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Third Grade

In 3rd grade, students move from practicing basic skills to mastering them, and begin developing some more complex skills. Students become more independent readers. Third grade reading focuses on teaching students how to think about what they read in deeper and more comprehensive ways. In writing, students continue to practice longer pieces with more detail. They learn sophisticated language, using different phrases and terms to provide examples and make connections within their writing. In math, students learn multiplication, division and fractions. Students also practice explaining math concepts by showing how they solved problems. In science, students learn about the physical and living world as they make observations, experiment, research, record, and present what they learn. In social studies students learn about different cultures and countries and as they learn more about the world they work on improving their analyzing, writing, and reading skills.

Language and Literacy:

Language Arts covers the core skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Skill development continues in reading including understanding, acquiring vocabulary, and using higher-order thinking skills to gather meaning from text.

Goals for third grade reading include:

  • increasing reading speed,
  • developing a more sophisticated reading vocabulary,
  • applying analysis to text

The book read aloud listing and book clubs in third grade will be a representative selection of books including different genres and are chosen to infuse more culturally responsive, multicultural and inclusive stories into the classroom. Read aloud listing also includes selected nonfiction topics and biographical selections to supplement curricular areas of study.

Writing:

  • Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. Third-graders will be able to use their newfound abilities to gather and organize information to persuade people about causes the children believe matter.
  • Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. Students will be able to write chapter books that synthesize a wide variety of information and learn to section their topics into subtopics.
  • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. Students will be able to extend personal narrative writing, with a growing emphasis on drafting and revising.

Spelling:

Sitton Spelling

Math:

Bridges in Mathematics

Social Studies:

In third grade the focus of study will be on the people and cultures of countries around the world. Students will begin with the question, "what makes up culture?" and will take this exploration to the study of diverse communities across the globe. Through the use of primary and secondary sources students will learn about the similarities and differences of the world's diverse countries, with particular emphasis on civic responsibility and activism.

Racial Literacy: Third grade lessons feature different stories from around the world,

focusing on voices of people who have felt different, “othered,” discriminated against, and/or persecuted and the various ways such people — both “everyday” heroes and famous figures — have responded to their situations.

Science: Following the Next Generation Science Standards, science is fully integrated into the classroom, through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics)

Units of Study:

Inheritance and Variation:

  • Why do offspring resemble their parents?

Interdependence

  • How do the traits of an organism help it to survive in it’s environment?

Change over Time:

  • How do environments change over time?

Interacting Forces:

  • What happens when objects interact?

Engineering Design

  • How do we create a simple design that solves a problem; reflecting a need or want; that includes specified criteria for success or constraints on materials, time or cost.

Technology:

  • Keyboarding without Tears- The program for teaching keyboarding is developmentally appropriate by grade.
  • Digital Citizenship: Common Sense Media
  • Google Classroom - Google tools; Google Docs and Google Slides

Field Trips:

All field trips in Third Grade support the curriculum in the classroom, are local, accessible by walking or involve limited transportation.