Worksheet

Newt Night: One Event, Many Kinds of Writing

Students read how Kai writes a journal, a sign, a thank-you note and an article about helping newts cross a road, then write short pieces.

Grade 3ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toW.3.10

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
9 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students match pieces of writing to their audiences and purposes.
Students tell short writing tasks from longer ones that take several days.
Students write short pieces for a chosen audience and purpose.

How to use

Read Kai's story together and list his four pieces on the board, then have students answer the questions and write the two short pieces at the end.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

W.3.10

Write routinely over both longer and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Preview

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Name Date

Newt Night: One Event, Many Kinds of Writing

See how Kai writes for different readers, reasons and lengths of time.

Read about Kai

Read the story about Kai's writing.

Newt Night

1Every spring, on warm and rainy nights, newts in the town of Birchwood leave the forest. They crawl across Mill Road to reach the pond where they lay their eggs. This year, Kai and his dad joined other neighbors to help. Wearing bright vests, they gently carried the newts across the road in buckets.

2That same night, Kai wrote a quick journal entry before bed. It took only ten minutes. "I held a newt tonight! Its skin was cool and damp, and its tiny feet tickled my hand."

3The next day, Kai made a sign for Mill Road. It said, "Slow down! Newts are crossing on rainy nights." He used big letters so drivers could read it quickly.

4On Monday, Kai wrote a thank-you note to Ms. Petrova, who leads the newt helpers. "Thank you for showing us how to hold the newts safely," he wrote.

5Then Kai started his biggest piece. For two weeks, he worked on an article for the Birchwood school newsletter. He took notes, wrote a draft, and fixed his mistakes. His article explained why newts cross the road and how families can help them.

Readers, reasons and time

Use the story to answer.

Who is each piece written for? Match each piece to its reader.

the journal entry
the sign
the thank-you note
the newsletter article

A. families who read the newsletter
B. Kai himself
C. Ms. Petrova
D. drivers on Mill Road

Some writing is quick, and some takes a long time. Write a number in each blank.

Kai wrote his journal entry in minutes.
Kai worked on his article for weeks.

Why did Kai use big letters on his sign?

A. because Ms. Petrova asked him to
B. so the sign would last all spring
C. so drivers could read it quickly
D. because he had only big markers

Read paragraph 5 again. Underline the sentence that tells the steps Kai followed to write his article.

Then Kai started his biggest piece.For two weeks, he worked on an article for the Birchwood school newsletter.He took notes, wrote a draft, and fixed his mistakes.His article explained why newts cross the road and how families can help them.

Why did Kai write each piece? Use the word bank. One word is extra.

Word bank: thank · draw · inform · warn

Kai wrote the sign to drivers to slow down.
He wrote the note to Ms. Petrova for her help.
He wrote the article to families about why newts cross the road.