Third Grade

Using Positive Action for Christ’s elementary series, the theme for this year is Growing with God. This curriculum is comprised of six primary truths: the Word was written as God inspired holy men to write down His messages, it is imperative to have Godly character because our character determines the choices we make, God made each of us different for a reason, sin produces guilt, we need to show great respect and loyalty to those in authority over us, and we can trust God to help us through tough times and tribulations. Students are led in daily prayers and are expected to memorize and write key Bible verses. A field trip to MUST ministries, third grade’s mission project, ensures that the children gain a greater understanding about the rewards of living for God.

Using Progress in Mathematics, students are exposed to a variety of mathematical functions, including: number lines and grids, clocks, data, charts, money, patterns, fact families, word problems, estimating, measurement, area, multiplication and division, addition and subtraction, place value, decimals, lines, angles, polygons, fractions, volume, graph coordinates, probability, predicting outcomes, and problem solving. In addition to daily practice, students also use a multitude of hands on activities to reinforce learning.

Using the reading series, Journeys, third graders make the gradual shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Students utilize their previously learned reading strategies in leveled and vocabulary readers that parallel anthology topics to strengthen comprehension and reinforce vocabulary acquisition skills. In the second semester, students transition from the anthology to novel studies. Students read grade appropriate novels independently to further enhance the strategies being utilized in the core reading program.

Students investigate and experiment with the environment as they use their inquiry skills to find out more about rocks and minerals, fossils, energy, and temperature. A field trip to the Tellus Science Museum brings all of those topics to life as the children engage in hands-on exploration. Using our own campus and an in-house field trip called Smarty Plants, students discover ecosystems, types of plants, and plant life cycles.

Real life simulations engage the students in learning about economics, supply and demand, and goods and services. Students create a unique product, determine how to market it, and settle on a price point. In the study of ancient cultures, students participate in Greek Culture Day, complete with authentic dress, food, and crafts. Additional topics of study include: geography, map scale, cardinal and intermediate directions, and longitude and latitude.

Using Grammar Workshop, students in third grade will focus on parts of speech, proper comma and apostrophe use, and writing in complete sentences.  With that knowledge, students will develop their paragraph writing skills in a variety of genres, including narrative, persuasive, descriptive, and informative.

Spelling and vocabulary are taught using the Vocabulary Workshop program.  Alternating between spelling the words one week and testing their meanings the next, allows the students to have the time necessary to study not just the words and their meanings, but synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and common uses.  This provides a well-rounded understanding of not just the vocabulary words, but similar words.