A Comprehensive Unit on Writing Realistic Fiction - Fully Aligned with Common Core Standards
Develop characters and a setting for a realistic fiction story, create puppets and design a poster to represent them, complete a story map and write a draft using dialogue and sequence words, learn the review and edit process before writing a realistic fiction story, and turning it into a puppet show to present to the class!
Your 3rd grade students will develop their fiction writing skills in this ELA project-based learning unit, building an understanding of realistic fiction with examples from books. They will create puppets and design posters to represent the characters and settings they create for their own stories. They will master the revising and editing process before creating puppet shows using their realistic fiction stories.
What's Inside
Packed with hands-on inquiry-based activities, extensions and enhancements, cross-curricular independent and group work, and engaging and interactive challenges, this 57-page project-based unit comes complete with:
- For the Teacher: A complete Realistic Fiction Lesson Plan with step-by-step instructions for all activities, teaching tips, assessment guidance, and inquiry questions.
- For Students: A full-color Student Pack complete with all of the printables, slides, photos, and instructions students need for the research, experiments and activities - just print (or share) and teach!
A complete, ready-to-teach Teacher Pack that includes:
- Teacher versions of all the student printables with step-by-step annotations and notes for teaching informational writing;
- Formative and summative assessments, answer keys, and a full project rubric;
- Instructions and guidance for the extension activities and project enhancements;
- Materials and resources lists, links to videos, reading lists, plus additional resources for lecture and presentation.
What's Included
Lesson Plan - Step-by-Step Project Teaching Guide
Milestone 1: Writing About Characters
Milestone 2: Creating a Setting
Milestone 3: Writing a Rough Draft
Milestone 4: Revising, Editing, and Publishing Realistic Fiction Stories
Milestone 5: Puppet Show Presentations
Teacher and Student Resources
Materials Needed for the Projects in this Unit
Realistic Fiction Books
Realistic Fiction Video Answer Key
Sample Getting to Know Your Characters
What’s the Setting? Answer Key
Sample Getting to Know Your Setting
Rules for Using Dialogue
Sequence Words for Writing
Sample Realistic Fiction Rough Draft
Realistic Fiction Quick Quiz
Realistic Fiction Quick Quiz Answer Key
Baking Disaster Answer Key
Realistic Fiction Summative Assessment
Realistic Fiction Summative Assessment Answer Key
Realistic Fiction Project Rubric
Realistic Fiction Reflection
Realistic Fiction Video
Realistic Fiction Project Guidelines
Getting to Know Your Characters
Milestone #1 Inquiry Question
What’s the Setting?
Getting to Know Your Setting
Milestone #2 Inquiry Question
Story Map
Realistic Fiction Rough Draft
Milestone #3 Inquiry Question
Baking Disaster
Revising and Editing Checklist
Milestone #4 Inquiry Question
Realistic Fiction Story Parts
Milestone #5 Inquiry Question
OVERVIEW:
This project-based learning lesson is designed to support and reinforce the concepts taught as part of an ELA lesson or unit on realistic fiction. It is built around 5 inquiry-based milestones that incorporate cross-curricular hands-on projects, formative and summative assessments, independent and group activities, and extensions.
STUDENT/GROUP OUTPUT:
In the course of this project-based learning unit, students will:
Build background knowledge about realistic fiction and create characters and a setting for their own stories;
Create puppets to represent their characters and design a poster of the setting;
Review, revise, edit, and publish their realistic fiction story;
Create a puppet show based on their realistic fiction story and perform it to the class.
SUGGESTED SUBJECT PREREQUISITES:
Students will acquire necessary background knowledge of realistic fiction as part of this project, and instructional materials for providing that background are included in the Teacher Pack.
SEQUENCE AND PACING:
This project-based unit is divided into 5 milestones. The minimum suggested duration for completing this project-based unit is 5 class periods. However, the unit is completely flexible and can be lengthened or shortened as necessary or desired, based on available class time and interest level.
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES (suggested):
Internet access
STANDARDS ALIGNMENT:
These activities support the following Common Core State Standards for 3rd grade
MILESTONE #1
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.A - Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
MILESTONE #2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.A - Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
MILESTONE #3
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.B - Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.C - Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.D - Provide a sense of closure.
MILESTONE #4
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.5 - With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.6 - With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.2 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
MILESTONE #5
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.4 - Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
