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Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks

A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on using text features and search tools to locate information efficiently.

Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.3.5 — use key words, sidebars and links to find what you need fast. 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:
RI.3.5

Grade 3 · Reading: Informational Text

RI.3.5

Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

Objective

Students will be able to choose keywords that find the answer to a question, judge whether a result really answers it, and decide before clicking whether a sidebar or hyperlink is worth reading.

Students are successful when they can

  • Underlines two or three content words in a question and searches with those, not the whole question.
  • Says whether a result answers the question or only contains the same words.
  • Explains what a sidebar added that the main text did not.
  • Predicts what is behind a hyperlink and decides whether to follow it.

What you need

  • A printed web page, "Emperor Penguins," with a "Did You Know?" sidebar and three underlined links: krill, Antarctica, Penguin Toys for Sale
  • A printed list of five search results for "emperor penguins dive"
  • Four question cards for pairs
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — two words, not ten

5 min
  1. Write the question: "What do emperor penguins like to eat when they are in the sea?" Ask: "If you typed all of that into a search box, what would happen?"
  2. Show two searches on the board: the whole question, and "emperor penguins food." Ask which is more likely to find a page about penguin food and why.
  3. Fish for: most words in the question ("what," "do," "like," "when," "they," "are," "in," "the") appear on millions of pages and do not help. Only "emperor penguins" and "eat/food" carry the meaning.

Teach — choose, search, judge

13 min
  1. Write: "How deep can emperor penguins dive?" Underline the words that matter: "emperor penguins" and "dive" (and "deep"). Write the search: "emperor penguins dive depth."
  2. Show the printed results. A: "Emperor penguins: facts for kids — Emperor penguins can dive deeper than 500 meters to catch fish." B: "Emperor Penguin Dive — a free game! Play now." C: "Diving lessons at the city pool." D: "Penguin pictures to color." E: "How emperor penguins hold their breath underwater."
  3. Ask about each: "Does this ANSWER the question, or does it just contain the words?" A answers it. B has every keyword and answers nothing. C matches only "diving." E is related and might help, but does not promise the depth.
  4. Turn to the printed page and point at the sidebar: "Did You Know? The emperor is the tallest penguin — about as tall as a four-year-old child." Ask: "Is that in the main text?" No. A sidebar carries extra facts that sit beside the main text, not inside it.
  5. Point at the three links. Before following any, ask students to predict what is on the other side. "krill" — probably what krill is, useful if you do not know. "Antarctica" — a page about the place. "Penguin Toys for Sale" — a store, no use for a question about diving.
  6. Write on the board: "Choose. Search. Judge. Predict before you click."
“Which words matter? Everything else in the question is packaging. And when a result comes back, ask: does it answer my question, or does it just have my words in it? Those are not the same thing.”

Guided practice — four questions

12 min
  1. Pairs get four question cards: (1) "How tall is an emperor penguin?" (2) "What is krill?" (3) "How cold does it get in Antarctica in winter?" (4) "How long do emperor penguin chicks stay with their parents?"
  2. For each, pairs underline the keywords and write the search they would type, before looking at anything.
  3. Then they use the printed page: question 1 is answered by the sidebar; questions 2 and 3 by following a link; question 4 is not on the page at all, and pairs must notice and write their search instead.
  4. Pairs mark which link they would NOT follow for any of the four questions (Penguin Toys for Sale) and say why.
“Before you follow a link, tell your partner what you expect to find. If it is not what your question needs, don't go.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the printable practice sheet: a page layout with a sidebar, links and questions to answer.
  2. Circulate and ask one student per table: "Why did you use the sidebar for that one?"

Close — two keywords

2 min
  1. Ask: "Why do penguins huddle together in winter?" Take the keywords on mini-whiteboards. Look for "penguins huddle winter," not the whole question.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Types "how deep can emperor penguins dive" word for word into the search box.

Why: A search box looks like a place to ask a question, and asking a person a whole question is polite and works. Students have not yet thought about how a search tool matches words.

Fix: Underline the two or three words that carry the meaning and cross out the rest. Ask: "Would 'can' help find a penguin page?" Show that "emperor penguins dive depth" keeps every important word.

Picks "Emperor Penguin Dive — a free game!" because it has all the keywords.

Why: A result full of the same words looks like a match, and matching feels like answering. The student has checked the words, not the meaning.

Fix: Ask "What will this page tell you about how deep penguins dive?" and have them read the snippet aloud. Teach the judging question for every result: does it answer, or does it just match?

Follows every underlined link, including "Penguin Toys for Sale."

Why: Links are colored and underlined to invite clicking, and following them feels like doing research. Nobody has asked the student to predict first.

Fix: Make "predict before you click" a spoken step: say what you expect to find and whether it helps your question. Practice on the three links, deciding aloud that the toy store does not help.

If they are not there yet

  • Give the keywords already underlined for the first two questions so the student practices judging results first.
  • Work with two question cards (tall, krill) rather than four.
  • Use a three-column card for each result: "Has my words? Answers my question? Keep or skip?"

If they finish early

  • Find a question where the obvious keyword fails: "Do penguins have knees?" — "penguin knees" brings back toys and cartoons. Try better keywords such as "penguin leg bones."
  • Write a new sidebar for the penguin page: one fact the main text does not include, and a heading that tells readers why it is there.
  • Answer "Where do emperor penguins lay their eggs?" twice — once with a book's index and once with a search — and write which was faster and why.

Exit ticket

Question: "How long do emperor penguins stay at sea?" Write the keywords you would search. Then: would you follow "Emperor Penguin Life Cycle" or "Penguin Coloring Pages"? Why?

What to look for: Keywords like "emperor penguins sea time," and the life cycle link because it may explain time at sea. Whole question typed: the underline step is not yet a habit. Coloring link chosen: not predicting before clicking.

Printable practice for RI.3.5

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks

How long does the Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks 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 Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.5 — RI.3.5, Reading: Informational Text for Grade 3: “Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.” In plain terms, use key words, sidebars and links to find what you need fast.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

A printed web page, "Emperor Penguins," with a "Did You Know?" sidebar and three underlined links: krill, Antarctica, Penguin Toys for Sale, a printed list of five search results for "emperor penguins dive", four question cards for pairs 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: types "how deep can emperor penguins dive" word for word into the search box; picks "Emperor Penguin Dive — a free game!" because it has all the keywords and follows every underlined link, including "Penguin Toys for Sale.". 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: “Question: "How long do emperor penguins stay at sea?" Write the keywords you would search. Then: would you follow "Emperor Penguin Life Cycle" or "Penguin Coloring Pages"? Why?.” Keywords like "emperor penguins sea time," and the life cycle link because it may explain time at sea. Whole question typed: the underline step is not yet a habit. Coloring link chosen: not predicting before clicking. 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 Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks?

Yes — 1 printable RI.3.5 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 Keywords, Sidebars and Hyperlinks 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 RI.3.5 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.