Please remember, this is a literacy map. Make sure to reference Social Studies standards because some standards can not covered through literacy instruction.

*If a book is listed as an “Interactive Read-Aloud”, it can be found in your school’s bookroom.

Unit 1: Geography 3rd Grade
Length: 4 weeks
Overarching Questions:
●What message, lesson, or moral do the characters learn by the end of the story?
●What is the main idea of the text and what specific details help me to determine this?
●In what ways are the major continents and oceans similar and different?
●What are the major physical components of the world, and how are they represented on a map?
●How can tall tales help us understand different parts of the United States?
Texts
Read-Alouds
(Bolded selections can be used as anchor texts. Other selections are teacher choice as time allows)
When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Interactive Read-Alouds by Linda Hoyt (pg. 207)
(use this book to help make a connection of where students are on the globe in the Appalachian region)
*Pair with The Relatives Cameby Cynthia Rylant to compare two texts written by the same author (RL 3.9)
Text Dependent Questions
  1. Who is telling the story?
  2. How does the narrator feel about the other characters in the story?
  3. Why does the narrator keep repeating the phrase, “When I was young in the mountains…”?
  4. How do you think Cynthia Rylant felt about her life in the mountains? What events did she describe that were important to her?
  5. How do the pictures in the story (type of illustration, color choices) help you understand the story?
Vocabulary
●okra
●Johnny-house
●congregation
●coal mine
●pasture
●well
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Interactive Read-Alouds by Linda Hoyt (pg. 9)
*Pair with When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant to compare two texts written by the same author (RL 3.9)
Text Dependent Questions
  1. What was the setting of the story? Does it include a season?
  2. Who do you think “the relatives” were?
  3. What did the relatives do in their visit of “weeks and weeks”?
  4. How did the narrator feel about her relatives visiting? Cite evidence from the text to prove your answer.
Vocabulary
●relatives
●traveled
●soda pop
●tend
●ice chest
Text Dependent Question to compare and contrast “When I was Young in the Mountains” and “The Relatives Came” for RL 3.9
  1. How are the themes similar/different in the books?
  2. How are the settings and plots similar/different in each book?
  3. Does the author leave me with a similar feeling about people and life in each book?

Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest by Steve Jenkins o Achieve the Core lesson
Text Dependent Questions
  1. What is the main idea of this text? What key ideas or supporting details help you determine this?
  2. The Amazon River, in South America is not considered to be the longest river, but is considered to be mightier than the other rivers in the world. Why is the Amazon River considered to be mightier than the others? (Pg. 43)
  3. On page 44, the author writes about two different lakes, Lake Baikal, in Russia and Lake Superior, in North America. Using the information and evidence given in the text briefly compare and contrast these two lakes.
  4. On page 44, the author writes about two different lakes, Lake Baikal, in Russia and Lake Superior, in North America. Using the information and evidence given in the text briefly compare and contrast these two lakes.
  5. Look at the illustrations on page 45. How do these illustrations enhance the information given in the text? Use evidence from the text on page 45 to support your response.
Vocabulary
●mightier
●peak
●trench
●shore
Johnny Appleseed by Bill Balcziak(if your school does not have this tall tale, please see the Tall Tale section of your book room for other selections)
Text Dependent Questions
  1. How are fables and tall tales different?
  2. What happens in this story?
  3. What details from the beginning, middle, and end should you include when summarizing this story?

Life on Ice by Susan E. Goodman (North and South Pole)
-Achieve the Core lesson
Texts for Guided Reading(Bolded selections can be used as anchor texts. Other selections are teacher choice as time allows)
Fiction
●Fable Town Mouse, Country Mouse (Benchmark Universe Unit 10)
Text Dependent Questions:
  1. What moral do the characters learn by the end of the story? How do the events in the story support your thinking?
  2. How are the characters Town Mouse and Country Mouse alike and different?
  3. On page 7, Country Mouse says the country is “superior” to the town. What is the meaning of superior? How does this event lead to the rest of the events in the story?
  4. How are Country Mouse’s experiences in the town similar to/different than Town Mouse’s experiences in the country?
Vocabulary
●superior
●determined
●delectable
●squeamish
●Tall Tales: Johnny Appleseed Gets his Name and Glooscap Makes the Seasons (Benchmark Universe )
●Tall Tales with Geography connection
Non-Fiction
●TN Core unit “Oceans and Continents”
○Note: There are 4 articles within the TNCore Unit. Text dependent questions are listed in the “Text Under Discussion” organizers within the unit.
●Explore the Earth’s Seven Continents (Search for on Epic!)
●Time Machine (1909): Commander Peary’s Discovery of the North Pole (NewsELA Article)
Bookroom Texts (identify at home school)
Mentor Sentences (Language Support)
  1. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford looked alike and always smelled of sweet milk. (capitalization, punctuation, common and proper nouns, simple sentences)
  2. They ate up all our strawberries and melons, then promised we could eat up all their grapes and peaches when we came to Virginia. (capitalization, punctuation, common and proper nouns)

Writing Assignments
Informational Writing
(Could be used as an Informational Writing Pre-assessment)
Articles for prompts are in TN Core unit “Oceans and Continents”
●You have just read two articles about oceans. Write an essay in which you explain what oceans are and compare and contrast the major oceans. Use key details and examples from both texts to support your explanation. Remember to follow conventions of standard written English.
●You have just read two articles about continents. Write an essay in which you explain what continents are and compare and contrast the major continents. Use key details and examples from both texts to support your explanation. Remember to follow the conventions of standard written English.
Narrative
●You have read the tall tale ______. Imagine you are the main character in text. Write about what happens to you after the end of the story. Be sure to connect your story to the tall tale you have just read. Remember to follow the conventions of standard written English.
Opinion
●You have just read the book “Town Mouse and Country Mouse”. Both mice believe their home is superior for different reasons. In your opinion, which mouse do you believe has the superior home? Support your opinion with examples from the text. Remember to follow the conventions of standard written English.
Writing Expectations
Research/Project Ideas
● Have students create an accurate world map that includes:
○All continents and oceans
○Labeling all major mountains and rivers
○Equator and prime meridian
○Hemispheres and the north and south poles
●Create questions about the map to show understanding of the use of cardinal directions, longitude and latitude to locate major cities and countries of the world.
● Create a foldable that names, defines and illustrates each landform
Standards
RI
RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
RI.3.9 Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
RL
RL 3.2Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
RL 3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
RL 3.9 Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).
Social Studies
3.1 Process and report information identifying, locating, comparing, and contrasting the major continents and oceans: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, Antarctica, Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern using maps, globes, and other technologies.
3.2 Interpret maps and globes using common terms, including country, region, mountain, hemisphere, latitude, longitude, north pole, south pole, equator, time zones, elevation, approximate distances in miles, isthmus, and strait.
3.3 Use cardinal directions, map scales, legends, titles, and longitude and latitude to locate major cities and countries in the world.
3.4 Examine major physical and political features on globes and maps, including mountains, plains, plateaus, mesas, buttes deserts, deltas, islands, peninsulas, basins, canyons, valleys, bays, streams, gulfs, straits, canals, seas, boundaries, cities, highways, roads, and railroads.
Writing
3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Language
L.3.2- demonstrate command of the conventions of capitalization and punctuation
L.3.1a Explain the function of nouns
L.3.1i Produce simple sentences
L.3.2- demonstrate command of the conventions of capitalization
L.3.1a Explain the function of nouns- common and proper nouns
L.3.1i Produce simple sentences
L.3.2- demonstrate command of the conventions of capitalization and punctuation