Third Grade

In ELA, students will learn about finding their ‘just right’ book, how to talk about books, writing about their reading, and setting goals as readers. As our unit progresses, students will begin to work on their comprehension skills and understanding plot development. They will do so by determining the theme, summarizing key details, and interpreting the author’s use of words in a text. Students are expected to read 30 minutes daily and log on the Reading Log in their agenda books. We are beginning our narrative unit in writing. The students will learn how to go through the steps of the writing process to develop real or imagined experiences through a well-structured sequence of events. 

In math we will begin by assessing fact fluency in addition and subtraction before we dive into fact fluency in multiplication and division (1-10). We will also review counting money, telling time, measurement and place value. We will then dive right into multiplication and division by developing an understanding of equal groups and equal shares. 

In science will talk about common behaviors and attributes of scientists and begin with hands-on explorations before we delve deeper into third grade content. The third grade standards encourage students to think critically and use reasoning to explore and learn about the world around them. 

In social studies, students will begin learning map skills and about the Earth’s features. Students will use maps and globes to categorize places and regions by their human and physical conditions. 

Third graders are learning about the relationship between multiplication and division. Please be sure that your child continues to work on multiplication fact fluency. As we begin perimeter, area, fractions and multi-step math number stories fact fluency will become even more important.

In social studies we will begin looking at the relationship between environmental hazards and human activities.

In science students continue to investigate energy, magnetism and electromagnetism.

ELA 2^nd quarter: In ELA, readers will identify the theme of a fiction story and examine how authors use characters to develop the theme of a story.  Students will also summarize parts of a text and ask and answer questions about specific explicit story elements or information and make inferences. Writers will use their growing understanding of literary text to write their own narratives.

ELA 3^rd quarter: In ELA, readers will identify the main idea of an informational text, noting the key details that support it. Readers will also compare and contrast the ways in which different authors present information about the same topic. Writers will read and interpret a number of different informational texts to prepare to do their own research and write their own non-fiction piece.

Math 3^rd quarter: Mathematicians will their knowledge of multiplication and division to solve one and two-step real-world problems. apply their understanding of arrays and multiplication to find the area of a rectangle. They will develop an understanding of fractions by using concrete and visual models. Students will place fractions on a number and use this to find equivalent fractions and to compare fractions.

Science 3^rd quarter: Scientists will develop and use models to describe how organisms change in predictable patterns during their unique and diverse life cycles.  

Social studies 3^rd quarter: Students will identify the range of natural hazards facing people and explain how some populations are more vulnerable than others.

ELA 4^th quarter: In ELA, students will dig deeper into their understanding of perspectives and how their own may differ from a character or the author. They will work to identify reasons or evidence that is used to support a claim. In addition, students will learn more about author's use dialogue and they will create their own story and dialogue. Writers will reflect on their writing throughout the year and celebrate their accomplishments while examining different styles of writing.

Math 4^th quarter: Mathematicians will extend their understanding of telling time to the nearest minute and solve word problems involving additions or subtraction of time intervals in minutes. Students will understand, draw, compare, and classify two- and three-dimensional shapes and quadrilaterals. Students will move from “naming” a shape to describing, drawing, building, comparing, and classifying shapes based on properties (attributes).

Science 4^th quarter: Scientists will plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balances and unbalances forces on the motion of an object.

Social Studies 4^th quarter: Students will investigate the cultural characteristics of places and regions around the world and the economic, social and political motivations behind human exploration of Earth.

Field trips:

October 25: Coastal Discovery Museum/Honey Horn HHI

TBD in February: The Zone