Third Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 3: Who Was Helen Keller?
Lesson 4
Inventors
Students are asked to "begin to show" how to research using the library or online, which indicates some use of digital sources for finding information. Students write ten facts about Alexander Graham Bell and complete worksheets that require composing sentences about inventions, showing written production. Students are instructed to read their Bell clues aloud to family, which involves interacting with others, albeit orally.
Final Project
Scrapbook or Interview
Students are instructed to look up new information on an encyclopedia or on the Internet and may include pictures "printed from the Internet" in their scrapbook. The skills list explicitly includes "Use media and technology to enhance the presentation of information to an audience for a specific purpose." Students are asked to practice the interview with a parent or sibling, providing a clear opportunity for interaction and collaboration.
2: Change
Unit 1: Morning Girl
Lesson 1
Background Information
The lesson directs students to "read about and look for pictures of the islands of the Bahamas on the Internet" (Activity 2) and provides a specific web link to a Bahamas website for exploration. It tells students they "can look for information on the Internet" to determine materials used for artifacts (Activity 5) and asks students to "locate information" about the Taino people and record facts in a journal (Activity 4). Students are asked to create a short report summarizing information about the Bahamas (Activity 2), which could be informed by online research.
Final Project
Poetry Night
Students are asked to record their poem readings, play back the recordings, discuss vocal delivery, and then re-record and compare the two versions. The activity directs students to prepare and present their poems aloud at a family poetry reading night. The instructions for recording and playback explicitly require students to use a recording device or similar technology to capture and evaluate their oral performance.
Unit 2: Communities and Culture
Final Project
Elements of Change
The lesson includes the skill statement: "Use media and technology to enhance the presentation of information to an audience for a specific purpose," which explicitly invites technology use. The instructions allow students to "print pictures from the Internet, cut them out, and paste them in the book," showing students can use the Internet and a printer to gather and include digital images. The lesson also suggests alternative project design options, implying some openness to using media in the final product.
3: Cycles
Unit 1: Poppy
Lesson 11
Writing Project
The lesson explicitly tells students they "could also type his final copy on the computer if that is easier for him," and it instructs an adult to "explain the function of the 'Tab' key" when using a computer. The lesson repeatedly directs adults to provide support (for example, recording a student's ideas if the child has difficulty and providing suggestions during editing). The lesson also has students share their completed paragraphs by reading them to family, indicating an opportunity to present work to others.
Unit 2: Charlotte's Web
Lesson 7
The End
Students are asked to locate the geographical places that returned spiders visited on a map and to "read about the place online," which requires using the internet. The activity directs students to research spiders around the world using guided prompts on the spider-shaped organizer, which could involve looking up information digitally. These items indicate some use of technology for research and information-gathering.
Final Project
Charlotte's Web
The lesson's Skills list explicitly includes "Use technology to enhance the presentation of information to an audience for a specific purpose," and the advertisement option states, "If your child prefers to do her advertisement with graphics on the computer, encourage her to do so." Adult support is described throughout (e.g., "help your child," "conference with her"), which indicates guided work while creating the product.
Unit 3: The Family Under the Bridge
Final Project
Reader's Theater
The lesson instructs students to use the Internet to find examples of Reader's Theater scripts ("On the Internet, you will find many examples...") so students search for digital models. The lesson directs someone to record the performance and have the family watch the video, and it tells students to watch the recorded video again. The lesson also asks students to assign roles, practice, and perform, which includes a recorded digital artifact of their work.
4: Relationships
Unit 2: The Whipping Boy
Final Project
A Monologue
Students are asked to create videos of themselves practicing their monologues, watch the video, and discuss improvements with an adult. Students practice performing and receive constructive feedback from an adult, and are encouraged to present monologues to an audience. The activities explicitly involve using a recording device and viewing the recording as part of revision.
Unit 3: Iggie's House
Final Project
Character Interviews
Students write interview questions and record written responses on activity pages for multiple characters. Students are given the option to record the interview with a video camera and then let the family watch it on TV, which uses technology to produce and share a recorded performance. Students practice interviews with a reporter (an adult or sibling) and act out character roles, demonstrating interpersonal interaction and collaborative rehearsal.
