Third Grade

My name is Joy Bolen and I currently teach third grade. For my undergraduate degree I attended North Carolina State University ('09), where I earned a B.S. in middle grades education with a concentration in Language Arts and Social Studies. Later, I received my Master's of Education in K-12 Reading (Reading Specialist) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ('14). I am currency finishing up my Principal's Licensure from Appalachian State University ('21). I hold teaching licensure in K-12 Reading, Language Arts 6-9, and Social Studies 6-12

I began my teaching career in 2009 with Wake County School System where I taught 8th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. Upon moving to the Burlington Area in the middle of the school year, I began working at Dudley High School in Guilford County to finish out the 2011 school year. In 2012 I began working at Western Middle School in ABSS. While at Western I taught mostly 8th grade Language Arts and Social Studies, but also conducted reading and language interventions with 6-8 grades. After many years at Western I eventually followed my daughter, Reagan, to BSS.

My husband, Jason, and I have two children. Reagan is currently in third grade and Archie is in preschool. Reagan started at BSS in preschool and we fell in love with the school and community. We knew this was the place that we wanted our family to be involved with. We also have two dogs. We foster Autumn, a golden retriever, who is 3 and a true sweetheart. Her daughter, Liberty, has also joined our family.

Religion: We continue with the Sadlier We Believe series in third grade. The focus of third grade Religion is on how we can be good members of the Church.

Literacy: Third grade uses the Open Court basal reader and we read several novels throughout the year. Our stories focus on the themes of friendship, city wildlife, imagination, and money. During our in-class discussion we focus on the main idea, details, characters, plot, setting, and context clues. Students will also learn the writing process which includes prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, evaluating, and publishing. Third graders will write fiction and non-fiction pieces over the course of the year. We will also enter The Burlington Writer's Club contest in January. We use Grammar and Writing 3 book to learn about the principles of grammar and writing.

Spelling: Spelling words are related to the story of the week or to chapters in the novel we are reading. Tests are given on Fridays. Bonus words are added and count as extra credit.

Handwriting: Students will continue to build upon their skills of cursive writing. Much of the work in third grade will be required to be done in cursive.

Math: Math in third grade focuses on developing an understanding of multiplication and division strategies, fractions, arrays, area and perimeter, as well as describing and analyzing two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. Students will also focus on understanding place value, measurement, and probability. We dive into these concepts with a hands-on approach using demonstrations, interactive notebooks, online manipulatives, and even games.

Science: LabLearner units for third grade include; The Solar System, Properties of Matter, The Human Body and The Sun and Your Skin. Students use hands-on techniques to learn the concepts both in the classroom and our state-of-the-art Science lab. A trip to Morehead Planetarium complements the third grade Science curriculum very nicely.

Social Studies: The focus of third grade Social Studies is “communities.” We use a weekly periodical called NC Communities Weekly. We read the articles, complete the activities and use the online resources to enhance our study.

One of my favorite STREAM projects my class completes is...

Genius Hour

What is Genius Hour?

Genius Hour is a time for your child to research a topic or idea that he/she is passionate about. Your child will be given some time each day to research.

Why is Genius Hour important?

The number one reason why Genius Hour is important is because your child will take ownership in his/her own learning. This research is intended to spark curiosity and encourage life-long learning, imagination, perseverance, self-awareness, and adaptability. It also is intended to provide a sense of purpose.

How will Genius Hour work in the classroom?

Your child will participate in Genius Hour for one hour each week. S/he will pick a project of interest, formulate a guiding question, and I will approve the project. Once the project is approved, your child will then be given time in class to work on the project. I will provide research materials (i.e., books, computer, etc.) for your child to explore. Your child must present the topic to an audience when the project is completed.

How can you help out?

There are many ways you can help. When your child decides what s/he wants to do, your child will need help expanding the ideas and finding resources. Discussing your child’s ideas and helping with where to find some great resources will be important. Taking your child to the public library would be a great starting point. Also, if you have access to the internet at home, your child could conduct some of the research there. Finally, you may be an expert in an area that a student chooses in the classroom. If this is the case, I hope you could offer your expertise to the student that chooses your area for a topic.

Diocese of Raleigh Academic Standards Covered

RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
RI3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain- specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area
RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text.
W.3.5 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic using the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing.
SL.3.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.
SL.3.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly in complete sentences at an understandable pace.

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