Picture Guides Help Everyone Play at Oak Creek Elementary
OAK CREEK — A third-grade class at Oak Creek Elementary has created a new tool to help every student join in at recess. Over the past month, students in room 12 designed and posted colorful picture guides around the playground fences. The laminated cards show the rules and steps for popular outdoor games using symbols and clear drawings instead of long paragraphs of text.
The project began after students noticed common problems during free play. Games of four square, kickball, and tetherball often stopped because players disagreed about the rules. In addition, younger students who were still learning to read and students who spoke different home languages sometimes felt nervous about asking how to participate. Noisy outdoor areas also made it difficult for some children to hear spoken directions.
To address these hurdles, the class worked in small teams to study how games work. Each team selected one game and broke it down into four or five simple steps. Instead of relying on wordy explanations, the students chose bold visual cues. They drew numbered squares to show turn order, colored arrows to show which way a ball should travel, and simple hand symbols to show fair plays versus outs.
- laminated:
- Covered with a clear layer of plastic for protection.
- symbols:
- Pictures or shapes that stand for an idea or action.
- participate:
- To take part in an activity with others.
- hurdles:
- Problems or challenges that must be overcome.
- adjustments:
- Small changes made to improve something.
- supervisors:
- Adults whose job is to watch over students and keep them safe.
Educational example text · News Article
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts — all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
Practice editing sentences drawn from this passage with a printable worksheet.
Ready to use this passage in class?
Start free with the Mixed worksheet and 3 PDF downloads each week. Focused skill sets depend on plan.
Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What main playground problem did the students in room 12 want to solve?
- 2Why did the third graders decide to use drawings and symbols instead of written paragraphs?
About this news article passage for 3rd Grade
“Picture Guides Help Everyone Play at Oak Creek Elementary” is a news article reading passage about inclusive playground picture guides, written for 3rd Grade. It takes about 3 minutes to read (386 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.