Grade 3 Lesson plan
Should Winterbourne Orchard Water at Night? A Grade 3 Opinion Lesson
A grade 3 opinion writing lesson set at a fictional apple orchard, where students sort reasons for two watering times and defend one with two reasons.
Common Core ELA · Grade 3
W.3.1 Opinion writing
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
Why water teaches this standard well
Third graders support a point of view with reasons on questions such as whether the school should install bottle-filling fountains or whether watering the garden in the morning is the smarter choice. Water conservation topics keep opinion writing grounded in reasons students can actually defend.
Materials tagged with this code are written to the full standard , and each carries a written note explaining the alignment. See how we review materials.
13 materials aligned to W.3.1
Lesson plans
Grade 3 Lesson plan
Should Sable Creek Build a Rain Garden? A Grade 3 Opinion Lesson
A grade 3 opinion writing lesson where students weigh reasons for and against a rain garden at a fictional elementary school and draft a persuasive paragraph.
Worksheets
Grade 3 Worksheet
Cindergrove Park Recycled-Water Signs: A Grade 3 Design Worksheet
Grade 3 students read a town's design brief and make color, contrast, picture, size, and placement choices for purple recycled-water signs in a drought-hit park.
Classroom activities
Grade 3 Classroom activity
Fact or Opinion at Yewbank Reservoir: A Grade 3 Card Sort
A grade 3 card sort in which groups sort twelve statements about fishing on a drinking water reservoir, then write an opinion backed by two of the facts.
Grade 3 Classroom activity
After the Storm at Milkvetch Park: A Safe-or-Not Game
A grade 3 movement game where students hear after-storm scenarios at a fictional park and walk to Safe Choice or Not Safe signs, then defend a choice in writing.
Writing prompts
Grade 3 Writing prompt
Should Copperbeech Buy the Quarrowick Woods? A Grade 3 Prompt
A grade 3 opinion prompt on whether a fictional town should buy the woods above its wells or let a store be built there, with an exemplar and a four-level rubric.
Grade 3 Writing prompt
Should Dogs Swim in Kestrel Reservoir? A Grade 3 Opinion Prompt
A grade 3 opinion writing prompt about a fictional town deciding whether to open a dog beach on its drinking water reservoir, with an exemplar and rubric.
Grade 3 Writing prompt
The Car Wash at Oxbend Elementary: A Grade 3 Opinion Prompt
Students take a side on where a school club should hold its fundraising car wash, using background facts about a parking lot storm drain that runs to a creek.
Grade 3 Writing prompt
Should Pintail Water Its Ball Field in a Dry Summer?
After six dry weeks, the fictional town of Pintail must decide whether to keep watering its ball field. Students write opinion letters with reasons, plus a rubric.
Grade 3 Writing prompt
Fix the Pipes or Build a Splash Pad? A Grade 3 Opinion Prompt
A grade 3 opinion writing prompt where students take a side on whether the town of Ashby should fix its leaky water pipes or build a new splash pad.
Grade 3 Writing prompt
The Five-Minute Shower Challenge: A Grade 3 Opinion Writing Prompt
A grade 3 opinion prompt where students decide whether families in a drought-stricken fictional town should try shorter showers, using real household water-use facts.
Grade 3 Writing prompt
Fix the Faucet? A Grade 3 Opinion Prompt on a Leaky School Sink
A grade 3 opinion writing prompt where students decide whether a fictional school should fix a dripping faucet right away, using a real fact about drip waste as support.
Projects
Grade 3 Project
Mallowdene's Dry Summer: The Kittering Family Drought Health Plan
A four-session grade 3 health project: groups measure handwashing water in liters and plan how a fictional family can save water in a drought and still stop germs.