Unit Materials for 3rd Grade English Language Arts
Explore the texts and supporting materials used in each unit of 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].
Note: Some of the links below are Bookshop affiliate links. This means that if you click and make a purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which supports our non-profit mission.
Defining Identity: Dyamonde Daniel and My Name is María Isabel
Core Texts
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Book: My Name Is María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada (Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 1995) — 860L
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Book: Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes (Puffin Books; Illustrated edition, 2010) — 590-630L
Supporting Texts
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Markers or crayons
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Blank paper or cardstock
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Rediscovering Thanksgiving: Fact vs. Fiction
Core Texts
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Book: Pilgrims: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #27 by Mary Pope Osborne (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2006) — 550L
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Book: The Wampanoag (A True Book: American Indians) by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit (Children's Press, 2011) — 910L
Supporting Texts
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Book: 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O'Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac (National Geographic Children's Books, 2004)
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Book: The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh (Aladdin, 1985)
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Book: This Land by Ashley Fairbanks
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Book: Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten
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Article: “The English Colonies”
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Article: “Letters from a Pilgrim Child (Letter 1)” (Scholastic Inc.)
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Article: “Letters from a Pilgrim Child (Letter 2)” (Scholastic Inc.)
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Article: “Notes from a Wampanoag Child (Entry 1)” (Scholastic Inc.)
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Article: “Notes from a Wampanoag Child (Entry 2)” (Scholastic Inc.)
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Article: “Robert's Rules of Order”
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Illustration: The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1621
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3 colors of highlighters (or other color-coding tool) per student
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Highlighters
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Passing Down Wisdom: Hispanic and African American Folktales
Core Texts
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Book: The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by María García Esperón and illustrated by Amanda Mijangos (Levine Querido)
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Book: Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection by F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
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Book: The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by Leo Dillon, Diane Dillon Ph.D. — 660L
Supporting Texts
Understanding the Animal Kingdom
Core Texts
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Book: What is a Life Cycle? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman and Jacqueline Langille (Crabtree Pub Co, 1998) — NC880L
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Book: What is the Animal Kingdom? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman (Crabtree Pub Co, 1997) — IG770L
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Book: How do Animals Adapt? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman and Niki Walker (Crabtree Pub Co, 2000) — NC940L
Supporting Texts
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Book: Invertebrates by Brooke Bessesen (Science A-Z)
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Book: Vertebrates by Kira Freed (Science A-Z)
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Book: Life Cycles by Ned Jensen (Science A-Z)
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Photo: Skull Images (G3, U4, L17)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Embracing Difference: The Hundred Dresses and Garvey's Choice
Core Texts
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Book: The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2004) — 870L
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Book: Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes (WordSong, 2016) — 620L
Supporting Texts
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Template: Narrative Writing Brainstorm
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Exploring Ancient Civilizations: Rome
Core Texts
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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
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Book: DKfindout! Ancient Rome by DK Children (Penguin Random House, 2016) — IG860L
Supporting Texts
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Book: Eyewitness Ancient Rome by DK Children (Penguin Random House, 2022)
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Article: “Roman Class Structure”
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Article: “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (Readworks.org)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Honoring Indigenous Peoples
Core Texts
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Book: The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz (Children's Book Press, 2017) — 660L
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Book: Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code, A Navajo Code Talker's Story by Joseph Bruchac (Albert Whitman & Company, 2018) — 780L
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Book: Native Women of Courage by Kelly Fournel (7th Generation, 2007) — 1190L
Supporting Texts
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Website: Native Words, Native Warriors by Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (The National Museum of the American Indian, 2007)
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Video: “2013 Honors: Chester Nez” by American Veterans Center (YouTube)
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Video: “National Navajo Code Talkers Day” by US Department of the Interior (YouTube)
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Video: “Mankiller” by PBS (Public Broadcasting Service (PBS))
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Video: “Navajo Code Talkers' WWII Legacy To Be Immortalized In New Museum” by NBC News (YouTube)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Discovering Mythology: Roman Myths
Core Texts
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Book: Classic Starts: Roman Myths by Diane Namm (Sterling Children's Books, 2014)
Supporting Texts
The Power of Friendship: Charlotte's Web
Core Texts
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Book: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (HarperCollins Publishers, 2012) — 680L
Supporting Texts
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