Module 25: Vacation Days-Language Arts 3 - Course Guide

Module Overview:

In this module, learners explore how point of view shapes the way a story is told and how characters see events differently. They will use text evidence to analyze perspectives, build vocabulary, and practice using negatives correctly. Learners will also write, revise, edit, and publish an expository essay while developing cursive writing and reading fluency.

Module Materials:

Lesson # Lesson Title Material(s)
1 ELA 3: 25.1 Vacation Days timer
Language Arts Notebook
highlighters (assorted colors)
2 ELA 3: 25.2 Vacation Days Language Arts Notebook;
3 ELA 3: 25.3 Vacation Days timer
Language Arts Notebook
4 ELA 3: 25.4 Vacation Days Language Arts Notebook;
5 ELA 3: 25.5 Vacation Days Language Arts Notebook;

Module Objectives:

Lesson # Lesson Title Objective(s)
1 ELA 3: 25.1 Vacation Days
  1. Identify irregular spelling words.
  2. Use context clues to find the definitions of vocabulary words.
  3. Explain point of view in text.
  4. Define double negative.
2 ELA 3: 25.2 Vacation Days
  1. Identify real-life connections between words and their use.
  2. Identify and explain first- and third-person points of view, and compare characters’ perspectives using text evidence.
  3. Construct a rough draft of an expository essay.
  4. Demonstrate proper letter formation of uppercase cursive letters P and R.
3 ELA 3: 25.3 Vacation Days
  1. Use a dictionary entry to clarify the meanings of words.
  2. Distinguish the narrator’s point of view from their own point of view.
  3. Edit sentences using double negatives.
  4. Revise an expository essay.
4 ELA 3: 25.4 Vacation Days
  1. Analyze the point of view of the characters in a story.
  2. Use negatives correctly in writing.
  3. Analyze and explain editing choices to improve writing.
  4. Demonstrate proper letter formation of uppercase cursive letters P and R.
5 ELA 3: 25.5 Vacation Days
  1. Cite text evidence to support the points of view in a fiction text.
  2. Edit sentences by identifying and correcting errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
  3. Create a published version of their expository essay.
  4. Demonstrate fluency by reading grade-level text.

Module Key Words:

Key Words Spelling Words Vocabulary Words
context clues
fluency
graphic organizer
irregular spelling
point of view
double negative
expository essay
rough draft
revise
edit
publish
 again
because
been
buy
carry
does
don't
four
from
goes
 mystify
survey
plunge
erosion
thrill
canyon

Module Assignments:

Lesson # Lesson Title Page # Assignment Title

Learning Coach Notes:

Lesson # Lesson Title Notes
1 ELA 3: 25.1 Vacation Days The spelling words in this module do not follow a pattern. Instead, they are high-frequency words with irregular spellings. Learning Coaches can help their students learn permanent irregular words by showing them how to map the sounds to the letters they see. Even though these words do not follow normal spelling rules, your learner can still connect the parts that do make sense. Say the word slowly, help your learner listen for each sound, and point to the letters that spell it. This helps learners notice which parts of the word are regular and which parts they must memorize. Mapping sounds to letters gives your learner a clear plan to approach words with irregular spellings and helps them become stronger, more confident spellers.
2 ELA 3: 25.2 Vacation Days To help your learner with expository writing, encourage them to think of clear reasons and strong details to support their ideas. Third graders often think the two are the same and struggle to generate details. Start by asking a question about their topic, like “Why is vacation important for families?” After they state a reason, guide them to generate details by asking “Why?” or “Can you explain more?” or “Can you give me an example?” If they are unable to generate details or examples, guide them to choose a different reason. With practice, your learner will learn to propose reasons they can support, organize their writing, and make their ideas easy to understand.
3 ELA 3: 25.3 Vacation Days To help your learner understand point of view, encourage them to pay attention to who is telling the story and how that affects what they learn. Remind your learner that in first person, the narrator uses words like I, me, and my and tells the story from their own experiences. In third person, the narrator uses words like he, she, and they and describes the characters from the outside. When reading with your learner, pause and ask questions like, “Who is telling this story?” and “How do you know?” You can also have your student rewrite a short part of the story from a different point of view to see how the details and feelings revealed might change. A quick activity would be to write or dictate a paragraph about sharpening a pencil—from a pencil’s point of view. Practicing identifying point of view often will help your learner understand the narrator’s role and how point of view shapes a story.
4 ELA 3: 25.4 Vacation Days Helping your learner cite evidence from a text means encouraging them to defend their answers by pointing to the exact words or sentences that support their thinking. When your learner answers a question about a story or article, ask, “How do you know?” or “Which part of the text tells you that?” Show them how to look back at the passage and find a phrase or detail that supports their answer. They can start sentences with “The text says that …” or “The author explains that …” to make their evidence clear. With practice, Learning Coaches can help students become more confident and understand that good readers don’t just guess. Rather, they use the text to back up their ideas.
5 ELA 3: 25.5 Vacation Days Learning Coaches can help with language skills by reviewing concepts in the module. Start by reviewing double negatives, like “I didn’t see nothing.” Explain that these are incorrect in formal, standard English. This might lead to a discussion about how authors can use double negatives to make characters’ dialogue more realistic, or how double negatives are commonly used in speech in different cultures or areas of the country. You and your learner can also practice irregular spellings, or words that don’t follow normal spelling rules, such as again, because, and does. Encourage your learner to read these words often and to use them in sentences. Finally, talk about point of view by asking who is telling a story and how point of view affects what readers learn, especially about characters and their choices. Discuss how different characters might see the same event in different ways. With a little practice at home, your learner will become more confident in all three areas.

Module Guiding Questions:

When a student starts a lesson ask them questions to check for prior knowledge and understanding and to review concepts being taught. At the end of the lesson ask the questions again to see if their answer changes.

Lesson Title Question
ELA 3: 25.1 Vacation Days
  1. How does point of view affect the way a story is told?
ELA 3: 25.2 Vacation Days
  1. How can text evidence help us compare characters’ perspectives?
ELA 3: 25.3 Vacation Days
  1. How can we tell the difference between a narrator’s point of view and our own?
ELA 3: 25.4 Vacation Days
  1. How can we use negatives correctly in our writing?
ELA 3: 25.5 Vacation Days
  1. How can text evidence support a character’s point of view?

Module Video Questions:

When a student watches a video take time to ask them questions about what they watched. Suggested questions for the videos in this module are listed here. Suggestion: Have the student watch the entire video first all the way through. Then have them watch the video a second time, as they watch it pause the video and ask the questions.

Lesson Title Video Question

Module Suggested Read Aloud Books:

Take time to read to your student or have them read aloud to you. Read a different book each day. While reading the book point out concepts being taught. You may purchase these books or find them at your local library. Suggested things to discuss while reading the book:

  • What is the main idea?
  • What are three things new you learned?
  • How does this book relate to what you are learning about?

# Book Author Lexile Level
1 Imagination Vacation Jami Gigot
2 Aliens on Vacation Clete Smith
3 How I Spent My Summer Vacation Mark Teague

Module Outing:

Take some time to apply what your student is learning to the real world. Suggested outings are below.

# Outing