Ready-to-teach lesson
ELA SKILL LESSON · GRADE 3
Ruby's Wish
The Evidence for the Theme
TIME
PRIMARY SKILL
OBJECTIVE
STUDENT EVIDENCE
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
30 minutes full · 15 minutes short Support a theme with evidence from words and illustrations State a theme and support it with evidence drawn from both written text and illustrations.
A one-sentence theme claim with one piece of word evidence and one piece of illustration evidence.
How can words and illustrations work together to support the same theme?
Before teaching
Read or play the complete book before the timed lesson. Keep the book available so claims and evidence can be checked against the text.
- Materials:
- the book, Student Evidence page, pencil.
- Lesson sequence
- TIME
- TEACHING MOVE
- 4 min
- State a possible theme Ask for a whole-story idea that the book appears to develop.
- 7 min
- Find word evidence Locate a line, action, or narrated event that supports the theme.
- 7 min
- Find illustration evidence Study an illustration that adds or reinforces evidence for the same theme.
- 8 min
- Put the sources together Explain how the word evidence and illustration evidence point to one claim.
- 4 min
- Test the claim Ask whether either piece of evidence contradicts or weakens the proposed theme.
ELA SKILL LESSON · TEACHER SUPPORT
Ruby's Wish
The Evidence for the Theme
Access routes
- SOLO
- Use the book independently to complete the evidence page. Require page-based support for the central claim.
- SUPPORTED
- Pause at the key evidence moments. Rephrase the task orally, then have students point to or record the evidence before explaining it.
- LISTENING
- Use narration and illustrations. Let students respond orally or by selecting from teacher-read options, then ask them to justify the choice from the book.
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- EXTEND
- Ask students to test the skill on a second moment or explain why a tempting alternative answer is weaker.
Teacher guidance
Keep the lesson on support a theme with evidence from words and illustrations. The source unit places this move inside What it is mainly about; this standalone version should still require evidence from the named book rather than general knowledge or memory.
Assessment
- The answer contains one theme claim and two different evidence sources.
- The illustration evidence should do more than decorate or repeat the words.
- Both pieces should support the same whole-text idea.
Short route · 15 minutes 3 min - name/model the skill. 8 min - gather the minimum evidence required on the student page. 4 min - explain the answer and verify it against the book.
Watch for
Using two pieces of word evidence while merely naming an illustration.
Source note
Extracted from the TumbleTA unit What it is mainly about, using its stated day focus, product, checkpoints, and/or strong-answer criteria. No regional standard is attached to this base skill lesson.
STUDENT EVIDENCE · GRADE 3
Ruby's Wish
The Evidence for the Theme
Name ______________________________________ Date __________________ State the theme.
Add one piece of evidence from the words and one from an illustration.
- PART
- YOUR EVIDENCE
THEME
WORDS SHOW
ILLUSTRATION SHOWS
TOGETHER THEY SUPPORT
EXIT CHECK
The illustration matters because ______________________________________________________.
TEACHER KEY · GRADE 3
Ruby's Wish
The Evidence for the Theme
Strong response
A one-sentence theme claim with one piece of word evidence and one piece of illustration evidence.
Expected evidence
- The answer contains one theme claim and two different evidence sources.
- The illustration evidence should do more than decorate or repeat the words.
- Both pieces should support the same whole-text idea.
Watch for
Using two pieces of word evidence while merely naming an illustration.
page 2
Independent success
The student completes the required evidence product and can explain how the evidence supports the skill claim without relying only on recall or a teacher-supplied answer.
Unit source
What it is mainly about · Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges
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