Curriculum
Be sure to check out the links below to read about our curriculum and the concepts students will learn during third grade.
As we progress through 3rd grade students learn so much about a variety of topics. As we continue to progress with International Baccalaureate philosophy, students are guided to make connections across subject areas, learn more about themselves through a variety of inquiries, and recognize their place in a global environment. Many subject areas overlap each other and are also integrated throughout the day as much as possible. This year at Simis we will continue to use the Common Core Standards with our students. The Arizona Department of Education site has a variety of resources to help parents and students.
In writing, students will be guided by the Six Traits as they travel through the writing process to create, enhance, and publish their writing. We use a similar structure to Writer's Workshop where students have personal draft books where they author both prompted and self-directed pieces. As they move through the writing process they conference with their peers and myself to support their development as writers. They write in a variety of genres including fiction, non-fiction, opinion, informative, and functional pieces. They also perform research to support their opinion and to help create their works.
In reading students work in reading groups, use paired reading, and also independent reading to support this structure. We also use the Wonders reader to provide opportunities to explicitly work on comprehension and story analysis skills, and then literature circles helps provide an authentic reading experiencing that helps to balance student learning.
Our math curriculum will be rigorous and focused on learning multiple strategies to use when solving different types of problems. Students build a tool box of strategies in computation that are first place value based and begin to move towards the standard algorithm much later in the year. We delve and work towards mastery with a variety of other grade level concepts including multiplication, division, fractions, measurement, probability, and contextual problem solving.
Madison has adopted the Inspire Science Program from McGraw-Hill which aligns with the most current Arizona Science Standards. Third grade has three main areas of study: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, and Life Science. Students become scientists during each unit and use the scientific method to guide their work.
Our Social Studies curriculum takes us throughout the world as explorers and geographers. We act as historians while learning about our founding fathers and the evolution of our country's government. We focus on four core concepts - civics, economics, history, and geography - within our state of Arizona.
Our classroom utilizes a lot of active and cooperative learning that will help our students continue to grow into responsible, active members of our global community.
Arizona Department of Education