Grade 3 Curriculum
Curriculum Overview
Religion
Curricular Goals
Students in 3rd Grade will:
- Recognize that God created us in His image
- Explore God through the Bible and Apostolic Tradition
- Analyze Old Testament figures and God's promise of a savior
- Comprehend the Ten Commandments
- Celebrate the Advent and Lenten seasons
- Develop an understanding of the parts of the Holy Mass
Text and Materials
- Our Life with Jesus, Faith and Life series (Ignatius Press)
- The Children's Bible (Golden Press)
Reading
Curricular Goals
Students in 3rd Grade will:
- Build a clear understanding of fiction story elements, including character, plot, mood, setting, and theme
- Introduce literary analysis through compare and contrast, cause and effect, inferring, visualizing, sequencing, and drawing conclusions
- Analyze non-fiction through categorizing information, determining steps in a process, identifying the main idea and supporting details, summarizing the text, and exploring the author's purpose
- Read a selection of poetry to discuss meaning and draw conclusions through context clues
- Introduce and develop close reading strategies
Text and Materials
- Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
- HMH Reading Program
- Raz-Kids
- Amira
English
Curricular Goals
Students in 3rd Grade will:
- Reinforce concepts of spelling
- Introduce cursive alphabet (uppercase and lowercase)
- Develop knowledge of parts-of-speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions
- Expand vocabulary
- Build complex sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization
Text and Materials
- Spelling Connections (Zaner-Bloser)
- Writing Our Catholic Faith
- Simple Solutions English Grammar and Writing Mechanics (Bright Ideas Press, LLC)
- Spelling City
Mathematics
Curricular Goals
Students in 3rd Grade will:
- Round numbers to the nearest 10, 100, and 1000 using place value knowledge
- Practice telling time to the hour, half hour, and nearest minute
- Master addition and subtraction strategies within tens, hundreds, and thousands
- Develop an understanding of multiplication and division
- Introduce the concept of fractions
- Explore area and perimeter
- Identify two-dimensional shapes, three-dimensional solids, and their attributes
- Interpret data using a variety of graphs
- Extend an understanding of money concepts
Text and Materials
Science
Curricular Goals
Students in 3rd Grade will:
- Identify the three branches of science
- Introduce the scientific method
- Learn about atoms, elements and molecules
- Investigate forms of energy/forces and motion
- Understand the simple machines
- Explore our Earth/earthquakes, volcanoes and tectonic plates
- Investigate our Solar System and the Universe
- Explore the microscopic life on Earth
- Discover how cells are the building blocks of life
- Classify living things into kingdoms
- Appreciate our fragile ecosystems
Text and Materials
- Science Studies Weekly Magazine
- A World In Motion Project Resource
- BrainPop
Social Studies
Curricular Goals
Students in 3rd Grade will:
- Review rights and responsibilities of citizenship
- Explain the purpose of Michigan government and its Consitution
- Explain the three branches of Michigan's government
- Review map skills
- Learn about modern day Michigan and its natural resources
- Introduce the Michigan Three Fires Tribes
- Learn about the fur trade and its impact on Michigan
Text and Materials
Meet Michigan textbook
Specials
Students is 3rd Grade are enrolled in the following specials classes.
- Art
- Computers
- Music
- Physical Education
- Spanish
- STEM
Events and Experiences
Field Trips
Enrichment and Competitions
- Chess Club
Featured Projects
- Life Cycle of a Butterfly
- AWIM Straw Rocket Project
- Mosaic Lenten Cross