Unit Materials for 3rd Grade English Language Arts

Need to purchase texts for this course?

You can request a current spreadsheet with all unit texts needed to teach Fishtank ELA for the 2025-26 school year by emailing [email protected].

Fishtank Learning partners with two text vendors who offer convenient ordering options for a school or district adoption: The Reading Warehouse and Mackin. You can request an introduction to the appropriate representative by emailing [email protected].

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Defining Identity: Dyamonde Daniel and My Name is María Isabel

Core Texts

Book: My Name Is María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada (Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 1995) — 860L
Book: Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes (Puffin Books; Illustrated edition, 2010) — 590-630L

Supporting Texts

Markers or crayons
Blank paper or cardstock
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Rediscovering Thanksgiving: Fact vs. Fiction

Core Texts

Book: Pilgrims: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #27 by Mary Pope Osborne (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2006) — 550L
Book: The Wampanoag (A True Book: American Indians) by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit (Children's Press, 2011) — 910L

Supporting Texts

Book: 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O'Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac (National Geographic Children's Books, 2004)
Book: The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh (Aladdin, 1985)
Book: This Land by Ashley Fairbanks
Book: Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten
Article: “The English Colonies”
Article: “Letters from a Pilgrim Child (Letter 1)” (Scholastic Inc.)
Article: “Letters from a Pilgrim Child (Letter 2)” (Scholastic Inc.)
Article: “Notes from a Wampanoag Child (Entry 1)” (Scholastic Inc.)
Article: “Notes from a Wampanoag Child (Entry 2)” (Scholastic Inc.)
Article: “Robert's Rules of Order”
Illustration: The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1621
3 colors of highlighters (or other color-coding tool) per student
Highlighters
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Passing Down Wisdom: Hispanic and African American Folktales

Core Texts

Book: Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit by Julius Lester (Puffin Books, 2006) — 760L
Book: Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection by F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flora Ada (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Supporting Texts

Template: Opinion Brainstorm Graphic Organizer
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Understanding the Animal Kingdom

Core Texts

Book: What is a Life Cycle? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman and Jacqueline Langille (Crabtree Pub Co, 1998) — NC880L
Book: What is the Animal Kingdom? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman (Crabtree Pub Co, 1997) — IG770L
Book: How do Animals Adapt? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman and Niki Walker (Crabtree Pub Co, 2000) — NC940L

Supporting Texts

Book: Invertebrates by Brooke Bessesen (Science A-Z)
Book: Vertebrates by Kira Freed (Science A-Z)
Book: Life Cycles by Ned Jensen (Science A-Z)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Embracing Difference: The Hundred Dresses and Garvey's Choice

Core Texts

Book: The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2004) — 870L
Book: Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes (WordSong, 2016) — 620L

Supporting Texts

Template: Narrative Writing Brainstorm
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Honoring Indigenous Peoples

Core Texts

Book: The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz (Children's Book Press, 2017) — 660L
Book: Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code, A Navajo Code Talker's Story by Joseph Bruchac (Albert Whitman & Company, 2018) — 780L
Book: Native Women of Courage by Kelly Fournel (7th Generation, 2007) — 1190L

Supporting Texts

Website: Native Words, Native Warriors by Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (The National Museum of the American Indian, 2007)
Video: “2013 Honors: Chester Nez” by American Veterans Center (YouTube)
Video: “National Navajo Code Talkers Day” by US Department of the Interior (YouTube)
Video: “Mankiller” by PBS (Public Broadcasting Service (PBS))
Video: “Navajo Code Talkers' WWII Legacy To Be Immortalized In New Museum” by NBC News (YouTube)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Exploring Ancient Civilizations: Rome

Core Texts

Book: Ancient Rome and Pompeii: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #13 by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce (Random House Books for Young Readers) (April 2006) — 750L
Book: DKfindout! Ancient Rome by DK Children (Penguin Random House, 2016) — IG860L

Supporting Texts

Book: Eyewitness Ancient Rome by DK Children (Penguin Random House, 2022)
Article: “Roman Class Structure”
Article: “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (Readworks.org)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Discovering Mythology: Roman Myths

Core Texts

Book: Classic Starts: Roman Myths by Diane Namm (Sterling Children's Books, 2014)

Supporting Texts

Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

The Power of Friendship: Charlotte's Web

Core Texts

Book: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (HarperCollins Publishers, 2012) — 680L

Supporting Texts

Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Unit Materials for 3rd Grade English Language Arts

Need to purchase texts for this course?

Defining Identity: Dyamonde Daniel and My Name is María Isabel

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Rediscovering Thanksgiving: Fact vs. Fiction

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Passing Down Wisdom: Hispanic and African American Folktales

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Understanding the Animal Kingdom

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Embracing Difference: The Hundred Dresses and Garvey's Choice

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Honoring Indigenous Peoples

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Exploring Ancient Civilizations: Rome

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Discovering Mythology: Roman Myths

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

The Power of Friendship: Charlotte's Web

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

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