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3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 13

Reading Patterns

Cause, order, point of view and the index

What your child practices

Spotting cause and effect and order of importance, deciding who is telling a story, making inferences from clues, and using an index.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 3.1.4.4; 3.1.5.2 · cause and effect, order and other ways informational texts are organized

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Cause is why something happens. Effect is what happens.
  2. If the narrator says I or we, they are in the story. If they say he, she or they, they are outside it.
  3. An index at the back lists topics in ABC order with page numbers.

Example: A story says, “She opened the door and gasped.” Who is telling it? The narrator says “she,” not “I.” So the teller is not a character. Answer: someone outside the story

Reading Patterns in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 11 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Grammar Gears and before Wonder & Find Out.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What is an index used for?

    • to tell you who wrote the book
    • to find the page where a topic is
    • to show the story's ending

  2. Question 2

    An index lists topics in alphabetical order. Which of these would come first?

    • Lynx
    • Caribou
    • Beavers

  3. Question 3

    Why do leaves lose their green color in autumn?

    Why Leaves Change Color

    Leaves are green because they hold a green material that helps the tree make food.

    In autumn the days get shorter, so the tree makes less of this green material. As the green fades, the yellow and orange colors that were hiding in the leaf can be seen.

    Soon the leaves drop, and the tree rests through the winter.

    • The leaves get too much rain.
    • The wind paints them.
    • The tree makes less of the green material.

  4. Question 4

    Which topic is on page 31?

    Index
    TopicPage
    Ants28
    Caribou31
    Eagles4
    Lynx36
    Wolves17
    • Eagles
    • Caribou
    • Ants

  5. Question 5

    Which tip does the writer say is most important?

    Staying Safe on Your Bike

    Most important of all, always wear a helmet. It protects your head if you fall.

    Also, ride on the right-hand side of the road and stop at stop signs.

    Finally, a bell or bright clothes help other people see and hear you.

    • wearing bright clothes
    • ringing a bell
    • wearing a helmet

  6. Question 6

    What happens after the green fades?

    Why Leaves Change Color

    Leaves are green because they hold a green material that helps the tree make food.

    In autumn the days get shorter, so the tree makes less of this green material. As the green fades, the yellow and orange colors that were hiding in the leaf can be seen.

    Soon the leaves drop, and the tree rests through the winter.

    • The tree grows new leaves.
    • The tree makes more food.
    • Yellow and orange colors can be seen.

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