UbD Unit Plan
Language Arts Writing Stories
Grade 3
Designed by Jacqueline McNeill
UCID: 10107148
Subject: Grade 3 Language Arts
Unit Title: Writing a Compelling Story
Taught by: Ms. McNeill (supervised by Mrs.Olivieri)
If you dont see the story you want on the shelf, write it.
Understandings: Students will understand that
Different kinds of writing
Story beginnings
Meaningful and purposeful detail
How to Show instead of Tell
How to blend together action, dialogue and
description for a main event
How to write a satisfying ending that ties
everything together
Students will know:
How to write a compelling story beginnings
How to show, not tell feelings
How to use purposeful descriptive words to
give detail for important parts of a story
How to create a suspenseful situation in a
story.
How to blend all aspects together for a main
event.
How to use a hope, wish or decision for a
satisfying ending.
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)
STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS
-Beverly Cleary
Essential Questions:
What makes a compelling story?
How do I know what a story is about?
What kinds of story beginnings catch my attention?
What is an exciting main event?
What does a satisfying ending look like?
Students will be able to:
Alberta Education Grade 3 Language Arts Program of Studies
1.1 Clarify and Extend
Express ideas and develop understanding
Express preferences
1.2 Extend understanding
2.1 Use Strategies and Cues
Use prior knowledge
Use comprehension strategies
Use textual cues
Use phonics and structural analysis
2.2 Respond to Texts
Experience various texts
Construct meaning from texts
Appreciate the artistry of texts
2.3 Understand Forms, Elements and Techniques
Understand forms and genres
Understand techniques and elements
2.4 Create Original Text
1
UbD Unit Plan
Language Arts Writing Stories
Grade 3
Designed by Jacqueline McNeill
UCID: 10107148

Elaborate on the expression of ideas

Structure texts
experiment with a variety of story beginnings to choose ones that best
introduce particular stories
add sufficient detail to oral, print and other media texts to tell about
setting and character, and to sustain plot

STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

Performance Tasks: Evidence:

1) Individual lesson activities Lesson 1 Story Beginnings

Formative assessment through: Looking for:
effective questioning Students are able to recognize the different components of story beginnings:
think pair share actions,
observation / anecdotal notes dialogue,
feelings,
Summative assessment: thoughts.
Checklists Assessment: Students make suggestions on what to add or change about a story
beginning based off of the various components. Teacher will assess formatively to
2) Performance Task Story gauge understanding.
Summative assessment through use of rubric.

Lesson 2 Feelings
Looking for:
Students are using accurate descriptive/action words to describe the following
emotions:
happy
sad
afraid/nervous
disgust
anger,
Any others students are able to brainstorm as a class
Assessment: Performance task, accurate descriptive words and depiction of an
emotion.

Lesson 3 Detail (2 classes)

Looking for:
Descriptions that give a picture in our mind. Description/detail is meaningful and
important to story
Assessment: Formative of description understanding, summative through

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 2

UbD Unit Plan
Language Arts Writing Stories
Grade 3
Designed by Jacqueline McNeill
UCID: 10107148

performance task.

Lesson 4 Suspense (Introduction to Performance Task)

Looking for: Word referents, raising story questions, the magic of three
Assessment: Formative through effective questioning and summative through
performance task.

Lesson 5 Main Event

Looking for: Action, description, thoughts/feelings, dialogue
Assessment: Summative through performance task

Lesson 6 Endings
Looking for: a memory, feelings, a wish or hope, and an action
Assessment: Summative through performance task.
Key Criteria:

The Performance Task will be assessed at the end of the unit using the Grade 3 Story Writing Rubric (St. Basil School). Students will have
the opportunity to compare their stories to the ones they wrote about the leprechauns before the beginning of the unit.

STAGE 3 LEARNING PLAN

*Essential Questions will be revisited and act as a pillar throughout these lessons.

Lesson 1 Compelling Beginnings

Goal: For students to recognize and write story beginnings that are lively and interesting enough to make your reader want to keep
reading.
Skills: Being able to recognize and incorporate actions, dialogue, feelings, thoughts.

Lesson 2 Feelings
Goal: For students to understand that detail means to show and not tell. Students should be able to know the difference between
describing important things versus non-important things.
Skills: Students will be able to incorporate meaningful detail in their writing, that relates to the beginning, main event, and ending.

Lesson 3 Detail (2 classes)

Goal:
To understand why detail / description is important to giving us a picture in our mind of what is happening in a story. Understanding that
not everything has to go into great detail. Differentiating what is important and what is not.
Teacher will have set up the Teddy-Bear Crime Scene. Students will write their beginning and feelings inspired by the scene.
Skills: Show, dont Tell

Lesson 4 Suspense / Introduction of Performance Task

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 3

UbD Unit Plan
Language Arts Writing Stories
Grade 3
Designed by Jacqueline McNeill
UCID: 10107148

Goal: To understand that suspense and the feeling it gives you (you want to keep reading). Makes you worry and wonder with the
character. What is going to happen next?!
Skills: Using suspense to raise questions, (you wonder along with the character, the author refers to something that you have to figure
out).

Lesson 5 Main Event

Goal: A super main event blends details, suspense and feelings together. Students will formulate problems and solutions to make their
main events
Skills: Students will brainstorm what makes a good problem and an appropriate solution. Students will learn how to blend dialogue,
action, description/detail and feelings.

Lesson 6 Endings
Goal: For students to include feelings, a hope or wish, and a decision to write an impactful ending
Skills: Students will learn how to pull these aspects together and write an en appropriate ending for their story.

RESOURCES & MATERIALS

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units. Alexandria, US: ASCD. Retrieved from:
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/lib/ucalgary/reader.action?docID=10471837

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 4