The focus of the third grade year is responsibility for oneself and the group. Discussions center on the importance of the physical and emotional well being of all students. Throughout the day the children are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their actions in the social and academic realms.

In third grade, academic expectations increase and home-work begins in earnest. Self-awareness begins with third- grade students’ understanding of their strengths as learners and class members. Children are encouraged to become self-managing and embrace their own learning.

As the children become more aware of themselves and others, old friendships change and new ones develop. The children learn new ways to balance these different relationships through group discussion and personal written reflection.


Language Arts

Exploration and guided discovery are the driving forces behind skill acquisition in the third grade. When students enter school in September, they have a basic knowledge of reading and writing. In third grade they begin to put these basics together, applying the skills they have learned. Through regular exposure to literature, through their own writing, and through direct instruction, the children gain familiarity with the rules that govern our language.

Small group reading instruction enables students to deepen and refine their comprehension strategies. Often working in pairs, the students consider ways to interpret a story's language and plot. Students learn to identify the main elements of fiction: problem/ events/ resolution. The students become skilled at identifying story characters' challenges, whether personal, interpersonal or with the natural elements. They enjoy analyzing the characters' abilities and actions to surmount these challenges. New vocabulary words are learned in context as the students appreciate an author's choice of words or a carefully constructed phrase. Language is celebrated by reading aloud, with or without partners, and by sharing favorite sections of books. Children may articulate their choices in discussions or justify them in writing.

Books read in common are chosen for several reasons. Often they are part of a larger theme or support another curricular area. Some books are selected because they are literary works that we feel third grade students should know. Others are chosen because they fit the dynamics and personality of a particular class. The children read folktales because their structure invites comparisons and contrasts and because they belong to a body of classical literature. Also, the relationship between problem and resolution is exquisitely clear in these tales. They lend themselves naturally to summarizing, an essential skill introduced at this time. Many of the third grade reading selections relate to our Central Theme studies. A literary collection of historical fiction and biographies enhance the studies of Boston and immigration, and short articles provide the children with information about city growth and social evolution. Books we may read include The Chalkbox Kid, Stone Fox, Song of the Trees, A Cricket in Times Square, and Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Third grade children participate in the Home Reading Program. They are expected to read each weekday night at home. Books may be chosen from the classroom library, the Perry Reading Room or from home collections. Chapter books may be read over several nights. Although children may be fluent enough readers to read independently, we advocate the sharing of a book between parent and child whenever possible.

Those special moments cement relationships between family members and foster a lifelong love of reading. Also, shared experiences build shared memories and give a context for conversation. These pleasurable experiences undoubtedly influence the passion for reading that we see in the older grades.

Using the patterns, the language, the characterization and the plots explored in their reading, third graders are encouraged to expand their own writing. As with published writers, the children, too, write for an audience and learn to tailor their writing accordingly. Writing periods are a time for experimentation and risk-taking, for word and idea play. In addition to frequent self-edited pieces of writing, third grade students also periodically create, conference, revise and edit work until polished or "published" longer pieces are completed.

As well as producing original fiction works and poetry, the third graders write for many different purposes. They deepen their understanding of how to think critically, to answer questions, to summarize, to make predictions, to chronicle observations, to draw conclusions and to write a cohesive paragraph. They also write regularly in their classroom journals.

As the children become more skilled and their writing becomes more complex, mechanics take on increasing importance. Over the course of the year, third grade students refine their editing skills as they learn to check their work for punctuation, capitalization and spelling. Spelling lessons, often taken from context, focus on the structure of words and the predictable patterns in our language. Handwriting is practiced and extended as the children learn cursive using the Handwriting Without Tears program.

Mathematics

Seeing patterns in numbers large and small is the primary goal of our program. Developing number sense is at the core of our daily activities.

Using base 10 blocks, hundreds charts, dice, beans and cups, tiles, geoboards, pattern blocks, tangrams, one inch cubes, and common items, children experience mathematics in a tactile way. Through games and problem solving activities, the children clarify what they already know and make thoughtful predictions. "How do you know that?" is a question to which we hope they respond with passion and conviction.

In third grade children learn how our number system works and about the important foundation of place value. What exactly does that one in the 14 stand for? The students learn how to recognize and use math in their daily lives. How do multiplication, addition, and subtraction help on a shopping trip? How can measurement and computation be used to make a model city building? The children are encouraged to take apart and reconstruct numbers in meaningful ways, as well as become familiar with standard algorithms. The third graders learn to communicate their mathematical thinking, providing a window into their mental processes. Often the children rehearse and explain strategies on paper before sharing their ideas with classmates.

Topics include place value, number sense, addition, subtraction, multiplication, a conceptual basis for division, estimation, money, measurement, sorting and classifying, graphs and grids, perimeter and area, geometry, logic and problem solving.

Central Theme

The third grade program seeks to capitalize on the eight and nine year old's intellectual curiosity, whether about new places, new people or new facts. Lifestyles, their origins, their values and their interrelationship with the natural world, are the year-long focus.

The year begins with a study of our summer reading book, Owen and Mzee by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff. The book chronicles the remarkable friendship across species between a young hippo swept away from its mother in the Asian tsunami of 2004 and an ancient Aldabra tortoise in Kenya. With the help of villagers, ecologists and animal caretakers, the baby hippo is rescued and brought to Haller Park, a nature preserve. Here caretakers witness bonding behavior never before recorded by wildlife experts. Further research and related reading, writing and artwork help deepen our understanding and appreciation of wildlife and the natural world, as well as our great responsibility to care for and protect the environment.

Next, we join the American explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and the Corps of Discovery, on their historic two and a half year expedition to the Pacific Ocean beginning in 1803. Third graders read Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers. The story is drawn from the actual diaries of Lewis and Clark and is told through the eyes of Seaman, the courageous Newfoundland dog who belonged to Meriwether Lewis. The children encounter Native Americans, animals, plants, natural wonders, excitement, and frustration as they travel west with the diverse crew. The story will be supplemented by writing, drawing, map work, crafts, field trips and visits by special guests. Additional books describing the journey from the point of view of other Corps members, such as Sacagawea, will also be read.

After considering these defining individuals and events in America’s history, our focus turns to immigration. Using short picture books and articles as primary resources, the children immerse themselves in the Great Wave of Immigration to the U.S. in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. They consider how and why people left their homelands and the difficulties these immigrants faced as they sought better lives. The students may also research the genealogy of their own natural or adoptive families. As a culmination of the unit, each child chooses a specific immigrant cultural group to study. The students assume the persona of a fictional immigrant from one of these groups and embark on an immigrant’s journey, sharing their stories in what will become a class collection.

Using what they know about Boston and other important cities, the students next become city planners. They start with some basic questions: How and where did cities grow? Why did people come to the city? What are the advantages and disadvantages of city living? How have people expressed their ideas and feelings about cities in poetry and the arts? They explore various neighborhoods in downtown Boston. Then, working in small groups, the children have the pleasure of designing a city from scratch. In addition, using their knowledge of basic circuitry, third-grader students apply their understanding of power to “light” one of the buildings. This major endeavor integrates the children's work over the course of the year in social studies, science, math, and language arts. The children name their city, create its location and history and determine its resources, size, and design. Each group develops systems of transportation and commerce for their city and grapples with social and environmental issues. The children also prepare travel posters and brochures. In this collaborative process they discover techniques for compromise as well as individual expression.

The final lifestyle topic examines the importance of the family farm. Through books such as Sarah, Plain and Tall, the students strengthen their own sense of place in the world and how they affect it. Reading, writing, and graphing are all skills that come together in this unit. The year ends with an extended overnight field trip to a working dairy farm where the children have many hands-on experiences which reinforce the ways in which the farm feeds us all.


Art

The third grade art curriculum is designed to foster creative confidence as well as to introduce students to new art techniques, processes, and concepts. Students are inspired by the art of others, children’s literature, the visual and tactile world around them, their classroom curriculum, and their own vivid imaginations to create both two and three dimensional works of art. Students draw, paint, illustrate, design, construct, sculpt and problem-solve throughout the year using a variety of traditional and non-traditional art materials. They are encouraged, as well, to not only express their own ideas freely and creatively, but also to reflect upon and appreciate the ideas, approaches, and artistic expressions of others. Students meet for 45-minute periods twice per week.


Library

The third grade students enjoy the excitement of exploring a new and larger library as they begin to use the Perry Reading Room. As the year begins, the students are introduced to all of the different areas in the library and become familiar with the types of books they will find in each section. Previously learned library skills are reinforced and expanded upon as the students learn how to use the computerized book catalog, develop the skills to locate specific books on the shelves and understand the function of the Dewey decimal system.

A study of the Caldecott Award criteria, in conjunction with projects in art class, computer class and in the homerooms, reinforces the process of assessing good books. This work culminates with students evaluating new books and designating their own award selections.

Students are introduced to new authors and encouraged to share their favorites with their classmates. As always, the students’ love of literature is nurtured as they enthusiastically explore the library and choose reading books to take home.


Movement

We begin the Performing Arts Program in the Lower School with Creative Movement. Focusing on process and not product, students find new ways to express themselves and explore the potential of their own creative spirit. Through different styles of moving the students create environment, tell stories, experiment with rhythm and various elements of dance.


Music

Throughout the year the third grade will be developing good singing posture, breathing, diction, stage presence, and part-singing in preparation for chorus in fourth grade. In collaboration with the Central Theme Studies the third grade will expand their musical awareness through the study of Native American music and the European influence on the music of the early American settlers. Approaching the holiday season, they prepare songs for the Holiday Sing, where their performance is the highlight of this annual community event. In the spring, the third grade will study the “Music of the City” where they will explore the rich musical influence represented by the immigrant groups of Boston. An introduction to opera prepares the third grade for a trip to the Boston Lyric Opera Company.


Physical Education

Third grade students build on skills learned in the Junior Building. They continue to explore space and to use their bodies in a variety of ways. The locomotor skills of running, hopping, skipping, galloping, and sliding are used to explore space and practiced with a goal toward more refinement. These skills are used in games of fleeing, chasing, and dodging, appropriate lead-up games to sports, as well as dance and track activities.

Third grade students practice manipulative skills with balls and other objects to throw, catch, kick, dribble, strike, and volley. Age-appropriate games using ball skills are introduced as well as rules and strategies. Non-manipulative skills such as turning, twisting, rolling, balancing, transferring weight, jumping, and landing are used in movement exploration and educational gymnastics. Improving one’s balance is further enhanced through ice-skating.

They continue to build on their knowledge of fitness concepts and work to improve their fitness level. A child- designed games unit is an important part of the third grade curriculum. Students work in small groups to design and play an original game. Cooperation and problem solving are stressed.


Science

Science is integrated throughout the curriculum. The summer reading book provides an in depth look into the animal world in Kenya and some novel animal behavior in a habitat different from our own environment. The Milton campus is our laboratory for further observation and study of the natural world. In the classroom students also observe and document the metamorphosis of monarch caterpillars into butterflies. They track the amazing fall migration south to Mexico and the journey north in the spring. A field trip to the Butterfly Place will introduce them to other caterpillars, butterflies, and moths.

During the month of January, the third graders examine the wires and connections in the world of electricity. The students investigate electrical circuits, generation of power, and conservation of energy through a series of problem-solving activities using batteries, bulbs, and wires.


Technology

The emphasis in Third Grade is on creativity and collaboration. Working closely with their classroom teachers, children design and carry out projects in the Greenleaf computer lab that draw on their expertise in their Central Theme subjects. Children become comfortable using a number of writing, drawing, and presentation tools and work together with classmates and teachers to become comfortable using the internet. Third graders create a collaborative web page which contains reviews of books that have received the Caldecott Award. Children explore online information about the expedition of Lewis and Clark, design and create covers for their immigration stories, and use digital cameras to document a trip into Boston. Third Graders are also introduced to formal keyboarding and topics of internet safety.

Woodworking

Students use pine wood and hand tools to execute individual projects designed in consultation with the teacher. Emphasis is on craftsmanship and self-direction. Here, too, projects overlap at times with undertakings in other subjects. In connection with the summer book, students may undertake construction of bird feeders or birdhouses as an opening project.