Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence
A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on taking brief notes from sources and sorting evidence into provided categories.
Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard W.3.8 — take brief notes from sources and sort them into given categories. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- W.3.8
Grade 3 · Writing
W.3.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Objective
Students will be able to take short notes from a source in their own words by covering the text before writing, check each note against the source, and sort the notes into given categories, deciding where a note that fits two categories belongs.
Students are successful when they can
- Each note is shorter than the source sentence, about 3-6 words.
- No note copies a run of more than three words from the source.
- Each note still makes sense when read back at the end of the lesson.
- Every note is placed in a category, and one note that could fit two has a reason for where it went.
What you need
- The emperor penguin paragraph on chart paper and one copy per student (written out in the Teach section)
- A card or folded paper per student for covering the text
- Three category boxes on paper: Where they live, How they keep warm, What they eat
- Sticky notes for writing one note each
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — shrink this sentence
5 min- Write: "Emperor penguins, which are the largest of all the penguins, can grow to be about as tall as a seven-year-old child."
- Students write a note of no more than five words on whiteboards.
- Display three versions: A "Emperor penguins, which are the largest" B "emperor = biggest penguin, child-tall" C "tall." Ask which is the clearest note. Fish for B: it keeps both facts and drops the rest. A is copied and stops halfway; C will mean nothing tomorrow.
Teach — cover, then write
13 min- Read the paragraph aloud: "Emperor penguins live in Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth. To keep warm, they huddle together in big groups and take turns standing on the cold outside edge. Their feathers are packed so tightly that wind and water cannot get through. They dive deep under the ice to catch fish and squid."
- Read the first sentence again. Then cover it with a card. Say, "Now I can't copy it," and write from memory: "live Antarctica — coldest place."
- Uncover and check: is the note true to the source? Yes. Is it shorter? Yes. Is it my words? Mostly, and short labels are fine.
- Say why we cover: "If I can see the sentence, my hand copies it before my brain has decided what matters. Covering forces me to choose."
- Do the next three sentences the same way, with the class calling out notes: "huddle in groups, take turns outside," "tight feathers block wind, water," "dive under ice — fish, squid."
- Place the notes in the boxes. "Fish, squid" goes in What they eat. "Huddle" and "feathers" go in How they keep warm.
- Hold up "live Antarctica — coldest place" and ask: "Where they live, or How they keep warm?" Let the class argue. Settle it by asking what the note is MAINLY about: the place. It goes in Where they live. Say that deciding is the point, and a reason is better than a guess.
“Read it, cover it, then write it. If you can still see the words, you will copy them.”
Guided practice — six notes
12 min- Give a second paragraph on the same penguins: "The female lays one egg in winter. She passes it to the male and walks to the sea to eat. The male keeps the egg warm on his feet under a flap of skin for about two months. He eats nothing at all during that time. When the female returns, she brings food for the chick."
- Students take a note on a sticky note for each sentence using read-cover-write, then add one more from the first paragraph to make six.
- Add a fourth category box: Babies. Students sort all six notes.
- Partners swap and check one thing only: does any note copy more than three words in a row from the source? If it does, the writer re-covers and rewrites.
“When you check your partner's notes, put your finger on the source sentence and their note side by side. If three words match in a row, hand it back.”
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the note-taking page. The source is on the sheet.
- Remind them to fold the sheet so the source is hidden while each note is written.
Close — what was cut?
2 min- Read one note and its source sentence side by side.
- Ask: "What did the note-taker cut, and did we lose anything important?"
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Copies the whole sentence as the note: "Their feathers are packed so tightly that wind and water cannot get through."
Why: Copying is accurate and needs no decisions, so it feels safe. The student does not yet know which words matter, so keeping them all avoids choosing wrong.
Fix: Physically cover the source before writing. Model on the feathers sentence: cover it, then ask "What were the important words?" The class usually says "feathers, tight, wind, water," which is the note.
Writes notes so short they mean nothing later: "turns" or "flap."
Why: Right now the meaning is obvious because the source was just read, so one word feels like enough. Shorter has also been praised as "better notes."
Fix: Read all notes back at the end of the lesson with the source closed. Ask "What does 'turns' mean?" When the student cannot say, show the fix: "take turns on cold outside." The test is: would this make sense tomorrow?
Cannot place a note and leaves it out: "male eats nothing for two months" left unsorted.
Why: The categories were made before the student read the second paragraph, and this fact does not obviously fit any of them. The student assumes they are doing something wrong.
Fix: Add an "Other" box. Then look at what collects there: three baby-related notes show a missing category, Babies. Say that good researchers change their categories when the facts demand it.
If they are not there yet
- Three notes rather than six, all from the first paragraph.
- Two categories rather than three: Keeping warm and Food.
- Give a note with blanks to complete after covering: "live in ___ — ___ place."
If they finish early
- Sort the six notes into your own categories without the given boxes, name each category, and explain why your sort works.
- Find the note that fits two categories best — e.g. "male keeps egg on feet" (Babies or Keeping warm) — and split it into two notes, one for each.
- Turn the notes in How they keep warm into a 3-sentence paragraph without looking at the source.
Exit ticket
Read, then cover: "Penguins have a layer of fat called blubber under their skin, which helps them stay warm in icy water." Write a note in five words or fewer and name its category.
What to look for: e.g. "blubber under skin — warm," in How they keep warm. A copied run like "a layer of fat called blubber" means covering is not happening. One word ("fat") means test notes for tomorrow-sense. Where they live suggests sorting by a keyword (icy).
Printable practice for W.3.8
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Take Brief NotesRead the text, then answer the questions.
Questions about Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence
How long does the Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence teach?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.8 — W.3.8, Writing for Grade 3: “Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.” In plain terms, take brief notes from sources and sort them into given categories.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The emperor penguin paragraph on chart paper and one copy per student (written out in the Teach section), a card or folded paper per student for covering the text, three category boxes on paper: Where they live, How they keep warm, What they eat, sticky notes for writing one note each and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: copies the whole sentence as the note: "Their feathers are packed so tightly that wind and water cannot get through."; writes notes so short they mean nothing later: "turns" or "flap." and cannot place a note and leaves it out: "male eats nothing for two months" left unsorted. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Read, then cover: "Penguins have a layer of fat called blubber under their skin, which helps them stay warm in icy water." Write a note in five words or fewer and name its category.” e.g. "blubber under skin — warm," in How they keep warm. A copied run like "a layer of fat called blubber" means covering is not happening. One word ("fat") means test notes for tomorrow-sense. Where they live suggests sorting by a keyword (icy). That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence?
Yes — 1 printable W.3.8 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Taking Notes and Sorting Evidence free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to W.3.8 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.