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Fall Reading Week — Grade 3 ELA
A cozy Halloween-week reading unit: close reading, inference, nonfiction features, and a stretch into similes and metaphors, wrapping up with an opinion about a favorite fall tradition.
What's included
- Adjectives: describing words
- Reading comprehension: longer passages
- Using sentence clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words
- Making inferences from short passages
- Past, present, and future verb tenses
- Nonfiction text features: headings, captions, diagrams, glossary
- Writing a short summary of a passage using your own words
- Similes and metaphors
- Main idea and supporting details
- Writing an opinion and supporting it with reasons and examples
5 days · 15 printables (10 unique worksheets) · ✅ Answer key on every worksheet
Day 1 — Start: close reading on a crisp fall week
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Warm up with describing words. Invite students to add a few fall adjectives of their own, like crunchy or chilly.
Lesson / classworkRead Closely, Answer CarefullySet the tone for the week: read once for the story, then again to find evidence for each answer.
HomeworkContext CluesWord-solving practice that sets up tomorrow inference work.
Day 2 — Practice: reading between the lines
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Go over two or three of last night problems as a class to reconnect clues and meaning.
Lesson / classworkMaking InferencesFrame inference as being a mystery solver, which fits the season. Model thinking aloud about what the text shows but does not say.
HomeworkMaking InferencesFinish the remaining passages. Ask students to underline the clue behind each inference.
Day 3 — Practice: nonfiction and summaries
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Quick grammar change-up before switching to informational text.
Lesson / classworkNonfiction Text FeaturesBring in a nonfiction book about bats, pumpkins, or leaves if you have one, and hunt for the same features students see on the sheet.
HomeworkSummarizing a PassageA first try at summarizing at home. We will revisit it Friday, so perfection is not the goal tonight.
Day 4 — Stretch: similes and metaphors
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Second pass at adjectives as a bridge into figurative language.
Lesson / classworkSimiles and MetaphorsStretch sheet from Grade 4. Have students write a fall simile of their own, like the leaves fell like confetti, after the sheet.
HomeworkFind the Main IdeaStretch sheet from Grade 4 that previews Friday summary review by focusing on the big idea first.
Day 5 — Review: Halloween-week reading check
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Last quick clue check of the week. Keep it short so there is time for the review lesson.
Lesson / classworkSummarizing a PassageReturn to Wednesday homework and revise summaries together using what students learned about main idea.
HomeworkWriting Opinions with SupportA fun weekend write: have students give their opinion on the best fall tradition and support it with reasons.
Classroom use: teachers may print and copy these worksheets for their own students — homework, classwork, centers, sub plans, all fair game.
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More weeks where that came from
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