Thematic Unit Overview: Part B

Unit Title: People recognize important events through celebrations and traditions.
Grade: 3

Pre-Reading Strategies
Strategy name: KWL chart
Citation: Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2007). Reading for information in elementary school:
Content literacy strategies to build comprehension. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Gunning, T. (2013). Creating literacy instruction for all students (8th ed.) Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Strategy description: Three questions: what do I know, what do I want to know and what have
I learned are placed in three columns. The questions are used to prompt discussion about the
new topic. Students brainstorm and write down their thoughts in the appropriate column and
these will guide inquiry during the unit. Using the what do I know and what do I want to know
will activate previous knowledge and help students to think about what they want to find out
during the inquiry. This would also show the teacher how much the student knows already and
whether the topic interests him. The final column: what have I learned is filled out at the end of
the unit and helps students to see how much they have learned and how their thinking has
changed over the course of the unit.
Placement in unit: at the beginning and end of the unit.
Technology component: No technology component
Strategy name: Anticipation guide
Citation: Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2007). Reading for information in elementary school:
Content literacy strategies to build comprehension. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Strategy description: Teacher prepared list of statements that connects to a passage or text
(pg.53). The statements will activate previous knowledge and stimulate curiosity about the new
unit. The anticipation guide consists of five to ten statements (depending on the reading level of
the student) relating to the text which the students answer before and after reading a text.
Some statements will be factual, some open ended. The students complete the guide before
they start reading and write a + when they think the statement is true and o when they think the
statement is false. Students then read the leveled text and re-read the statements this time
answering true or false again and checking whether there are any changes in their answers.
Placement in unit: at the beginning of the unit.

Technology component: no technology component

During Reading Strategies

Strategy name: Venn diagram
Citation: Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2007). Reading for information in elementary school:
Content literacy strategies to build comprehension. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Gunning, T. (2013). Creating literacy instruction for all students (8th ed.) Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Strategy description: In a Venn diagram two or more concepts are compared and contrasted.
Two overlapping circles: the portions of the circles that do not overlap are used for contrasting
ideas and the area where the circles overlap will show the elements that are similar. The
students can read about two different celebrations and compare and contrast them using a
Venn diagram. This will visually show which elements are similar and which are contrasting
between the celebrations. The visual picture helps students who have difficulty with
remembering and comprehension.
Placement in unit: in the middle of the unit, when reading the different texts
Technology component: Using an online Venn diagram template and have a small ESL group
working on the smart board. Or small pairs of students can create an online venn diagram and
add this to their blog page.
Strategy name: Read alouds and think alouds
Citation: Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2007). Reading for information in elementary school:
Content literacy strategies to build comprehension. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Gunning, T. (2013). Creating literacy instruction for all students (8th ed.) Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Strategy description: Reading aloud either for the whole class or a small group of students. This
allows for the reading of harder and more complex books. Teacher chooses a text appropriate
for the unit and level and interest of students. Practice reading aloud first and establish clear
purpose for the reading aloud. Stop every now and then during the read aloud and ask
questions to help students understand the text. Model thinking aloud while reading the text.
Student discussion after the read aloud. The reading aloud by the teacher will give all students
an opportunity to share harder books.
Placement in unit: in the middle of the unit

Technology component: Story can be projected on the smart board and students can follow the
text.

After Reading Strategies

Strategy Name: Guided Retelling
Citation: Gunning, T. (2013). Creating literacy instruction for all students (8th ed.)
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Strategy description: Using the pictures and illustrations to retell the story. Especially useful for
ESL students, show only the pictures in the book and first model how to retell the story by
looking at the pictures. Then students can take a turn retelling the story using the pictures. This
can lead to retelling the story without the pictures.
Placement in unit: at the end of the unit or when students are finished reading the book.
Technology component: For ESL students: they can read the book together in a small group on
the smartboard. They can also listen to the story being read aloud using the smartboard.
Strategy Name: Story maps
Citation: Gunning, T. (2013). Creating literacy instruction for all students (8th ed.)
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Strategy description: This is a form of a graphic organizer to help students retell the sequence
and key elements in the story such as beginning, middle and end. The students will receive a
printed story map that includes three boxes, one for beginning part of the story, one for middle
part and one for end part. The students then write in each box a few sentences of what they
think happened. Those students that are struggling writers can use illustrations as well as
sentences to fill out the story map.
Placement in unit: near the end of the unit
Technology component: Smart board: especially for ESL students: they can create a story board
together with a teacher on the smartboard using a story map template.