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3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 20 of 21

Pictures, Features and Points of View

What pictures and features add, your view and the author's, and school or friendly talk.

What your child practices

Your child explains what illustrations, diagrams, maps, timelines and captions add to the words, notices when their own view differs from the author's, narrator's or a character's, and tells casual talk from the clearer language used in school writing.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 3R6; 3R7; 3L3 · how illustrations and text features add meaning, comparing a reader's view with an author's or character's, and conversational versus academic English

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Pictures, maps, diagrams and captions add information to the words.
  2. Your view can be different from the author’s, the narrator’s or a character’s.
  3. Use clear school language for talks and writing, and casual talk with friends.

Example: Which is the school way to say “The plant got bigger”? School language uses exact words. “Grew taller” says exactly what happened. Answer: The plant grew taller.

Pictures, Features and Points of View in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 20 of 21 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Kinds of Texts and before Claims, Stories and Responses.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    A text has a timeline of a frog's life. Which question does it help answer?

    • Where is the nearest pond?
    • What does a frog sound like?
    • When does each change happen?
    • Who is the author?

  2. Question 2

    A story says the forest was “peaceful.” The picture shows soft sunlight and sleeping deer. What does the picture add?

    • It helps you feel the calm mood.
    • It tells you the ending.
    • It shows the author's name.
    • It shows the story is about a city.

  3. Question 3

    In a story, the character Mo thinks thunderstorms are exciting. You think storms are scary. What is true?

    • You must feel what Mo feels.
    • Mo is wrong.
    • You read the story wrong.
    • A reader can feel differently than a character.

  4. Question 4

    Which sentence sounds like friendly talk with a friend?

    • I would like to invite you to my home.
    • The meeting will begin at noon.
    • Please find the report attached.
    • Hey, wanna come over?

  5. Question 5

    The narrator says, “Broccoli is the worst food ever!” You love broccoli. What does this show?

    • Broccoli is in every story.
    • Your point of view is different from the narrator's.
    • The narrator is the author.
    • You and the narrator agree.

  6. Question 6

    Your friend says, “Gonna grab a snack.” How would you write that in a story's narration for school?

    • Snack time, yo.
    • Grabbin' a snack, k?
    • I am going to get a snack.
    • Gonna grab a snack.

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