Third grade at Royalview Elementary is fun and exciting; however, it is also a huge transitional year. In third grade, students are asked to do a lot more independently. Students go from learning to read in the lower grades to reading to learn in third grade. Third grade curriculum offers a shift to more reading comprehension and responding to literature through writing. The third grade teachers recognize this transition and are fully prepared to help students be successful.
In reading, we will continue to use the Houghton-Mifflin series to develop reading strategies. There will be whole group mini-lessons followed by smaller guided reading groups which are formed based on the needs of students. While teachers are pulling smaller groups, many classrooms will be using the Daily 5. The Daily 5 consists of five educationally sound activities that the other students will be engaged in. The five activities are Read to Self, Read to Someone, Work on Writing, Word Work, and Listen to Reading.
In writing, the main focus in third grade will be on paragraphs in different types of writing. Some of the types of paragraphs are: letters, personal narratives, retellings, informational reports, fictional narratives, and reading response paragraphs. We will be starting with sentence structure and creating a good, descriptive sentence. We will then be moving our way into paragraph development. A basic paragraph should have a topic sentence, 4 or 5 detail sentences, and a concluding sentence.
In math, we have started a new math program called My Math. Finding relationships, patterning, thinking through word problems, having a good number sense, and knowing facts will be just some of the ways we will s-t-r-e-t-c-h the children’s minds this year. Knowing facts quickly and accurately will enable students to gain confidence to succeed in third grade and beyond. Multiplication will be a huge emphasis this year. One of the highlights in third grade has always been the celebration of knowing those multiplication facts with a Sundae Party at the end of the year.
In science and social studies, we will use the Focus Curriculum books as well as a website called Brain Pop. This website is fun and engaging. The topics in science that will be covered are rocks and soil, force and motion, and animals. We will be planning a trip to Holden Arboretum. The topics in social studies that will be covered are citizenship, history, map skills, government, and economics. We will be planning an in-school field trip from the Lake County Historical Society.
Third grade is an exciting year!!