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

Claims, Stories and Responses

Back up a claim, tell a story with detail and order, and respond in creative ways.

What your child practices

Your child picks claims, reasons and evidence and a fitting conclusion, then the parts of a strong story (a hook, dialogue, descriptive details, showing feelings, order words and an ending) and creative ways to respond to a text.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 3W1; 3W3; 3W4 · claims with reasons and evidence, story techniques, details and event order, and creative responses to texts

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A claim is what you think. Back it up with reasons and evidence.
  2. A strong story has a hook, details, dialogue and a clear order.
  3. Order words like first, after that and in the end help readers follow.

Example: Which sentence uses a descriptive detail: “We crossed a bridge.” or “The old wooden bridge creaked under our feet.”? Descriptive details help you see and hear. Old, wooden and creaked add detail. Answer: The old wooden bridge creaked under our feet.

Claims, Stories and Responses in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 21 of 21 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Pictures, Features and Points of View.

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

    Which opening sentence would hook a reader?

    • I will tell you about a garden.
    • Nobody believed me when I said there was a giant in the garden.
    • This is a story.
    • Gardens have plants.

  2. Question 2

    Which time-order words show a clear event sequence?

    • Red, Blue, Green
    • Because, If, Or
    • In the end, First, After that
    • First, After that, In the end

  3. Question 3

    Which sentence states a claim?

    • Some schools are big.
    • A garden has plants.
    • Our school has two floors.
    • Our school should have a garden.

  4. Question 4

    After reading a fable about a greedy dog, which is a creative response?

    • writing a short play with a new animal who learns the same lesson
    • listing the author's address
    • counting the pages
    • copying the title

  5. Question 5

    Claim: “Our class needs a pet fish.” Which is the best evidence?

    • Fish are orange.
    • The class has 24 desks.
    • Caring for a pet teaches responsibility, and fish are easy to feed.
    • My uncle has a boat.

  6. Question 6

    Which sentence connects a reason to a claim most clearly?

    • Trees are green.
    • Our town should plant trees because trees give shade and clean the air.
    • Our town should plant trees.
    • Shade is nice.

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