Grade Three SOL’s in English
(as stated in the Virginia Standards of Learning)
Reading continues to be a priority in third grade. Students will read a variety of literature, with an emphasis on classical as well as contemporary works. The student will use effective communication skills in group activities and will present brief oral reports. Reading comprehension strategies will be applied in all subjects, such as reading and solving word problems in math, investigating a broad array of scientific concepts, and comparing important people and events from the time of earliest civilizations to settlement of the New World. The student will plan, draft, revise, and edit stories, simple explanations, and short reports. In addition, the student will gather and use information from print and non-print sources. The student also will write legibly in cursive.
Following is a list of web sites that address the English SOL objectives for third grade. They cover oral language, reading/literature, writing, and research. Some of the sites are specific lesson plans for specific SOL objectives. Other sites are general web sites that cover a multitude of English objectives in the third grade.
An excellent site to visit for teaching the English SOL’s in third grade is from the Virginia Department of Education. This link takes you directly to the third grade English SOL’s and activities correlated with the SOL’s.
http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/Instruction/wmstds/eng3.shtml
Another excellent site for information on the Virginia SOL’s and instruction can be found at the following web site
http://www.bv.rang.k12.va.us/SOL.htm
Oral Language
3.1 The student will use effective communication skills in group activities.
* Listen attentively by making eye contact, facing the
speaker, asking questions, and paraphrasing what is said.
* Ask and respond to questions from teachers and other group
members.
* Explain what has been learned.
Although this lesson plan uses a newspaper, other printed materials may be used effectively following the same procedure.
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Reading/RDG0003.html
This lesson plan is excellent to be used at the beginning of school and for "class introductions."
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Writing_comp/WCP0003.html
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang50.txt
An activity designed to teach students to read and write poetry effectively.
3.2 The student will present brief oral reports.
* Speak clearly.
* Use appropriate volume and pitch.
* Speak at an understandable rate.
* Organize ideas sequentially or around major points of
information.
* Use clear and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.
This lesson plan is excellent to be used at the beginning of school and for "class introductions."
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Writing_comp/WCP0003.html
Reading/Literature
3.3 The student will apply word-analysis skills when reading and writing.
* Use knowledge of less common vowel patterns.
* Use knowledge of homophones.
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang28.txt This site suggests games to teach spelling.
(nonfiction, fiction, poetry).
* Preview and use text formats.
* Set a purpose for reading.
* Apply meaning clues, language structure, and phonetic
strategies.
* Reread and self-correct when necessary.
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang50.txt This link provides suggestions for reading and writing poetry.
This site is devoted to Aesop’s Fables. A large collection of fables, some audio, is listed.
http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang46.txt This activity helps students use critical listening skills.
3.5 The student will demonstrate comprehension of a variety of printed materials.
* Set a purpose for reading.
* Make connections between previous experiences and reading selections.
* Make, confirm, or revise predictions.
* Ask and answer questions.
* Compare and contrast settings, characters, and events.
* Organize information or events logically.
* Use information to learn about new topics.
* Write about what is read.
This site is devoted to Aesop’s Fables. A large collection of fables, some audio, is listed.
http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/ http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang39.txt This link will help students become familiar with characters in a reading selection.
Although this story is written for upper elementary or middle school students, it is an excellent site for 3.5 "…… make, confirm, or revise predictions." The vocabulary may need to be "reworded" for primary students.
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Reading/RDG0001.html
This site is about the story of Johnny Appleseed.
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Reading/RDG0010.html
A language arts activity to help students become familiar with part of a story.
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Writing_comp/WCP0042.html
This lesson plan, "story pyramid," covers SOL objective 3.5 "…… compare and contrast characters, settings, and events."
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Whole_lang/WLG0007.html
3.6 The student will continue to read a variety of fiction and
nonfiction selections.
* Identify the characteristics of folk tales.
* Identify the characteristics of biographies and
autobiographies.
* Compare and contrast the characters described in two folk
tales.
* Compare and contrast the lives of two persons as described
in biographies and/or autobiographies.
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang24.txt Students use strategies to design an autobiographical poem.
This site deals with fairy tales but could be adapted to folk tales and other literature
.http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang55.txt
Students will learn how to read and write autobiographies"
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Writing_comp/WCP0047.html
Writing
3.7 The student will write descriptive paragraphs.
* Develop a plan for writing.
* Focus on a central idea.
* Group related ideas.
* Include descriptive details that elaborate the central
idea.
* Revise writing for clarity.
* Edit final copies for grammar, capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang75.txtThis site reviews the parts of speech beneficial to the editing process.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ray.saitz/hamburg.txtStudents are introduced to the concept of a "paragraph" using a cheeseburger as a model.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ray.saitz/hallwrit.txtThis is a short, fifteen minute, writing lesson using words from a dictionary as the basis of the writing assignment.
3.8 The student will write stories, letters, simple explanations,
and short reports across all content areas.
* Use a variety of planning strategies.
* Organize information according to the type of writing.
* Revise writing for specific vocabulary and information.
* Edit final copies for grammar, capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.
* Use available technology.
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang88.txtThis site in an interdisciplinary unit that can be used across content areas.
Research
3.10 The student will record information from print and non-print resources.
* Use dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books.
* Use videos, interviews, and cassette recordings.
* Use available technology.
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Vocabulary/VOC0009.html
There are some web sites and links that cover many of the third grade SOL’s. Listed below are general web sites that you may browse and use while teaching the third grade English SOL’s.
This is a general web site that covers many third grade objectives. Once you reach this web site there are many possibilities for covering objectives in "Reading/Literature." Follow the link to "literature." Possible objectives covered are 3.3; 3.4; 3.5; 3.6; and 3.7
http://www.studyweb.com/
Another general web site that covers many objectives in third grade English. Possible SOL objectives are 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6
http://www.thekids.com/kids/stories/
Enter the
YOUNG AUTHORS WORKSHOP at http://www.planet.eon.net/~bplaroch/index.html for a variety of ideas, activities, and lesson plans for teaching writing in the third grade. Possible objectives covered include 3.7, 3.8, and 3.10
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyk3.html This is an excellent link for teaching English SOL’s in the third grade using "Cyber Guides." Lessons are based on books appropriate for third grade. ALL SOL objectives in English are covered in these lessons. Cyber Guides are supplementary, standards-based, web-delivered units of instruction centered on core works of literature.