Welcome to Third Grade!
Below is an overview of our 3rd grade curriculum.
Language Arts
Students are taught to express their ideas effectively and clearly, both orally and in writing. Literacy Groups in which students read and share ideas about novels are an important and unique component. Students are provided daily with opportunities to develop skills in reading, writing and word study. In third grade this is accomplished through the following units of study:
- Raising the Quality of Personal Narrative Writing
- Breathing Life into Essays
- Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions
- Literary Essays: Writing About Reading
- Poetry
Ongoing units of study include: Vocabulary; Spelling; Root Words, Suffixes, Prefixes; Grammar; Editing/Revising Practices; Cursive Writing; Keyboarding.
Science
Children are encouraged to exercise their natural curiosity and to make
assumptions based on their perceptions. Children are provided with hands-on
experiments and are given the opportunity to experiment, ask questions, and
find their own answers.
We use both Delta and FOSS Science Kits in our science studies. Thematic
units include:
- Plant and Plant Adaptations
- Soil
- Light and Heat
- Muscular/Skeletal Systems
- Solar System
Social Studies
Through integrated units of study and quality literature, children explore social studies topics. These topics include: culture; individuals, groups and their interactions; governance; economics; and geography. Thematic units include:
- The Power of Community
- The Electoral Process
- Family History Project
- Community Leaders
- Tikun Olam (Community Service) Project
Geography skills and National Holidays are ongoing components of the social studies program.
Math
The Everyday Math program allows children to develop understanding of math
concepts gradually through repeated exposure to topics. This program emphasizes
the application of mathematics to real world situations. Topics include:
Number
sense 0-9999
- Multiplication and Division
- Non-negative rational numbers
- Capacity and mass
- Coordinate grids
- Circle grids
- Permutations and combinations
- Variables
- Math Superstars
Field Trips
Schoolhouse of Wonder on the Eno River
Nasher Art Museum – Duke Campus
Carolina Theatre
Morehead Planetarium – UNC Campus
Judaic Studies & Family Programs
- Fiddler on the Roof Unit, including Shtetl Life
- Immigration to the U.S.
- Ellis Island and the Lower East Side
- The Jewish Experience in America
- Introduction to Text Study – Beresheet and Shemot
- The Jewish Holidays
- The Families will be involved in an interactive Ellis Island Experience, which will include role-playing, an immigration exam, physical ability test and a citizenship course. Families will also share family recipes and eat lunch together.