Grade 3 Curriculum

Overview Grade 3 Curriculum Overview

Students in the Third Grade are known for their enthusiasm and an infectious belief that they are capable of anything. This attitude allows them to create dynamic science projects, enjoy field trips and build elaborate sets to showcase their understanding of a topic. Their interest in the larger world allows them to study countries and share their knowledge with the class. They are even able to take on challenges such as creating a “Bard Bash,” which culminates in a movie version of a Shakespearean play. Third graders are encouraged to work things out with their peers and practice kindness in the classroom. As third graders explore the boundaries with social graces and become more self aware, character education becomes a priority of the classroom. They feel safe to sometimes play with language and act out social concerns. Eight-year-olds love to push themselves to the limit and explore the world at large. As such, the Third grade class can oftentimes be found having class outside or eating their lunches in the courtyard on a sunny day.

Language Arts

Because of their strong foundation in Language Arts in the previous years, students in Third Grade are challenged to develop and hone their literacy skills to a very high standard. Students are provided with a variety of reading experiences, including partner reading, whole-group lessons, guided reading, and other strategies to help them grow as readers. The curriculum requires students to read with a purpose, to gather information, to organize their thoughts for classroom discussion, and to write essays and reports. A major focus in Third Grade is the life and works of William Shakespeare. Students are also engaged in a spelling curriculum that is designed to lead students toward mastery of essential spelling skills. In language, the students will learn more about punctuation, parts of speech, sentence structure, and grammar. A major focus of writing in Third Grade is the focus on writing with an author’s voice and focusing on conventions. Finally, it is in the Third Grade that students learn how to write in cursive.

Mathematics

Third Graders are active mathematicians and gain greater proficiency and ease with basic addition and subtraction, while building on this knowledge base to secure their understanding of regrouping and explore multiplication and division. The class begins the year with a thorough review of place value, and regrouping. The students then explore multiplication, learning different strategies, games and activities to help them understand the core concept of multiplying. Students then use their knowledge of multiplication to begin exploring the concept of division. They also explore the concept of fractions, and become more skilled at working with fractions in different forms. These more sophisticated skills and strategies support an exploration of a wider scope of concepts, including 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional geometry, measurement, probability and data collection. Other Curriculum Units include: place value, data analysis, clock, calendar, measurements, decimals, and probability.

Science

In Third Grade, the focus of science instruction shifts to the classroom as a laboratory. Students begin to undertake the study of increasingly abstract scientific concepts. Students work like scientists as they learn how to ask questions designed to gain knowledge and understanding, and learn how to follow lab procedures, how to record data, and how to extrapolate information from that data. Curriculum Units include: People and Resources, Physical Science (Engineering Process, Electrical and Magnetic Forces, Force and Motion, Space, and Life Sciences (Plants and Animals.) The Third Grades use design thinking to design and build machines to solve a local eco-problem. The students share their results with their parents at Open Science Morning.

Social Studies

Third Grade students begin the year by forming a cohesive classroom community. Next, the Third Graders review map skills and learn how to find latitude and longitude in preparation for their study of countries. Just as in the previous year, students will collect postcards, but this time from a much broader base – anywhere in the world! During the third trimester, the students write a country research report and create a poster to present at the World Showcase. The students then study immigration. Students learn the reasons why and where people immigrated to the US in the past and present. Students study the conditions surrounding the move to the US and what life was like when immigrants arrived here. They culminate this study by writing three journal entries through the eyes of a person immigrating to Hoboken.

Co-Curriculars

Grade 3 Students partake in several co-curricular activities such as music, dance, art, physical education, and world language. Please see our Beyond Core Academics page.

Grade 3 Milestone Projects

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Grade 3 - Bard Bash

During this exciting project, Third Graders embark on a year-long learning experience about William Shakespeare culminating in the premiere of “Bard Bash: The Movie” and a Renaissance Faire. During the first trimester, students begin to learn about the different Shakespearean genres. The students then vote on which genre they would like to explore further. The students read several of Shakespeare’s plays from that genre, and vote on which of those plays they would like to perform for the Bard Bash. Their Seventh Grade buddies read the same play and provide support throughout the year with rehearsals, costume design, and set design.

During the second trimester, the Third Graders audition for their roles and begin practicing their lines for filming. The majority of the trimester is spent preparing for filming. The students work together to create props and costumes. They learn how to work with a green screen and editing software to produce their final product. Through this experience, the students learn the value of working together, accountability, and responsibility.

During the third trimester, students use their knowledge of Shakespeare and Elizabethan England to plan a Shakespearean celebration called the “Bard Bash,” similar to a Renaissance Faire. They plan various activities and entertainment following the premiere of their movie. Students and parents alike enjoy this magical trip back to the Elizabethan era.