Listening/Speaking.  Students:

• listen to solve problems, gather information or appreciate stories
• listen to identify the musical elements of literary language, such as rhymes, repeated sounds or instances of onomatopoeia
• gain increasing control of grammar, such as subject-verb agreement, complete sentences, and correct tense usage
• compare language and oral traditions (family stories) that reflect customs, regions, and cultures

Reading.  Students:

• use knowledge of decoding and structural cues such as prefixes, suffixes, and derivational endings to identify words
• read and comprehend a variety of third-grade level texts
• read for enjoyment, to solve problems, to gather information, and to extend vocabulary
• make and explain important inferences in a story
• demonstrate knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, and multi-meaning words
• gather important information using resources and references
• analyze the literary elements of narrative text
• read orally from familiar texts with accuracy, expression, appropriate phrasing, and attention to punctuation
• read silently for increasing periods of time

Writing.  Students:

• write to record ideas and reflections for a variety of audiences
• use increasingly complex capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
• develop, revise, and edit writing and compositions using established criteria
• write for varied purposes, including to achieve a sense of audience, make precise word choices, and create vivid images
• use available technology for word processing, spell checking, and printing
• compile notes into reports, outlines, and summaries                                                    

In third grade mathematics, your child will learn:

Number, Operation, and Quantitative Reasoning.  Students:

• use place value to read, write, and describe numbers
• compare and order whole numbers less than 10,000
• determine value of a collection of coins and bills
• construct fractional models and compare fractions
• name fractional parts of a whole or set using symbols
• construct models of equivalent fractions
• model addition and subtraction
• add and subtract with numbers less than 1,000
• learn and apply multiplication facts
• multiply using a one-digit multiplier
• use models for division and record the solutions
• round numbers to tens or hundreds
• estimate sums and differences

Patterns, Relationships, and Algebraic Thinking.  Students:

• make predictions and solve problems using patterns
• identify patterns in multiplication facts
• identify fact families for multiplication and division
• generate tables of ordered pairs
• identify and extend patterns of ordered pairs

Geometry and Spatial Reasoning.  Students:

• name, describe, and compare shapes and solids
• identify congruent shapes
• create and identify lines of symmetry
• locate and name whole numbers and fractions on a number line

Measurement.  Students:

• estimate and measure length using metric and customary units
• find the perimeter of a figure
• determine area using concrete models
• tell and write time on digital and traditional clocks
• measure length, area, temperature, and time to solve problems

Probability and Statistics.  Students:

• collect, organize, record, and display data in picture and bar graphs
• interpret information from graphs
• describe events as more likely, less likely or equally likely

Problem Solving.  Students:

• identify mathematics in everyday situations
• use a problem-solving model
• use tools such as real objects, manipulatives, and technology to solve problems
• explain and record observations
• relate informal language to mathematical language and symbols
• make generalizations from patterns
• justify why an answer is reasonable and explain the solution process

In third grade science, your child will learn:

Scientific Investigations.  Students:

• conduct safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical investigations
• make wise choices in use, conservation, disposal or recycling of materials

Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking.  Students:

• formulate testable hypotheses and construct reasonable explanations from evidence
• construct simple graphs, tables, maps, models, and charts to organize information
• analyze scientific explanations as to their strengths and weaknesses, using scientific evidence
• evaluate the impact of research on scientific thought, society, and the environment
• study the history of science and contributions of scientists

Tools and Models.  Students:

• use tools, including calculators, safety goggles, microscopes, sound recorders, clocks, computers, hand-lenses, thermometers, meter sticks, magnets, balances, and compasses
• demonstrate that repeated investigations may increase reliability

Systems.  Students:

• observe a simple system and describe the role of various parts

Forces Cause Change.  Students:

• measure changes in an object's position when a force is applied
• know Earth's surface can be changed by forces

Physical Properties.  Students:

• gather data about temperature, magnetism, and hardness
• identify matter as liquids, solids, and gases

Needs of Living Organisms.  Students:

• know that organisms need food, water, light, air, and habitat
• observe organisms with similar needs that compete for resources
• describe environmental changes
• describe how organisms modify their environment

Adaptations.  Students:

• analyze how adaptive characteristics help individuals survive

Inherited Traits and Learned Characteristics.  Students:

• identify some inherited traits of plants and animals

Processes of the Natural World.  Students:

• classify earth materials in local area as renewable, nonrenewable, or inexhaustible
• identify properties of soils, such as color and texture
• identify the position of planets in relation to the Sun

In third grade social studies, your child will learn:

History.  Students:

• identify reasons people formed communities and describe how individuals, events, and ideas have shaped communities over time
• compare ways people in communities meet their needs, in the past and present
• create and interpret timelines and describe historical times in terms of years, decades, and centuries

Geography.  Students:

• compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify variations in the physical environment
• use cardinal and intermediate directions, scale, compass rose, grid, and symbols to locate places and interpret maps and globes

Economics.  Students:

• identify ways of earning, spending, and saving money
• define scarcity and give examples of its impact on goods and services and on interdependence within and among communities
• explain how supply and demand affects price and how cost of production and selling price affect profits

Government.  Students:

• describe the basic structure of local government, identify local government officials, and explain how they are chosen
• identify services commonly provided by local governments and explain how they are financed

Citizenship.  Students:

• identify characteristics of good citizenship and identify people who exemplify good citizenship
• explain the importance of civic participation and identify examples of actions people can take to improve the community
• identify examples of organizations that serve the common good

Culture.  Students:

• explain the significance of ethnic and/or cultural celebrations in the state, nation, and world
• retell the heroic deeds of real and fictional heroes who have helped to shape the culture of communities
• identify selected writers and artists whose works exemplify the cultural heritage of communities around the world

Science, Technology, and Society.  Students:

• identify scientists and inventors who have created new technology
• explain the impact of new technology on communities around the world

Social Studies Skills.  Students:

• apply critical-thinking skills, communicate effectively, and use problem-solving and decision-making processes