Describe Character Actions in

Order
Third Grade Reading, ESL

by Caitlin Hardeman July 27, 2018

Use this lesson to teach your students to describe the characters' actions using the basic sentence structure of
subject + verb + object. This lesson can stand alone or be used as a pre-lesson for the How Do You Solve a
Problem? lesson.

Objectives

Objectives

Academic

Students will be able to identify the problem, solution, and how the characters try to solve the problem.

Language

Students will be able to describe character actions in sequential order with sentence structure using strategic
partnerships.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Class set of the It's Grammar Time: Subject + TIER 1

Verb + Object worksheet
Class set of the Describe Character Actions with assured: Caused someone to feel certain and sure
Subjects, Verbs, and Objects worksheet about something.
Teacher copy of the Teach Background
Knowledge Template worksheet concerned: Worried.
Teacher copy of the Write Student-Facing
Language Objectives Reference worksheet towed: Pulled along behind something else with a
Class set of Vocabulary Cards rope or chain.
Class set of the Glossary
vehicle: A thing used to carry and move people or
Access to a (digital) thesaurus for each student
things.
Class set of higlighters (optional)
TIER 2

action: Something that is done for a specific purpose.

issues: Problems.

TIER 3

object: A noun or noun phrase that is affected by the

action of a verb in a sentence.

subject: A noun or noun phrase that is one of the

main parts of a sentence. The subject performs the
action of the verb.

verb: A word that expresses an action or a state of

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being.

Attachments

Teach Background Knowledge Template (PDF)

Write Student-Facing Language Objectives Reference (PDF)
Describe Character Actions with Subjects, Verbs, and Objects (PDF)
Vocabulary Cards: Describe Character Actions in Order (PDF)
Glossary: Describe Character Actions in Order (PDF)
It’s Grammar Time: Subject + Verb + Object (PDF)

Introduction (2 minutes)

Engage students by asking them about what they like to do. Record the verbs they use on the board.
Explain that a verb is the word used to express an action. We are constantly in action or a state of being,
so there are many different verbs that could be used to describe us in a single day.
Tell the class that today's lesson will be about describing what characters do in stories.

Building Academic Language

Word (8 minutes)

Give each student a set of Vocabulary Cards and call on volunteers to read aloud the information on each
card. Offer additional explanation, as needed. With the word subject, model turning the Vocabulary Card
over and writing an example on the back (e.g., main character).
Instruct students to work with a partner to write an example of each word on the back of each Vocabulary
Card. Have partners share out with the class.
Distribute a Glossary to each student and instruct them to label the last column as Synonym. Model
looking for a synonym for the word subject (e.g., topic), using a thesaurus or a digital format.
Give students time to work in their partnerships to add synonyms for each word. Share out as a class and
record the best student answers on the teacher copy of the Glossary. Utilize this for the remainder of the
lesson, as needed.

Sentence (8 minutes)

Tell students that there is a simple sentence structure to use when describing characters' actions. When
we use the subject + verb + object format, we can describe what the character does in the story.
Distribute a copy of the It's Grammar Time: Subject + Verb + Object worksheet and review the key terms
at the top. Read aloud the example sentence and point out the subject, verb, and object.
Explain that students will look at the bank of words and phrases and choose from each of the rows and
columns in order to create sentences. Model completing the first one on the worksheet for them, and
then read the sentence aloud to show them how to self-check if the word order and context make sense.
Engage the class in guiding you through the second example. Ask prompting questions, such as, "Do
these words and phrases go together and make sense?"
Place students into partnerships and instruct them to complete the rest of the first part of the worksheet.
Note: They should not complete the bottom section of the worksheet, as this will be used for the
Formative Assessment.
Call on nonvolunteers to share their new sentences and have the rest of the class offer a thumbs up or
thumbs down if they agree/disagree.

Discourse (15 minutes)

Give each student a copy of the Describe Character Actions with Subjects, Verbs, and Objects worksheet
and review the information at the top.
Read aloud the passage, and guide students through identifying the character's actions. Allow them to
use highlighters or simply underline the action in the passage.

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 Model how to create a sentence about the main character's first important action in the story. Go back to
the passage to see what is underlined, and then create a sentence. Read aloud the sentence to ensure
that the words are in order and that the context is correct.
Instruct students to work in partnerships to complete the second and third sentences with the main
character's important actions. Remind them to put the actions in the correct order.
Call on nonvolunteers to share their sentences with the class. Provide feedback as needed.

Additional EL adaptations

BEGINNING

Allow access to reference materials in home language (L1).

Have learners repeat instructions and key vocabulary to the teacher.
Put students into partnerships with sympathetic peers or students with the same L1.

ADVANCED

Allow learners to utilize glossaries and dictionaries for unfamiliar words.

Choose advanced ELs to share their ideas first in group and class discussions.
Have learners repeat instructions and key vocabulary, summarizing important information for the class.

Formative Assessment of Academic Language (4 minutes)

Instruct students to complete the sentence at the bottom of the It's Grammar Time: Subject + Verb +
Object worksheet.

Review and closing (3 minutes)

Have students share their sentences from the bottom of the It's Grammar Time: Subject + Verb + Object
worksheet with a partner. Then, call on nonvolunteers to share with the class.
Remind the class that we learn a lot by looking at the character actions in a story, as well as paying
attention to the sequence of the actions. The character's actions help to tell about the problem, important
events, and the solution in a story.

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 Teach Background Knowledge
Lesson Topic:
Choose a topic from the main content
lesson that will help ELs understand the
main content lesson. Your non-ELs will
already have knowledge about this topic.

Total Lesson Time:

(20 - 30 minutes)

Student-Facing Language
Objective:
Example: I can learn new vocabulary
using pictures and sentence frames.

Student ELP Level(s):

Consider each student’s ELP level and
their academic strengths when choosing
scaffolds for the lesson.

Groupings (pairs, small-groups, a teacher-led group)

Potential Scaffolds:
Choose some of these material supports
and instructional scaffolds based on each
EL’s individual strengths and needs.
Word banks, word wall, and bilingual glossaries
Sentence frames, sentence stems, and paragraph frames
Home language materials
Reduced linguistic load, repetition, rephrasing and modeling
Practice new academic skills with familiar topics

Materials & Resources List

List the materials you’ll use in the lesson.

Key Vocabulary Words (5-8 words)

List the words with student-friendly
definitions in English. Provide
definitions in student’s home language
when appropriate.

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Introduction
Access EL’s prior knowledge about the
lesson topic with a brief comprehension
check.

Potential activities:
Creating captions for images
Opinionnaires
Carousel brainstorming
Conversations with sentence starters
Time estimate for Introduction
(3 - 5 minutes)

Explicit Instruction of
Background Knowledge
Model a learning activity that embeds
the teaching of academic language and
background knowledge.

Potential activities:
Lunch brunch discussion
Teacher-created, adjusted text and
questions
Brief videos or visuals
Text-based instruction
Home-language connections
Pre-teach a small number of
vocabulary words
Show real-world objects
Complete word family or bilingual
glossaries
Word walls or word bank creation

Time Estimate for Explicit Instruction

(4 - 6 minutes)

Guided Practice
Provide an opportunity for students (in
pairs or small groups) to practice the skill
or information taught during Explicit
Instruction, offering appropriate
scaffolds as needed.

Time Estimate for Guided Practice

(5 - 7 minutes)

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 Formative Assessment
Ask students to show comprehension of
new background knowledge and
associated skills through an oral or
written task. Provide appropriate
scaffolds dependent on their ELP level.

Potential assessments:
Act out concepts
Hands on tasks
Drawings, models, or graphs
Graphic organizer completion
Captions of images
Reading response or content
area logs
Retellings
Role plays
Audio or video recordings
Oral interviews

Time estimate for Assessment

(5 - 7 minutes)

Review and Closing

Refer to the student objective and relate
information to future lessons. Allow
students to share thoughts about
whether they reached their objective
and/or mention lingering questions.
Provide sentence stems or frames for their
discussion.

Time estimate for Review and Closing

(3 - 5 minutes)

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 Write Student-Facing Language Objectives
A student-facing language objective: A teacher-facing language objective:
begins with “I can...” begins with “Students will be able to...”
is designed to raise students' self-awareness of and is designed to raise students' self-awareness of and
promote their language development. promote their language development.
incorporates a language function, grammar structure, and incorporates a language function, grammar structure, and
supports or scaffolds. supports or scaffolds.
is easy to understand for students at all levels of is intended to guide the teacher’s lesson planning
English proficiency. and instruction.

Steps to convert a teacher-facing objective to a student-facing objective:

1. Replace “Students will be able to” with “I can.”
2. Simplify challenging words but maintain key vocabulary words you’ll address in the lesson.

Students will be able to describe a character with adjectives using graphic organizers.
Language Grammar Support/
Function Structure Scaffold

I can talk about a character with adjectives using graphic organizers.

Language Grammar Support/
Function Structure Scaffold

Language Functions Grammar Structures Supports/Scaffolds

locate create identify nouns adverbs graphic organizers sentence starters

show describe infer modals academic vocabulary teacher modeling strategic grouping
sort ask questions interpret verb forms adjectives word banks/walls home language supports
tell brainstorm collect conjunctions phrases
contrast classify compare sentence structure prepositions
pronouns complex sentences
comparatives

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games, lessons
© 2018 & more
Education.com LLC Allat education.com/resources
Rights Reserved
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Name Date

Describe Character Actions with a Subject, Verb, and Object

A simple story structure includes a subject, verb, and object.

• The subject is a noun or noun phrase that is one of the main parts
of the sentence. It performs the action in the sentence.
• The verb is the action or state of being.
• The object is a noun or noun phrase that is affected by the action of the verb.

Example: She kicked the soccer ball.

subject verb object

Directions: Read the passage below and highlight or underline the character’s actions.

Amit is a very talkative student. He likes to talk to anyone who sits near him in the class. One
day, Amit was talking when the teacher handed out the homework. He missed the teacher’s directions.
He put the homework in his folder, and then packed up his things to go home.
He rode the bus to his parents’ store. When he got there, he opened his folder to start his
homework. He felt concerned because the worksheet did not make sense. He must have missed some
important information when he was talking in class.
Amit called his friend on the phone and found out what to do. Maybe next time, he will listen
when the teacher is talking!

Directions: Create three sentences to describe the character’s actions in the order they happened.

1. + + .
subject verb object

New sentence: .

2. + + .
subject verb object

New sentence: .

3. + + .
subject verb object

New sentence: .
 action assured

Something that is done Caused someone to feel certain

for a specific purpose. and sure about something.

concerned issues

Worried. Problems.
 object subject

A noun or noun phrase that is

A noun or noun phrase that is one of the main parts of a
affected by the action of a sentence. The subject performs
verb in a sentence. the action of the verb.

towed vehicle

Pulled along behind something A thing used to carry and

else with a rope or chain. move people or things.
 verb

A word that expresses an

action or a state of being.
 Word Definition Visual

Something that is done

action for a specific purpose.

Caused someone to feel

assured certain and sure
about something.

concerned Worried.

issues Problems.

A noun or noun phrase that

object is affected by the action
of a verb in a sentence.

A noun or noun phrase that

is one of the main parts of a
subject sentence. The subject performs
the action of the verb.
Word Definition Visual

Pulled along behind

towed something else with a
rope or chain.

A thing used to carry and

vehicle move people or things.

A word that expresses an

verb action or a state of being.
Name Date

It’s Grammar Time: Subject + Verb + Object

A simple sentence structure includes a subject, verb, and object.

• The subject is a noun or noun phrase that is one of the main parts
of the sentence. It performs the action in the sentence.
• The verb is the action or state of being.
• The object is a noun or noun phrase that is affected by the action of the verb.

Example: She kicked the soccer ball.

subject verb object

Directions: Choose words and phrases from the chart of subjects, verbs, and objects to create
sentences. After you create each sentence, read it aloud to see that the words are in the correct order.
Subject Verb + Object
Petra and I towed our vehicle to the shop.
My teacher assured me about my grades.
The loud storm had lunch together.
The tow truck concerned the dog.

1. + .
subject verb + object

New sentence: .

2. + .
subject verb + object

New sentence: .

3. + .
subject verb + object

New sentence: .

4. + .
subject verb + object

New sentence: .

Your Turn! Create a sentence below with your own subject, verb, and object.

+ .

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