In this lesson, students will be determining the central idea of a text about the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. They will also examine how quotes help to develop a central idea. Next, they will be writing an objective summary. Students will then research information from NASA about becoming an astronaut, as well as quotes that support why someone should become an astronaut. Finally, students will plan and write an argumentative essay about why someone should apply to become an astronaut using claims, evidence, and commentary. 

In this lesson, students will be determining the central idea of a text about the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. They will also examine how quotes help to develop a central idea. Next, they will be writing an objective summary. Students will then research information from NASA about becoming an astronaut, as well as quotes that support why someone should become an astronaut. Finally, students will plan and write an argumentative essay about why someone should apply to become an astronaut using claims, evidence, and commentary. To enhance this lesson with a digital focus, instead of the traditional essay format in the origial plan, students can be given the choice of several digital mediums to present their findings. This digital foucs allows for student choice, selection and/or creation of visuals to support student thinking and arguments, and customization of content for the stuent's specific audience. 

In this lesson from Expeditionary Learning, students will ask and answer questions about My Librarian Is a Camel by Margariet Ruurs. They will learn how to effectively participate in conversations with peers and adults. Students will engage in Think-Pair-Share and Carousel protocols to begin addressing details they see in photographs. This will help guide them as they draw details from exemplar texts. This is Lesson 1 of 11 from the unit Grade 3 Curriculum Map Unit 1, Module 1: http://engageny.org/resource/grade-3-ela-module-1-unit-1 .