Roald Dahl
Students explore how two humorous works of Roald Dahl contain deeper messages about courage, friendship and stepping in to save others.
Unit Summary
In this third-grade literature course, students explore the concepts of courage and friendship, beginning in Unit 1 with an author study of Roald Dahl. Even though Roald Dahl is known for writing silly, exaggerated stories with highly engaging characters, his stories have important themes and messages embedded in them.
In addition to launching a year-long exploration of the themes of friendship and courage, these texts will also help establish a positive classroom culture as students analyze what it means to help others, be a good person, and show courage. We hope this unit, in connection with all of the units in our third-grade literature course, will help students develop a deep and nuanced understanding of both friendship and courage.
In reading and writing, this unit focuses on setting a strong foundation for text analysis. Students will dive deep into characters and study the ways in which authors develop characters. They will analyze author’s word choice, both as a strategy for figuring out unknown words and as a way to improve their own narrative writing. Roald Dahl’s fun and playful writing style also allows for an exploration of how reading with expression and fluency helps develop comprehension.
Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: The Twits by Roald Dahl (Puffin Books, 2007) — 750L
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Book: The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl (Turtleback Books; Bound for Schools & Libraries ed. Edition, 2002) — 600L
Supporting Materials
Audio Interview: Roald Dahl on Writing
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading (Grade 3 Unit 1)
See Text Selection Rationale
Assessment
These assessments accompany this unit to help gauge student understanding of key unit content and skills. Additional progress monitoring suggestions are included throughout the unit.
Unit Prep
Essential Questions
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- Why do people seek retaliation?
- Is seeking retaliation an effective way to solve a problem?
- How does Roald Dahl capture a reader's attention?
Vocabulary
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Text-based
"be foiled" "bear it" "beg your pardon" "pay back" arrange cling faint fearsome filthy fury gasp glimpse gradually gulp helpless horrid hoisted innocent instigate intends long magnificent nasty nonsense obedient ordinary pale peer pity presence revenge revolting schemes shrink smear smeared stubborn thistles
Root/Affix
-ly -less -some non- non-
To see all the vocabulary for this course, view our 3rd Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Lesson Map
1
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The Enormous Crocodile pp. 1 – 13
RL.3.3
Describe the Enormous Crocodile.
2
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The Enormous Crocodile pp. 14 – 30
RL.3.2
RL.3.3
Describe the Enormous Crocodile.
3
Discussion
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The Enormous Crocodile
RL.3.3
SL.3.1
SL.3.1.a
SL.3.1.d
L.3.6
Analyze why people seek retaliation and if seeking retaliation is an effective way to solve a problem.
4
Writing
L.3.1.f
L.3.1.i
L.3.3.b
Explain the difference between a fragment and a complete sentence.
5
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The Twits pp. 3 – 10
RL.3.3
Describe Mr. and Mrs. Twit.
6
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The Twits pp. 10 – 17
RL.3.3
Describe Mr. and Mrs. Twit’s relationship and how they treat each other.
7
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The Twits pp. 18 – 23
RL.3.3
Explain what evidence Roald Dahl uses to show that Mr. Twit is an instigator.
8
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The Twits pp. 24 – 31
RL.3.3
Describe how Mr. and Mrs. Twit respond to the plan and why their responses are different.
9
Writing
L.3.1.f
L.3.1.i
L.3.3.b
Determine if a sentence is a complete sentence or incomplete sentence.
10
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The Twits pp. 32 – 38
RL.3.3
Describe what evidence Roald Dahl includes to describe where and how Mr. and Mrs. Twit live.
11
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The Twits pp. 39 – 46
RL.3.3
Describe what evidence Roald Dahl includes to help readers better understand Muggle-Wump and Roly-Poly bird and why they are important.
12
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The Twits pp. 46 – 61
RL.3.3
Explain how Muggle-Wump has changed and why by analyzing key details that describe character traits, motivations and relationships.
13
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The Twits — Page 62 - end
RL.3.3
Evaluate the animals’ plan for revenge and if they got what they intended.
14
Writing
L.3.1.f
L.3.1.i
L.3.3.b
Identify the four different types of sentences and explain when they’re used.
15
Discussion
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The Twits
RL.3.2
RL.3.3
SL.3.1
SL.3.1.a
SL.3.1.d
SL.3.6
L.3.6
Analyze why people seek retaliation and if seeking retaliation is an effective way to solve a problem.
16
Discussion
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The Twits
RL.3.2
RL.3.3
SL.3.1.a
SL.3.1.d
L.3.6
Determine two or three traits that describe the Twits in depth.
17
Assessment
SL.3.1
18
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Roald Dahl on Writing
SL.3.6
Explain what we can learn about writing stories from Roald Dahl and why it is important to study the work of authors by listening to interview clips from Roald Dahl describing his motivations for writing.
19
5 days
Narrative Writing
W.3.3.a
W.3.3.d
L.3.1.i
L.3.2.f
Write stories in the style of Roald Dahl.
Common Core Standards
Language Standards
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L.3.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
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L.3.1.f — Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
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L.3.1.i — Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
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L.3.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
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L.3.2.e — Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
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L.3.2.f — Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
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L.3.3 — Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
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L.3.3.a — Choose words and phrases for effect.
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L.3.3.b — Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.
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L.3.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
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L.3.4.a — Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
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L.3.5 — Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
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L.3.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
Reading Standards for Literature
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RL.3.2 — Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
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RL.3.3 — Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
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RL.3.5 — Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.
Speaking and Listening Standards
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SL.3.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
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SL.3.1.a — Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
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SL.3.1.d — Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
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SL.3.6 — Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.
Writing Standards
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W.3.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
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W.3.3.a — Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
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W.3.3.d — Provide a sense of closure.
Spiral Standards
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