Third Grade Syllabus 2025-2026
Lake Forest Elementary School
Third Grade Contact Information:
Ms. Annika Anderson aeanderson@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone 355-4026
Mrs. Sarah Forrester sforrester@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone 355-4068
Ms. Natasha Martin namartin@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone 355-4063
Mrs. Margaret Pepper mpepper@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone -355-4046
Mr. Matthew Reeve mreeve@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone 355-4011
Ms. Madelyn Smith madelynsmith@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone 355-40
Ms. Megan Wait mwait@greenville.k12.sc.us Phone 355-4067
School address: Principal: Julie Cooke
Lake Forest Elementary Assistant Principal: Sierra McGriff
16 Berkshire Avenue Administrative Assistant: Lauren Gilbert
Greenville, SC 29615
(864) 355-4000
Parent and Guardian Communication:
Communication between parents and teachers creates an unstoppable team!
The weekly newsletter is sent home electronically by email and will be on our teacher websites. The newsletter contains the spelling list, curriculum information, dates to remember, and teacher contact information.
Teachers should return emails and phone calls during planning periods and after school within 24 hours.
Graded paperwork will be sent home by their student’s teacher in their blue folder.
Parents and Guardians are provided the following opportunities to communicate and monitor their educational progress throughout the year:
Meet the teacher
PTA Meetings
First Quarter Conferences
Progress Reports/Report Cards
Weekly Newsletters
Study Guides
Class Dojo
Grades
Daily work and minor quizzes will be given without a study guide. Use daily classwork sent home as a review. Study guides will be sent home for unit tests in science and social studies.
Major grades (tests and projects) are 40% of overall grade.
Minor grades (quizzes) are 60% of overall grade.
Spelling grades are 10% of the language arts grade.
Grading System:
Grades are recorded in PowerTeacher per Greenville County requirements. Teachers are required to enter grades on a regular basis. Parents may view their student's grades in the Parent Backpack on a computer.
Grading Scale:
100-90 A
89-80 B
79-70 C
69-60 D
59-50 F
Grading Floor
Greenville County uses a grading floor of 50. At the end of the nine weeks, any final grade below 50 will be replaced with a score of 50.
Related Arts Indicators
M= Meets related arts standards
P= making progress towards related arts standards
Grading Procedures:
In each subject area, the teacher will assess the students in many different ways to accommodate all learning styles. This includes: teacher-made tests, district tests, projects, daily assignments, and online assignments. All of this will count toward the students’ nine weeks grade.
Progress Reports and Report Cards
Students will receive progress reports or report cards every 4 ½ weeks.
Benchmark Testing
MVPA tests will be administered three times throughout the year. The first test is at the end of the first quarter. These tests assess Math and ELA progress. While these tests are not added to student report cards, they are an important data point for instructional planning and progress monitoring.
Standardized Testing
State Standardized testing includes the SC Ready Tests. State tests are administered in the spring and cover standards from the entire school year. The students will be tested in Reading, Math, and Writing.
Read-To-Succeed Law
The South Carolina Read to Succeed Act became law in 2014. The intent of this law is to ensure all students have the reading skills necessary to become college and career ready. This law includes significant changes regarding students being retained in 3rd grade or promoted to 4th grade.
Act 114 requires that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency by scoring Does Not Meet Expectations on SC READY Reading. A student may be exempt from retention if they have a good cause exemption. Successful completion of Summer Reading camp may be one of those exemptions if students show growth on the MAP assessment given during summer camp.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Teachers will set up conferences for each student in October. Other conferences will be scheduled as needed to discuss IEPs, Read to Succeed concerns, or 504s. If you would like to meet at any other time, please contact the teacher, and we will set up a convenient time to meet.
Attendance and Tardy Policies:
Lake Forest follows the attendance policies mandated by The School District of Greenville and the State Department of Education. Students are dismissed to the homeroom at 7:30. We start our day at 7:45. If a student has an excused absence, they have 5 days to make-up for missed work. A complete copy of the attendance policy is available on the Lake Forest website, as well as in the student handbook.
Homework Policy
Homework will be assigned every night (Monday – Thursday). It will include a reading and math spiral review. Students should not spend more than 30 minutes on homework at night. Study guides will be sent home for language, math, science and social studies unit tests.
Missed Work
Work missed during a child’s absence should be completed and returned within five days of the last absence.
Changes in Transportation
If your child will travel home a different way than noted on his/her transportation form, we must be notified by written note or email the morning of. If you are unable to send a note please call the front office by 1:45 to make them aware of the dismissal changes. Your child will be sent home by his/her usual mode of transportation until a written note is received. Car tags must be displayed in the windshield for dismissal.
Field Trips:
Parents will be notified in writing of upcoming field trips. The dates and locations of these field trips are TBD. All chaperones must be cleared as a level II volunteer which includes a background check at least three weeks before the trip. If a parent wishes to chaperone, he or she MUST be cleared by the office prior to the week of the field trip. All field trips are non-refundable. Lake Forest Elementary is not a banking entity to make change and therefore EXACT CHANGE is required from each student for the cost of the event.
Roper Mountain Science Center - September 11-12
Supplies:
Please make sure your students come prepared to school with the necessary materials to ensure maximum academic progress. Parents that cannot afford school supplies, should contact our school counselor.
24 Ticonderoga #2 Pencils,
4 Skinny Expo black dry erase markers
8 Elmers glue sticks
2 packs of Crayola Crayons (24 Count)
2 boxes of Kleenex
3 black and white marbled wide ruled composition notebooks
2 pocket folders with prongs (yellow and red)
1 pencil pouch (no boxes)
1 set of wired headphones
eLearning Guidelines for Inclement Weather: GCS has the option to declare eLearning days when weather or road conditions threaten safety. Because we are an approved eLearning district, this day will not have to be made up and instruction will be provided through Google Classroom. For the purpose of inclement weather days, eLearning is defined as live instruction throughout the day. This live instruction may be whole group, small group, and/or individual sessions. Students are expected to log on to the live instruction during inclement weather days. If students are unable to join the live meets due to power loss, sickness, etc., work must be made up within five days of returning to school. The state requires each district to have three potential makeup days if eLearing is not possible when school is cancelled. These makeup days are:
Makeup Day 1: May 20 and May 21, 2026 (½ days become full days resulting in 1 full makeup day)
Makeup Day 2: March 13, 2026
Makeup Day 3: April 6, 2026.
Procedures for Non-Instructional Routines:
Morning Procedures: Students will wait outside in the hallway until the 7:30 bell. Students will enter the classroom, take all necessary materials to their desk and hang their backpacks. This includes their blue communication folder. Students will complete the morning spiral review.
Blue Communication Folder: Your child will keep a blue folder to hold papers and information that goes back and forth between home and school. Your child will need to make sure that they have this with them every day at school! In third grade, students are expected to take on more responsibility, and turning in any notes, papers, and/or money to the specified location each morning before 7:55 is part of their responsibility.
Recess: 20-25 minutes of recess will be given every day. Students are expected to follow the LFE expectations listed above for proper recess behavior. The teacher will signal the students at the end of recess and students will line up immediately to enter the building.
Class Parties: Each class may have two parties during the school year. The two parties will be on the last day before winter break and on Valentine’s Day.
Medications: Medications must be brought into the health room by the parent or guardian to be administered by the school nurse or other designated trained personnel. See the Lake Forest website for complete health room information and procedures. Students are not allowed to bring medicines into school.
Birthdays
You may send in individual treats for your child’s birthday, but it must be store bought and packaged. Check with your child’s teacher to ask about allergies.
Breakfast
Breakfast is FREE to all students. Your child must be in the cafeteria by 7:45 to eat breakfast.
Line Procedure: The teacher will call students by groups to line up in order. We walk from place to place without talking, hands and feet away from the walls. We stop at key points along the hallway, yielding to oncoming traffic.
Lunch: All student lunches are free. Snacks must be paid for through lunch accounts. Students are allowed to purchase one extra item (ex: cookie, drink, chips) if they have money in their lunch account. Students should eat their lunch before eating snacks.
Lunch menus will not be printed, but are available on the school website.
Presentation of Rules & Procedures: Classroom rules and natural consequences are developed with the students at the beginning of the school year. Procedures are explained to the students and posted in the classroom at the beginning of the year, and they are practiced to reinforce understanding. These rules foster a sense of community, safety, respect and helpfulness in the classroom.
Behavior Policy: Lake Forest follows Conscious Discipline practices. Conscious Discipline provides an array of classroom structures that we use to turn everyday situations into learning opportunities. Our goal is to help students build skills to help them be successful. We also use a tiered behavior system that offers logical consequences. All students are expected to follow district and school expectations outlined in the Lake Forest Student Handbook.
Here are what these steps may look like in the classroom:
Reminder: Students will be given a visual and verbal reminder of expectations.
Bounce Back: Students will take some space in another classroom to reflect and solve whatever problem they are having.
Natural Consequence: Based on whatever skills your child needs to practice, they will take time during, class, recess or at the end of the day to reflect on their behavior.
Minor Offense Form: Students will receive a Minor Offense Form for behaviors that are chronic issues. Parents will be required to sign the Minor Offense Form and return it the following day. Parents will also be contacted by phone for these minor offenses.
Money
Whenever you send money to school with your child (for lunch, field trips, Kona Ice, TCBY, etc.), please make sure to send it in a sealed envelope or ziploc bag with your child’s first & last name on the front, as well as what the money is for.
Afternoon Dismissal: At dismissal time, the students remain in the classroom until the first group of students leave at 2:15 bell. This group includes: All bus riders, all daycare/van riders, walkers, Mosaic program students, and side-car riders. All front car riders will be held in a teacher’s room to look for their name on the Promethean board. Once students see their name and group number, they may exit to the front of the school to get in their vehicle. School dismisses each day at 2:15 PM.
Standards: South Carolina standards can be found at: https://ed.sc.gov/instruction/standards-learning/
Curriculum: Lake Forest uses the following text book curriculum:
South Carolina Studies Weekly - World Geography
HMH Into Reading
McGraw Hill South Carolina Reveal Math
Units Of Study : Greenville County Parent Curriculum Outline
Subject
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Reading
Module 1 Character
Focus on realistic fiction
Character development
Plot elements
Figurative language
Perspective
Theme
Module 2: Use Your Words
Focus on letters & poetry
Elements of poetry
Character development
Plot elements
Perspective
Theme
Summarize
Figurative language
Module 3: Let Freedom Ring
Focus on nonfiction
Central Idea
Supporting details
Author’s purpose
Author’s perspective
Text features
Text structure
Summarize
Context clues
Module 4: Stories on Stage
Focus on drama
Elements of drama
Figurative language
Author’s claim
Summarize
Theme
Module 5: Teamwork
Focus on realistic fiction & narrative nonfiction
Literary elements
Theme
Figurative language
Perspective
Author’s Claim
Character development
Module 6: Animal Behaviors
Focus on nonfiction
Author’s purpose
Author’s perspective
Central Idea
Text Structure
Text features
Summarize
Module 7: Make a Difference
Focus on narrative nonfiction & historical fiction
Author’s purpose
Text Structure
Module 8: Imagine! Invent!
Focus on nonfiction, poetry, & opinion
Author’s purpose
Central Idea
Module 9: From Farm to Table
Focus on informational text
Text structure
Central Idea
Text features
Module 10: Tell a Tale
Focus on traditional literature
Figurative language
Theme
Testing as a Genre Unit
Review all standards
Test taking strategies
Modules 11 & 12: Genre Studies
Book clubs & review activities
Writing
Module 1
Sentence writing
Personal Narrative
Module 2
Letter writing
Personal narrative
Text Dependent Writing
Module 3
Informational writing
Module 4
Personal Narrative
Text Dependent Writing
Module 5
Opinion Writing
Module 6
Informational writing
Module 7
Opinion Writing
Module 8
Informational Writing
Module 9
Poetry Writing
Text Dependent Writing
Module 10
Narrative Writing
Text Dependent Writing
Module 11
Opinion Writing
Testing as a Genre Unit
Text Dependent Writing
Word Study
Phonics
Spelling patterns
Syllable rules
Short vowels
Long vowels
Decoding multisyllabic words
Vocabulary
Tier 2 vocabulary words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Grammar
Nouns
Common Nouns
Proper Nouns
Commas
Quotation marks
Regular & Irregular verbs
Verb tenses
Contractions
Prepositional phrases
Phonics
Spelling patterns
Syllable rules
Consonant digraphs
Vowel diphthongs
Homophones
R-controlled vowels
Decoding multisyllabic words
Vocabulary
Tier 2 vocabulary words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Grammar
Subject
Predicate
Fragments
Simple sentences
Adjectives
Compound sentences
Coordinating conjunctions
Contractions
Run-on sentences
Adverbs
Comparative & superlative adverbs
Complex sentences
Independent & dependent clauses
Subordinating conjunctions
Phonics
Spelling patterns
Syllable rules
Decoding multisyllabic words
Vocabulary
Tier 2 vocabulary words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Grammar
Periods in abbreviations
Interrogative & demonstrative pronouns
Phonics
Spelling patterns
Syllable rules
Decoding multisyllabic words
Vocabulary
Tier 2 vocabulary words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Grammar
All standards review
Math
Unit 1: Math Is…
Perseverance in problem solving
Explain using math language
Make real world connections
Unit 2: Use Place Value to Fluently Add & Subtract
Read, write numbers to 999,999 in standard, base 10, & expanded form
Compare numbers
Round numbers
Add & subtract to 1,000
2 step problems w/ addition & subtraction
Extend math patterns in addition/ subtraction
Unit 3: Multiplication & Division
Multiply 1-10
Divide 1-10
Find missing factor, product, dividend, divisor, or quotient
Unit 4: Use Patterns to Multiply
Multiply 1-10
Whole numbers are multiples of factors
Unit 5: Using Properties to Multiply
Multiply 1-10
Commutative property
Associative property
Distributive property
Unit 6: Connect Area & Multiplication
Area in square units
Unit 7: Fractions
Unit fractions
Represent fractions
Fractions equivalent to whole numbers
Mixed numbers
Unit 8: Fraction Equivalence & Comparison
Equivalent fractions
Compare fractions
Unit 9 & 10: Multiplication to Divide & Using Properties to Multiply & Divide
Multiply 1-10
Divide 1-10
Find unknown factor, product, dividend, divisor, quotient
Whole numbers are multiples of factors
Unit 11 & 12: Perimeter and Measurement & Data
Organize data in tables, picture graphs, scaled bar graphs, & dot plots
Solve 1-2 step problems using data
Identify possible outcomes in simple event
Find perimeter
Determine if real world situation needs area or perimeter
Find value of coins
Tell time to the 1 minute
Find elapsed time
Estimate liquid volume
Unit 13 & 14: Analyzing 2D Shapes & Geometric Figures
Angles
Angles in 2D shapes
Lines, line segments, rays, intersecting lines, perpendicular lines, parallel lines
Science
Unit 1:
Intro to Science & Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts
Unit 2:
Playground Forces
Unit 3:
Weather Impacts
Unit 4:
Surviving in Changing Environments
Unit 5:
Life Cycles for Survival
Social Studies
Unit 1:
Map Skills & Earth’s Features
Unit 2:
Environment and People
Unit 2: Part 2
Environment and People
Unit 3:
Culture and Economy Introduction
Unit 4:
Culture and Economy
Unit 5:
Exploring Movement and Migration