Opal Student Edition

The Opal pre-curriculum presents the language arts skill and literary component that will be focused on in that selection. This is called Lesson in Literature.

Each pre-curriculum lesson has three sections. The first section defines the literary component that is being taught in four brief points. The second section is a short original story that has been written to specifically highlight that component. The third section consists of questions that review the story and reinforce the understanding of the focus skill

Blueprint for Reading

In the Blueprint for Reading section, the student is introduced to each selection in two ways. The first, Into the Selection, encourages the young readers to think analytically about the selection they are about to read:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• What drives the action?
• Who are the characters?

The second, Eyes On, links the literary component already introduced in the Lesson in Literature to the selection. The student is asked to think about how the literary component is expressed in the story. In addition, strategies for implementing the selection’s focus skill are suggested.

Original artwork and illustrations are a unique Mosdos Press feature. Innovative graphics, design, color, and layout make Mosdos Press books appealing to students and teachers. Our artists and graphic designers work hand in hand with curriculum writers and editors to produce work that is beautiful, intriguing, and in keeping with our values.

Word Banks define new vocabulary words at the bottom of each page, as they appear in the selection, with a consistent pronunciation guide.

Footnotes are found throughout the textbook so that the reader’s comprehension will not be held back by unfamiliar words or references. These words and terms are not vocabulary words. They are specific to the selection and are often historical, technical, or scientific.

Fun-to-read poems follow most prose selections. Linked thematically with the selection they follow, these easily read and understood poems give third graders practice in reading poetry and the opportunity to experience the delight of this genre.

Studying the Selection is the curriculum that follows each selection. For third graders, this means a close look at the selection with lots of opportunity for application. Based on the educational objectives of remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, the exercises include:

• First Impressions
• Quick Review
• Focus
• Creating and Writing.

First Impressions is the basis for classroom discussion. With the exception of Quick Review, all of the exercises call for more than a recollection of facts. Specifically, the Focus questions require that students think about the theme. This prepares them for the first exercise in Creating and Writing: to write a short paragraph or two related to the theme or to compose creative work that is linked thematically with the selection. The second Creating and Writing activity is always a non-writing imaginative or artistic assignment.