In the third grade, all learning materials are primarily delivered online in the Global Virtual Curriculum. There are several Newberry Award winning books that can be purchased or found at most libraries that are integrated into the Language Arts Curriculum.

In English, the third grade student integrates reading, writing, and communication. Students develop decoding skills, use dictionaries, and begin to recognize context clues. Students read informational and literary texts, and visit the library. The third grader develops skills in distinguishing fact and opinion, comparison and contrast, and sequence of events. Using the writing process, they write sentences, letters, and paragraphs.

The third grade math curriculum is designed for students to read, write, represent and compare whole numbers and decimals; use a variety of methods and tools for computing with whole numbers, fractions, mixed numbers and decimals; and demonstrate fluency in multiplication facts through 10 and corresponding division facts. Third grade students analyze and solve multi-step problems; count money and make change using coins and dollars up through ten dollars. They develop common references for units of measure and tell time to the nearest minute. Students classify, sketch, and describe attributes of two-dimensional figures and intersecting, parallel, and perpendicular lines; identify and model three-dimensional figures; and investigate rotational symmetry and transformations.

Third grade social studies focus’ on the local community. Students explore how their community has changed over time, and compare their communities to other places. Local history comes alive through the use of artifacts and documents. Third grade students learn how their communities are governed, and how the local economy is organized. In third grade science, student increase their skills of observation, measurement, and classification. They read and interpret tables and graphs, and conduct safe investigations. Third grade science students explore properties and composition of rocks and soils, and the interaction between forces and motion. They also compare the life cycles of animals, animal classification, habitats, and adaptation to the environment. (back)