Third Grade

Reading/Language Arts. A review of the phonetic program is coupled with basic handwriting skills at the beginning of the year. Phonetic readers, and classic and contemporary storybooks are used, and student’s comprehension of the material is assessed. Both oral and silent reading take place in the classroom and students begin learning how to research and write papers and book reports. Rules of grammar and usage continue to be an important area of study.

Mathematics

• Addition and subtraction facts mastered
• Recall of multiplication facts through 12
• One and two digit multiplication
• Division by two digit numbers
• Money, compare and count
• Compare and contrast, greater than, less than, equal to
• Measurement in customary and metric units
• Time
• Reading temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit
• Geometry with plane and solid figures, line segments and angles, congruent and symmetrical two dimensional figures
• Fraction addition and subtraction
• Decimals
• Probability and statistics
• Patterns, functions, Algebra
• Story problems

Science. Third grade science encourages the students to formulate hypotheses, make predictions, observe, collect and record data, make inferences and draw conclusions. Areas in which these techniques are applied include simple machines using force, motion and energy, the properties of matter, the life processes of animals, living systems, natural resource use and conservation, and Earth and space systems.

History/ Geography. In third grade, students turn back time to Ancient Greece and Rome, studying mythology as well, where they are introduced to Greek and Roman gods and their stories. In addition to Christopher Columbus, explorers that they study include Vespucci, Magellan, Cortez, and Leif Ericson. Jamestown and its importance in the founding of this country is an area of study both in third grade history and literature, where they learn about the establishment of Government in Virginia and the historical cause and effect relationship between England and the colony. The study of economics, the production of goods, the economic opportunities within the commonwealth, taxation and government services and the ideas and principles that form out government are also included. Both Virginia and U.S. geography are incorporated into third grade areas of study.

Related Literature and Writing Units. A wide variety of literature units are taught in third grade. Some of these include, Paddle to the Sea, The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever, Top Secret, The Phantom Tollbooth, Because of Winn Dixie, Shiloh, It’s All Greek to Me, The Trumpet of the Swan, Stone Fox, Children of the Wind and Water, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins.