Knowledge focus: How we learn about Earth and its neighbors
READING TOOLKIT
What to know
Key words and charts organize facts and make relationships visible.
Find the central idea, then keep only relevant details for a summary.
Personification gives human actions or feelings to nonhuman things.
Compare an informational explanation with a legend by noticing purpose, evidence, and genre.
ORIGINAL MINI-TEXT
Read, mark, and think
Scientists learn about Mars with telescopes, orbiters, and rovers. Telescopes collect light from far away. Orbiters circle Mars and photograph wide areas. Rovers travel across the surface and test rocks. Each tool supplies a different kind of evidence, so scientists combine their findings.
💡
Try this thinking path
Use the heading and repeated key words to predict the central idea. Verify it with two details, then summarize without minor facts.
Knowledge focus: What makes different animals unique
READING TOOLKIT
What to know
A folktale is a traditional story passed through a culture, often with a lesson and patterned events.
Character choices and consequences reveal theme and perspective.
Visualizing means forming a mental picture from precise words and sensory details.
Compare-and-contrast exposition shows similarities and differences using signal words.
ORIGINAL MINI-TEXT
Read, mark, and think
Turtle bragged that his shell made him the bravest animal by the river. When a storm came, he hid beneath a log and heard tiny Wren calling warnings to every nest. Afterward Turtle said, ‘A shield can guard one back, but courage can guard a whole community.’ From then on, he listened before he boasted.
💡
Try this thinking path
In the folktale, trace the choice and consequence to infer the lesson. In nonfiction, sort facts into alike and different.
Knowledge focus: What makes historical events unique
READING TOOLKIT
What to know
A timeline displays events in chronological order and captions explain images.
Chronology answers what happened and when; cause and effect explains why it happened and what followed.
An author’s purpose may be to explain, inform, compare, or persuade.
A strong summary states the central idea and the most relevant events in order.
ORIGINAL MINI-TEXT
Read, mark, and think
In 1903, the Wright brothers tested a powered airplane in North Carolina. Their first flight lasted only seconds, but it proved controlled powered flight was possible. Engineers studied and improved the design. Over time, airplanes changed how quickly people, mail, and goods could cross long distances.
💡
Try this thinking path
Use dates and time-order words to build a sequence. Then explain why the author included each event and omit details that do not affect the main idea.
ELA.3.R.2.1–ELA.3.R.2.3 · ELA.3.R.3.1–ELA.3.R.3.2Earth and Its NeighborsExpository TextELA.3.R.1.2–ELA.3.R.1.3 · ELA.3.R.2.1 · ELA.3.R.3.3Animals in Folktales and FactFolktaleELA.3.R.2.1–ELA.3.R.2.3 · ELA.3.R.3.2Events That Changed HistoryExpository Text