3rd Grade

In third grade, students develop strategies that help them thrive as individuals and as part of a group. They gain an understanding of when and how to apply what they’ve learned, and take ownership of their actions and decisions in school.

Literacy, mathematics, and social studies are the primary subjects explored in homeroom classes. Specialist teachers provide instruction in art, library, wellness, music, and tinkering with technology. A year-long exploration of water drives the social studies and science classes, which are devoted to water quality, human impact, as well as salmon biology and life cycle. Curriculum-focused small groups are a central part of the learning dynamic, and studies are reinforced with in-class independent study and Ipads.

By the end of the year, they have engaged in techniques to self-regulate their emotions and increase their ability to identify the feelings and perspectives of others, developed cooperative behaviors, practiced empathy, and expanded their ability to listen and express feelings. They’ve learned how to work together on classroom agreements and have begun practicing the steps of conflict resolution. Student progress is analyzed and supported with reading, writing, and math assessment tools.

3rd Grade Academic Overview

The Arts

The Arts provide opportunity for students to explore ideas and express thoughts and emotions.Over their time in the Beginning and Lower School, they develop skills in music, woodshop, and visual arts.

In the Woodshop, students develop general shop and safety skills with hammers, saws, and drills. They practice proper ergonomic use of hand tools including body position, alignment to work, and repetitive body logistics. Students engage in group and independent projects attending to planning, material selection, step by step sequencing of construction, artistic finishing, and clean up practices.

First through fifth graders visit the Art Barn to explore the visual arts. Inspired by other artists, the outdoors, and their own imaginations they engage across mediums including drawing, painting, and building with clay, sewing, and collage.

Based in the Orff music education tradition, music provides time for students to express themselves through sounds and movement. Inspired by artists across cultures and by their own musicality, students have the opportunity to practice both ensemble and individual musical skills. They learn concepts of rhythm, tone, and pitch by playing instruments such as the xylophone, glockenspiel, and marimba.

Literacy

Building on practices developed in the previous year, third graders expand their abilities and interest in literacy with more challenging texts, and with the addition of reading literature circles, independent writing projects, and reading and writing conferences.

Reading

Third graders engage in six types of reading throughout the year: reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, literature circles, and reading conferences.

Reading aloud: Teacher read from chapter books, picture books, nonfiction, and poetry, and encourage discussion. Children hear fluent and expressive reading while gaining access to texts that might be beyond their reading ability.
Shared reading: This technique is used on a limited basis to strengthen fluency. Partners might share a poem for two voices, or a small group might take on character roles from a text to practice reading with fluency and expression.
Guided reading: This format brings together small groups of students who are at similar stages in their reading development. Teachers select texts so students can work on comprehension strategies and parts of grammar, such as contractions, syllables, and proper nouns.
Independent reading: Students practice the habits of effective readers during this time. They develop favorite types of books, genres, topics, and authors. Teachers expand students’ tastes by giving book talks, inviting students to tell the group about a favorite book, and sometimes by assigning a book that will stretch a student. Teachers are available to confer with students or teach small reading groups.
Literature circles: In these discussions, students develop their own thinking about books while sharing and listening to others. Students develop proficiency with thinking deeper about a text, and thinking beyond the text itself. They search for evidence within the text to back up their ideas and answers. Discussions are a rich opportunity to learn more about books from many perspectives.
Check-in conferences: Students routinely check-in with teachers to review an aspect of their independent work. At the beginning of the year, conferences serve as a time to assess each student’s reading level to determine reading groups and to help students select appropriate independent reading books. As the year progresses, reading conferences are used for teachers to listen to each student read orally and provide immediate feedback.

Writing

The third grade writing program has four components: mini lessons, independent writing, writers’ circles, and writing conferences.

Mini-lessons: The whole class participates in these writing sessions. Students are guided in specific writing tools, concepts, and techniques. Different types of writing are modeled from expository and narrative to poetry. Students learn the importance of supporting details, use of paragraphs, and punctuation.
Independent writing: Students work on self-selected and assigned writing topics. Some students work quietly on a draft with headphones to focus their thoughts; others use the time to confer with partners or a teacher, meet in a guided reading group, revise an almost finished piece, or prepare a piece for publication.
Writers’ circles: These groups vary in size and purpose. Sometimes the whole class meets together; other times writers’ circles are composed of a few students. Time might be devoted to sharing drafts to get feedback and ideas, or to provide an opportunity for sharing published pieces and hearing peers’ compliments.
Writing conferences: These are one-to-one meetings between students and teachers to discuss a work in progress or review a piece that’s ready to publish. Teachers offer personalized feedback about organizing ideas, the writing process, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and story elements. It is also a time to assess the student’s strengths and develop goals for the next steps in developing as a writer.

Word Study

The focus is on spelling patterns where students construct an understanding based on studying groups of words. Additionally, students focus on spelling while participating in writers’ circle during the editing phase of the writing process.

Mathematics

In third grade, students continue to develop their understanding of the practical implications of mathematics. They explore area as a starting point to uncover the concepts of multiplication and then continue to experiment with strategies and situations involving multiplication and division. The varied experiences and understandings help students become fluent with their multiplication and division facts. Students also investigate fractions as numbers and equivalent amounts. Students strengthen their math community and continue to engage in mathematical discourse.

Big Ideas in Third Grade:

Multiplication and Division: strategies, implications, and fluency
Fractions as Numbers
Add and Subtract within 1,000 Fluently: using place value understanding and algorithms
Measuring Length, Time, Liquid, Volume, and Weight
Two Dimensional Shapes and Perimeter

Modern Languages

First through fifth grade students study either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish. During their time in the Beginning and Lower School they acquire cultural understanding and build a foundation for language acquisition and fluency. Students are immersed in situations where they develop language skills by drawing on their own experiences to engage in conversations with the teacher and peers. Through movement, song, play, art, conversation, and oral and written activities they begin to learn to listen, speak, read and write in their studied language.

Sciences

In science, students participate in ongoing inquiry cycles where they are presented with a provocation to spark their curiosity, immerse themselves in a topic, investigate by learning new information, and share their thinking in multiple ways. They engage in studies of physical science, life science, earth and space science, and engineering and technology.

Questions explored in third grade include:

What are traits? How are they inherited? How can traits be influenced by the environment?
What are the properties of water? How does the water cycle work?
Why is clean water important? How can I create a filter to clean water?
What are forces? How do forces affect motion?

Social Studies

Third graders begin the year by learning how to collaborate and interact together in a positive way, and learn about social studies locally. We work together on classroom agreements, and on learning about themselves and other students. Identity work is done through various means, (e.g., literature studies, poetry writing, and class discussions) to help us better understand ourselves and the people in our community. Students then think about what it takes to make a community thrive. We then begin to shift our focus with an overarching theme of Water. Students study watersheds, local water use, human interactions with water, the water cycle and Oregon’s climate. We then move beyond our local community to learn about how people in other parts of the world access water.

Wellness

Students engage in wellness classes in the indoor tennis court, on the track, and across outdoor spaces on campus. Our holistic approach to wellness helps children develop habits for healthy living that will last across their lives. Children develop skills across four domains:

Physical

Moving body is various ways; developing gross motor skills
Understanding what helps a body perform well

Mental

Noticing what causes emotions and stress
Developing a toolbelt of strategies to regulate emotions and stress

Intellectual

Trying new activities
Using strategies in games
Reflecting on progress

Social

Working with others in productive ways
Being a good sport
Showing appreciation for others