| |
Curriculum
In third grade students are learning to become more independent, accountable learners. Students learn a sense of responsibility for what is expected of themselves academically in the classroom. This includes being responsible for their own learning and cooperation in learning groups. A high emphasis is placed on organizational skills as students are introduced to a daily planner. Through daily morning meetings, students learn and practice important social skills. These lifelong skills help students build their personal faith, empathy, and sense of understanding in being a Christian.
Religion
At Trinity Academy, we incorporate the Christian life-style into all areas of the curriculum. To help students further their understanding about our Father as well as how we should live our lives, students participate in a Religion curriculum called “Voyages,” developed by Concordia Publishing House (CPH). Lessons are designed to help children learn key concepts of faith such as Law and Gospel, confession, repentance, forgiveness, and grace. The lessons are based on selected chronological Bible stories from Creation to Pentecost. Memory work consists of learning the names of the Biblical books, the Ten Commandments, and selected Bible passages.
Language Arts
Reading
Students in third grade are introduced into a variety of reading strategies taught through Guided Reading and large group reading. Strategies developed in third grade are reading comprehension, main idea, character analysis, context clues, and supporting details. Students also analyze a story in four parts: setting, main characters, problem, and resolution or conclusion. To foster a more independent learning environment, students also use the resources in the classroom such as dictionaries, glossaries, word wall, and encyclopedias.
It is also important for children to be given time to read for pleasure and building of skills. Independent reading is encouraged on a daily basis through assigned reading. The children will be exposed to many different reading materials such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies.
Language
Language arts focuses on the grammar and mechanics of a sentence. Students work on sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives. By knowing what makes a complete sentence, a child can become a more effective writer. Students will write for a specific purpose and style by publishing reports, writing a persuasive and descriptive paragraph, creating poems, writing a friendly letter, and developing a personal narrative. Along with writing, the class will develop a writing piece using the five-step writing process: pre-draft a list of possible topics, write a rough draft on paper, edit and revise ideas and sentence structure, and end with a published piece. Students also journal a variety of times a week in class.
Spelling
Third grade students will be assigned a list of words each week. These words follow a specific pattern or rule of spelling. Every spelling unit connects spelling to phonics, vocabulary, reading, and writing. Differentiated spelling lists are given to students. Extra challenge words are compiled from vocabulary in other subject areas for the week. Practicing spelling words can make a child a more fluent reader. Students will use a variety of spelling strategies to practice their spelling words both in the classroom and at home.
Science
The third grade students will investigate science questions and problems. Students investigate rocks, minerals, and physics of sound through “hands on” learning of Foss kits. Students build and understand the concepts of moment by studying simple machines. As they develop scientific concepts, students use critical thinking and decision making skills. They are able to see science as a part of society and their personal experiences. The third grade curriculum also includes an Ocean unit. The children study ocean water versus freshwater, the ocean floor, life cycles, tides, and currents. This unit concludes with a hands-on ocean project.
Math
The third grade math program starts by reintroducing the basic addition and subtraction facts. Students study the properties of addition and subtraction and continue to work on regrouping three and four-digit numbers. Multiplication and division facts are introduced in third grade, using one, two, and three-digit numbers. Students will use their higher thinking process skills to solve multiple step-by-step story problems. They will also work with place value, estimating, rounding, making change, and interpreting data from a variety of graphs to show how math is used in the world around them.
Third grade is the first year students will be working out of a math text book. Hands on activities are used to help introduced and develop math concepts.
Social Studies
Students will review and continue to reinforce map skills learned in previous grades. Third graders will continue to use these skills in studying communities and the world around them. The community unit analyzes the individual resources that allow a community to function and meets the needs of its citizens. We look at the different types and sizes of communities in the United States and foreign countries. Later, we study a unit on Government that focuses on the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The class studies the fifty states and their capitals. Students create a display board and research paper representing one of the fifty states. |
|
