Third Grade
Literacy
INDEPENDENT READERS & WRITERS
Third graders engage in Reader’s Workshop and build strong reading comprehension skills through the practice of asking questions, making connections, visualizing, summarizing, and finding the main idea in a passage. They keep track of reading habits and set goals. Students follow the Writer’s Process as they compose longer writing pieces. Units of Reading include: Building a Reading Life; Reading to Learn: Grasping Main Ideas and Text Structures; and Character Study. The final unit is Research Clubs.
Narrative: Small Moment Stories, Poetry
Expository: Informational Writing (Seattle History) Expert Essays & Scripts
Persuasive: Book Reviews, Urban Critter Posters
Math
In Third Grade Math the key areas of focus include: (1) developing understanding of multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and division within 100; (2) developing understanding of fractions, especially unit fractions (fractions with a numerator of 1); (3) developing understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area; and (4) describing and analyzing two dimensional shapes.
Science
Life Science: Getting to Know You: Heredity & Genetics, Urban Wildlife: Raccoons, Squirrels, Crows & More!
Earth Science: Green Spaces in Seattle: A Study of Trees & Forests
Physical Science: States of Matter (including scientific method and engineering design)
Sustainability & Stewardship: School Plant Map, Native Species Garden, “Great Valley School Bird Count”
Social Studies
My Family Culture
Seattle: Our International City
Mini Research Project on an Urban Critter
Neighborhood Maps, City Maps, World Maps