3rd Grade Curriculum

Reading & Language Arts

Objective: The Learner will demonstrate fluency, comprehension, and recognize story elements in passages read in all subjects. The learner will also demonstrate correct grammar, orally & written, and will be able to recognize mistakes in grammar, orally & written. The learner will have a working knowledge of all 8 parts of speech. The learner will have mastered beginning cursive handwriting.

Textbooks: Accelerated Reader, Open Court Imagine It - 2008, SRA-McGraw Hill, Wordly Wise - 2007, EPS, Shurley Grammar - 2010, SIM, Language 3 - 2--6, Abeka, Spelling & Poetry3 - 2008, Abeka, Handwriting Program for Cursive Writing - 1997, EPS

Time Allotment: Reading 30+20 min. per day, 5 days a week, all year, Language Arts - 60 min. per day, 5 days a week, all year, Handwriting - 15 min. per day, 5 days a week, all year

Course Content

First Quarter

Reading: Units on friendship & animals. Class read aloud Stone Fox. AR chapter book reading. Book report on Indian book. Language Arts: Review 5 parts of speech & grammar. Read & recognize cursive writing

Second Quarter

Reading: Units on money & solar system. Class read aloud Voyage of the Vikings. AR chapter book reading. Book report on book of choice. Language Arts: Review last 3 parts of speech & grammar & dissect all 8 sentences. Read & recognize cursive writing

Third Quarter

Reading: Unit on communities. Learner reads biography of choice. AR chapter book reading. Book report on biography. Language Arts: 8 parts of speech identified fluently. Mistakes in grammar identified. Cursive-lower & upper case.

Fourth Quarter

Reading: Unit on Storytelling. Class read-aloud Little House in the Big Woods. AR chapter book reading. Book report on book of choice. Language Arts: Direct object & sentence flow. Oral verb conjugation. Mistakes in grammar identified. Cursive writing in Spelling.

Areas to Be Evaluated

Reading: AR testing on leveled books read, weekly written tests on reading stories in units Language: biweekly language tests, weekly grammar quizzes, quarterly book reports.

Social Studies

Objective: The learner will demonstrate, through notebook project completion, a working knowledge of the timeline of Early American History, starting with a Biblical Creation review through pre-Civil War times. The learner will also master the name and location of all 50 United States, 7 continents, and 4 main oceans on a globe and paper map.

Textbooks: Our American Heritage, and tests and maps booklets, Abeka, 2006. All American History, Bright Ideas Press, 2006

Time Allotment: 45 minutes, 5 days a week, for 18 weeks (1/2 the year)

Course Content

First Quarter

  • Review of Biblical Creation through Tower of Babel
  • Unit on American Indians
  • Unit on 50 states

Second Quarter

  • Unit on Early American Explorers
  • Unit on Early American Colonies & revolutionary War
  • Unit on Early American Western Expansion

Third/Fourth Quarter: N/A Switch to Science

Areas to be Evaluated: The learner will be evaluated by weekly quizzes, bi-weekly tests, notebook project completion, and oral presentation of information learned.

Math

Objective: The learner will review addition/subtraction facts already mastered, and will master multiplication and division facts, using them in all third grade math concepts and processes, including beginning algebra.

Textbooks: Arithmetic 3 (ABeka Books, publisher), 2007

Time Allotment: 60 minutes per day, 5 days a week, all year

Course Content

First Quarter

Review addition/subtraction facts, introduce multiplication and division facts together 0-5, understand measures of time, money, length, and roman #'s 1-12, introduce single-digit times three-digit mulitplication and beginning long division

Second Quarter

Continue multiplication and division facts together 6-10, introduce long division, understand measures of capacity, weight (English & metric), Roman #'s 13-30, introduce beginning algebra

Third Quarter

Continue multiplication and division facts together 11-12 & master a 6 minute/100 facts drill in both, spiral review of all concepts so far, Roman #'s L,C,D,M, introduce converting measures

Fourth Quarter

Continue spiral review of all conepts so far, introduce fraction concepts, then adding and subtracting and reducing fractions, review all Roman #'s, introduce two-digit multiplication and division

Areas to Be Evaluated: Formative assessments daily - question and answer, Summative assessments daily speed drills for math fact mastery, biweekly tests

Science

Objective: The learner will have a beginning knowledge of the solar system, earth's geological features, plants and beneficial environments, animals and their habitats, and the basic human body systems. The learner will also memorize the six steps of the scientific method and experiment with motion, chemistry, the properties of matter and its changes.

Textbooks: Exploring God's World, and tests and quizzes, Abeka, 2007, Health and Safety & Manners, and tests and quizzes, Abeka, 2006

Science Studies Weekly, periodical

Time Allotment: 45 minutes 5 days a week, for 18 weeks (1/2 the year)

Course Content

First/Second Quarter: N/A Last two quarters only

Third Quarter

  • Unit on animals and their habitats
  • Unit on Earth's geological systems
  • Unit on plants & beneficial environments
  • Scientific method used in bi-weekly experiments

Fourth Quarter

  • Unit on Solar System
  • Unit on basic human body systems
  • Scientific method used in bi-weekly experiments

Areas to be Evaluated: The learner will demonstrate knowledge of topics presented through weekly quizzes, bi-weekly tests, notebook project completion, and oral presentation experiments completed.

Physical Education

Objective: Students will develop competent motor skills, behavioral strategies to demonstrate responsibility, respect of self and others, and understand the importance of achieving and maintaining a health-enhancing level of physical fitness. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 admonishes us to remember that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Time Allotment: 45 minutes a day; 5 days a week

Course Content

3 Weeks: Personal / Social Responsibility

Use behavioral strategies that are responsible and enhance respect of self and others and value activity.

11 Weeks: Motor Skills

Apply competent motor skills and movement patterns as needed to perform a variety of physical activities.

11 Weeks: Movement Concepts

Understands concepts, principles, strategies and tactics that apply to the learning and performance of movement.

11 Weeks: Health Related Fitness

Understand the importance of achieving and maintaining a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

Areas to Be Evaluated: Participation as an individual and in a group, Teacher observation, Role-playing, Checklists / FitnessGram / Assessments,

Quizzes