Looking to transform your 3rd grade ELA block this spring? The April edition of Rooted in Reading is packed with everything you need to engage students with meaningful reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary instruction—all built around rich, high-interest read-alouds. This resource is perfect for celebrating Poetry Month, exploring Earth Day reading activities, and building spring literacy skills through a blend of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Whether you use it as a complete ELA curriculum or as a supplement, this unit provides flexible options to meet your classroom needs.

April Read-Aloud Books:

• The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins
• What REALLY Happened to Humpty? by Jeanie Ransom
• The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
• Book of Animal Poetry by J. Patrick Lewis
  

Note: Our Poetry Week includes unique activities focused on analyzing poetic structure, devices, and comprehension without a vocabulary component.

What’s Included:

- Weekly Lesson Plans and Activities
Each week focuses on a high-quality read-aloud with comprehension strategies, grammar instruction, vocabulary development, and engaging extension activities.

- Comprehension Skills Covered:

• Understanding Genre: Elements of a Mystery
• Central Message
• Persuasive Text
• Poetry Structure and Analysis
• Cause and Effect in Nonfiction
• Main Idea and Text Features
• Using Illustrations to Gain Information
• Citing Parts of a Poem in Writing
  

- Grammar Skills:

• Poetic Devices: Alliteration, Personification, Similes, Metaphors, Imagery
• Sensory Language
• Idioms
• Complex Sentences (including subordinating conjunctions)
  

✔️ Vocabulary Tools:

• Vocabulary Cards and Student Sheets
• Graphic Organizers
• Vocabulary Games (Three in a Row, Read the Definition)
• Interactive Notebook Entries
• Vocabulary Assessments
  

- Poetry Activities:

• Poetic Device Posters with Text Examples
• Response Strips for Each Device
• Poetry Analysis Activities (Imagery Madlib, Simile Match, I Am Poem, Personification Scoot)
• Poetic Devices Assessment
  

- Nonfiction Readers (Print + Display Versions):

• Amazing Animals
• The World’s Rainforests
• A Walk Down Memory Lane
• The Trimates
  

- Additional Resources:

• 3 Fiction and 3 Nonfiction Passages
• 3 Comprehension Assessments aligned to read-alouds
• Daily Sentence Deep Dives for grammar and comprehension
• Anchor Chart Templates: Mystery Elements, Cause and Effect, Poetry Features
• Art + Writing Projects: Sloth, Jaguar, Frilled Lizard Crafts, Detective Drawings, Earth-Themed Activities
  

Flexible for Any Classroom

Use Rooted in Reading April as a full curriculum or select the components that work best for your students. All lessons are aligned with Common Core Standards and TEKS, making it easy to integrate into your instruction.

Why Teachers Love Rooted in Reading:

Teachers across the country use Rooted in Reading to bring literature to life. The engaging content, hands-on activities, and skill integration help build strong readers and thinkers—while making your planning easier!

If you’re ready to bring Earth Day themes, Poetry Month lessons, and spring reading comprehension to your classroom in a fun and effective way, this resource is for you!

Disclaimer About Rooted in Reading Books: We try our best to ensure that the books we select for our Rooted in Reading program will be available to you; however, we cannot guarantee any book's availability at any given time.

We encourage you to check multiple places for the books including but not limited to: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Scholastic, Thrift Books, BookOutlet.com, eBay, Abe Books, Half Price Books, Better World Books, and you can make a project on Donor's Choose or check them out from your public library.