Third Grade Curriculum

Art

Course Description: The third-grade art curriculum provides emphasis on the elements of art as a means to expand on creative possibilities in self-expression. Students have improved hand-eye coordination and small muscle control and begin to set their own standards for how materials are used successfully and what constitutes good ideas and interesting compositions.

There is an emphasis on art appreciation, skill development, self-expression, innovation, the development of aesthetic sensitivity, perseverance, and good work habits. Art terminology, design elements, and composition are introduced and applied daily as integral parts of every lesson in a manner appropriate for each young artist. Students will observe, think, discuss, choose, plan, organize, respond, and value in each art lesson. Further experience is obtained in architectural design, drawing, ceramics, collage, fiber arts, mixed media, printmaking, painting, interdisciplinary projects, and stage design and production for the LS Winter Program. Third-grade students have the opportunity to decide upon a theme, plan, and work collaboratively on an end-of-the-year project that is displayed in the LS art room and enjoyed by the entire school community. This end-of-the-year collaborative project reflects art learning in art history, imaginative problem solving, and application of art elements and skills. This project emphasizes teamwork to bring a theme from the planning stage to completion.

Learning Objectives

• Students develop and expand visual arts knowledge and skills in order to imaginatively express their art ideas and
  • acquire artistic skills through the understanding of the elements of art: line, color, shape, texture, form, value, and space.
  • explore and practice using a wide variety of art materials.
  • develop manipulative and organizational skills through the process of selecting, arranging, and decision-making.
  • recognize the importance of personal expression and respecting originality in the artwork of others.
• Students will develop a base for making aesthetic judgments by learning how to look at works of art through instructional opportunities to
  • learn to see in the manner of the artist through exposure to works of art, objects in daily life, and the environment.
  • make informed responses to works of art by applying art concepts.
  • use thinking skills such as observation, discrimination, comparison, contrast, and imagination.
• Students acquire knowledge of historical and cultural aesthetic points of view in art history through instructional opportunities and
  • study a variety of artworks and artists and their contributions, both contemporary, historic, and prehistoric.
  • describe a variety of art forms using the vocabulary of visual arts media.
  • increase their awareness of art in other cultures and the values and beliefs in a culture as communicated through the art.
  • learn to identify and appreciate differences in the aesthetic values of others.
• Students develop and expand aesthetic perception through instructional opportunities to
  • observe and describe principles of design in works of art, nature, events and objects in everyday life.
  • perceive the world in terms of visual images and symbols unique to visual art.
  • communicate aesthetic responses and the appreciation of art.

Language Arts

Course Description: The third-grade reading program is designed to reinforce skills learned in first and second grades and to further develop reading comprehension and higher-level thinking skills. Writing is an integral part of the reading program, and students learn how to access information and communicate ideas clearly in their own writing. The third-grade English program teaches grammar skills in every subject. Creative writing is an ongoing activity, paired most often with English. It is also coordinated with reading, social studies, science, spelling, and even mathematics. It can be based on personal experiences and imagination. Spelling in third grade is designed to promote phonetic spelling independence beyond instruction and to provide word lists of high-frequency writing words in order to promote, most effectively, the transfer of spelling success in daily writing.

Learning Objectives

Reading

• Read with accuracy and fluency at a third-grade reading level or higher
• Apply higher-level comprehension strategies: predicting, visualizing, questioning, making connections, and making inferences
• Identify and properly sequence main ideas and details
• Learn how to use a dictionary and glossary to define new vocabulary words and apply them to the context of the story
• Build and apply vocabulary
• Apply a variety of strategies to decode unknown words

English

• To be able to identify and apply the following grammar skills:
  • Demonstrate growing independence and confidence as a writer
  • Understand and apply the conventions throughout their writing (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation)
  • Story mapping, Venn diagramming, dictionary, and glossary usage are key components of creative and research writing
  • Create and implement a simple outline format of beginning, middle, and end
  • Expand on the following writing topics from first and second grade:
    • Pre-writing
    • Drafting
    • Revising
    • Proofreading
    • Publishing
  • Sentence structure
  • Kinds of sentences (statements, commands, questions, exclamations)
  • Subject and predicate
  • Parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs\
  • Capitalization and punctuation
  • Pronouns, possessive nouns and pronouns
  • Word usage

Mathematics

Course Description: Students have frequent opportunities for problem-solving, story problems that cover a wide range of operations, excellent provisions for the use of manipulatives, appropriate sequence of presentation, and concept reinforcement through games.

Learning Objectives

• Count, read, and write numbers to the hundred thousands
• Introduce the basics of Algebra
• Understand inequalities
• Understand fractions and decimals
• Understand the division of integers progressing from facts to division with remainders, including an introduction to long division
• Understand multiplication of integers progressing from facts to double-digit by double-digit multiplication
• Add and subtract progressing from facts to adding columns to multi-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping
• Use critical thinking and logical reasoning to solve multi-step problems
• Count, add and subtract money
• Understand elapsed time
• Tell time to the minute
• Graph data and ordered pairs
• Interpret data using charts and graphs
• Analyze and continue number patterns
• Compare and order numbers to the hundred thousands
• Understand place value to the hundred thousands
• Round to the tens, hundreds, and thousands
• Estimate to the tens, hundreds, and thousands

Instructional Methods

• Direct whole group instruction in a classroom setting
• Modeling of proper and/or alternate techniques by peers
• Individualized instruction when needed
• Modeling of proper techniques by classroom teacher

General Music

Course Description: Music at the third-grade level is a continuation of the groundwork established in the second grade. They continue to explore music concepts as well as music literacy. Both of these aspects will be the main focus for the entire year. The students will also have the opportunity to perform in various mini-assemblies as well as large-scale productions.

Learning Objectives

• Understand music literacy, including rhythm, tonal, and melodic literacies
• Understand how to use the program Prezi
• Understand different genres of music
• Discuss changes in musical style with music terminology
• Understand popular composers throughout history
• Correctly perform the recorder
• Understand the science of sound and how it relates to our classroom instruments
• Understand the different families of instruments
• Correctly perform classroom instruments
• Understand the “road signs” in a piece of music
• Understand multiple forms in music
• Decipher the form in a piece of music
• Construct and perform a melodic example
• Understand tempo in music
• Understand dynamics in music

Instructional Methods

• Direct whole group instruction in a classroom setting
• Sound Clips
• Videos
• Digital Presentations
• Small Cooperative Learning Groups
• Paired Work
• Modeling of proper techniques by the instructor

Possible Field Trips/Special Projects

Physical Education

Course Description: Students in third-grade physical education will participate in a variety of games and activities designed to increase their manipulative skills, locomotor skills, and fitness level in order to develop a life-long love of activity while bolstering their cooperation, teamwork, and personal-social skills.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate mastery of the following locomotor movements: walking, skipping, jumping, hopping, galloping, sliding, and running
• Understand and demonstrate proper and safe equipment usage
• Continue demonstration of teamwork and sportsmanship during competitive activities
• Demonstrate mastery and understanding of basic strategies used in sport-specific games
• Demonstrate mastery and understanding of sport-specific skills
• Understand boundaries for specific games and activities
• Demonstrate mastery of the following manipulative skills: throwing, catching, kicking, and striking

Instructional Methods

• Direct whole group instruction in the P.E. setting
• Drills and exercises designed for game simulation (tactical understanding)
• Drills and exercises designed for repetition and skill development
• Individualized instruction
• Whole-part-whole technique
• Demonstration of proper techniques by instructor and students

Field Trips/Special Projects

• Lower School Olympic Day
• Move Across America

Science

Course Description: The third grade uses four units from Science Place by Scholastic, Inc. During our science classes, we have whole class instruction as well as small group activities. Scientific methods are used, which include work with observations, measurements, graphing, recording, building models, and other activities relating to a given unit. Each unit contains some resources that provide background information, and students conduct experiments and complete other activities to further their understanding. The following units are covered in third grade:

Unit I – Plant Growth and Development – We plant, grow, cultivate, pollinate, and harvest our own brassica plants.
Unit II – Support Systems – We study the structures that support and move the human body.
Unit III – Electricity and Circuits - We study electricity, working directly with open and closed circuits series and parallel circuits.
Unit IV – The Solar System – We study the solar system and the bodies that make it up.

Learning Objectives

• Make and record observations
• Create a knowledge base of the topics covered: life cycle of plants and their development, support systems including the skeletal, electricity and circuits, and the solar system and the bodies that make it up
• Use scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations and build explanations: observing, communicating, comparing and organizing
• Exercise language and math skills in the context of science
• Acquire vocabulary used throughout the units (i.e., photosynthesis or dwarf planet)
• Perform experiments in the lab using the proper safety techniques as outlined in class
• Complete measurements using both the metric scale and the US standard measurements
• Make predictions and test them using the scientific method
• Pose and solve simple questions using the scientific method

Instructional Methods

• Direct whole group instruction in a classroom setting
• Modeling of proper and/or alternate techniques by peers (partner and/or group work used frequently in lab experiments)
• Individualized instruction when needed
• Modeling of proper techniques by classroom teacher

Possible Field Trips/Special Projects

Social Studies

Course Description: Our program gives students new insights into the regions of the U.S. and helps them make connections to the larger world. Course content invites students to explore the geographic, social, and economic aspects of their world. Literature, biographies, and lessons about real families introduce young learners to people and events in other times and places.

Learning Objectives

• Learn the states and capitals of every region
• Introduce study skills
  • time management
  • guided note-taking
  • use of notecards for research organization
  • use of study guides for test review
• Take notes and write a report on a Native American group
• Begin to develop and practice study habits
• Investigate the history of each region from Native Americans to present-day
• Identify early explorers of each region
• Identify resources and landforms of each region

Instructional Methods

• Direct whole group instruction in a classroom setting
• Individual instruction as needed

Field Trips/Special Projects

• Native American report

Course Description: Speaking and listening skills continue to be emphasized in third-grade Spanish class as students add vocabulary and grammar structures that allow them to express likes and dislikes, daily and leisure activities, possessions, and feelings.

Learning Objectives

Students will: 

• Greet peers and adults and introduce themselves and others.
• Count objects with numbers 1-100.
• Name and identify days of the week.
• Learn and pronounce correctly the Spanish alphabet. 
• Identify American coins and currency and apply the vocabulary in a simulated store.
• Be able to talk about foods they like and dislike. 
• Name and identify various places around town.
• Give directions using a map and directional phrases.
• Identify and name basic verbs and their verb endings.

Strings

Beginning Strings

This course is designed for students interested in beginning-level instruction on violin and cello. Students will receive instruction on tone production, basic music reading skills, and instrument care. Performances will be highlighted throughout the year.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate the correct posture to be used when playing the instrument
• Respect the abilities and efforts of others
• Exhibit personal pride, integrity, responsibility, commitment, dependability, and a strong work ethic
• Perform music for the public with the Beginning Strings class
• Hold the instrument correctly with the correct left-hand position
• Perform clean articulations on the instrument using detaché bowings
• Produce a characteristic, controlled sound on the instrument
• Form a correct bow grip for the instrument

Instructional Methods

• Direct whole group rehearsals
• Sound clips
• Individual instruction
• Small groups
• Modeling of proper techniques by the instructor

Field Trips/Special Projects

• Public concerts
• Guest speakers and performances