CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3c

ELA3rd GradeText Types and Purposes

The Standard

Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students choose words and phrases such as "first," "later," "meanwhile," and "finally" to guide readers through a narrative. They place these transitions where events or timing change.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can write a narrative whose sequence is easy to follow. The student uses several accurate transitions and places them where the time or event changes.
Common Misconceptions: Students may add "then" before every event instead of choosing varied transitions. They may also use words such as "meanwhile," "before," or "after" when the timing does not fit.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Put four scrambled story events in order, then connect them using at least three different time-order words or phrases.

Lesson moves

Give pairs story events on sentence strips to arrange, then have them add transition cards between each event.
Ask students to explain how changing "later" to "meanwhile" affects the timing in a short paragraph.
Play Transition Match by having students pair event sentences with fitting words such as "first," "afterward," and "finally."
Have students write their morning routine using five time-order words, then check whether each word matches the actual sequence.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3c, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Learning progression

Mastery here sets students up for these next.

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