Lesson Plan for Year 3 Literacy: Finding Information

Curriculum Context

This lesson plan is designed for Year 3 students and focuses on the Literacy learning area of the New Zealand Curriculum. The specific learning intention aligns with Level 1-2 outcomes, which emphasize the development of strategies to understand, respond to, and think critically about texts. It seeks to enhance students' abilities to locate information relevant to their interests and questions, appropriate for English Language Learners (ELLs) and low readers.

Lesson Details

• Subject: Literacy
• Year Level: Year 3
• Duration: 25 minutes
• Class Size: 9 students
• Focus: Finding Information

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify keywords or phrases to use in a search context.
2. Use basic tools (e.g., contents page, index, headings in a book or digital search tools) to locate specific information.
3. Understand that different sources can provide different types of information.

Resources Needed

• Selection of age-appropriate books with clear contents, index, and headings.
• Access to child-friendly, safe search engines (e.g., Kiddle).
• Worksheets for keyword development and search practice.

Lesson Plan

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Objective Explanation: Briefly explain the goal of today’s lesson – "Today, we are going to learn how to find information in books and on the internet by using keywords and understanding where to look.”
• Engagement Activity: Ask students to think of something they'd like to know more about. Share a few examples to guide their thoughts.

Main Activity Part 1 – Book Search (10 minutes)

1. Demonstration:

   • Show a book and demonstrate how to use the contents and index. Highlight how headings can help predict what the section might contain.
   • Select a keyword from a student's question and show how to find relevant sections in the book.

2. Guided Practice:

   • Divide students into pairs and give them a book and a simple query.
   • Ask them to use the index and contents to find information responding to their query.

Main Activity Part 2 – Digital Search Basics (10 minutes)

1. Demonstration:

   • Show how to use a child-friendly search engine using a projector or interactive whiteboard.
   • Demonstrate typing in a keyword, looking at search results, and finding a relevant piece of information.

2. Guided Practice:

   • Allow students to work in pairs on a shared device. Provide them with a query and ask them to find one interesting fact related to it using the search engine.

Conclusion (5 minutes)

• Discussion and Sharing: Each pair shares what they found and reflects on the process of finding that information.
• Recap: Review the main learning points, emphasizing how we choose keywords and decide where to look for information.

Follow-up Activity

• Assign students a small project: to find three interesting facts about a New Zealand animal using both a book and a digital search. Provide a worksheet where they list their keywords, sources, and the information they found.
• Encourage students to present their findings in the next class.

Assessment

• Observe students during activities to assess their ability to select appropriate keywords and effectively use resources.
• Check their worksheets for clarity in the listing of keywords and accuracy of information.

Links to Curriculum Standards

• For in-depth standards alignment, teachers can refer to the literacy standards outlined in The New Zealand Curriculum online at NZ Curriculum - English.

Notes for Adaptation

• Ensure keyword and fact-finding worksheets have visuals and simplified text to assist ELLs and low readers.
• Consider using bilingual resources or digital supports where possible to aid understanding.