Overview of each subject...

Language Arts:

In Grade 3, students read and write more independently than in any previous grade and spend significant blocks of time engaged in reading and writing on their own as well as in assigned tasks and projects. Students listen critically to spoken messages, think about their own contributions to discussions, and plan their oral presentations. Third grade students read grade-level material fluently and with comprehension. Students use root words, prefixes, suffixes, and derivational endings to recognize words. Students demonstrate knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, and multi-meaning words. Students are beginning to distinguish fact from opinion in texts. During class discussions, third grade students support their ideas and inferences by citing portions of the text being discussed. Students read in a variety of genres, including realistic and imaginative fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from classic and contemporary works. Third grade students write with more complex capitalization and punctuation such as proper nouns and commas in a series. Students write with more proficient spelling of contractions and homonyms. Third grade students write longer and more elaborate sentences and organize their writing into larger units of text. Students write several drafts to produce a final product. Students revise their writing to improve coherence, progression, and logic, and edit final drafts to reflect standard grammar and usage. Students master manuscript writing and may begin to use cursive writing. It is the goal of the state that all children read on grade level by the end of Grade 3 and continue to read on grade level or higher throughout their schooling.

Math:

Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 3 are multiplying and dividing whole numbers, connecting fraction symbols to fractional quantities, and standardizing language and procedures in geometry and measurement.  Students use appropriate language and organizational structures such as tables and charts to represent and communicate relationships, make predictions, and solve problems.

Science:

The study of science includes planning and implementing simple classroom and field investigations to develop the skills of collecting information using tools such as a microscope, making inferences, communicating conclusions, and making informed decisions. Students also use computers and information technology tools to support scientific investigations.

 As students learn science skills, they identify the importance of components of the natural world including rocks, soils, water, and atmospheric gases. They observe the direction and position of objects as they are pushed and pulled, and movement of the Earth's surface as examples of change caused by a force. Students investigate magnetism and gravity. In addition, students explore organisms' needs, habitats, and competition with other organisms within their ecosystem.

Health:

Students build on the knowledge and skills learned in the second grade. In addition to students learning health knowledge that can help them improve or maintain health habits, students begin to learn about body systems, growth and development, and the relationship between health and the environment. Students are also introduced to interpersonal skills that they will use to communicate and interact with friends and family.

Social Studies:

Students learn how individuals have changed their communities and world. Students study the effects inspiring heroes have had on communities, past and present. Students learn about the lives of heroic men and women, who made important choices, overcame obstacles, sacrificed for the betterment of others, and embarked on journeys that resulted in new ideas, new inventions, and new communities. Students expand their knowledge through the identification and study of people who made a difference, influenced public policy and decision-making, and participated in resolving issues that are important to all people. Throughout Grade 3, students develop an understanding of the economic, cultural, and scientific contributions made by individuals.

Physical Education (PE):

Students begin to learn and demonstrate more mature movement forms. Students also learn age-specific skills and the health benefits of physical activity. Students begin to learn game strategies, rules, and etiquette.

Fine Arts (Art, Music, Theatre):

Students rely on their perceptions of the environment, developed through increasing visual awareness and sensitivity to surroundings, memory, imagination, and life experiences, as a source for creating artworks. They express their thoughts and ideas creatively, while challenging their imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and problem-solving skills.

Students develop their intellect and refine their emotions, understanding the cultural and creative nature of musical artistry and making connections among music, the other arts, technology, and other aspects of social life. Through creative performance, students apply the expressive technical skills of music and critical-thinking skills to evaluate multiple forms of problem solving.

Through perceptual studies, students increase their understanding of self and others and develop clear ideas about the world. Through a variety of theatrical experiences, students communicate in a dramatic form, make artistic choices, solve problems, build positive self-concepts, and relate interpersonally.

Technology:

Students will use a variety of technology as a tool that supports their work in all areas.  Including technology related terms, concepts, and data input strategies.