Evaluating
Educator Definition:
Readers judge, justify, and/or defend understandings to determine importance based on stated criteria.
Readers judge, justify, and/or defend understandings to determine importance based on stated criteria.
Student Definition:
Make judgments about what I read and explain why.
Students learn to critically evaluate websites while racing to build and launch a rocket during this activity. To build each stage of their rocket, they must choose which
website would be the most useful source for a particular research task. The program guides students to apply specific criteria to the task, evaluating for appropriate information, reliability, and
currency.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
This activity meets the following grade 3 Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts:
Print Version (PDF)
Foundational Skills
Phonics and Word Recognition
3.RF.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- Decode multisyllable words.
Fluency
3.RF.4
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
- Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
- Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Literature
Craft and Structure
3.RL.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
3.RL.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
3.RL.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently
and proficiently.
Informational Text
Key Ideas and Details
3.RI.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
Craft and Structure
3.RI.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
3.RI.5
Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
3.RI.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
3.RI.7
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
3.RI.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
Writing
Production and Distribution of Writing
3.W.6
With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
3.W.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Language
Conventions of Standard English
3.L.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
3.L.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
- Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
3.L.5
Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
- Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g., take steps).
- Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful).
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
3.SL.2
Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
In this activity, students voyage to the star system Magla. They have four books in their space ship, which they use to help them evaluate the three planets in the star system
and decide on which to land for each part of their mission. They must also evaluate the books based on their usefulness for each task.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
This activity meets the following grade 3 Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts:
Print Version (PDF)
Foundational Skills
Phonics and Word Recognition
3.RF.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- Decode multisyllable words.
Fluency
3.RF.4
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
- Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
- Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Literature
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
3.RL.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
3.RL.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently
and proficiently.
Informational Text
Craft and Structure
3.RI.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
3.RI.5
Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
3.RI.7
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
3.RI.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
3.W.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
3.L.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
- Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
3.SL.2
Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Download these short, lesson plans to practice the strategy.
Book Talk Card (PDF)
Evaluation Posters (PDF)
Rate this Book! (PDF)
Evaluating Non-fiction (PDF)
Character Evaluation Frame (PDF)
Evaluation Posters (PDF)
Rate this Book! (PDF)
Evaluating Non-fiction (PDF)
Character Evaluation Frame (PDF)
Evaluating Booklist
Aliki. Ah, Music! HarperCollins, 2003. 32 pages
Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog. HarperCollins, 2001. 84 pages
DePaola, Tomie. 26 Fairmont Avenue. Putnam, 1999. 56 pages
Foreman, Michael. Wonder Goal. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. 32 pages
Frame, Jeron Ashford. Yesterday I Had the Blues. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Tricycle Press, 2003. 32 pages
Herrera, Juan Felipe. Grandma and Me at the Flea / Los meros meros remateros. Children's Book Press, 2002. 32 pages
Hopkinson, Deborah. Fannie in the Kitchen. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Athenuem, 2001. 32 pages
Jones, Bill T. Dance. Photographs by Susan Kuklin. Hyperion, 1998. 32 pages
Livingstone, Star. Harley. Illustrated by Molly Bang. SeaStar, 2001. 64 pages
Pringle, Laurence. Sharks: Strange and Wonderful. Illustrated by Meryl Henderson. Boyds Mills Press, 2001. 32 pages
Sayre, April Pulley. Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad's Tale. Illustrated by Barbara Bash. Greenwillow, 2001. 32 pages
Stevenson, James. The Castaway. Greenwillow, 2002. 32 pages
U'Ren, Andrea. Mary Smith. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. 32 pages
Weitzman, Jacqueline. You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Musuem. Illustrated by Robin Glasser. Dial, 1998. 36 pages
Into the Book has nine 15-minute educational videos that help teach children how to use eight different reading strategies.
In this episode, Mrs. Pingel introduces evaluating using class book reviews and examples from students' own lives. Malaika begins evaluating the books, Web sites and other resources she has gathered for her topic. She is drawn into a NASA web site, where she has to use the strategy to get out of a space emergency in her own rocket ship. She also manages to use the strategy to get a new dog from the Humane Society.
Watch the Full Video
Video Clips
Learn about Evaluating
Practice Evaluating
Apply the Strategy
©Copyright 2018
Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin Extension
Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin Extension