Third Grade

Language Arts - Reading

Third-grade students begin reading "easy-to-read chapter books," then progress to reading more complex chapter books. The children respond to the novels in writing by relating them to their own experiences. The novels we read stem from our social studies curriculum and focus on the different ethnic backgrounds found in Los Angeles. In addition to whole-class and small-group reading, the children read independently daily and are exposed to both fiction and nonfiction.

Language Arts - Writing

Personal narrative, fiction, poetry, and research are all components of the third-grade writing curriculum. Specific skills in each area are addressed. Third-graders learn to read, discuss, and respond to a variety of genres through writing. In Writer’s Workshop, the children share their writing with their peers and the whole class, and conference with teachers in order to revise, edit, and publish their writing. Children are expected to understand and use the rules for capitalization and punctuation. Spelling rules are incorporated into weekly assessments as well as individual written work. Cursive handwriting is taught at this grade level.

Social Studies

The theme for third grade is "Los Angeles: Our Community." The children are exposed to the city’s diverse ethnic communities through literature, field trips, and research projects. We examine the cultural aspects of all the groups and learn about their contributions to our city. The children also identify the similarities and differences between populations in our area. In addition, students learn cardinal directions and map-reading skills. Field trips around Los Angeles to sites such as Olvera Street, Japanese American Museum, Watts Towers, and City Hall enrich third graders’ knowledge and understanding of the unique peoples who make up the city.

Mathematics

The math curriculum combines work in computation, problem-solving, mental math, and applied mathematics. Third-graders begin the year by conducting surveys and graphing their data. Students develop competence in addition and subtraction with regrouping. In the second semester, they focus on multiplication and division. The children are expected to understand these basic operations and to memorize their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. They work on multiplying a multi-digit number by a single digit and are exposed to dividing a multi-digit number by a single digit. The year culminates with a unit on basic geometry.

Science

In third-grade science, the focus is on content, reinforcing and developing scientific skills, and applying knowledge. Content areas and materials derived from the California Science Standards and the National Science Education Standards are presented using a variety of hands-on formats.

Topics studied during the third grade include fossils, the water cycle/Los Angles water supply/water conservation, adaptations, and an extended unit on food, nutrition, and digestion. Examples of projects include making a fossil imprint of materials found around campus, building a simulated aqueduct to deliver water to Los Angeles, and testing various foods for starch and fat.

Spanish

The third grade is a transitional year to the upper grades. Oral language begins to take more form, as what has been learned in the Pods is reviewed and expanded. Attention is given to the children’s pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm as well as fluency. The students are introduced to grammar and syntax, from the whole to the parts.

Visual Arts

The goal of the third-grade visual arts program is to promote children’s self-confidence and enthusiastic expressiveness. We provide a rich variety of materials, exploring drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculptural projects.

Each grade level comes to the visual arts room for a full month, which allows immersion into a given focus. This year, the third-grade focus is on weaving. They’ve built their own looms and explored conventional yarn tapestries, as well as nature and rag weavings. In addition to the monthlong Intensives, the children come to visual arts throughout the year for two-week mini-intensives for further artistic investigations.

Performing Arts

The third-grade performing arts curriculum begins the development of a vocal repertoire of unison singing and age-appropriate two-part choral literature. Music appreciation and history are presented in conjunction with the students’ ongoing classroom emphasis on the diversity of Los Angeles County. A broad investigation of particular immigrant cultures provides the framework for further in-depth study of their artistic contributions and student dramatic enactments, i.e., the Japanese internment, etc. This four-to-five week Intensive culminates in a joyous stage presentation featuring songs, dances, and dramatic folk myths for parents and interested community members.

Physical Education and Health

P.E. instruction and practice offer a number of diverse and developmentally appropriate skills and activities for third-graders. Children develop rhythm, balance, hand-eye coordination, and cardiovascular fitness by participating in aerobic and cooperative games, dance and walking, jogging and running. They also learn team sports such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, and hockey. Good sportsmanship and working as a team are incorporated into these activities.

The third-grade health curriculum focuses on the following areas; physical health, mental/emotional health, and social health. Students learn information and skills that can be applied to everyday living, such as fitness, healthy mind and feelings, families and social health, safety and conflict resolution. Third-graders learn about body systems and the importance of nutrition, rest and sleep, and healthy teeth.

Life Skills

Third-graders begin the year by meeting to talk about our classroom community and the skills, like respect and courtesy, that they need to work well together. Third-graders learn what it means to build community and are expected to use the Life Skills in all their classes.

Service Learning

Third-grade service learning takes place at the OPICA Center, a local day facility for the elderly. Third-graders gain an understanding of another diverse population in Los Angeles and have the opportunity to use many of their Life Skills as they interact with the seniors. The children write about each visit in their journals and have group discussions about their experiences.