Language Arts

Grade 3: Writing	Planning: Term # Tracking: Ach. Level
Overall Expectations	1	2	3	4
1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;
2. draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
3. use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;
4. reflect on and identify their strengths as writers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful at different stages in the writing process.
Specific Expectations
1. Developing and Organizing
Purpose and Audience: 1.1 identify the topic, purpose, audience, and form for writing (e.g., an original fable, modelled on the structures and conventions of fables read, to entertain the class; a scientific explanation demonstrating how some common levers make work easier, for a peer group; a labelled map with a legend identifying the key components of an early settlement in Upper Canada, to accompany a small-group project). Teacher prompts: "What is your writing about?" "Why are you writing?" "Whom are you writing for?"
Developing Ideas: 1.2 generate ideas about a potential topic, using a variety of strategies and resources (e.g., formulate and ask questions to identify personal experiences, prior knowledge, and information needs and to guide searches for information; brainstorm and record ideas on the topic)
Research: 1.3 gather information to support ideas for writing in a variety of ways and/or from a variety of sources (e.g., from discussions with family and friends; from teacher read-alouds, mentor texts, shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts, and media texts)
Classifying Ideas: 1.4 sort ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways (e.g., by using graphs, charts, webs, outlines, or lists)
Organizing Ideas: 1.5 identify and order main ideas and supporting details into units that could be used to develop a short, simple paragraph, using graphic organizers (e.g., a story grammar, a T-chart, a paragraph frame) and organizational patterns (e.g., comparison, chronological order)
Review: 1.6 determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and gather new material if necessary (e.g., discuss the content with a peer or reading buddy; review material using a story map or web)
2. Using Knowledge of Form and Style in Writing
Form: 2.1 write short texts using a variety of forms (e.g., a personal or factual recount of events or experiences that includes photographs or drawings and captions; a report comparing transportation in urban and rural communities; a paragraph explaining how physical geography and natural resources affected the development of early settler communities; a letter from the point of view of a settler, describing how First Nations people have taught the settlers to adapt to their new environment; a familiar story told from a new perspective; a patterned poem using rhyme or repetition)
Voice: 2.2 establish a personal voice in their writing, with a focus on using concrete words and images to convey their attitude or feeling towards the subject or audience (e.g., words used literally or figuratively to communicate intensity of feeling: a shiver of excitement; hot anger)
Word Choice: 2.3 use words and phrases that will help convey their meaning as specifically as possible (e.g., comparative adjectives such as smaller, smallest; adverbs)
Sentence Fluency: 2.4 vary sentence structures and maintain continuity by using joining words (e.g., and, or) to combine simple sentences and using words that indicate time and sequence to link sentences (e.g., first, then, next, before, finally, later)
Point of View: 2.5 identify their point of view and other possible points of view on the topic, and determine if their information supports their own view. Teacher prompt: "What supporting details have you included for your point of view? Would this point of view be accepted by others? Why, or why not?"
Preparing for Revision: 2.6 identify elements of their writing that need improvement, using feedback from the teacher and peers, with a focus on specific features (e.g., a strong opening or "lead"; the clarity of the main idea). Teacher prompts: "Can you think of another way you might get the attention of your audience at the beginning?" "Have you provided enough detail to support your main idea?"
Revision: 2.7 make revisions to improve the content, clarity, and interest of their written work, using several types of strategies (e.g., reordering sentences, removing repetition or unnecessary information, adding material needed to clarify meaning, adding or substituting words to increase interest, adding linking words or phrases to highlight connections between ideas, using gender-neutral language as appropriate). Teacher prompts: "What similar words or phrases could you use instead of...?" "What time order words might help clarify the sequence of events in your story?"
Producing Drafts: 2.8 produce revised, draft pieces of writing to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to content, organization, style, and use of conventions
3. Applying Knowledge of Language Conventions and Presenting Written Work Effectively
Spelling Familiar Words: 3.1 spell familiar words correctly (e.g., words from their oral vocabulary, anchor charts, the class word wall, and shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts)
Spelling Unfamiliar Words: 3.2 spell unfamiliar words using a variety of strategies that involve understanding sound-symbol relationships, word structures, word meanings, and generalizations about spelling (e.g., pronounce a word as it is spelled: Wed-nes-day; make analogies to rhyming words; apply knowledge of short-vowel and long-vowel patterns; cluster words by visual similarities; follow rules for changing base words when adding common endings: hope/hoping, slam/slammed; use memory aids such as visualization)
Vocabulary: 3.3 confirm spellings and word meanings or word choice using several different types of resources (e.g., locate words in an alphabetized personal word book or dictionary using first, second, third, and fourth letters, entry words, or pronunciation; use a variety of dictionaries, such as a rhyming dictionary or a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms; use a thesaurus to find alternative words)
Punctuation: 3.4 use punctuation to help communicate their intended meaning, with a focus on the use of: quotation marks to indicate direct speech; commas to mark grammatical boundaries within sentences; capital letters and final punctuation to mark the beginning and end of sentences
Grammar: 3.5 use parts of speech appropriately to communicate their meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of: proper nouns for titles (e.g., of businesses, teams); the possessive pronouns my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its; action verbs in the present and simple past tenses; adjectives and adverbs; question words (e.g., when, where, why, how)
Proofreading: 3.6 proofread and correct their writing using guidelines developed with peers and the teacher (e.g., a checklist modified in a teacher-student conference to support individual writing strengths and indicate next steps; a posted class writing guideline)
Publishing: 3.7 use some appropriate elements of effective presentation in the finished product, including print, script, different fonts, graphics, and layout (e.g., use legible printing and some cursive writing; use different font sizes and colours on a poster to attract attention; use proper paragraph form including spacing and margins; supply captions for photographs)
Producing Finished Works: 3.8 produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to content, organization, style, use of conventions, and use of presentation strategies
4. Reflecting on Writing Skills and Strategies
Metacognition: 4.1 identify what strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after writing and what steps they can take to improve as writers (e.g., use a writer's notebook to record ideas, sources for future reference, and useful types of organizers for sorting information). Teacher prompts: "How does your writer's notebook help you generate ideas for writing?" "How did you choose the resources you used? How were they helpful?" "What strategy did you use to organize your information before you began writing?"
Interconnected Skills: 4.2 describe, with prompting by the teacher, how some of their skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing, and representing help in their development as writers. Teacher prompts: "How does what you know about reading help you when you are writing?" "How does listening to or viewing different kinds of texts help you generate ideas for writing?"
Portfolio: 4.3 select pieces of writing that they think show their best work and explain the reasons for their selection

Expectations: Copyright The Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2006.  Format: Copyright B.Phillips, 1998.