Third Grade Writing Curriculum

Imagine one No Prep Bundle that consists of everything you need to teach Quarter 1 Personal Narrative Writing, Quarter 2 Informative Writing and Quarter 3 Opinion Writing? Imagine the time you will save! Included are: step by step teacher notes for writing lessons, fun writing prompts, editing checklist, types of writing posters and more! This is a Year Long Writing Bundle ideal for writing centers, writer’s workshop, early finisher activities and homework!

I created this bundle because each year, there would be a group of reluctant writers, students who experienced writer’s block and struggled with starting a set writing task. It’s refreshing to see what how a different approach can make a world of difference to students’ writing skills and their confidence.

Third Grade Writing Curriculum

This Year Long Bundle is common core standards aligned and consists of the following 3 Writing Units:

• Quarter 1: Personal Narratives
• Quarter 2: Informational Writing
• Quarter 3: Opinion Writing

What is included in each writing unit:

1. Quarter 1 Writing Unit: Personal Narrative Writing Prompts with Word Bank, Transition Words & 5W Boxes      (for self-edting):

• How to Teach Recount Writing
• Step by Step Teacher Notes
• My Weekend Outing
• Extra-lined Template
• A Time I Felt Proud
• Extra-lined Template
• A Trip to The Zoo
• Extra-lined Template
• A Day at The Park
• Extra-lined Template
• A Day with a Pet
• Extra-lined Template
• A Dream I Remember
• Extra-lined Template
• Helping Others
• Extra-lined Template
• My First Day of School Memory
• Extra-lined Template
• My Beach Adventure
• Extra-lined Template
• My Birthday Celebration
• Extra-lined Template
• My Favorite Holiday
• Extra-lined Template
• My Favorite Movie
• Extra-lined Template
• My Favorite Book
• Extra-lined Template
• A Dream I Remember
• Extra-lined Template
• Our Class Field Day
• Extra-lined Template
• All About Father’s Day
• Extra-lined Template
• All About Mother’s Day
• Extra-lined Template
• My Field Day Trip
• Extra-lined Template
• St Patrick’s Day Celebration
• Extra-lined Template
• My Best School Day Ever
• Extra-lined Template
• My Fun Baking Day
• Extra-lined Template
• A Visit to the Dentist
• Extra-lined Template
• A Visit to the Doctor
• Extra-lined Template
• My Dream Garden
• Extra-lined Template
• My Shopping Adventure
• Extra-lined Template
• A Fishing Day Adventure
• Extra-lined Template
• Cinco De Mayo Celebrations
• Extra-lined Template
• My Favorite Part of Easter
• Extra-lined Template
• What I Like About Valentine’s Day
• Extra-lined Template
• My Favorite Book (US)
• My Favourite Book (UK)
• Extra-lined Template

2. Quarter 2: Informative Writing Graphic Organizers – Animal Research Project:

• How to Teach Informative Writing
• Step-by-Step Teacher Notes
• ‘All About Tigers Activity Book’ (front cover page)
• Digital Video Link
• Recall Fun Facts
• Information Bubble Map
• Venn Diagram (Compare/Contrast 2 animals)
• Tiger Report Template (habitats, food, predators, protection)
• Draw and Label A Tiger’s Habitat
• My Information Report
• Writing Activity: Everything I Know About Tigers
• Design A Book Cover
• Can Tigers Be Kept As Pets?
• Should Tigers Be Kept In Zoos?
• Tiger Craftivity (b/w) – Retell fun facts with a stick puppet
• Tiger Craftivity (color) – Retell fun facts with a stick puppet
• Extra-lined writing paper for differentiation

3. Quarter 3: Opinion Writing Prompts with Embedded Self-Editing Checklist:

• Each School Should Have a Pet
• Books Are Better Than Technology
• All Junk Food Should Be Banned
• Social Media Is Bad For You
• Basketball Is The Best Sport
• Writing is Better Than Drawing
• Vanilla Ice-Cream Is The Best Flavor (US)
• Vanilla Ice-Cream Is The Best Flavour (UK)
• Fishing Should Be Banned
• Lollipops Should Be Free
• Every School Should Have a Pool
• Summer Is The Best Season
• Strawberries Are The Best Fruit
• Pigs Don’t Make Good Pets
• Cell Phones Should Be Banned (US)
• Mobile Phones Should Be Banned (UK)
• Cats Make Better Pets Than Dogs
• Animals Should Not Be Kept In Zoos
• School Should Be On Weekends Only
• Math is Better Than English
• English is Better Than Math
• Watching Movies Is Better Than Reading
• Blank Writing Template
• My Planning Sheet (Version 1)
• My Planning Sheet (Version 2)
• Extra lined paper for differentiation purposes
• A list of persuasive picture books to use as a ‘hook’

4. Speaking & Listening Schedule – 10 Weeks:

• Weekly persuasive topics for students to prepare and deliver an oral presentation

5. Six Opinion Writing Posters:

• Use Present Tense
• Use Emotive Words
• Use Powerful Verbs
• Use Connectives
• Use Convincing Words
• Use Alliteration

Third Grade Writing Curriculum

How to use this writing resource step-by-step:

1. Introduction –

• Explain the purpose and features of personal recounts.
• Share examples of personal recounts

2. Brainstorming –

• Discuss possible topics from students’ own experiences.
• Use graphic organizers (e.g., story maps) to outline the event

3. Planning –

• Teach students to organize their recounts into a clear sequence: ori
• Discuss the importance of using the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why)

4. Drafting –

• Guide students in writing their first draft, focusing on sequencing their ideas
• Encourage the use of time connectives (first, next, then, finally)

5. Revising –

• Help students descriptive details and improving sentence structure.
• Remind students to add further detail in their writing by including adjectives
• Encourage students to reread their writing if they experience ‘writer’s block’ to help generate ideas or flow of writing

5. Editing –

• Remind students that editing is a big part of the writing process
• Focus on checking for spelling, grammar and punctuation accuracy
• Have students self-edit and other times, peer-edit

6. Publishing –

• Writing is hard word! Provid students with the opportunity to share their work with a partner, small group or whole class audience
• Publish a class book! Collate all writing pieces and create a book for Open Day or place in the class library for students to read during Silent Reading
• Display students’ writing on an ‘Class Authors & Illustrators Bulletin Board’

Why this core-aligned bundle is an important part of the Writing Curriculum:

It is core-aligned and the writing prompts are a fundamental part of teaching writing, because they provide students with a structured, scaffolded and supported way to develop their writing skills in the different writing genres. This bundle has been created to:

1. Encourage Creativity: by sparking students’ imaginations and inspiring them to write about topics that they might not have considered on their own. This helps students develop their creativity skills and generate innovative ideas.
2. Build Writer Confidence: Writing can be a challenging task for students, and many may feel overwhelmed when faced with a blank page. Writing prompts provide a specific starting point and a clear goal, which frees cognitive overload so that students can focus on the actual writing process.
3. Develop Writing Skills: These writing prompts help students focus develop skills in sequencing events, sentence structure and topic-specific vocabulary.
4. Assess Student Progress: These writing prompts can also be used as an assessment tool to assess student progress and identify areas where individual students may need extra support.

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