Curriculum

Language Arts

The McGraw-Hill Reading series introduces a rich blend of notable fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork with meaningful skill and strategy instruction. Writing, grammar, and spelling skills are integrated throughout this reading program.

Students will focus on the following New York State English Language Arts Standards to prepare them for the New York State ELA test.

Standard 1 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Standard 2 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Standard 3 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
Standard 4 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

1. Reading/Literature
A variety of literary sources are used to implement the language arts curriculum.

2. Reading to children
Reading to children is an important daily part of the class reading program. This is a time for the teacher and children to enjoy stories and expand their reading interests.

3. Shared Reading
The purpose of shared reading is to learn about different genres, different book formats, and different styles and literacy qualities, and to explore more sophisticated reading skills. The children will extend their understanding of the materials and reading processes through discussion with peers and the teacher.

• Vocabulary is extended
• Development of study skills
• Comprehension Strategies
• identification of story elements
• inferences
• drawing conclusions
• main idea
• cause and effect
• sequencing
• context clues

4. NYS Standards require all children read at least 25 books per year. These books will be logged in their portfolio, which is passed on to the next grade.

WRITING

1. Shared Writing
Teachers facilitate writing using a process approach

• Pre-writing
• Drafting
• Conferencing
• Editing/revising
• Publishing

2. Skills and Strategies
Paragraph construction

• Topic sentence
• Information and detail sentences
• Concluding sentence

3. Independent Writing
In independent writing, children are responsible for the drafting and editing of their written work.

4. New York Standards require all students to write at least 1,000 words per month.

5. Spelling - Weekly Units
Pre-test and final test given weekly

6. Handwriting - Cursive writing introduced

7. Grammar

• Punctuation
• Parts of speech
• Sentence structure
• Proofreading

LISTENING/SPEAKING

A variety of listening and speaking opportunities are woven into the curriculum.

Standardized Assessments

• New York State Third Grade ELA (January)
• New York State Third Grade Math Assessment (March)
• SRI periodically throughout the year

Math

The Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley program forms the basis of our math program. Topics covered include:

"PRE-MARCH"

I. Number Sense and Place Value

• Place value structure
• Reading and writing whole numbers
• Comparing and ordering numbers
• Rounding numbers

II. Additional and Subtraction

• Strategies for addition and subtraction problems
• Estimation
• Properties
• Numeric patterns

III. Measurement

• Tools and conventional units for distance, weight, and capacity
• Estimating measurement

IV. Multiplication and Division Facts

• Models for multiplication and division
• Properties

V. Geometry

• Shapes - 2-D and 3-D
• Symmetry

VI. Time and Money

• Counting and representing money
• Telling time and using analog and digital clocks

VII. Fractions

• Fractions as parts of whole or set
• Unit fractions

"POST-MARCH"

• Congruent and similar figures
• Equivalent fractions
• Solving multiplication problems
• Estimation in real-world situations
• Statistics, probability, and graphing

Problem solving strategies are taught in conjunction with all of the topics covered.

Science

1. Metric Measurement

• Linear
• Weight/mass
• Volume
• Temperature

2. Soils

• Properties of soils
• Components of soil

3. Solar System

• Earth - rotation, revolution
• Phases of Moon
• Planets

4. Nutrition

• Food pyramid
• Fat, sugar, acid experiments on food
• Healthy choices

5. Adaptations and Behaviors of Animals

• Life cycle of animals
• Anatomy
• Growth and development
• Metamorphosis
• Frog

6. Nature's Classroom

Social Studies

COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD - LEARNING ABOUT PEOPLE AND PLACES

The third grade Social Studies program explores communities around the world. The four units students will study are:

• Geography
• United States
• China
• Brazil

The following essential questions will focus the study of Communities Around the World:

• In what ways are world communities similar and different?
• How has geography affected world communities?
• How do social, economic, political and cultural systems impact world communities?
• How do world communities change and develop?