Grade 3

Reading

Readers Workshop is the model we use for Grade 3 reading instruction. Reader’s Workshop includes whole-group mini-lessons, small groups, and individual conferring with the teacher, with an emphasis on strengthening comprehension skills. In addition, specific strategies used by all proficient readers such as: determining what is important, inferring, using prior knowledge, asking questions, monitoring text comprehension and creating mental images are emphasized throughout the year.

Children in Grade 3 develop their ability to choose "just right" books that match their individual reading skills. In order to select books they can read independently, students are encouraged to choose books that:

• Sound like a conversation when read by the student (fluency)

• Use familiar words, most of which the student understands (vocabulary)

• Make sense to the student without struggling (comprehension)

When these criteria are met, students are best able to build their fluency, vocabulary and comprehension because they are not struggling with the text.

Grade 3 students begin to look at literature more critically by learning to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction, and to recognize and understand different types of fiction such as, realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, fantasy, plays and poetry. They study different types of non-fiction as well, including biographies and informational articles.

Writing

The writing program in the Lower School is based on the Writer’s Workshop approach, which is centered on research supporting the idea that children learn to write more readily when their writing is purposeful and directed toward a real audience. Teachers begin with mini lessons to give children a powerful model for the genre in practice. The writing program encourages children to see themselves seriously as writers and to gain confidence in their own writing as an effective form of communication. Children also engage in editing and working together, benefiting from other children's questions and comments, as they begin to use rubrics to evaluate and improve their writing.

Grade 3 writing program includes:

• Narrative: Crafting True Stories

• Informational: The Art of Informational Writing

• Opinion writing: Changing the World

Spelling

A variety of multi-level word study activities that help students become fluent decoders and spellers form the basis of the spelling program. Word study focuses on high frequency words, common spelling patterns, words misspelled in children's writing and words drawn from all subject areas.

The lower school math program is based on the Common Core Mathematics Standards, which call for students to develop conceptual understanding and skill proficiency in number, operations, measurement and geometry, through engaging problems and activities. Students are presented with lessons that provide learning experiences toward meeting grade-level math standards, and problems to solve in a small group and independently. Throughout the year, parents receive information about the mathematical content studied in each unit. Grade-level math standards can be referenced for more detail, but instructional time focuses on these four critical areas:

Operations and algebraic thinking

• Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division

• Understand the properties of multiplication and the relationship between multiplication and division

• Fluently multiply and divide within 100. (By the end of Grade 3, know all products of two one-digit numbers by memory)

• Solve problems involving the four operations and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic.

Number and operations in base ten

• Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic, including fluently adding and subtracting within 1,000 using various strategies, understanding the concept and vocabulary of fractions, and multiplying any one-digit whole number by a multiple of 10 in the range of 10-90

Measurement and data

• Solve problems involving measurement and estimations of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects

• Represent and interpret data from tables, graphs and maps

• Understand concepts of perimeter and area; know the difference between, and relate area to, multiplication and addition

Geometry

• Understand that shapes in different categories may have shared attributes with a focus on quadrilaterals

The Grade 3 social studies curriculum seeks to foster students' wonder and curiosity, while building research skills that will enable them to pursue their interests about the world. At the beginning of the year, students learn about culture and how the cultural diversity of each member contributes to the classroom community.
Students then engage in a geography focused unit called the Stories That Maps Tell. Students analyze different types of maps and infographics to uncover the stories that maps tell and build explanations as to why different maps look different. 

In the second part of the year, Grade 3 students study London and Its History through the Victorian era. They are introduced to the discipline of historical research and develop skills in perspective taking. Students examine the changes in the way people lived and worked that came about from the discovery of steam power and the Industrial Revolution. Through discussions, readings and observations of primary sources, students explore some of the causes and consequences of societal change during this era. With growing capability to grasp abstract concepts and use secondary research methods to find information, students learn to read more effectively for information and to search a variety of sources including books, reference materials, and the Internet to find answers to their research questions. In addition to these search techniques, students learn to pose research questions, narrow or broaden a topic of inquiry, take and sort notes, and develop strategies for writing informative reports.

Grade 3 students receive three lessons each eight-day cycle, taught by the lower school science specialist. The pedagogy, materials and lessons are based on the Next Generation Science Standards and center on students creating their understanding from investigations of phenomena. Our science program uses an integrated approach connecting concepts through practices and cross-cutting themes such as patterns, systems, and cause and effect. The Grade 3 curriculum has an emphasis on forces, traits and environment, weather and climate. Woven throughout these units are opportunities for inquiry and authentic discovery. Building upon curiosity and a natural tendency towards exploration and experimentation, Grade 3 students begin to devise test situations and plan investigations to prove or disprove their claims.

In the first semester, students make observations and collect quantitative data on the characteristics of forces and their interactions. The properties of magnetic forces are explored, while design solutions are defined using magnets to solve a problem. In applying their understanding, students follow a design process to create a moving toy that is tested and revised to roll effectively. In the next unit, students develop models describing the characteristics of all organism life cycles and use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment. 

In the second semester, the students extend their understanding of life sciences through a consideration of ecosystem change. Using evidence, students construct an argument for why some organisms within a habitat can survive better than others. Interpreting data from fossils allows students to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. The focus then moves to weather and climate. Exploring the system of weather, students investigate the concepts of air and atmosphere, phase change, the water cycle and weather patterns. Through an analysis of local weather data, students make predictions about future conditions and differences between weather and climate are defined. The final project integrates second-semester understanding into a student-designed digital ecosystem based on bird populations in the Galapagos Islands.