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During the third grade, the balance begins to shift from developing skills to using skills to acquire knowledge. Children make the leap from learning to read to reading to learn, increasingly using reading to gain information necessary to interact with the curriculum.
The third-grade student is able to work collaboratively on academic challenges. They have the skills with which to work independently from the teacher, and they are developing the ability to understand another student’s explanations and perspective.
During the third grade, students are ready to study a past culture in depth. They are able to use their reading skills to research different aspects of the culture. They have the cognitive maturity to understand a culture that is separate from them in both time and place.
|
Subject |
Topic |
Activities |
| Reading and Language Arts |
Reading Units (stressing comprehension) |
 Reading
with Stamina and Meaning Thinking, Talking, and Writing about Books Storytelling Non-fiction Close Reading of Short
Texts Author studies Books clubs by interest (e.g. mystery, fantasy, etc.) |
| Decoding Strategies | Phonics and word analysis (word patterns,
syllabication, structural cues) Semantic and Syntactic Strategies Visual cues Sight words |
|
| Reading Structure | Individual
reading with a teacher and by self Partnership Reading Reading in groups |
|
| Writing Workshop | Methodology
of the Writing Institute at Teachers College Introduction to the
Writer’s Notebook Personal Narrative/Memoir Realistic fiction “All
About" Books Poetry "Edge of the Seat" stories |
|
| Spelling | Word
study Word hunts Word sorts Frequent and less frequent patterns Structural analysis Syllabication Sight words |
|
| Handwriting | Consolidation
of cursive |
|
| Keyboarding | Beginning
instruction in Keyboarding |
|
| Math |
Number Systems and Number Sense |
Multi-digit
addition and subtraction with regrouping 4-digit numbers (1000-9999) Money Quick and fluid recall of addition and subtraction
facts through 20 |
| Problem Solving and Probability | Throughout
the year |
|
| Multiplication | Seeing
the patterns Looking at arrays Learning the facts Introduction to multi-digit multiplication Introduction
to division |
|
| Data and Graphing | Making
graphs Interpreting graphs |
|
| Measurement | Beginning
use of a ruler Area and perimeter Surface area Metric measurement |
|
| Assessment | Informal Reading Inventory | Reading
assessment (decoding and comprehension) |
| Stanford Achievement Test | Practice
in test-taking strategies for similar tests given in fourth and fifth
grades Verbal ability, auditory comprehension, reading
comprehension, writing mechanics, writing process, quantitative
ability, mathematics |
|
| Community Building |
|
Class
meetings and conflict resolution activities throughout the day and
embedded in all the curriculum Outdoor
education Current events |
| Social Studies and Science | Study of the Hudson River | Study
of the Hudson River and the Hudson River watershed from long ago until
today How have different people seen/used
the river How has the Hudson River changed
over time? How did the Lenape use the
river? What role have people played in
the development and health of the river over time? Study
of properties of water as seen in the river Study
of estuaries and the ecology of the river Trips
to the river, across the river, up the river Skills
of observing, recording, and summarizing Basic
research using pictures, books (title page, table of contents, index,
chapter headings, glossary), museums |
| Alternative Education | Black Rock Forest, NY (overnight) | Cooperation Water
and Native American survival skills Hudson River Reflecting and writing about experiences |
| World Language |
Spanish (full-year study of one or the other) |
Large
numbers The Solar System Commands Body parts/clothes Cooking Comparative—big, medium, small Study of Native
Americans Muzzy video series |
|
French (full-year study of one or the other) |
Large
numbers The Solar System Commands Body parts/clothes Cooking Comparative—big, medium, small LE Metro de Paris Children’s
literature Muzzy video series |
|
| Homework | Organization Strategies | Homework
3 nights a week and then 4 nights |
| Reading | 30
minutes a night |
|
| Writing and math | Two
times each week for each |
|
| Music | Practice
the recorder |
|
| Spelling | Spelling
exercises and words |
|
| Music | Orff process | Introduction
to meter (double/triple) & conducting Exploration of more complex
step patterns Representation of melody through movement, sustaining
pitches Pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic songs and melodies,
vocal games, sustaining pitches Introduction to recorder technique,
melody contour, phrasing, tone production Songs accompanied by
vocal or instrumental ostinati Instrumental improvisations Form:
ABACA, solo/chorus |
| Art |
Emphasis on learning techniques and being independent |
Drawing
with a variety of materials (beginning to focus on different techniques) Painting
with tempera and watercolors Sculpture construction with a variety
of materials Introduction of intricate techniques for image
making with paper Collage with a variety of materials (introduce
working with tissue paper) Intermediate monoprinting techniques with tempera
paint Rubbings with crayons |
| Physical Education |
|
Students
engage in activities designed to provide for the development of perceptual
skills such as Object Handling, Balance Activities, Apparatus Work Students
receive guidance in the development of social skills, emotional expressions
and control through participation in such activities as Large Group
Games, Small Group Games, Dance, and Recreational Activities |