Third Grade Curriculum Overview
Third graders read many types of texts - literary, information, and practical. They distinguish between fact and opinion. These students interpret poetry and infer main ideas in a variety of prose. Students in this grade use multiple reading strategies to construct meaning from text. They choose to read silently for extended periods of time for pleasure and information.
Third graders write for a variety of purposes. They can support their ideas with references to their reading. They use a variety of pre-writing activities, revise their writing by adding details, and recognize incorrect spelling.
The mathematics curriculum is organized into five strands:
(1) number and operations; (2) measurement; (3) geometry; (4) data analysis and probability; and, (5) algebra. Problem-solving strategies are embedded into each of the 5 strands.
Expectations are that third grade students are very actively engaged in doing mathematics. They can describe their ideas and thinking both orally and in writing. Proficient third graders relate manipulatives with ideas. They explain and record the mathematical concepts using precise vocabulary and symbols.
Third graders increase their understanding about community life in a variety of contexts. Comparisons are made as children compare their familiar communities with other cultures and times. An awareness of relationships among ways of living, the physical environment, and human traditions are developed.
The focus for third grade students is on identifying systems and patterns in systems.
Science Concepts: plant growth and adaptations, soil properties, earth/moon/sun system, human body
Arts Education includes four separate and distinct disciplines; dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts—each with its own body of knowledge and skills, The intent of the National Standards for Arts Education, along with the standard courses of study in each area, is that a comprehensive understanding of one or more of the arts is accomplished by each student throughout the K-12 Program.
The Healthful Living Education program promotes behaviors that contribute to a healthful life-style and improved quality of life for all students. The Healthful Living Education portions of the NC Standard Course of Study support and reinforce the goals and objectives of its two major components - health education and physical education.