4/19/2024

HISD 3rd Grade

Read Write

FICTION
April 19, 2024

2

TEKS: 3.8B explain the relationships among the major and minor characters.

TEKS: 3.8C analyze plot elements, including the sequence of events, the conflict, and the resolution.

TEKS: 3.6G evaluate details read to determine key ideas (R)

TEKS: 3.3B use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and multiple-meaning words.

LOs:
Student Objective: SWBAT explain the relationships among the major and
minor characters.

*Other standards are included to increase the rigor of the objective: 3.8C,
3.6G, 3.3B.

Directions: Read the selection. Answer the questions that follow.

3

TEKS: 3.8B explain the relationships among the major and minor characters.

TEKS: 3.8C analyze plot elements, including the sequence of events, the conflict, and the resolution.

TEKS: 3.6G evaluate details read to determine key ideas (R)

TEKS: 3.3B use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and multiple-meaning words.

LOs:
Student Objective: SWBAT explain the relationships among the major and
minor characters.

*Other standards are included to increase the rigor of the objective: 3.8C,
3.6G, 3.3B.

Directions: Read the selection. Answer the questions that follow.

SECURING

3.8B_3.8C_3.6G_3.3B

FICTION

"That’s another great thing about being a dentist — you can listen to your favorite

music all day long.” Illustration: Amanda Morley

5

As active readers,
we must pay
attention to the
major character’s
relationships with
other characters.

6

Relationship between Characters

The relationship can be seen through their interactions

and how they affect each other.

Understanding the relationships

between major and minor

characters help us understand the

story better.

7

“Plot” Anchor Chart from HMH Into Reading! Texas with permission © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

We will analyze the plot
elements in today’s story.

8

Details are ..

ideas

facts

points

help fill in

understanding

of the

Key Idea

9

After reading a detail, readers must evaluate it to
decide whether it …

supports the key
ideas of the text

stop and think:

is an important
detail or just an
interesting detail

10

Writers help readers by
including context clues in

the story to help you

determine the meaning of

unfamiliar words.

What are some tools that readers can use

to determine the meaning of unfamiliar

words?

“Context Clues” Anchor Chart from HMH – used with permission © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

11

1-2 points

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

1-3 points

ECR

Extended-Constructed

Response

"That’s another great thing about being a dentist — you can listen to your favorite music all day long.” Illustration: Amanda Morley

The Sun Stands Still
By Josephine Cameron

adapted by the HISD Curriculum Department

What is the

winter solstice?

1.Izzie stands in the snow by the oak tree and waits. Three more
seconds. Two. One. Her watch alarm echoes across the field. It's
officially noon.

2.Winter solstice is Izzie's favorite day of the year. Guests at her house
enjoy food, songs and stories well into the night. But Izzie's favorite part
has always been making snow angels with her grandfather at the exact
stroke of noon. On the solstice, the northern half of Earth tilts far from
the sun, creating the longest night and the longest noontime shadows
of the year. When Izzie and Grandpa would stand over the snow
angels, their shadows would look like two skinny giants with wings.

“Plot” Anchor Chart from HMH Into Reading! Texas with permission © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

3.But this year is different. There's a sense of longing for the past traditions
that were once celebrated. Izzie misses the old traditions they used to have.
Even though those special customs aren't happening now, Izzie still wants to
keep the important solstice rituals alive. Uncle Bert greets Izzie with a hug.
"Dazzle us with your fiddle tonight, Izzie?" Izzie holds her breath. Her fiddle
reminds her of Grandpa. She hasn't picked it up in weeks.

4."You know that Izzie doesn't like an audience, Bert," says Izzie's mom.

5.Mom and Izzie's brother, Simon, are busy making luminaries. It's their
specialty. They pour sand into glass jars and set candles in the center.
Izzie's specialty is mistletoe. Her job is to tie each twig with a ribbon. In
winter, when other plants have died, mistletoe is still full of life. Tonight, Izzie
will give each guest a twig as a blessing. She hands one to Uncle Bert.

6."Thank you," he says. "I have a gift for you, too. I'll go get it."

7.Grandpa liked to tell stories about ancient people who believed that the
Earth was flat and the sun traveled across the sky. At the winter solstice,
those people thought the sun stood still.

8.Izzie feels her heart stand still when Uncle Bert returns from his car with the
gift.

9."Izzie already has a violin," says Simon, looking at the case Uncle Bert is
holding.

10.

But Izzie opens the case. She turns the fiddle over and touches the familiar Image of a sun carved into its neck.

11.

"It's Grandpa's fiddle," Dad says, as Mom gently rests a warm hand on Izzie's head.

What do we know

about family

traditions?

“Plot” Anchor Chart from HMH Into Reading! Texas with permission © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

It's Grandpa's fiddle.

12.

The wood is smooth and cold on her chin. She touches the strings,
silently fingering the song Grandpa taught her. How can we have solstice
without Grandpa's song?

13.

When the rest of the guests arrive, the sun is low in the sky. Izzie greets
each one with a twig of mistletoe.

14.

Izzie loves this moment — just before dark on the winter solstice. Friends
and family carry gifts of bread, cookies, and hot cider. They follow the
luminaries down a winding path to a field where Mom and Dad serve
steaming mugs of stew under the oak tree.

15.

Laughter wafts through the air. For a moment, Izzie thinks she hears
Grandpa's voice, his slow belly laugh. But it's only Uncle Bert sounding
almost like him.

16.

Soon the only light left will be the luminaries and the moon. Dad will start the
bonfire and the celebration will begin.

How does Izzie's

family honor Grandpa

at the winter

solstice?

17.

Grandpa was always first. When the bonfire began, he'd step up onto the
oak bench, lift his fiddle to the sky, and play his favorite tune, "Sweet Angels
Come Nearer." Izzie would get a warm feeling. Izzie knows that tomorrow
the sun will start rising earlier and setting later each day until the snow
melts, flowers bloom and the air is thick with heat.

18.

But her heart feels stuck without Grandpa's song. Someone needs to play it.

19.

But who will?

20.

Dad tells a story. Aunt Bea sings. Simon reads a poem.

21.

Izzie's heart thumps.

22.

In a moment of quiet, her hand shoots into the air.

23.

"Izzie?" Dad is surprised. "You'd like to share?"

24.

Voices murmur as Izzie flings off her mittens and runs up the winding path to
the house.

25.

She returns out of breath, thankful for the darkness as she steps up onto the
bench. The faces around the bonfire watch her, waiting.

26.

Mom whispers, "Go for it."

27.

Izzie's hands shake. She inhales and turns her back to the fire. Facing the
oak tree, she can pretend no one is watching. Izzie points Grandpa's fiddle
to the sky and her heart calms. One shaky note. Another. She imagines
Grandpa's hands playing the same violin. Her notes become stronger.

28.

As she plays, a voice rises behind her, singing. It's Uncle Bert. Mom joins in.
Then Dad. Simon. Aunt Bea.

29.

Voices swell and the violin soars.

30.

Grandpa's violin soars.

31.

Izzie feels the love of her family enfold her, warm like sunshine.

By Josephine Cameron, Highlights, Highlights for Children (2020) The Sun Stands Still. Text retrieved from Newsela with permission. Adapted by the Hisd

Curriculum Department.

n

How does Izzie find the

courage to play

Grandpa's fiddle in

front of her family on

winter solstice?

16

Read the story “The Sun Stands Still.”
Based on the information in the story, write a response to the following.

Explain how Izzie plays an important role in keeping her family's traditions alive.

Write a well-organized informational composition that uses specific evidence from the story to support your
answer.

Remember to —

●clearly state your central idea

●organize your writing

●develop your ideas in detail

●use evidence from the selection in your response

●use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar

Manage your time carefully so that you can —

●review the selections

●plan your response

●write your response

●revise and edit your response

Topic

ECR

Genre

17

Explain how Izzie plays an important role in keeping her
family's traditions alive.

ECR

✔
✔
✔
✔

Multiple Choice

But this year is different. There's a sense of longing for the past traditions that were once celebrated. Izzie misses the old traditions they used to have. Even though those special customs aren't happening now, Izzie still wants to keep the important solstice rituals alive. Uncle Bert greets Izzie with a hug. "Dazzle us with your fiddle  tonight, Izzie?" Izzie holds her breath. Her fiddle reminds her of Grandpa. She hasn't picked it up in weeks.

What does the word longing mean in paragraph 3?

• Positive

• 1. Absence

• Indifferent

• 1. Satisfactory

Multiple Choice

Izzie’s conversations with her parents show that she —

• 1. values her family traditions

• 1. values presents rather than traditions

• 1. is indifferent to her family traditions

• 1. is confused about the family traditions

Multiple Select

Mom and Izzie's brother, Simon, are busy making luminaries. It's their specialty. They pour sand into glass jars and set candles in the center. Izzie's specialty is mistletoe. Her job is to tie each twig with a ribbon. In winter, when other plants have died, mistletoe is still full of life. Tonight, Izzie will give each guest a twig as a blessing. She hands one to Uncle Bert.

Which words from paragraph 5 of the story “The Sun
Stands Still” help the reader understand what luminaries
mean? Select TWO correct answers.

• 1. glass 

• absent

• 1. candle

• winter

• ribbon

Multiple Choice

Which sentence from the story best describes Izzie’s main
problem in the story?

• "Izzie already has a violin," says Simon, looking at the case Uncle Bert is holding. (Paragraph 9)

• "But Izzie opens the case. She turns the fiddle over and touches the familiar Image of a sun carved into its neck." (Paragraph 10)

• "But her heart feels stuck without Grandpa's song. Someone needs to play it." (Paragraph 18)

• 1. Izzie's hands shake. She inhales and turns her back to the fire. Facing the oak tree, she can pretend no one is watching. (Paragraph 27)

Multiple Choice

“Grandpa was always first. When the bonfire began, he'd step up onto the oak bench, lift his fiddle to the sky, and play his favorite tune, "Sweet Angels Come Nearer." Izzie would get a warm feeling. Izzie knows that tomorrow the sun will start rising earlier and setting later each day until the snow melts, flowers bloom and the air is thick with heat.

In paragraph 17, the word bonfire means —

• 1. a type of bird

• 1. a large outdoor fire

• 1. a type of musical instrument

• 1. a large piece of wood