapters.
Lesson 7
Visitors
Students answer text-based questions that require cause/effect reasoning (e.g., Q4 asks why the family is having trouble sleeping; Q5 asks why Star Boy does not come back). Students use the Name Poem activity to show sequence and change over time with prompts like "I once was... But now I am...". In the Visitor's Point of View activity students compare perspectives by writing separate journal entries for Morning Girl and an explorer, describing each person's thoughts, feelings, and descriptions of the same event.
Final Project
Poetry Night
Students compare encounters directly when Question #7 asks them to explain how the boy's encounter with explorers is similar to and different from Morning Girl's encounter, prompting comparison across texts. Students identify cause-and-effect relationships when they read the 'European Explorers and Native Americans' text and use details from Encounter to categorize impacts as "Positive Changes," "Negative Changes," or "Mixed" in the mini-fold book activity. Students demonstrate sequence and comparison by composing two "Before and After" poems (native and Columbus perspectives) that require five before/after phrases showing change over time.
Unit 2: Communities and Culture
Lesson 2
Where Are We?
The lesson asks students to explain how the Nile River affected the way people lived (Question #8) and how changes in the Nile affected people (Question #9), which engages students in cause-and-effect thinking. Activity 3 asks students to discuss how rivers provide drinking water, transportation, and irrigation and to compare how needs are met in ancient Egypt and their own community, which practices comparison. The Skills list includes "Connect and compare information within and across selections," indicating an expectation that students compare and relate information from texts.
Lesson 3
The King
Students complete a Venn diagram comparing a king and a president, and then write a paragraph explaining why they would prefer one form of government, which requires them to state similarities and differences (comparison). Question #3 asks students to explain why Emma and Libby have to work, and the provided answer links events (they work because they are offered food and shelter), which asks students to identify a cause/effect relationship from the text. Question #4 asks students to describe how Egyptian schools were different from schools today, prompting students to compare information across time.
Lesson 4
Back Home
Students are asked to "read and comprehend text by recognizing text structure," and they complete a Plot Pyramid where they record five events leading to the climax and three events after the climax, which practices ordering events (sequence). Several comprehension questions ask for reasons for actions (e.g., "Why do the guards chase the Binkertons?" and "How do the Binkertons escape?"), which prompts students to connect causes and effects in the story. Activity 3 asks students to reread the description of how pyramids are built and to discuss how burial rituals have changed, which supports comparing ideas across parts of the text and across time.
Lesson 5
A Day in Egypt
Students are asked to write a paragraph that describes how life in their community is different from life in ancient Egypt, focusing on three areas (Part 3), which practices comparison. The Hamburger Paragraph Organizer directs students to produce a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a conclusion, supporting practice with first/second/third sequence and paragraph-level organization. The schedule activities (A Day in Ancient Egypt and A Day in My Life) require students to list events in timed order, giving practice with sequencing events across sentences.
Lesson 6
Middle Ages
Students are asked in Activity 4 (Being Poor) to compare the lives of laborers in ancient Egypt and peasants in the Middle Ages and to record at least three similarities and three differences, which requires identifying comparative relationships across texts. Questions in the Reading and Questions section (e.g., QUESTION #1 asking why the Binkertons return and QUESTION #4 asking why Josh is surprised) require students to explain reasons and link events, addressing cause/reason relationships. Activity 5 has students order social groups from highest to lowest and create diagrams of power structures, which asks students to recognize and represent hierarchical/sequence relationships among ideas.
Lesson 7
Off to the Castle
Students complete the "Castle Activities" chart by listing similarities between events that happen in a castle (from the book) and events in their community, which requires comparing ideas from the text to modern life. In Option 2 students list castle activities and decide whether similar activities still occur today and where, an explicit compare/contrast task. The Build a Castle activity asks students to read about pyramids and castles and "discuss how the buildings are used differently," and the Wrapping Up prompt asks students how castle life is similar to and different from fairy tales and movies.
Lesson 8
Return Home
Students compare the Middle Ages and ancient Egypt in Activity 4 by identifying differences and similarities and writing which culture is most like their own, which practices comparison. Students are asked to predict the story ending and to answer QUESTION #5 about who has the book and how the Binkertons get it back, which requires sequencing events. QUESTION #4 asks students to consider attack strategies and which would work best, prompting students to reason about cause/effect of actions in the text.
Lesson 9
Writing About History
Students are asked to read pages in the unit books and discuss the difference between factual and fictional text, which includes talking about voice and structural decisions. The skills list explicitly tells students to "discuss an author's structural decisions and word choice." Students plan and write both a factual paragraph and a fantasy paragraph and then use an editing rubric that includes an "overall structure" category when revising their writing.
Final Project
Elements of Change
Students plan and write one sentence describing each cultural element for three time periods (Ancient Egypt, Middle Ages, Today) on the "Book of Change" and "Through the Ages" pages, which requires ordering information across time. Students are asked to describe reasons for the changes they include and to think about how life would differ if culture never changed, which prompts cause/effect explanation. The organizer asks students to compare elements across the three periods, supporting comparison and sequencing of ideas across entries.
Unit 3: American Heroes
Lesson 1
Heroes
Activity 2 directs students to "write a sentence about how your hero changed the world" using the frame "______ made the world a better place by ______," which requires students to produce a cause-and-effect statement. The Wrapping Up prompts ask students to "describe what the hero did" and to "discuss how heroes can help motivate other people," encouraging oral explanation of how one action led to another. Activity 3 explains the table of contents and encourages reading specific sections, which touches on awareness of text structure.
Lesson 2
Early American Heroes
Students answer direct comparison questions such as "How were Jefferson and Franklin similar?" which asks them to link information across two short biographies. Students explain causes when asked "Why did the colonists say ‘enough' to the British king?" and "Why did George Washington refuse to be king?", requiring them to describe cause/effect relationships in the text. Students place heroes on a "Heroes Timeline" by listing names and birth/death years, practicing chronological sequence (first/second/third) of historical details.
Lesson 4
Hard Times
Students answer comprehension questions that ask them to describe change over time (e.g., "How did Eleanor change from the time she was a child to the time she was an adult?"), to compare roles (e.g., "How was she a different First Lady than those before her?"), and to identify challenges and effects (e.g., FDR leading the country through the Great Depression and WWII and coping with polio). Students also discuss why Eleanor's activism could have been controversial, which invites linking actions to social consequences.
Lesson 5
Recent Heroes
Students answer comprehension questions that require linking events and causes, such as explaining how Walt Disney "changed the world" (asking for effect) and whether Hitler was happy about Jesse Owens's performance (asking for cause/effect reasoning). Students create a timeline recording heroes' names and birth dates, which requires ordering events in sequence. Students compare themselves to Disney in a question that prompts a similarity comparison.
Lesson 6
African-American Heroes
Students answer questions that ask for reasons and outcomes (e.g., Frederick Douglass Q2 asks why slave owners did not want slaves to read, and Q4 asks how Douglass saw America change over his lifetime). Students place heroes' birthdates on a timeline in the Hero Cards activity, which requires ordering events (first/second/third in a sequence). The Education activity asks students to give three reasons and to complete the prompt "If children are not allowed to go to school then they cannot...," which asks them to state consequences (cause/effect).
Lesson 7
Female Heroes
Students answer questions about Susan B. Anthony that ask why she was arrested (she voted) and what changed after her death (women gained the right to vote), which requires identifying cause/effect and changes over time. Students create hero cards and record dates of birth on a timeline, which asks them to place events in chronological sequence. The skills list includes analyzing and evaluating the effects of responsible citizenship and analyzing the effects of change in communities, implying students will consider effects and sequences.
Lesson 8
Heroes of Science and Invention
Students answer comprehension questions that require explaining cause-and-effect (e.g., asking why August 6, 1945 was a sad day for Einstein and how Edison's and the Wright brothers' inventions changed people's lives). Students place heroes on a timeline by birth date, which has them work with chronological sequence. Students are asked to back up observations with supporting details in the Perseverance activity, practicing linking a claim with supporting information.
Lesson 9
Book of Heroes
Students are asked to put hero cards in chronological order and number them for a table of contents, which has them practice sequencing events. Students use a three-ring Venn diagram to compare three favorite heroes, explicitly identifying similarities and differences. The skills list asks students to "Discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts within and across texts" and to "Recall main idea, facts, and details from a text."
Final Project
My Life Story
The Pre-Writing Organizer prompts students to list three major life events numbered 1 to 3, which asks students to place events in a sequence. The Editing Rubric asks students whether their paragraphs have an introduction sentence, a concluding sentence, and whether paragraphs are easy to read, prompting attention to paragraph-level organization. Activities direct students to arrange two paragraphs and supporting pictures on a scrapbook page and to use the rubric to evaluate their organization.
3: Cycles
Unit 1: Poppy
Lesson 2
Mr. Ocax
Students practice using conjunctions and combining short sentences into longer ones on the "Combining Sentences" activity, which asks them to join pairs or triples of sentences using words like "because" and "but." Students are asked to make a list of conjunctions and to write sentences that use each conjunction. Several discussion questions require students to explain reasons (e.g., why Mr. Ocax wants the mice to fear him; what is wrong with the power cycle), prompting cause-and-effect and comparison thinking. Students also write a paragraph comparing themselves with a character and give three similarities supported by evidence from the story.
Lesson 3
The Emergency Meeting
Students are asked to read a passage and decide where paragraphs begin and end, underline beginning sentences in green and concluding sentences in red, cut paragraphs apart and glue them, and read aloud while stomping at paragraph ends. The lesson asks students to identify the central idea of each paragraph and to look at pages 20-22 to discuss the paragraph divisions the author has chosen. The Skills list also includes locating and discussing examples of the author's use of paragraphs and their effects on the reader.
Lesson 4
Standing Before Mr. Ocax
Several comprehension questions (Question #3 and Question #4) ask students to explain reasons and consequences (e.g., why Mr. Ocax did not eat the mice and how his refusal continues his cycle of power), which requires identifying cause/effect relationships. Activity 1 has students chart Poppy and Lungwort's journey from Gray House to Mr. Ocax's tree, which has students sequence events. Activity 3 asks students to write a speech that explains an action or idea and is supported with evidence, prompting students to organize cause/effect or reason-based support.
Lesson 5
Poppy and Poppa
Students are asked to "Recognize cause and effect relationships" in the Skills section and Activity 2 is a cause-and-effect graphic organizer where students read specific causes from the novel and write the corresponding effects. Question #4 explicitly prompts students to analyze what refusing permission allowed Mr. Ocax to do, and several questions ask students to analyze characters' actions and consequences. The journal and wrapping-up prompts ask students to explain how events lead to outcomes, reinforcing causal connections.
Lesson 6
Dimwood Forest
Students are asked in their journal to "describe a decision that Poppy had to make... describe the decision, the effects of the decision, why the decision was good or bad," which requires identifying cause/effect relations in the text. The Setting Map activity asks students to chart Poppy's journey across Old Orchard and over Glitter Creek, which practices sequencing events. The Diamante Poem activity asks students to explain how Poppy and Mr. Ocax are opposites (large/small; kind/mean), which practices comparison between characters.
Lesson 7
Ereth
Students are asked in Activity 3 to discuss how Mr. Ocax convinced the mice to fear porcupines and how that allowed him to gain power, and to consider how Poppy's new knowledge might help break that cycle, which practices cause-and-effect reasoning. The Skills section asks students to represent text information in different ways, including story maps, graphs, and charts, which supports sequencing and organization of events. Activity 1 asks students to select three important quotes and record why each quote is important, prompting students to explain relationships and significance within the text.
Lesson 8
On the Way to New House
Students are asked to write a summary of Chapters 13 and 14, which requires synthesizing and ordering major events across paragraphs. Question #2 asks students to compare the author's descriptions of Dimwood Forest now versus Chapter 10, prompting them to state a comparison between passages. Question #3 and Question #5 ask students to decide whether a change is due to the forest or Poppy's point of view and to explain why the mice believe Mr. Ocax, prompting students to state causal relationships. Activity 1 (Setting Map) asks students to trace Poppy's journey, reinforcing sequencing of events.
Lesson 9
The Truth at Last
Students are asked to write journal entries using the scaffold "In Chapters 15-16, Poppy wanted...But...So..." which prompts them to state events and resulting consequences. Students draw and label a circular diagram that maps how Mr. Ocax's lies cause the mice to stay (cause/effect cycle) and are asked to identify where the cycle could be broken. Students record two pieces of textual evidence that show Mr. Ocax losing power and two that show Poppy gaining power, and answer questions that require explaining why characters feel or act a certain way (e.g., "Why do you think Poppy noticed it but Ereth had never noticed it?" and "How does Poppy feel...Why does she feel this way?").
Lesson 10
The Battle
The lesson includes comprehension questions that ask students to explain reasons and outcomes (e.g., "Why did the thought of humiliating Mr. Ocax bring a feeling of power to Poppy?", "What do you think gave Poppy the bravery…?", and "How was Poppy able to gain power?"), which prompt students to state cause/effect relationships. The lesson asks students to predict how Poppy will get the salt and to describe how she defeated Mr. Ocax, which requires recounting event order and sequence. The wrapping-up prompt asks the child to describe how Poppy broke the cycle of power, prompting explanation of causal connections between events.
Lesson 11
Writing Project
The organizer requires students to plan three ordered paragraphs (Paragraph 1: cycle of power; Paragraph 2: how Poppy broke the cycle; Paragraph 3: how life will be different), which scaffolds a first/second/third sequence. The Paragraph Organizer and rubric require students to write topic sentences, supporting details, and concluding sentences, prompting them to make sentences relate to a central idea. The rubric explicitly asks for evidence that at least three short sentences have been combined using the conjunctions "and," "but," "or," or "because," which practices creating sentence-level logical links (including cause/effect with "because").
Lesson 12
A New Beginning
Students are asked to explain why the author jumps forward in time and to discuss the theme of cycles and the life cycle, which prompts them to identify sequence and cause/effect across the story (Activity 3). Students trace Poppy's journey from New House to Ereth to Gray House using a specific page reference, which asks them to sequence events across chapters (Activity 1). A question asks how Poppy's life was different 13 moons after Mr. Ocax's death, prompting students to compare states before and after an event.
Final Project
Poppy
Students complete a plot diagram (problem, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) and are given examples of plot points that illustrate how events lead to the climax. Students are asked to create the plot diagram using the provided sheet and to write a paragraph explaining how a character/theme is supported by story elements and plot. The directions ask students to list rising-action points that lead up to the climax, which requires sequencing events and showing how earlier events contribute to later ones.
Unit 2: Charlotte's Web
Lesson 1
Getting Started
Students answer explicit "why" questions (QUESTION #1, #6, #8) that require them to state causes and effects in the story. Students complete a Plot Flow Chart, writing a major event for each chapter, which makes them sequence events (first/second/third) across paragraphs and chapters. Activity 6 asks students to label and draw the four seasons in order, reinforcing ordered/sequential relationships. Activity 3 asks students to compare friendships in Charlotte's Web with other picture books, prompting comparison across texts and passages.
Lesson 2
Charlotte
Students are asked to complete a Plot Flow Chart by highlighting a major event that occurred in each chapter, which requires them to place events in sequence. In Activity 2 students make Wilbur's schedule by listing his activities for the day, which practices ordering events (first/second/third). The lesson also directs discussion of how animals must eat in order to progress through life cycle stages, which presents a cause/effect relationship (eating leads to progression).
Lesson 3
Bad News
Students are asked to complete a Plot Flow Chart by highlighting a major event that occurred in each chapter, which requires ordering events (sequence). Activity 2 and the Wrapping Up discussion prompt students to explain why farmers raise and kill animals and to predict Charlotte's actions, which engages cause-and-effect reasoning about events in the story. Several discussion questions (e.g., why do the animals trust Fern? why does Wilbur love the barn?) ask students to explain reasons, encouraging them to link ideas across parts of the text.
Lesson 4
Some Pig
Students answer multiple 'why' and 'how' questions (e.g., Q2, Q3, Q6, Q7) that require explaining causes and reasons for events in the chapters. Students complete a Plot Flow Chart by highlighting a major event in each chapter, which has them order events and show sequence. Discussion prompts ask students to explain character actions and outcomes (e.g., why Charlotte weaves words), which requires linking sentences that state actions to sentences that state outcomes.
Lesson 5
Progress
Students are asked to complete a Plot Flow Chart that highlights a major event in each chapter, and to use a Spider Life Cycle wheel that requires describing stages in order, which practices sequencing (first/second/third). Several comprehension questions (e.g., Why did Farmer Zuckerman want to start treating Wilbur differently? Why did Charlotte have to be careful about the words she chose? Why might Charlotte not go to the fair?) require students to state reasons and identify cause-and-effect relationships in the text.
Lesson 6
The Fair
Students complete a Plot Flow Chart that asks them to highlight a major event in each chapter, which requires sequencing events across paragraphs/chapters. Question #2 asks why Wilbur fainted, and students must state the cause (Mr. Arable's remark), showing cause/effect reasoning from the text. Activity 2 has students compare two paragraphs, examine conjunctions (and, or, but) that connect short sentences, and notice sequence markers in the example paragraph ("First..., last"), so students practice noticing how sentences are linked.
Lesson 7
The End
Students complete a Plot Flow Chart and Character Descriptions, sequencing events of Chapters 19–22. Students check off stages on Life Cycles Charts and create charts that show first/second/... stages (birth, growth, adulthood, reproduction, death). Guided questions ask students to explain reasons and outcomes (e.g., "What happened to Wilbur on the stage? Why?"; "Why did the Zuckermans want to give Wilbur a bath...?"), and a Venn diagram activity has students compare the book and movie.
Unit 3: The Family Under the Bridge
Lesson 1
Pre-Reading
Students analyze an "Economic Cycles" diagram and are asked to list examples in each part of the cycle and to explain how the cycle would be disrupted if a person did not have a job, which practices sequence and cause/effect reasoning. Activity 3 asks students to discuss the theme that poverty disrupts the economic cycle and to list ways people can care for others, reinforcing cause/effect relationships. The skills list includes "Locate information in text for specific purposes" and "Read expository materials for answers to specific questions," which supports working with informational text.
Lesson 3
A Discovery
Students answer comprehension questions that require explaining reasons (e.g., Question #2 asks why the children were under the bridge and Question #6 asks why they did not go to school), and Activity 2 asks students to think about how the children's economic situation was affected by their father's death, which requires cause/effect reasoning. The Skills section asks students to "Discuss similarities and differences," and Question #5 asks students to interpret the comparison in "lean times as well as the fat," which prompts students to consider comparison relationships.
Lesson 4
A Day in the City
Students answer text-dependent questions that require explaining motives and reasons (e.g., Question #2 asks why Armand said the Christmas log tasted like medicine and the provided answer explains his motive), and Question #4 asks why a shopkeeper reacted as he did, prompting cause/effect reasoning. In Activity 2 students complete a Venn diagram comparing Christmas in France and the U.S., which asks them to identify similarities and differences (comparison). The Skills list also explicitly includes discussing similarities and differences within texts.
Lesson 5
Singing
Students are asked to reread page 27 and list goods, needs, and wants and to describe the Calcet children's economic cycle using a three-box flowchart that connects "What needs..." → "What service..." → "What did Armand purchase...", which requires sequencing events and cause/effect thinking. Several comprehension questions ask "Why" (e.g., Why did Armand want the children to sing? Why did Armand leave the children?), prompting students to identify causes and motivations across the text. The letter/speech activity asks students to produce three reasons with supporting details, which requires students to organize linked ideas and show how points support a conclusion.
Lesson 6
The Shoe
Students answer comprehension questions that ask them to explain causes and effects (e.g., why finding the shoe signified hope, why Armand worried about the children, how the "Court of Miracles" got its name). Students compare changes over time when they explain how Armand's feelings differ from Chapter 2 to Chapter 5. Students complete a double-bubble map to compare similarities and differences between the Calcets and the Gypsies, explicitly practicing comparison of information across paragraphs.
Lesson 7
Among Friends
Students are asked why characters act as they do (e.g., Q2 asks why Suzy did not want a wheeled house and Q3 asks why Madame Calcet followed behind Armand), which requires explaining reasons for events. The Pack a Bag activity has students discuss the cycle of wants, needs, jobs, money, and goods and services and explicitly reviews that without a job people do not have money, a clear cause-and-effect chain. The introduction asks students to predict how Madame Calcet will respond, prompting them to think about the sequence of events and outcomes in the chapter.
Lesson 8
Christmas Eve
Several comprehension questions require students to explain reasons and outcomes (e.g., Q3: 'How did Armand help the family to feel better about their situation?' and Q6: 'Why was Suzy anxious to leave the celebration?'), which target cause-and-effect reasoning. Question #1 asks where the children went, asking students to recount the sequence of events (party under a bridge then midnight mass). The wrap-up asks students to compare Armand and the Calcets' celebration to their own, prompting a comparison of events and practices.
Lesson 9
Saying Goodbye
Students are asked open-ended "why" questions (e.g., why Suzy was upset, why the Gypsies packed up, why the policeman was looking for Nikki) that require explaining causes and consequences. The lesson directs students to "discuss the fact" that stealing leads to fear of police and to discuss the economic cycle of earning, saving, and spending, which prompts cause/effect reasoning. The Culture Commentary activity asks students to describe how parts of Paris and the characters' economic situations vary, which involves comparison.
Lesson 10
A Home at Last
Students answer text-dependent questions that ask for reasons and outcomes (Question #1 asks how Armand solved the children's problem; Question #2 asks why Armand needed to look presentable). Activity 2 directs students to discuss how having a job leads to paying for water, food, and shelter and to explain how Armand's choice will help the children. Option 1 asks students to write a paragraph describing why having a home is important and what families can do when they have a home, which requires explaining relationships between actions and outcomes.
Final Project
Reader's Theater
Students are asked to "Retell or act out the order of important events in stories," and to reread selected scenes (e.g., Christmas Eve at the Bridge) and turn those events into dialogue, which requires sequencing. Students must include a narrator to tell audience details and are directed to pick an important part of the scene and produce at least twenty lines, supporting practice in ordering events. The activities ask students to study existing scripts and stage directions, follow the script format, and rehearse the scene, reinforcing the temporal flow of events.
4: Relationships
Unit 1: One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest
Lesson 2
Morning in the Rain Forest
Activity 3 asks students to record the most important event at each time frame and to compare a day in their life to Tepui's day, which requires ordering events and recognizing sequence. Question #2 asks students to explain what the author means by parts acting on each other in the "grand plan of life," which prompts interpretation of interactions (cause/effect) among events and organisms. The Skills section lists retelling main ideas and discussing similarities/differences, supporting practice with relationships among events and concepts in the text.
Lesson 3
The Tree
Students answer Question #1 asking how plants depend on water and explain the cause/effect relationship (the water dissolves nutrients, enabling roots to absorb them and send them to leaves and flowers). Students record major events on the "Daily Activities" sheet, which requires them to place events in time periods and thus practice sequencing. Students discuss relationships and interconnectedness of organisms in Activity 2, which asks them to place animals around the tree based on the author's descriptions and think about dependence among living things.
Lesson 4
Butterfly Search
Students answer comprehension questions that require cause/effect reasoning (e.g., QUESTION #6 asks why Dr. Rivero wanted to find a new butterfly and QUESTION #1 asks why animals do not know human property rights). Activity 1 asks students to record major events and time periods from Chapter 3, which has students sequence events from the text. The Skills list explicitly includes "Classify and sequence organisms, objects, and events based on properties and patterns," supporting practice with sequencing and relationships.
Lesson 5
Rain Forest Relationships
Students place events from Chapters 4 and 5 on Plot Timelines by cutting out event descriptions and pasting them into time intervals, which practices ordering events and recognizing simultaneous occurrences. Students are asked to "identify the events that are happening to each living thing" and to "see how earlier events effect later events," which has them link earlier sentences/paragraphs to later outcomes. Discussion questions ask students why the author switches action back and forth between living things and men in trucks, prompting them to explain the author's structural choices. Reading comprehension questions (e.g., why a jaguar would be afraid of ants; why the chainsawyers did not swim) require students to state cause/effect relationships from specific sentences/paragraphs.
Lesson 6
Law of the Jungle
Students answer directed comprehension questions that require them to link events (e.g., Question #3 asks how Dr. Rivero and Tepui avoided the jaguar, and the answer explicitly links the army ants' attack to the jaguar being driven off). The Skills section asks students to make predictions about events in text and to record major events on a "Daily Activities" sheet, which has students place events in sequence. Activity 3 asks students to illustrate or describe three examples of "The Law of the Jungle," prompting students to identify cause/effect relationships (one dies that another may live) in multiple instances.
Lesson 7
Helping a Friend
Students are asked to retell or record the major events of Chapter 7 on a "Daily Activities" page and to reorder lines and stage directions for the climbing scene, which requires identifying first/second/third sequence. Several comprehension questions ask students to explain reasons (e.g., why men were sent to cut down the trees and why Dr. Rivero felt fear), which requires identifying cause/effect relationships in the text. The dramatizing activities require students to place events and dialogue in the correct order and to use stage directions that reflect how sentences describe actions.
Lesson 8
Persuasive Writing
Students are asked to plan and write three structured paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting reasons/details, and a concluding sentence, which requires them to connect supporting sentences to a main idea. The advanced organizer (Option 2) asks students to write a sentence that supports each idea and to add details, prompting them to link specific sentences to the paragraph topic. The Editing and Revising Rubric asks students to check paragraph organization (opening sentence, supporting details, concluding sentence) and to confirm that opening and closing sentences state the persuasive aim.
Lesson 9
A Close Call
Students are asked to identify and explain similes and metaphors (Activity 2), which requires them to describe a comparison between two ideas. Students complete a plot diagram with three numbered event boxes, list the problem, the climax, falling action, and resolution (Activity 4), which requires them to order events (first/second/third). Students answer questions about how actions led to outcomes (e.g., QUESTION #4 and describing how the problem was solved), which asks them to explain cause-and-effect relationships among events.
Unit 2: The Whipping Boy
Lesson 1
Medieval Times
Students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the roles of a king and a president, listing similarities and differences (comparison). Students create a comic strip by illustrating a major event from each chapter as they read, which requires ordering events across chapters (sequence). Students are asked to discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts within the text and to identify places in the story that reflect factual information learned about the Middle Ages.
Lesson 2
Jemmy and Prince Brat
Students create a comic strip that requires them to illustrate and order important events from each chapter, which practices putting events in sequence. The question set asks students to explain reasons (e.g., Why was Jemmy brought to the castle? Why did Jemmy not want to run away?), prompting students to identify cause/effect relationships. The skills list asks students to "Discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts," which practices comparative thinking across parts of the text.
Lesson 3
The Plot Thickens
Students are asked to discuss similarities and differences between Jemmy and Prince Brat (Skills and Wrapping Up), which practices comparison. Students draw scenes for a comic strip reflecting action in each chapter (Activity 1), which requires ordering events across the text (sequence). Comprehension questions (e.g., Q1 asking why Jemmy changed his mind and Q6 about how the men knew they had the prince) require students to explain causal relationships from the chapters.
Lesson 4
A Note to the King
Students identify and record the two things being compared in multiple similes from the text and write their own similes, which practices recognizing comparison relationships. Students study a flowchart of the feudal system and answer questions about who is first/second/etc. in the hierarchy and explain relationships between levels, practicing sequence/relationship reasoning. Reading comprehension questions (e.g., why Cutwater assumed the prince could write) require students to infer cause/effect connections between details in the text.
Lesson 5
Disagreements
Students answer comprehension questions (e.g., Question #1 and #4) that require explaining why characters acted as they did, which practices cause/effect reasoning. The Skills section asks students to "Discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts," addressing comparison. Activity 1 asks students to fill one comic-strip box per chapter, which has students sequence events across chapters (first/second/third).
Lesson 6
In the Woods
Students are asked to compare characters and discuss similarities and differences (Skills; Activity 3), which practices comparison. Question prompts ask how events happened (e.g., Q1 how Jemmy escaped; Q8 how they planned to make money; Q9 how and why Jemmy helped the Hot-Potato Man), which requires students to describe sequences and causes. The wrapping-up prompts ask students whether the relationship is changing and to cite clues, prompting them to link events and explanations across the text.
Lesson 7
The Rescue
Students answer multiple 'why' and 'how' comprehension questions (e.g., Why did Prince Brat decide not to betray Jemmy again? Why did Billy and Cutwater stop whipping Prince Brat?), which ask them to explain causes and motivations. Students are asked to describe how Jemmy and the prince's relationship is changing and how the prince is changing, which asks them to explain sequence and change over time. Activities ask students to compare settings (castle vs. town) and compare their own community to a medieval town, prompting comparison of ideas across sections of the text.
Lesson 8
Friends
Students answer several "why" questions (e.g., Questions #1, #2, #3, #5) that require explaining reasons for characters' actions, which practices cause/effect thinking. In Activity 2 students compare the prince's behaviors in Chapters 1-2 versus Chapters 19-20 by listing four items for each, which practices comparison and sequence of change. Activity 1 (comic strip) asks students to read through the strip to see if it "makes sense," prompting them to check sequence and coherence across panels. The "A Day in the Castle" diary entries ask students to describe how daily events and perspectives have changed over time, reinforcing chronological/sequence connections.
Final Project
A Monologue
Students are asked to reread specific pages (pages 65-66, 68-70, and 79) and to write monologues that explain how the prince's and Jemmy's relationships have changed, which requires describing change over time. The provided sentence starters include prompts such as "I have to change because..." and "From now on...," which scaffold cause/effect and sequence in students' responses. The rubric asks for specific ideas and explanations about character background, difficulties, and the main message, prompting students to organize and analyze information about events and motivations.
Unit 3: Iggie's House
Lesson 1
The Move
Students are asked direct why-questions (e.g., "Why was Winnie upset in this chapter?" and "Why did Winnie not talk to the new neighbors…?") that require stating reasons, which practices cause-and-effect connections. The Reactions Chart activity asks students to link specific events to characters' reactions and to record their own reactions, which has students map events to outcomes (cause → effect) and reflect on sequence. The wrapping up task asks students to summarize important events in Chapter 1, which practices ordering events (first/second/third in a sequence).
Lesson 2
Meeting the Neighbors
Students answer multiple 'why' comprehension questions (e.g., why Winnie's mom asked her to wait, why the Garbers moved, why they did not have bikes) that require linking events to reasons. The skills list asks students to recall main ideas, facts, and details, which supports connecting sentences and paragraph content. The Reactions Chart and Chapter-2 summary question (how Winnie's first meeting went) ask students to describe outcomes and interactions, implying linking causes and effects within the text.
Lesson 3
The Softball Game
Students answer comprehension questions that ask for reasons behind characters' actions (e.g., Q1: Why did Winnie lie? Q2: Why did Winnie tell Big Red the Garbers were from Africa? Q3: Why was Winnie disappointed?), which requires identifying cause/effect relationships. Students complete the "Softball Logic" activity that asks them to order players by height and compute point differences, practicing sequencing and deducing logical relationships among statements. Students fill in a "Reactions Chart" and respond to discussion/journal prompts about how Winnie tries to start a relationship with the Garbers, encouraging linking events and character responses.
Lesson 4
A New Dog
Several comprehension questions (Question #1, #2, #3) ask students to explain why characters acted as they did, which requires students to state cause-and-effect relationships between events and sentences. The Wrapping Up task asks students to summarize the events of Chapter 4, prompting students to put events in sequence (first/second/third). The Activity 2 discussion asks students to describe the relationship between pets and owners and to write a paragraph about that relationship, which engages students in explaining how ideas are connected across sentences.
Lesson 5
A Visit from Germs
Several comprehension questions require students to explain causes and motives in the text (e.g., QUESTION #1 asks why the Garbers were glum because Mrs. Landon's petition had 9 signatures; QUESTION #4 asks why Winnie pretended she hadn't thought about her parents signing the petition; QUESTION #5 asks what Herbie wanted to do in response to the petition). The Problems in Relationships activity asks students to identify relational problems between characters and to think of ways the characters might solve them, which invites students to connect actions and reactions across events in the story.
Lesson 6
A New Petition
Students answer comprehension questions that ask for reasons for characters' actions (e.g., Question #2 asks why Winnie thought the Garbers would hate her; Question #7 asks why Winnie went to the pool to gather petition signatures), which requires identifying cause/effect relationships. Students are asked to summarize important events from prior reading and to wrap up by summarizing what happened in the chapter, which asks them to sequence events. The Character Circle Maps activity asks students to support why they selected character traits with evidence from events and actions and to discuss how personalities influence relationships, which requires explaining causal links between character traits and outcomes.
Lesson 7
The Swim Club
Several comprehension questions ask students to explain reasons and motivations (e.g., why Mr. Berger didn't sign Winnie's petition and why he told Winnie not to take her feelings out on Clarice), which requires describing cause-and-effect relationships in the text. The Reactions Chart activity asks students to record how characters responded to events, prompting students to connect events with reactions. The listed skills include connecting and comparing information within and across selections and discussing similarities and differences, which aligns with identifying some types of logical relationships.
Lesson 8
Moving
Students complete double-bubble maps to record similarities and differences between pairs of characters, directly practicing comparison relationships. Students answer comprehension questions that ask why characters felt or acted a certain way (e.g., "Why did Winnie feel this way?"), requiring them to link events and reasons (cause/effect). Students also fill in a "Reactions Chart" which prompts them to connect actions and responses in the chapter.
Lesson 9
A Letter
Students are prompted to plan a three-paragraph letter with a provided main idea for each paragraph and spaces for a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence. The introduction explicitly reviews that a topic sentence often tells what the paragraph will be about and reminds students to use events from the story in their writing. The Letter Rubric asks students to consider sentence organization and use of examples, and the editing steps ask students to read through and correct capitalization, punctuation, subject/verb agreement, and spelling while making corrections and additions to their draft.
Lesson 10
I Have a Dream
Students are asked several 'why' comprehension questions about Chapter 9 (e.g., Why did Winnie bring all the food for the picnic? Why did Mr. Garber not want to move?), which require explaining reasons and causal relationships in the text. Activity 1 asks students to complete a "Reactions Chart" for Chapter 9, prompting them to connect events and responses across the chapter. The "I Have a Dream" discussion asks students to explain what King meant by phrases like "all men are created equal," which requires linking ideas across sentences and excerpts.
Lesson 11
The End
Students are asked several why-questions (Q1, Q3, Q4, Q5) that require them to explain reasons for characters' actions, which practices identifying cause-and-effect relationships. Students are prompted to consider whether the story problem was solved (Q7) and to recall major events and character responses in the Reactions Chart, which supports ordering events and recognizing sequence. Students also choose items for the "Book in a Bag" and describe story elements, which requires linking events and character roles across parts of the text.
Final Project
Character Interviews
Students are asked to pose possible how, why, and what if questions to understand or interpret text, which practices thinking about cause/effect and reasons. Students must discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts within and across texts, which practices making comparisons. The rubric and activities require students to use events in the story when developing questions and answers and to ask at least one question about relationships, tying sentences and events together in their responses.