Writing, Grammar, and Spelling Unit 1 Bundle THIRD GRADE

This third grade ELA resource includes EVERYTHING you need to teach the first 8 weeks of grammar, writing, and spelling. It’s a must-have resource for the beginning of  the year! There are lesson plans, mini lessons, student printables, interactive notebook activities, task cards, assessments, rubrics, and more. The flexible spelling curriculum includes 3 differentiated spelling lists each week. And all the materials inside this Unit 1 bundle are easy to implement, effective, and fun!

This UNIT 1 BUNDLE for Writing, Grammar, and Spelling is part of a year-long money-saving bundle. The full-year bundle includes all 4 units for writing (personal narrative, informational report, opinion essay, and fiction narrative), grammar, and spelling. It covers all the third grade ELA standards for writing, grammar, and spelling. If you already own the Third Grade Writing, Grammar and Spelling Bundle, you already own this Unit 1 bundle. The full year-bundle is the most cost-effective way to purchase these three resources. 

We’ve combined the first unit of three of our most popular resources into one amazing Unit 1 bundle to save you time and money. This ELA resource includes the third grade personal narrative writing unit, Unit 1 of our third grade grammar, and Unit 1 of our third grade spelling curriculum. This amazing bundle will save you valuable time and money. You'll get every writing, grammar, and spelling lesson you need in one convenient package. And you'll enjoy our special bundle discount too.

This Unit 1 bundle is the perfect, cost-effective way to ensure you have EVERYTHING you need to teach fun, engaging, and effective ELA lessons in grammar, writing, and spelling for the first 8-weeks of school. This Unit 1 bundle includes everything from mentor texts and anchor charts to assessments, including digital grammar assessments and writing celebration suggestions. We’ve planned it all out for you!

All of the lessons in this Unit 1 bundle are ready-to-use. All you have to do is print and teach. Each week follows the same routine. In grammar and spelling, there is a different activity each day, and the activities remain the same all year long. In writing, the lesson format is the same every day. This saves valuable time, makes class predictable, and facilitates learning. 

This Unit 1 bundle also maximizes time for writing practice by weaving writing tasks through all three subjects. In grammar and spelling, students have weekly opportunities to practice new skills in context.

We’ve literally created everything you need to teach 8 weeks of third grade writing and language standards and put it all together into one AMAZING product for you. Interactive whole group lessons, independent and partner practice, hands-on activities, writing throughout the curriculum, homework, review, assessments - it’s ALL included!

What’s Included:

Spelling Curriculum Unit 1

What’s Included:

• 1 8-week unit (7 new skills and 1 review week; see the list below for individual skills)
• Differentiated spelling lists (4 each week) and family letter for each week.
• 9 Anchor charts assist visual learners and provide a student reference throughout each unit.
• PowerPoint Mini lessons teach the rule, pattern, or skill to be covered each week in a ready-to-use interactive lesson; all you have to do is display the slides.
• Interactive notebook activities (2 per week) reinforce spelling rules - one focuses on the general use of the rule and the other focuses on applying the rule specifically to the spelling list. The activities feature simple cuts to focus on grammar.  All you need is a notebook, scissors, and glue.
• Task Cards (12 per week) are included for centers, review, or whole group activities.
• Practice sheets give students the opportunity to recognize the skill in written texts and bridge the gap between spelling and reading.
• Homework sheets (optional) provide additional practice before assessment.
• Assessments cover both the weekly spelling list and general skill.
• Cover and Table of Contents make student organization easy.
• Spelling Inventory allows you to easily assess students and decide which spelling list is right for them.
• Sample Schedules show how to implement the spelling program in 2-5 days per week.
• Detailed teacher directions provide flexibility and make implementation in the classroom easy.
• An FAQs section provides answers to commonly asked questions about the resource and helps you get started right away.

Skills Included:

Unit 1:

• Word Families
• Consonants & Vowels
• Syllables
• Short Vowels
• Long Vowels
• Consonant Blends
• Digraphs sh/th/ph
• Unit One Review

Want to see the spelling curriculum in action? Try a FREE lesson HERE. 

Grammar Unit 1:

What’s Included:

• Detailed teacher instructions, including a recommended schedule for the week and instructions on how to use digital assessments
• 8 interactive PowerPoint presentations for the mini-lesson each week
• 8 student interactive notebook activities and JUST ADDED Answer Keys
• 8 sets of 24 task cards (NOW also in black and white) and a recording sheet (with answer key)
• Assessment (with answer key) including an editable digital assessment

Skills Included:

Unit One

Nouns

Verbs

Adjectives

Adverbs

Pronouns

Regular Plural Nouns

Irregular Plural Nouns (includes 16 task cards)

Unit One Review

Also Included:

• Student Notebook Covers
• Teacher Binder Cover & Spine

Writing Unit 1:

What’s Included:

• A complete 8-week personal narrative writing unit (see below for more detailed information on each genre)
• Detailed teacher directions and suggestions for simple implementation
• Unit-at-a-glance calendar for each unit
• 7 exclusive videos walking you through how to get the most out of these writing units
• 40 days of lesson plans that include guiding questions, materials, mini lessons, student work tasks, student share tasks, intervention, and several extension activities for 
• 14 original mentor text passages
• 3 sets of 24 task cards (personal narrative, punctuating dialogue, and personal narrative writing prompts task cards
• 12 teacher anchor charts (blank and filled-in versions)
• student anchor charts and printables for writing notebooks
• Conference and goal-tracking forms
• Writing grades tracking forms
• Rubrics for all four genres
• List of 12 additional mentor text books (optional)
• Variety of writing publishing papers
• Student writing notebook covers and dividers
• Teacher notebook covers and binder spines
• Multiple ideas for author share celebrations
• DIGITAL writing notebooks on Google Slides

Personal Narratives
Students learn how to write a small moment story with dialogue, a strong lead, interesting word choice, and paragraphs. Lessons include:

• Setting goals
• What is a personal narrative?
• Generating story ideas
• Narrowing your story idea to a small moment
• Rehearsing and drafting
• Writing a lead
• Adding and punctuating dialogue
• Adding details
• Word choice
• Show, don’t tell
• Breaking writing into paragraphs
• Transition words
• Writing an ending
• Editing
• Publishing

❤️❤️ Why You Will LOVE This Resource ❤️❤️

• EVERYTHING you need to teach the first 8-weeks of engaging and effective ELA lessons in writing, grammar, and spelling all year long.
• Simple, ready-to-use lesson plans.
• Done-for-you PowerPoints that you can open and use to guide your whole-group lessons in grammar and spelling.
• Mentor texts and pre-printed anchor charts save valuable time and make teaching writing simple.
• Writing is woven throughout all the lesson plans.
• Daily and weekly routines save time and make implementation easy.
• Interactive notebooks and task cards provide hands-on learning opportunities.
• Easy to differentiate to meet the needs of all learners.

How to Use It in the Classroom:

Everything you need to teach engaging and effective writing, grammar and spelling lessons is included!

• The spelling curriculum was designed to be flexible. You will need about 20 minutes to introduce the skill on the first day. Then you can teach spelling in about 10-15 per day, but you do not need to teach spelling every day for this program to be effective. Sample schedules show you how to teach spelling in 2-5 days per week. 
• Grammar lessons can all be completed in 10-minutes per day!
• Writing lessons take between 30-45 minutes per day.
• We recommend teaching a daily 10-minute grammar lesson followed by a 30-45 writing lesson. 

Spelling:

Weekly Routine (Based on a five-day routine):

• Day 1: PowerPoint mini lesson - whole group and individual practice; approximately 20 minutes
• Day 2: Interactive notebook and partner practice
• Day 3: Task card scoot
• Day 4: Practice sheet and partner practice; optional homework
• Day 5: Assessment

If you don’t have time for spelling all five days, use the sample schedules included to modify this routine:

• Flexibility is built into this program. It is designed to be used between 2-5 days per week. See the sample schedules for implementation ideas.
• You can use the PowerPoint mini lesson for your whole group instruction. Project on the whiteboard and have students participate in the interactive lesson. Students can write words on individual whiteboards or spell with a partner.
• Complete interactive notebooks as a whole group activity or have students completely independently, use them during centers or morning work.
• You can integrate spelling work into reading centers if time permits.
• Partner practice takes only five minutes and can take place at any time throughout the day - try before lunch, after recess, or before dismissal.
• Interactive notebook pages, task card answer sheets, and assessments come two to a page to save time, paper, and copy costs. Simply print one sheet for every two students and cut it in half.
• The weekly spelling list and family letter are printed on the same sheet to save time and paper.
• Practice sheets and homework can be printed front and back.
• If you use the NSW Grammar notebook, the spelling program can fit into the same notebook.
• Practice sheets can be completed independently, in small groups, or as a whole class.

Differentiation: 

This program was designed to make differentiation easy:

• Each week includes three differentiated spelling lists, for beginner, on-track, and advanced spellers, as well as a combined list. ALL LISTS focus on the same rule each week. If you don’t want to use multiple lists, a fourth list provides a combination of different levels.
• Choose the appropriate list for each student; the spelling inventory can help you make the right choice.
• Reduce the number of spelling words to be memorized and focus on the spelling pattern.
• Assign the optional homework for extra practice.
• Use both Interactive notebook activities for additional practice.
• Allow students to use their spelling lists as a resource when using task cards and practice sheets.
• Work with beginning spellers to provide assistance as they complete the task cards.
• Provide additional time for partner practice.
• Challenge advanced students with specific directions for the “write a sentence” part of the practice activity.
• Grade both the spelling lists and spelling pattern part of the assessments, or just grade one section. 

Grammar:

Each week follows the same routine. This saves time and students know what to expect:

• Monday: Interactive PowerPoint mini lesson introduce students to a new grammar skill 
• Tuesday: Interactive notebook activity includes foldables and flaps that students manipulate to deepen conceptual understanding. Great for kinesthetic learners. Feature simple cuts to keep the emphasis on grammar. All you need are notebooks, scissors, and glue.
• Wednesday: Grammar writing prompt helps students apply new grammar skills.
• Thursday: Task card scoot provides a hands-on review that incorporates movements
• Friday: Assessment. Both printable and an editable digital assessment compatible with Google Classroom make assessment quick and easy. You can edit the digital assessment to meet your students’ needs. 

Differentiation: 

There are many ways to differentiate this grammar lesson:

• Complete interactive notebook activities in small groups to provide additional support
• Allow students to use interactive notebooks as a reference during the writing activity or task cards
• Have students complete fewer task cards
• Move around the room with students who need additional support during the task card scoot
• Use the edible digital assessment to customize weekly assessments

Writing

I recommend you set aside 30-45 minutes for writing each day (or more if you have it). Each day follows the same plan:

• Mini Lesson (8-10 minutes): The day kicks off with a mini lesson to teach a particular skill. The mini lesson uses mentor text (remember, it’s included in the unit) and anchor charts. For the teacher version of the anchor charts, you can project and fill them out with the class, or print and display them in your classroom. The student versions are smaller so they can fill them out and keep them in their writing notebooks for reference.
• Work Time (18-20 minutes): Students will apply the skill they just learned into their writing each day. The included writing tasks make it crystal-clear what to do during independent writing time–for you and your students. By the end of the unit, they will have completed two full masterpieces and many other independent writings. 
• Share Time (2 minutes): Students are encouraged to share a piece of their writing with a partner or with the entire class. This makes writing more meaningful to kids and holds them accountable.

Organization made easy:

• The personal narrative writing unit is organized into multiple folders and files so it’s easy for you to find what you need.
• A daily schedule shows you exactly what to teach each day.
• Detailed daily lesson plans make teaching writing easy.

Differentiation:

There are many ways to differentiate writing assignments:

• These daily writing prompts are intentionally short and sweet so that all students, even those below grade level, can feel successful. Most tasks can be completed in 1-2 sentences.
• More advanced writers can write longer responses, or work on a second masterpiece if they finish early.
• Students can complete fewer task cards or work with a partner; you can also provide support to students as they work on task cards.
• The process for teaching writing includes group conferencing time. These groups should be based on ability so that you can individualize your instruction to meet the specific needs of the group.

Bonus file: Yearlong Pacing Guide for Grade 3

Make your lesson planning easier than ever with our Yearlong Pacing Guide for grade 3!

This pacing guide:

• Includes writing, grammar, reading, and math (and spelling for grades 2 & 3)
• Lists common core standards, when applicable
• Is divided into quarters
• Makes time for back-to-school, holidays, state testing, and end-of-the year activities.
• Can be adjusted to meet your scheduling needs.

FAQs:

Q: What’s included in this Unit 1 bundle?

A: This Unit 1 bundle includes one unit from each of our most popular ELA resources for third grade: Third grade spelling Unit 1, third grade grammar Unit 1, and the third grade personal narrative writing unit.

Q: Is this a full-year curriculum?

A: No. This Unit 1 bundle includes lessons for the first quarter of the school year. There are 8 weeks of writing, grammar, and spelling lessons. If you would like to purchase a full-year bundle, click HERE. 

Q: Can I buy the products individually?

A: Yes. Each product is available individually. You can also buy individual units and/or centers, but you get additional savings by purchasing the Unit 1 bundle.

Q: What grade is this for?

A: This unit was created specifically for grade 3 with third grade standards in mind.

Q: How long do the mini-lessons take?

A: The mini-lessons will take 10-20 minutes depending on the subject. Grammar and writing can be taught in 10 minutes per day, spelling will take about 20 minutes to introduce the skill.

Q: Do I have to teach all the subjects every day?

A: No. We have designed our curriculum to be flexible. Sample schedules show you how to effectively implement the spelling curriculum in 2-5 days per week. Grammar is designed for a five-day week, but if you need to save time you can skip the writing activity or use the writing prompt for morning work or in reading centers. Or you can give the assessment immediately after doing the task card review. We recommend teaching writing at least four days per week to give students adequate time to write independently and practice new skills. If you have less time for writing students might only complete one masterpiece per unit (instead of the included two).

Q: What materials do I need for the interactive notebooks?

A: Students need scissors, glue, and a notebook for interactive notebook activities.

Q: What kind of notebooks do you prefer students to choose?

A: I prefer composition notebooks because they are sturdy and easy to use and store. But other teachers have used spiral-bound notebooks or three-ring binders. 

Q: Can I combine all the subjects in one notebook?

A: No. You will run out of room. Ideally, you will want a notebook for writing (one for each genre is best). You will need a separate notebook for spelling and a separate notebook for grammar (which can be combined with reading, if you use our reading units). 

Q: Will the PowerPoints open properly on Google Slides? My school does not use Microsoft.

A: Yes.

Q: Are the PowerPoint presentations editable?

A: I’m sorry. There is not an editable version of this resource at this time.

Q: How do I know which spelling list to use?

A: You can use the spelling inventory included with the full program to pre-assess your students. You can also align your spelling groups with your reading groups or another diagnostic tool of your choosing.

Q. What if I don’t want to use different spelling lists?

A: There is also a combined spelling list that includes mostly words at a 3rd grade level, with a few higher-level words.

Q: How should I give the spelling assessment if I use multiple spelling lists?

A: I recommend giving all the groups their assessment sheets. Dictate the words to group A, while groups B and C work on the bottom skill-based portion of the assessment. When you have finished dictating to group A, then dictate to group B, and then group C. Collect all the assessments when you are done. The total time should not take more than 20 minutes. You may want to have fast-finisher assignments available for students who finish quickly.

Q: What do I need to prep each week for spelling?

A: Each week you will print one spelling list/family letter per student. These are both printed on the same page. You will also need one (or two) interactive notebook activities (printed 2 to a page), practice sheet/homework sheet (printed front to back), and assessment (printed two to a page). You can prep the recording booklet for the task card activity ahead of time. If you do make a recording book for the unit, you will only need two sheets of paper per student. 

Q: Where do you have the students do the writing activity? In the same notebook as the notebook activity? Or a different notebook?

A: I have my students do it on the page next to their notebook activity. 

Q: Do you have any suggestions for how to organize the grammar notebooks? Does this need to be a separate notebook from their writing journal?

A: My students don’t generally have enough room in the writing notebook to include grammar. But I did go ahead and split my reading notebook in half and use it for grammar and reading.

Q: How do I use the digital grammar assessment?

A: This resource includes a PDF with links to the digital assessments. These are editable so you can customize them to meet your students' needs. Digital assessments work with Google Classroom.

Q: Are the lessons based on common core standards?

A: Yes. These lessons are based on common core standards for writing and language. 

Q: Do you have this Unit 1 bundle available for any other grades?

A: Yes. We have a Unit 1 bundle available for second grade here.

Q: I am very interested in this Unit 1 bundle, but I am required to use a certain writing curriculum. Does your writing unit align? 

A: My writing units are a standalone curriculum. They are not based on or aligned with any other curriculum. However, they are based on the writing standards. My curriculum is organized into units of study and formatted in the workshop model and hundreds of teachers have successfully used my writing units with their district-provided curriculum. I believe the Unit 1 bundle is an excellent value and you will be able to put the writing lessons to good use.

Writing, Grammar, and Spelling Bundles:

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4