Grade 3

3. Speaking and Listening 4. Language Four strands 1. Reading Literature Informational Foundational Skills 2. Writing 3. Speaking and Listening 4. Language There are four strands throughout the standards. Let’s begin with Reading. Within the reading strand your child will read both literary and informational texts (You may know these better as fiction and nonfiction. ) using text features and illustrations to support their understanding. An additional component of this strand is Foundational Skills which focuses on the continued development of the phonics skills that will help your child develop multiple strategies for reading unknown words. Second graders will also work on reading text with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression. Writing is an equally important strand for students as they continue to write pieces that include more details focused on a single topic with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Students will work with their teacher and peers to edit and revise their writing before selecting a way to publish their final copy. Second graders will also write narratives, opinion pieces, and informative or explanatory pieces and participate in shared research projects with their class and peers. Speaking and Listening is a new standard that helps our students learn how to participate in classroom conversations and discussions to clarify and extend their learning. Second graders will use these collaborative conversations to build on what another speaker has said and asking and answering questions to gather additional information or deepen understanding. Language includes both conventions of standard written and spoken English as well as vocabulary development and understanding. Second graders will use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives correctly in both their speaking and writing. They will also generalize spelling rules to spell most words correctly. Knowledge of prefixes and suffixes will be developed to help them determine the meaning of unknown words.

The big ideas Comparing the most important points and key details presented in two books on the same topic Describing the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause-effect, first/second/third in a sequence) Writing opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts The big ideas in third grade are: Comparing the most important point and key details presented in two books on the same topic. As a third grader, your student will now apply their reading and understanding to comparing multiple texts on the same or similar topics as they prepare for the work of the content areas. Third graders will also be asked to describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text. They might compare the two, identify a cause and effect relationship, or identify the steps or components in a sequence. Writing is now more in depth with longer pieces and students should be able to write opinions or provide explanations that group related information together and develop topics with facts.

Conducting short research projects independently The big ideas Conducting short research projects independently Distinguishing the literal and nonliteral meanings of words The big ideas in third grade are: This will help as your student prepares to complete a short research project independently. Finally, students will begin to distinguish between the literal and nonliteral meanings of words. For example, learning to use and understand phrases like something’s fishy or cold shoulder.

In Mathematics, we have two sets of standards: Content and Practice In Mathematics, we have two sets of standards: Content and Practice. The Standards for Mathematical Content will focus on WHAT students are learning. The Standards for Mathematical Practice will focus on HOW students are learning.

Instructional time will focus on four critical areas: Content Standards Instructional time will focus on four critical areas: Developing understanding of multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and division within 100 Developing understanding of fractions, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1) Developing understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area Describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes Critical areas have been identified at each grade level. Although these are not the ONLY skills students are responsible for mastering, it does focus the work at each grade.

Standards for Mathematical Practice include: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them Reason abstractly and quantitatively Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others Model with mathematics Use appropriate tools strategically Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning The practice standards are the same K-12, providing a coherent vision to be applied to the teaching and learning of the mathematical content standards. Standards for Mathematical Practice describe the characteristics and habits of mind that all students who are mathematically proficient should be able to exhibit.

Five strands include: History Geography and Environmental Literacy New to social studies is the exploration of content through five strands. Five strands include: History Geography and Environmental Literacy Civics and Government Culture Economics and Personal Financial Literacy The changes in curriculum will bring about significant shifts in the way that instruction is delivered in the Social Studies classroom. The new curriculum will provide opportunities for students to become more critical thinkers. There will be a greater emphasis on teaching students to make connections and to see the big picture. In doing so, there will be less focus on recalling facts. In many instances, students will investigate collaboratively to grow their learning as well as create work products with the use of instructional technology. There will be an increased focus on using primary and secondary sources to analyze historical events through multiple perspectives. This means that students will actually read and study and analyze historical documents rather than just hear about them. Specifically, third grade content has changed where only 7 out of 29 objectives or 24% of the current SCoS is transferring to the new standards. In its place is connecting previous learning to a more sophisticated understanding of how communities may be linked to form larger political units while learning of cultural, political, geographic and economic connections.

Areas of Focus: Changes Human Body Objects in the Sky Science instruction continues to be inquiry-based Areas of Focus: Changes Human Body Objects in the Sky Plant Growth & Development/Soils With inquiry-based science, instruction begins with open-ended questions or demonstrations. Students do experiments or collect data and take a “hands-on” approach to science. They experience science rather than merely read about it. Third graders will explore changes in states such as freezing water or melting ice. They will learn how the muscular and skeletal systems work together for movement. Third graders will learn about constellations and use models to understand the phases of the moon. They will also explore the life cycle of plants and the role of soil in supporting plant growth.