Third Grade

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Our third grade students are excited to learn how to write in cursive, multiply and divide, read fiction and non-fiction and write stories using a topic sentence, juicy details and a concluding sentence.

Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop allows for readers to be challenged at their reading level through small group work and individual conferencing. Our phonics program, Fundations, supports our reading program by providing daily systematic and explicit lessons that focus on word and sentence structure.

Curriculum Highlights:

  • Complete a research paper on an animal.
  • Wax Museum, an activity that includes choosing a historical character, writing an autobiography and performing it in character for the class.
  • Reading and performing a biography.
  • Performing One Was Johnny in Creative Arts.
  • Dissect an owl pellet in Science.
  • Going to the Capitol after studying the branches of government.
  • Going to the Bakken Museum after studying magnetism and electricity.

IB Themes for Third Grade

Who We Are
  • An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
    • Central Idea:  The choices we make reveal who we are.  
      • An iquiry into:
        • Beliefs and values
        • The process of team-building and collaborating
        •  Personal choices influence future opportunities
Where We Are in Place & Time
  • An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.  
    • Central Idea:  Contributions from ancient civilizations have impacted current civilization.     
      • An inquiry into:
        • Ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt
        •  How the environment influenced the settlement of ancient peoples
        • How people, inventions and events of the past are still part of our daily life 
How We Express Ourselves
  • An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
    • Central Idea: Biographies help us understand how people shape our world.   
      • An inquiry into:
        • Comparing expository nonfiction and narrative nonfiction
        • Elements of Biographies
        • Sharing someone else’s story   
How the World Works
  • An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
    • Making observations and drawing conclusions can help us understand how the world works.      
      • An inquiry into:
        • Exploration, investigation and observation
        • Properties of sound
        • Properties of light
        • Patterns in the solar system
How We Organize Ourselves
  • An inquiry into the inter connectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function or organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
    • Central Idea: Citizenship and Government can be interconnected in a variety of ways.    
      • An inquiry into:
        • Forms of government
        • Rights and responsibilities of a citizen
        • Government services
        • Ways citizens identify and address needs or problems in their community, state, nation or world. 
Sharing the Planet
  • An inquiry into the rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
    •  Living things have different characteristics that enable them to grow, reproduce and survive.
      • An inquiry into:
        • Structures of living things
        • Different animal and plant adaptations
        • Inherited and acquired traits