Standard Lesson

Reading Informational Texts Using the 3-2-1 Strategy

Grades
K - 2
Lesson Plan Type
Standard Lesson
Estimated Time
Three 45- to 60-minute sessions
Author
Publisher
ILA
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Overview

Being able to read informational texts effectively is a fundamental quality of successful readers. In this lesson, students in grades K-2 learn to use the 3-2-1 strategy, which involves writing about three things they discovered, two things they found interesting, and one question they still have. After teacher modeling, students read a magazine article independently and use the 3-2-1 strategy to comprehend what they read. This strategy can be adapted and used with older students as well.

From Theory to Practice

Engaging students with text: The 3-2-1 strategy (Zygouris-Coe)

Good readers use effective strategies when reading to help them comprehend text. The 3-2-1 strategy requires students to summarize key ideas from the text and encourages them to think independently. First, students write about three things they discovered. Next, they write about two things they found interesting. Last, they write one question they still have. This strategy can be used while reading a variety of texts to actively and meaningfully engage students with the text.

Informational text in K–3 classrooms: Helping children to read and write (Kletzien)

Evidence exists that supports the need for primary teachers to use informational texts in their classrooms. Teaching students effective strategies to use while reading informational texts can greatly assist students in comprehending what they read.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

  • 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
  • 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Printouts

Preparation

1. Gather a supply of children's magazines or articles. Articles may be selected from print magazines or online resources.

  • Ask students to bring in children's magazines from home or check your local library for the suggested magazines listed under Children's Magazines and Newspapers.

  • Search local newspapers for articles appropriate for children.

  • Search the Internet for websites that have informational text for kids (see Online Informational Texts for some suggestions).

  • Access online or print encyclopedias.
2. Browse the Online Informational Texts and select one article to use during Session 1. In this example, we are using the article "Polar Bears" from the National Geographic Kids: Creature Feature; however, any informational article can be selected. Make a copy of the article for each student.

3. Bookmark the interactive 3-2-1 Strategy Chart on the computers that students will be using. Students can complete this form online. Note that if multiple students are using the same computer, the chart will need to be cleared before the next student begins, even if it has been closed. To do so, simply press the "Clear Chart" button at the top. If computers are not available, print blank copies of the chart to distribute to students during Session 2.

Student Objectives

Students will demonstrate comprehension of an informational article read from a magazine using the 3-2-1 strategy.

Session 1

1. Write the topic of the article you are using on the board or on chart paper (for example, polar bears) [see Preparation, Step 2]. Ask students to share what they already know about this topic. Record what they share under the heading (for example, they are white, they live in cold climates).
2. Pass out a copy of the article you selected to each student. Make sure that each student has a pencil or highlighter as well.
3. Have students volunteer to read parts of the article aloud to the class.
4. After reading the text, tell students that they are going to learn a special strategy that they can use to help them understand something they read. The strategy is called 3-2-1.

  • The first step is to write "3 things we discovered." Write this heading on the board and ask students to go back through the text and underline or highlight three things they discovered. Then have each student share the three things he or she learned. Choose three things to write on the board (for example, polar bears live in the Arctic, polar bears mostly eat seals, and polar bears give birth to one to three cubs).

  • The second step is to write "two interesting things." Use the same approach as in the first step. (For the polar bear article, you might write, 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears live in the Arctic and polar bears can sneak up on their prey.)

  • Last, have students think of one question they still have about the topic. Have students share some of their questions. Write "1 question we still have" on the board along with one sample question (for example, How long do polar bears live?).
NOTE: Depending on the ages and abilities of your students, you will want to consider what you expect from their writing. With younger students who are beginning readers and writers, you may allow them to copy from the text the three things they discovered and the two things they found interesting. Older students and more advanced readers and writers could be expected to summarize what they read in their writing. While modeling the strategy, emphasize what you expect your students to do.

5. Inform students that in the next session they will be using the 3-2-1 strategy to read some magazine articles on their own.

Session 2

1. Review with students the 3-2-1 strategy introduced in Session 1.
2. Tell students that they will each be selecting and reading an article from a magazine and using the 3-2-1 strategy to understand what they read.
3. Pass out at least one magazine or a selection of articles to each student (see Preparation, Step 1) and give students time to browse through the magazines to select an article. Allow students to share with one another during this process through conversation and trading magazines as needed.

NOTE:
  • If you have a small supply of magazines, you could photocopy individual articles from the magazines to distribute to students.

  • You may also want to pass out articles that are appropriate for individual student's reading levels or interests. For example, you might give an advanced reader a longer or more challenging article to read.

  • If enough computers are available and students are skilled in navigating the Internet, you might bookmark the online articles and have students browse and read them online.
4. After students have selected their articles, have them access the interactive 3-2-1 Strategy Chart online (or, if computers are not available, distribute a blank copy to each student). Have them complete the top of the chart by typing their name, date, and the title and source of their article.
5. Allow time for students to read their articles.
6. As students finish reading, have them work on completing the remainder of the 3-2-1 Strategy Chart. Remind students to print their chart when they are finished.
7. If some students finish before the end of the session, have them draw an illustration on the back of their 3-2-1 Strategy Chart to go along with their topic.
8. Monitor the students' reading and writing and provide assistance as needed.

Session 3

When all students have completed their 3-2-1 Strategy Charts, allow time for them to share what they learned from reading their articles with one another in small groups or as a whole class.

Extensions

  • Have students research answers to the questions they still have.

  • Ask students to use the 3-2-1 strategy for a homework assignment or as a book report.

  • Modify the strategy for a specific text or topic, requiring students to read for particular information. For example, if you are reading a text about polar bears, ask students to list three things they discovered about the polar bear's diet.

  • Have students use the strategy when reading classroom magazines, such as Weekly Reader.

  • Assign students to write a report, and then have students read one another's reports using the 3-2-1 strategy.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Comprehension of the informational text read may be assessed through the students’ responses on the 3-2-1 Strategy Chart using the Informational Text & 3-2-1 Strategy: Assessment Rubric.

You may also have students complete the 3-2-1 Strategy: Self-Assessment Sheet.

Grades
K - 2
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Lesson Plan
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Suzanne Ludwig
K-12 Teacher
I tweaked a little.... 3 things I discovered, 2 things I sort of knew but didn't know...., and I more thing I want to know.
Allison
K-12 Teacher
I think the difference in the usage of discovery vs interesting facts is that I can tell you something I discovered by reading a text, but that doesn't mean it was interesting. Interesting would be something I thought was cool or exciting. Naturally, this would vary from student to student. Either way, you have students exploring a text, reading, and learning more about a topic. As long as they are doing this, I'm happy, regardless of the terms used to organize their thinking.
Kristina Bowers
K-12 Teacher
Ditto on Judy Herr comment "It's not clear to me what the difference is between 3 things I DISCOVERED versus 2 INTERESTING facts. Can you clarify the difference? I understand how to teach T charts and the difference between important and interesting facts, but I don't know how to explain this 3-2-1 strategy. ( I get the 1 more thing I want to learn part.)

Thanks.
Jnet1
K-12 Teacher
this is a great lesson; I will enjoy presenting it next week!
AYOKA BENNETT
K-12 Teacher
I like the Suzanne tweaks and I did a tweak of her tweaks. I changed to reflect the informal language of my students and also include the 5 w questions ( Who, what,where,when, why ....how, which, did, Does, etc.)
Newchurch
K-12 Teacher
I was thinking that interesting facts would come from the informational captions whereas the main facts would come from the main text.
Judy Herr
K-12 Teacher
It's not clear to me what the difference is between 3 things I DISCOVERED versus 2 INTERESTING facts. Can you clarify the difference? I understand how to taech T charts and the difference between important and interesting facts, but I don't know how to explain this 3-2-1 strategy. ( I get the 1 more thing I want to learn part.)

Thanks.
Angela Fink
K-12 Teacher
Thanks for the time spent putting this together! It is very easily adaptable to any age group! I particularly LOVE the interactive charts!
Allison
K-12 Teacher
I think the difference in the usage of discovery vs interesting facts is that I can tell you something I discovered by reading a text, but that doesn't mean it was interesting. Interesting would be something I thought was cool or exciting. Naturally, this would vary from student to student. Either way, you have students exploring a text, reading, and learning more about a topic. As long as they are doing this, I'm happy, regardless of the terms used to organize their thinking.
Judy Herr
K-12 Teacher
It's not clear to me what the difference is between 3 things I DISCOVERED versus 2 INTERESTING facts. Can you clarify the difference? I understand how to taech T charts and the difference between important and interesting facts, but I don't know how to explain this 3-2-1 strategy. ( I get the 1 more thing I want to learn part.)

Thanks.
Srinivasan Kannan
College/Professor
I am new to lesson plan concept. I enjoyed reading all the materials. I feel these ideas can be adopted/adapted for other instructional areas too.
Suzanne Ludwig
K-12 Teacher
I tweaked a little.... 3 things I discovered, 2 things I sort of knew but didn't know...., and I more thing I want to know.
AYOKA BENNETT
K-12 Teacher
I like the Suzanne tweaks and I did a tweak of her tweaks. I changed to reflect the informal language of my students and also include the 5 w questions ( Who, what,where,when, why ....how, which, did, Does, etc.)
Kristina Bowers
K-12 Teacher
Ditto on Judy Herr comment "It's not clear to me what the difference is between 3 things I DISCOVERED versus 2 INTERESTING facts. Can you clarify the difference? I understand how to teach T charts and the difference between important and interesting facts, but I don't know how to explain this 3-2-1 strategy. ( I get the 1 more thing I want to learn part.)

Thanks.
Jnet1
K-12 Teacher
this is a great lesson; I will enjoy presenting it next week!
Srinivasan Kannan
College/Professor
I am new to lesson plan concept. I enjoyed reading all the materials. I feel these ideas can be adopted/adapted for other instructional areas too.
Suzanne Ludwig
K-12 Teacher
I tweaked a little.... 3 things I discovered, 2 things I sort of knew but didn't know...., and I more thing I want to know.
Kristina Bowers
K-12 Teacher
Ditto on Judy Herr comment "It's not clear to me what the difference is between 3 things I DISCOVERED versus 2 INTERESTING facts. Can you clarify the difference? I understand how to teach T charts and the difference between important and interesting facts, but I don't know how to explain this 3-2-1 strategy. ( I get the 1 more thing I want to learn part.)

Thanks.
Jnet1
K-12 Teacher
this is a great lesson; I will enjoy presenting it next week!
Newchurch
K-12 Teacher
I was thinking that interesting facts would come from the informational captions whereas the main facts would come from the main text.
Angela Fink
K-12 Teacher
Thanks for the time spent putting this together! It is very easily adaptable to any age group! I particularly LOVE the interactive charts!
Judy Herr
K-12 Teacher
It's not clear to me what the difference is between 3 things I DISCOVERED versus 2 INTERESTING facts. Can you clarify the difference? I understand how to taech T charts and the difference between important and interesting facts, but I don't know how to explain this 3-2-1 strategy. ( I get the 1 more thing I want to learn part.)

Thanks.
Newchurch
K-12 Teacher
I was thinking that interesting facts would come from the informational captions whereas the main facts would come from the main text.
Allison
K-12 Teacher
I think the difference in the usage of discovery vs interesting facts is that I can tell you something I discovered by reading a text, but that doesn't mean it was interesting. Interesting would be something I thought was cool or exciting. Naturally, this would vary from student to student. Either way, you have students exploring a text, reading, and learning more about a topic. As long as they are doing this, I'm happy, regardless of the terms used to organize their thinking.
Angela Fink
K-12 Teacher
Thanks for the time spent putting this together! It is very easily adaptable to any age group! I particularly LOVE the interactive charts!
Srinivasan Kannan
College/Professor
I am new to lesson plan concept. I enjoyed reading all the materials. I feel these ideas can be adopted/adapted for other instructional areas too.
AYOKA BENNETT
K-12 Teacher
I like the Suzanne tweaks and I did a tweak of her tweaks. I changed to reflect the informal language of my students and also include the 5 w questions ( Who, what,where,when, why ....how, which, did, Does, etc.)

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