• 3rd Grade Curriculum

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Art

    Course Title: Art-Grade 3   Department:  Art

     

    Grade Level: 3  

     

    Time Per Day/Week: 40 minutes- once a week   Length of Course: Year

     

    Primary Resources:  https://www.nationalartsstandards.org/

     

    Units of Study:

    Drawing

    Painting

    Printing

    Clay

    Textiles

    Fiber Arts

    Sculpture

    Design

    Studio Habits of Artists

     

    Curriculum-Based Assessments:  Formal assessments through observation and oral responses. Summative assessments through project completion.

     

    Standardized Assessments: N/A

     

    Description of Course:

    Third grade art is aligned with the National Core Art standards:  Creating, Presenting, Responding, and Connecting. Third grade art is composed of the following content areas:  drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, fiber arts, sculpture, studio habits, and studio care.  Third grade will be encouraged to foster a continuing appreciation, keen interest, and enthusiasm for the visual arts through active participation and informed application. Third grade will be introduced to and will identify works of art and artists from other cultures and time periods.  Third grade will be able to describe and identify different types of art.  Third grade will continue to develop the art skills introduced in second grade.  Third grade will use a variety of media and be encouraged to express themselves in creative and individual ways as they create their own masterpieces using the elements of art and principles of design.  Cross-curricular lessons are organically incorporated into the grade-level curriculum.


    English Language Arts

    1. Course Title: ELA - Grade 3    Department: English Language Arts

    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 120 minutes/Day   Length of Course: Year
     
    Units of Study: 
    Unit 1: Word Study (Phonics/Spelling)
    Unit 2: Reading
    Unit 3: Writing
    Unit 4: Grammar
    Unit 5: Speaking/Listening
     
    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Unit assessments, tests/quizzes, writing samples, & on-going formative assessments
     
    Standardized Assessments: STAR 360 and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)

    Description of Course: 
    Grade 3 English Language Arts courses are aligned to PA Core Standards which encompass reading and responding to fiction and nonfiction texts. Students are taught to be strategic readers and construct a written text-dependent analysis. Comprehension is emphasized and taught with a concentration on inferring, drawing conclusions, using context clues to derive meaning, and understanding figurative language. Additionally, students practice writing a variety of genres including narrative, informative, and persuasive writing opportunities. Students also receive weekly phonics through a spelling list (with a focus on root words, prefixes, and suffixes), grammar, and vocabulary instruction. Speaking and listening skills are practiced through discussions and oral presentations. Active listeners make meaning from what they hear by questioning, reflecting, responding, and evaluating. Differentiated instruction is provided through a variety of online and printed resources to meet the needs of students.


    LibraryCourse Title: Library-Grade 3    Department:  Library

    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 40 Minutes per Week    Length of Course: 1 Year
     
    Primary Resources: A variety of fiction and non-fiction print and electronic materials. World Book Online, PebbleGo databases. Print encyclopedia set. Increasing usage of available technology as appropriate. 

    Units of Study: 
    Unit 1: Independent Library Navigation and Book Selection
    Unit 2: In-depth Usage of Online Catalog (Destiny)
    Unit 3: Dewey Decimal Classifications 
    Unit 4: Literary fiction
    Unit 5: Using Reference Materials: Encyclopedias
    Unit 6: Using Biographies
    Unit 7: Literary Genres (Mystery, Suspense, Fantasy, Science Fiction)

    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Assessments in the usage of Encyclopedias, Dewey Decimal classification and genres.  Demonstration assessments in the usage of catalog, independent library navigation, using biographies

    Standardized Assessments: N/A

    Description of Course:
    The third-grade library curriculum focuses on students independently locating and selecting fiction and nonfiction materials. Students will choose appropriate materials for pleasure reading and for academic research projects. Students will be able to understand and use the different sections of the library utilizing the Dewey Decimal System and fiction classification by alphabetical order. Students will be able to search the library contents both at school and at home utilizing the online catalog. Other goals for third-grade students are utilizing appropriate reference sources including the encyclopedia and biographies. Students will study fiction genres including Mystery and Suspense, Fantasy as well as Science Fiction. Students will be exposed to a variety of reading materials in order to broaden their knowledge of books available for pleasure reading and schoolwork.

     
    MathCourse Title: Math - Grade 3    Department:  Math

    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 60 minutes/day X 5 days/week    Length of Course: Year

    Primary Resources: My Math, McGraw-Hill
     
     
    Units of Study: 
    Unit 1: Numbers and Operations in Base 10
    Unit 2: Operations and Algebraic Thinking
    Unit 3: Measurement and Data
    Unit 4: Geometry
    Unit 5: 4th Grade Units

    Curriculum-Based Assessments: STAR 360, Chapter Tests

    Standardized Assessments: Pennsylvania State Standardized Assessment

    Description of Course:
    Grade 3 math is aligned to PA Academic and Core Standards. Unit 1 focuses on Numbers and Operations in Base 10. In this unit, students will estimate and round numbers, read and write numbers to 100,000, and apply place value concepts. Students will add and subtract whole numbers up to three digits. Unit 2 focuses on Operations and Algebraic Thinking. Students will understand the relationship between addition and multiplication. Students will recognize division as the whole divided into equal groups. Students will understand and create fractions of a whole. Unit 3 focuses on Measurement and Data. Students will tell time to the minute and calculate elapsed time. Students will measure using metric and customary units. Students will count coins and bills, and make a change. Students will interpret and create data on graphs. Students will determine the area and perimeter. Unit 4 focuses on Geometry. Students will identify the characteristics of polygons and solid figures. Unit 5 focuses on content to help prepare students for fourth-grade math, including multiplying greater numbers and long division with and without remainders.

     
    MusicCourse Title: General Music- Grade 03  Department: Music
     
    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 40 minutes/5 day rotation 
     
    Length of Course: Year (part of the 5-day rotation)

    Primary Resources: Resources developed by teachers and aligned to PA Fine Arts Standards/National Core Arts Standards
     
    Units of Study: 
    Unit 1: Music Literacy: (see 12-step literacy process in the course description)
    • Pitch: Discover and practice pentatonic (five-tone) and later diatonic (major scale) music using simple melodies and/or melodic patterns.  Learn and use absolute pitch names ABCDEFG on the treble staff.
    • Rhythm: ¾ Time Signature, dotted half note

    Unit 2: Performance Skills: 

    • Tuneful singing
    • Playing instruments (percussion and recorder)
    • Movement/dance

    Unit 3: Listening and Analysis: 

    • Form (Call/Response, 12-Bar Blues)
    • Music Vocabulary (tempo and dynamics)
    • Evaluating Performances, Instruments Families (Identification/Classification)

    Unit 4: Musical Contexts: Different focus at each grade level

    • Connections to History (Composers, Styles of Music)
    • Connections to Culture (Patriotic Music, Music of other countries)
    • Connections to other disciplines (Dance, visual arts, math, literature)

    Unit 5: Creativity: (Personal application of literacy and performance skills)

    • Improvisation
    • Composition
    • Artistic Synthesis (incorporate movement, literature, and visual art)
     
    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Topic Tests, Performance and project-based assessments using rubric criteria
     
    Standardized Assessments: N/A
     
    Description of Course: 
    In third grade general music, students continue to develop their “tuneful, beat-ful, artful” musical skills through activities in line with the First Steps in Music curriculum by John Feierabend, while simultaneously developing a repertoire of familiar folk songs and/or composed music to sing, move to and play on instruments. Students build upon familiar literacy skills by adding additional rhythmic concepts (dotted half note, ¾ time signature) and adding additional pitches to the major scale (do, re and fa) as well as learning absolute pitch names (ABCDEFG) on the treble staff. Music Literacy is taught using the Conversational Solfege process by John Feierabend, which follows this 12-step sequence

    Students will enhance performance skills by learning multiple parts (3-4 parts) arrangements (pitched and unpitched percussion) to familiar songs. Additionally, students synthesize performance and music literacy skills by learning to play the soprano recorder. This experience applies and develops multiple elements of musicianship at once and serves as an introduction to performance on another instrument family, the woodwinds.

    Music creativity is explored through the above performance and literacy units as students improvise and compose their own music. In third grade, students take composition skills to the next level by applying a combination of different skills (note reading/identification on the musical staff, musical form, all known rhythms) to create larger original compositions, usually to be played on their recorders. Creativity also happens as they arrange familiar songs, choosing their own instrumentation (percussion and recorder) and incorporate original poetry or other literature as part of the performance. These activities are in line with the Orff-Schulwerk approach. 

    Throughout the year, students will discover how repertoire and concepts connect with the history of music, including famous musicians/composers, styles of music, music from other countries and how music is related to other areas of learning and culture.  Students will continue to build their music vocabulary to describe what they hear using appropriate musical terminology.


     
    Health Physical EducationCourse Title: Physical Education   Department: Physical Education
     
    Grade Level: 3
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 40 min. & 30 min. / 2 x week     Length of Course: Year
     
    Primary Resources: Various online resources and Physical Education activity books.

     
    Units of Study: 
    Unit 1: Fitness
    Unit 2: Cooperative Games
    Unit 3: Locomotor Skills
    Unit 4: Team Games and Activities
    Unit 5: Manipulatives
    Unit 6: Health and Wellness
     
    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Fitness Assessments, Pre and Post Fitness Testing, Skill Development, Participation, Sportsmanship 
     
    Standardized Assessments: 

    Description of Course:

    Fitness - This unit is designed to physically engage and challenge each student at their individual level of fitness and foster a desire to improve over time. Fitness focuses on basic concepts of muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility.  Fitness activities are performed during stations and game activities during class. Some examples of exercises include jumping rope, push ups, sit-ups, pull ups, jogging and burpees.
    Cooperative Games and Activities - This unit is designed to cognitively engage each student with higher-order thinking, decision-making skills, cooperation, teamwork, and problem-based activities designed to promote growth, both physically and mentally.  These activities establish a foundation of resiliency, social skills, interpersonal skills, and conflict management.   Learning the aspects of good sportsmanship and fair play during game play is a focus. Some examples of a cooperative play during this unit would be scooter tag, scooter handball, among various other group activities.
    Locomotor Movement -  Demonstrate various locomotor movements while engaged in various games and activities. Some examples include: hopping, skipping, running, leaping, jumping, galloping, and walking.
    Team Sports- Provide an exposure to a wide range of team sports through lead up games and activities.  Students utilize particular skill movements such as throwing, kicking, dribbling and catching while participating in game situations.  Some examples of team sport activities would be lead up games for football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
    Manipulatives- Focus on proper body mechanics by utilizing specific movements.  Student engage in various activities while aiming for  a target, kicking a ball, or catching an object while incorporating these skills  into game and practice sessions. 

    This course is aligned with the PA Academic Health, Safety and Physical Education Standards. The standards are comprised under 5 main areas of focus: Physical Activity, Concepts  of Health, Healthful Living, Safety and Injury prevention, and Concepts, Principles & Strategies of Movement.

     

     

     



    Science

    Course Title: Science - Grade 3  Department: Science

    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 40 minutes / 2-3 times per week  Length of Course: Year

    Primary Resources: Amplify Science
     
     
    Units of Study:
    Unit 1: Balancing Forces: Investigating Floating Trains
    Unit 2: Weather and Climate: Establishing an Orangutan Reserve


    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Section quizzes, Hands-on activities, Unit tests, Science Notebooks

    Standardized Assessments: N/A

    Description of Course: 
    Unit 1: Students work to investigate and explain how some inventions seem to defy logic. Through firsthand experiences, discourse, and reading and writing informational text, students will come to understand how forces can cause stability or change in an object's motion.  They will discover how magnetic force can be used to counterbalance the force of gravity.
    Unit 2: In the role of meteorologists working for the fictional Wildlife Protection Organization, students investigate weather patterns as they solve the problem of where to establish an orangutan reserve.  They figure out how meteorologists collect, analyze, and represent weather data for one day, then for one month, and finally for an entire year.


     
    SocialStudiesCourse Title: Social Studies  Department: Social Studies
     
    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 3 days per week/30 minute lesson
     
    Length of Course: Throughout the year, shared with Science

    Primary Resources: My World Social Studies "We Are Connected". Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Education Inc., 2013.  https://www.pearsonrealize.com

    Units of Study:
    Unit 1: Citizenship/Community/Government
    Unit 2: Pennsylvania History
    Unit 3: Economics-Making Choices
    Unit 4: Map Skills

    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Student Projects, Chapter Tests
     
    Standardized Assessments: N/A

    Description of Course:
    Unit 1 focuses on rules, laws, and consequences within a school, classroom, and community. Students will understand the rights and responsibilities of an active member of a school and community. There is also a focus on the three branches of government within this unit. Understanding decision-making and identifying how goods and services are produced and consumed are the focus of Unit 2.  In Unit 3, students will understand map skills such as latitude and longitude and how to read a map. Unit 4 provides students with an opportunity to explore Pennsylvania history. Students will learn about William Penn, as well as historical documents, artifacts, and various places critical to Pennsylvania history.

     
    TechnologyCourse Title: Third Grade Course B Coding  Department: Technology

    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 40 Minutes/One time per week 
     
    Length of Course: 8 Weeks

    Primary Resources: code.org
     
    Units of Study:
    Unit 1: Graph Paper Programming [U]
    Unit 2: Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Airplanes [U]
    Unit 3: Maze: Sequence
    Unit 4: Artist: Sequence
    Unit 5: Getting Loopy [U]
    Unit  6: Maze: Loops
    Unit 7: Artist: Loops
    Unit 8: Bee: Loops
    Unit 9: Relay Programming [U]
    Unit 10: Bee: Debugging
    Unit 11: Artist: Debugging
    Unit 12: Conditionals with Cards [U]
    Unit 13: Bee: Conditionals
    Unit 14: Binary Bracelets [U]
    Unit 15: The Big Event [U]
    Unit 16: Flappy
    Unit 17: Play Lab: Create a Story
    Unit 18: Your Digital Footprint [U]
    Unit 19: Artist: Nested Loops

    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Successful completion of each lesson.

    Standardized Assessments: N/A

    Description of Course: 
    Students create programs with loops, events, and conditionals and write algorithms for everyday tasks. They will translate their names into binary, investigate different problem-solving techniques, and discuss the societal impacts of computing. By the end of the curriculum, students create interactive games or stories they can share. While the description of some lessons may look similar to lessons in Course 1, this review is important for those who have taken Course 1 as most will be at the lower elementary level. The complexity and depth of the topics discussed are scaffolded appropriately to provide all students with a rich and novel experience. Students starting in Course 2 will be students who can read in the lower and middle elementary grades, Beginner readers, Conditionals, Algorithms, Binary Code, Debugging, Societal impacts of computing.
    • Beginner readers
    • Conditionals
    • Algorithms
    • Binary Code
    • Debugging
    • Societal impacts of computing


    TechnologyCourse Title: Third Grade Safety/Digital Learning  Department:  Technology

    Grade Level: 3  
     
    Time Per Day/Week: 40 Minutes / One time per week   Length of Course: 5 Weeks

    Primary Resources:  
     
     
    Units of Study: 
    Unit 1: Digital Communication and Citizenship, 
    Unit 2: Digital Safety
    Unit 3: Digital Security Skills & Practices
    Unit 4: "Dot & i" Straight-Up Safety Talk
    Unit 5: Cyber Bullying, Social Networking & Chat Rooms
    Unit 6: Appropriate Online Behavior

    Curriculum-Based Assessments: Online Pre and Post Assessment
     
    Standardized Assessments: N/A

    Description of Course: 
    The curriculum scope is topically comprehensive and provides a unique approach to digital citizenship and e-Safety education by meaningfully integrating current research with best practices in pedagogy and instructional design. Lessons are aligned to Common Core State Standards and ISTE/NETS standards. Instructional materials are compliant with Accessibility Standards.