Weehawken School District 3rd Grade  

Overview of Curriculum 

Third-grade students will continue to build essential reading, writing, speaking, listening and language skills. In order to ensure that we are promoting college and career readiness, students will be exposed to a variety of materials of varying levels of difficulty. Students are expected to understand and clearly summarize what they have learned from readings and collaborative discussions, citing specific evidence and details from the text. Students will analyze both nonfiction and literary text through close reading, while continuing to build a foundation for proficiency in the English language in terms of grammar and other writing skills. Students will write a variety of pieces that extend across other subject areas in the third grade curriculum. All lessons are aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. In the classroom we will use a multitude of approaches to promote student growth, including whole group, small group, and individual teaching techniques.

In Math students refine their understanding of the base ten system and use place value concepts of ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands to understand number relationships. They become fluent in writing and renaming numbers in a variety of ways. Students show a variety of ways to add and subtract multi-digit numbers. Students will focus on what it means to multiply and divide as they become fluent in one digit multiplication and division. Students will tell time on different types of clocks, as well as find the elapsed time. Students make predictions and answer questions about data as they apply their growing understanding of numbers and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Students will focus on what a fraction is and the various ways to model a fraction. Thy will use manipulatives to find equivalent fractions and to compare fractions using greater than, less than and equal to. Students understand the process of measuring length and progress from measuring with objects such as toothpicks and craft sticks to the more practical skill of measuring length with standard units and tools.

The third grade science curriculum is based on the Next Generation Science Standards. Each unit has three dimensions: disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. The disciplinary core ideas focus on scientific knowledge. The science and engineering practices require involvement in scientific inquiry. The crosscutting concepts connect scientific knowledge to other areas of learning. This curriculum will incorporate the three strands of Science: Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science. In third grade, the focus will be on Weather and Climate; Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems; Inheritance and Variation of Traits; and, Forces and Interactions.

Social Studies third-grade education provides learners with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to become active learners and informed citizens. Learners are encouraged to consider the perspectives and values of other societies both past and present, and how influential leaders have shaped our lives and government. Instruction expands to demonstrate how needs are met by being responsible members of the community. Students will have an understanding of how our community has changed over time and how it continues to change based on needs and wants. Students will also be given an opportunity to explore maps, globes, and landforms of the world in order to enhance their understanding of the physical and natural features of the world we live in. Throughout the year, social studies is meant to bridge the connection between people, places, and events of the past and present using hands-on activities, exploration, and technology to engage 21st-century learners.