3rd Grade

Third grade is a big year of independent growth. Students progress from practicing basic skills to mastering them, and begin to develop more complex skills. Third graders will become better at figuring out problems on their own, reading at a higher level, and understanding more difficult concepts. In reading, we focus on developing points of view and read a variety of books, including fiction, biographies, historical fiction and chapter books. Students become more fluent readers, reading more complex words and developing a bigger vocabulary. We require 12 book reports/AR tests throughout the year, with a wide variety of book genres. Third grade is very important for students to develop higher thinking math skills. We begin working on multiplication and division problems, as well as more difficult story problems. Students begin working in a book, writing out all problems, and solving more complex problems using measurement, time, various multiplication, division, addition and subtraction facts. It is crucial in 3rd grade for all students to know their facts so they can work out problems on their own. Third graders continue to practice writing sentences correctly, using various parts of speech like nouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, possessives, and proper punctuation. Third grade students will begin writing larger paragraphs, stories, and will do research on various topics. Cursive handwriting is a large part of writing skills in 3rd grade. Students will be able to write everything in cursive by the end of the year. Students will also use technology to read, look up important information, write paragraphs and do research. In Science, we study four major units: Force & Gravity, Life Cycles of Plants, Animals, & Humans, Weather & Climate, and Ecosystems. Through various projects, third graders learn about the physical and living world around them. Students learn about geography, history, natural resources, our environment, our Constitution, and the laws that govern our United States. Through research and information, third graders develop higher thinking skills, third graders learn more about makes our country great. In Religion, Father Walter comes to our room every other week and teaches about our Catholic faith and beliefs. We also learn about the Rosary, Commandments, Apostles, Old and New Testament, as well as the Saints. Third graders write a research paper on a favorite saint and make a saint doll to go with their research. We also host an "All Saints Day Game Day" on the Feast of All Saints. Mrs. Romberg comes to our classrooms every week to teach about the Bible and many of the saints we honor. She helps us develop our love for God, Jesus, and Mary, as well as helping us to become better Christians. We also participate in many Masses throughout the year. Third grade is a great year of learning, growth, and independence. It's a special year that helps students become more mature learners and develop self-confidence in who they are!