Mrs. Ondis

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Curriculum 
Grade 3
2009-2010
Mrs. Ondis

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading:
Literature: Literature Works Collection, Celebrate Reading! and chapter books

Third graders will be involved in reading many different stories and books.  
The skills to be covered will be main idea, summarizing, developing 
questions, cause and effect, prediction, and making connections to the 
literature.  This year third graders will learn to participate in literature 
circles.  Students will be in small groups and each will have a job for one 
week.  Some of the jobs are question creator, discussion leader, imaginative 
illustrator, word detective, and story summarizer.  On Fridays, the group 
will come together to discuss the reading and the discussion leader will 
facilitate the group talk.  Other activities that students will be involved 
with during reading times will be making connections to the literature, 
responding to questions in a reading journal and creating different endings 
to the books they have read.

Literature Anthology: The stories in the anthologies, Literature Works, and 
Celebrate Reading! are presented as whole class reading or small group 
reading.  The topics covered include stories from around the world, wonders 
of the sea, and animal tales.  Responses to the literature include journal 
writing and discussions.

Literature Groups: Students will read novels and respond to questions during 
group discussions as well as written responses to questions.  We will then 
come together to discuss the written responses as well as expand on new ideas 
and themes discovered in the book.  Some of the novels the class will be 
reading include Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner, Bunnicula by Deborah and 
James Howe, Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant, and Sadako and the Thousand 
Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr.  The themes covered include animal tales, 
biographies, school stories, tall tales, non-fiction about the Oregon Trail, 
and mysteries.

Independent Reading: Each day the students have an opportunity to read a book 
of their choice.  At the completion of each book, the students are to include 
important events about the book in a book review log.

Writing: In addition to journal writing suspense stories and descriptive 
writing, the students work on a story of their choice.  They are experiencing 
the process of writing, starting with brainstorming and then moving to their 
first draft, editing, teacher conference, revising and finally publishing. 
Lessons center on word choice, developing story ideas, writing about a 
particular genre and story starters.  Some genres the students will be 
exploring will be suspense, tall tales and non-fiction research writing.

Grammar: We focus on a specific grammatical topic weekly.  Students practice 
a few minutes daily, usually as early morning work, on the point of the 
week.  Topics include parts of speech, punctuation, quotation marks and 
complete sentences.

Spelling: Weekly spelling words focus on a specific rule or letter 
combination.  The spelling lists are individualized but all follow the same 
rule.  The students will take a spelling test on Friday given by 
their “spelling buddy”.  
Short vowels
Words with silent e
Words with sh, th, ch, wh
Words with y
Words with –ck and –k
Vowel blends
R controlled vowels

MATH
Math Guides: 
Investigations Grade 3
Addison Wesley Grade 3
Everyday Math
Enrichment/Challenge Folders

Students will be engaged in mathematical thinking as they explore and develop 
number sense, geometric relationships, and problem solving skills.  They will 
be working cooperatively and independently as they express their learning 
through talking, drawing and writing.  Many activities will provide hands on 
experience and give the students a concrete model for abstract concepts.  
Topics to be covered include:
Addition and subtraction facts
Place value
Counting currency
Addition and subtraction strategies
Measurement
Telling time
Perimeter and area
Understanding multiplication
Multiplication facts
Problem solving

Race Around the States
Because we will be using larger numbers, students need to know the basic 
facts.  Staring in November, students will take weekly math fact speed tests 
in order to solidify number facts.  The students will work on each test at 
their own pace starting with addition facts and ending with division facts.  
This will start in December to give the student more time to practice their 
math facts.

SOCIAL STUDIES
The main focus of social studies this year is learning how to research while 
learning about the world around them.  The students are given research 
guides, instruction, and age appropriate books.  They are taught how to use 
the Internet and select reliable sites for information.  Students are asked 
to demonstrate their knowledge through writing, creative projects, pictures 
and dramatic plays.  Topics to be explored this year include:
Map skills and Geography
Rhode Island History 
Famous Rhode Islanders, designing postcards from around RI, creating a RI 3-D 
map
Biography Study
Students will be reading a biography and then creating a script for our 
Biography Breakfast to share with the audience
Frontier Era
Students will be reading How I Traveled West in a Covered Wagon, playing The 
Oregon Trail, learning about legendary westerners
Oceanic Country Study (Japan, Cuba, Australia)
Learning about different cultures and the dependence and use of the ocean for 
these countries
Time For Kids 
Weekly student magazine covering current events such as the election

SCIENCE
The science program is inquiry-based.  Students are given time to experiment 
with materials, and are asked to draw conclusions from their 
experimentations.  They are asked to write about their observations and 
conclusions.  Topics of study include:
Life Science: Structures of Life (KITES)
Students observe, categorize, compare and care for a selection of organisms.  
They will identify properties of plants and animals to then sort and group 
organisms.
Earth Science: Water (KITES)
The students explore properties of water, changes in water, and   
interactions between water and other earth materials. 
Physical Science: Sound (KITES)
Students use tuning forks, slide whistles, strings, and other sound-producing 
objects to investigate the characteristics of sound as well as the anatomy of 
the human ear.  They apply what they learn in the unit by designing and 
building musical instruments or other sound-producing devices.
Health and Nutrition

For more information on the KITES curriculum, please visit, 
http://www.ebecri.org/default.html

General Information

School begins at 8:15 and it is very important that students arrive on time 
to complete their morning work and start the day off without feeling as 
though they are catching up.

Student work and parent notes from the classroom teacher will be sent home 
Friday.  Other notes may come home during the week in the take home folder.  
The take home folder needs to be returned to school on a daily basis.
You can reach me via e-mail at bondis@ric.edu .  I check my messages in the 
afternoon and try to respond within one day of receiving a message.
Any changes of dismissal should be in writing and given to the teacher in the 
morning, or by calling Jen in the office throughout the day at 456-8127.

Homework
Homework is given weekly.  Students will take home the packet on Mondays. The 
first page of the homework packet will be posted on the class website,
http://www.teacherweb.com/RI/HenryBarnardSchool/BarbraOndis/. Homework is a 
reinforcement of what we do in class throughout the week, but the students 
are more than welcome to get started at least on their spelling workbooks 
ahead of time.

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