The third-grade units of study take into account that many third-graders are writing on full sheets of notebook paper and in writers notebooks for the first time.


The opening unit, Crafting True Stories, extends students' work with personal narrative while engaging them more fully in the complete writing process, with increasing emphasis on drafting and revising their work.


In the second unit, The Art of Information Writing, youngsters write chapter books that synthesise a wide variety of information and learn to section their topics into subtopics. They are supported in this challenging work because they are writing about topics on which they have firsthand, personal knowledge: dogs, soccer, gymnastics.


Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches, Petitions, and Editorials rallies third-graders to use their newfound abilities to gather and organize information to persuade people about causes the children believe matter: stopping bullying, recycling, saving dogs at the SPCA.


The final unit in third grade, Once Upon a Time: Adapting and Writing Fairy Tales, uses familiar fairy tales to explore techniques of fiction writing such as writing in scenes, employing an omniscient narrator to orient readers, using story structure to create tension, and crafting figurative language to convey mood.


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