Long U Grade 3 Lesson Plan: Write About It

Grade Levels: 3

In this lesson plan, third graders use BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn about the long u sound. They discover what letter combinations create this sound and the subtle differences in how “long u” sounds in certain words. Students apply their understanding by writing a story about a unicorn, using as many long “u” words as they can.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Build background knowledge: Watch the BrainPOP Jr. Long U movie.
  2. Express understanding: Write a story using long “u” words.
  3. Complete an Assessment: Take the Long U Quiz to show what they learned.

Materials:

  • Internet access for BrainPOP Jr.
  • Printout of Write About It  (offline option)
  • Printout of Quiz  (offline option)

Preparation:

  *If using this lesson for distance learning, setup for video conferencing, such as Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Create and send an invitation with a link.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Tap students’ prior knowledge. Prompt them to tell about Tap students’ prior knowledge. Ask them to tell you something that makes a long u sound. Or you can give examples and ask if the word has a long u sound or not: tube, hug, boat, juice?
  2. Watch the BrainPOP Jr. movie Long U. Click the pause button each time a question appears in Annie’s Notebook and answer it. Then play to see how Annie answers it. 

    TIP: the pause button turns red to remind you to pause.  

    Offline Option: Print out the transcript and Annie’s Notebook for a grown-up to read aloud at home. Suggest that the child play Moby and “Beep” in response to Annie.
  3. Have students open their Write About It assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open Write About It. 
  4. Hover over the prompt to hear it read aloud: Write a silly story about a huge unicorn. Use as many long “u” words as you can! . When they finish, remind them to click the Submit To Teacher button and/or print out.

    Offline Option: Students draw or write on the printout.

  5. Have students open their Quiz assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open the Quiz. You can choose the Easy or Hard Quiz. 
  6. To hear the questions and answer read aloud, show students how to hover over the words. If you assigned the quiz, you will see students’ results in your Dashboard. If not assigned, remind students to click the Submit to Teacherr button.

    Offline Option: Print out the Quiz for students by clicking the print icon.   Read aloud each question and answer options, repeating as needed. 
Filed as:  BrainPOP Jr., CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2, Lesson Ideas, Lesson Plan, Long U, phonics, 3