3RD GRADE CURRICULUM

Reading

In third grade we are following a Learning Focus-Balanced Literacy reading program. There are eight main reading skills that we work on throughout the year. The following eight skills will be focused on: main idea, literary elements, sequencing, fact/opinion, compare/contrast, cause & effect, inferences, and more literary elements (theme, mood, style).

The students will work on these skills during whole group reading instruction at grade level and during a flexible group time. During flex group, students are split into groups based on ability. The groups work on the same reading skill but at their level.

Writing

Writing will no longer be a separate subject in the curriculum.  It will now be integrated within all other subject areas including math, science, social studies, and reading.  Students will be exposed to Writing on Demand, which is required on the state ELA test three to five times a week.  Research reports will be written in science when Endangered Animals and Wild Weather are studied.  Students will write Compare/Contrast Essays during reading and social studies.  They will compare/contrast two stories in reading and two communities in social studies.  Students will also be taught how to write essays Expressing Opinion,  poetry, Chronological Narratives, and Imaginative Stories.  Each piece of writing that is taught in third grade will be integrated throughout the curriculum.  This will give the students many opportunities to write in various subject areas.

Math

Math is always fun and exciting for third graders. We will begin the year with addition and subtraction up to three digits with and without regrouping. Students will work on geometry, telling time, counting money, place value, and number sense. The two BIG topics in math are multiplication and division. We will begin in December with multiplication facts up to 5x10 followed by division facts up to 50/10. In later months we will work on the higher facts both for multiplication and division. Students will need to work very hard to learn these facts both in and out of school.

Science

There are four main units of study in the third grade curriculum. We will study weather, simple machines, animals including endangered animals, and ponds. Health and safety topics are also studied in between these units.

Social Studies

In Social Studies this year we will begin with a unit on maps and globes. Following this unit we will study communities around the world. While we are "visiting" each community we will discuss the physical, human, and cultural characteristics, symbols and traditions that represent the community, how the community meets its needs and wants, the economy of the community, and the government. The following communities will be studied: Washington D.C., Rome, Italy, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nairobi, Kenya, and Kyoto, Japan.

Computer

Students in third grade will participate in an actual computer class in which they will work with various computer programs. The students will receive a grade for this class. Computer classes will run for a total of twenty weeks (ten week intervals). The class will run twice during a six day cycle for 40 minutes each.