3rd Grade Curriculum Overview

Religion: We discuss many different topics in Religion such as the Holy Spirit, God and His Word. We as a class do the lesson, discuss it, and fill out the worksheets. Students do need a Bible for this class. We will be following the One in Christ book produced by Concordia Publishing House.

Memory: In third grade students learn about many different verses. They learn and review the verses from the Bible. 

Math: We follow the My Math series in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Big topics included for third graders include rounding, multiplication, and division. We enjoy making Math fun so we will sometimes do Math centers to encourage learning.  Every quarter we take the STAR Math test to help show growth in students as well as areas that need more focus. We also subscribe to a program called MobyMax that can help increase Math knowledge.

Reading: For reading we will read our story as a class on Monday. There will be many activities that go along with the stories to teach comprehension, fluency, listening, and speaking. We use a book made by McGraw Hill called Wonders. The class also reads Because of Winn Dixie. 

Spelling: For spelling, we have a new spelling list each week. There is a pretest every Monday and a final test every Friday. The students will complete at least one workbook page with the spelling words so that the students will become familiar with them. In addition to the worksheet page, we do many different activities throughout the week to enhance our knowledge of the words. We use a workbook published by McGraw Hill called Wonders.

English: Our English curriculum talks about the grammar of the English language and I display to the students how we can use it in our everyday writing. To help teach the rules of the English language the students will be doing practice pages in class after the lesson. We use a book called English which is produced by Houghton Mifflin.

Science: In science we cover many topics, some including how life systems in plants work, biodiversity, soils in the environment, landforms, structures found in the world, understanding matter, forces causing movement, and thermal energy. This curriculum uses visual learning, as well as hands-on learning. We will be doing experiments, using a lot of technology and testing our knowledge through these experiments. We have chosen to follow a curriculum found on Teachers Pay Teachers that aligns with the Illinois state standards.

Physical Education: We have PE every Monday and Thursday for thirty minutes. While at P.E. students participate in a large array of activities that use different muscles and parts of their bodies. 

Music/Choir: Third graders have “We use Hal Leonard’s Essential Elements Music Class Curriculum.  Our music curriculum focuses on grade leveled music concepts, standards, and SEL competencies.  Each lesson has supporting songs and resources delivered in a flexible and adaptable format.”

Social Studies: In this class students learn how to read history and understand it. They also learn how history is applicable to us today. During the school year we will be learning about how our country was founded and about the war that gained our freedom. The learning tools used in this class include worksheets, projects, maps, and books. Our curriculum for social studies is based on a book called Social Studies by Harcourt.  We are also adding a curriculum about Ancient Civilizations.  

Art: Third grade has art every Wednesday. We go through many different art skills and learn to appreciate art. Some of the skills taught include patterns, textures, and shape/form. We enjoy learning the skill and then practicing it. We use a DVD series called Arts Attack.

Computer: Computer takes place every Tuesday and Friday for thirty minutes. They focus on computer terminology and parts, Microsoft Word, and keyboarding. We will also use the computer lab for doing research projects. 

Field Trips: Our first trip is to Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville where we participate in their Field Day along with about 300 other Lutheran school students. We go on this trip with the fourth graders.