Third Grade
Third Grade Teachers:
Mrs. Goodman
Ms. Scott
Mrs. Firak
Welcome to the Field 3rd Grade Website!
On our website you will find information regarding each subject's curriculum. It is broken down by subject on the search bar located on the left. You will also find helpful resources for the students to access at home for additional practice, research, and support.
Third Grade Subject Areas
Language Arts
Reading
District 205 recently adopted a Standards Based Curriculum in the Fall of 2016. This curriculum is called Schoolwide and divided into four units that are taught throughout the year. Each Unit of Study Includes the following
- Focus Standards
- Targets made of multiple standards
- Formative and summative assessments
- Anchor and suggested texts
- Examples of academic vocabulary
The strands of reading, writing, listening/speaking, language standards are interrelated and call for integration of the strands to develop together and be mutually supportive.
Third Grade Thematic Units
Trimester 1
- Launching Unit -students are introduced to the reading workshop model. They will learn about whole group mini-lessons, partner/independent work, guided reading groups, 1:1 conferencing, and reflection.
- Fiction Unit - students will read fiction mentor texts with teacher support and identify character traits, setting, theme, and main ideas related to the stories presented.
Trimester 2
- Informational Unit- students will look at biographies, literary nonfiction, and reference books. They will identify with nonfiction text features and determine the differences among these three types of nonfiction texts.
Trimester 3
- Communities- Students will learn about how communities change over time.
Why Develop a Standard's Based Curriculum for Reading?
The State Standards require students to:
- Analyze and interpret complex text
- Engage in rich evidence-based conversations about text
- Critically think and question
- Communicate with clarity about a text
- Select and create texts for different needs and purposes
- Interact with and utilize digital technologies and contexts for a variety of purposes
- Develop personal identities as communicators and literate individuals
- Appreciate reading and writing across genres
References for Finding Independent Reading Books
Below are a few links that provide lists of book suggestions for independent reading. These sites are helpful because they recommend books by genre interests, as well as age-appropriate suggestions.
Have fun curling up to a great book!
Elmhurst Public Library Booklists
lexile.com
Spelling- Words Their Way
Words Their Way® is a program that takes a developmental approach to phonics, spelling and vocabulary instruction. It provides K-12 teachers with instruction and word lists that correlate to students’ developmental stage of word study.
There are 5 Targeted Levels for the Words Their Way Program
- Emergent
- Letter Name
- Within Word Pattern
- Syllables and Affixes
- Derivational Relations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUofXtF18GY
Reading Skill Practice
Below is a link that will provide our students with skill based practice that can enhance their abilities with a variety of reading skills. Review your child's RIT band scores from the MAP Assessment data that you have received. Simply, click on this link and have the students click on the RIT band number range that matches your child's scores. As your child masters skills by practicing the different lessons and games, allow your child to move on to the next RIT band to practice higher level skills. Please note that not all of these games have been reviewed entirely by our staff, some of them are subject to exposing advertisements. As always, please make sure you are reviewing the websites your child is visiting.
Writing with Lucy Calkins
Lucy Calkins writing program was adopted by District 205 in 2014. This program is a balanced approach that includes different models of presentation to accommodate all learners. The workshop model includes:
- a whole group mini lesson
- independent practice
- individual conferencing with the teacher
- group conferencing targeting a specific strategy/goal
- presentation of writing pieces (celebrations)
The three main units in third grade are:
1) Narrative
2) Informational
3) Opinion
Math
Eureka Math
This year, the district has adopted the Eureka Math program. This program emphasizes the following goals:
Students will be able to
make sense of never-before-seen, “messy” problems and persevere in solving them.
construct viable arguments using mathematics and statistics and critique the reasoning of others.
It is broken down into the following segments:
- Fluency Practice - less than 10 minutes a day with a focus on flexible number sense
- Application - novel application of math concepts is expected from all students
- Concept Development - develop existing mathematical skills or encounter a new one
- Student Debrief - reflect on the day’s learning, includes an exit ticket the teacher uses to diagnose future learning needs
Eureka Math Vocabulary
- Module - unit of study, does not necessarily match each D205 unit number. Third grade's first unit of study is however Module 1.
- Most units will have a preassessment, a mid-module-assessment in the middle of the unit and an end-of-module-assessment at the end. Some units have no mid-module-assessment because they are short.
- Preassessments allow teachers to diagnose advanced learners and also to measure learning growth for all students. Performance on preassessments is usually not communicated to parents because of their diagnostic nature.
Addition Practice
Practice your multidigit addition skills by trying this game!
Estimation Practice
Here is a game to practice estimating when adding and subtracting numbers!
Money
Here are some great sites for practice with money!
Geometry
Below are links the students can review and practice to assist them with their understanding of POLYGONS!
Below are links the students can review and practice to assist them with their understanding of SYMMETRY!
Below is a link the students can review and practice to assist them with their understanding of TRANSFORMATIONS!
Science
Third Grade Science Units
- Astronomy
- Simple Machines
- Weather
Simple Machines
The websites below will give the students interactive practice by using and identifying simple machines.
Astronomy
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Social Studies
Third Grade Social Studies Units
- Economics
- Geography
- Culture
- History: Featuring Chicago
Social Studies
District 205 uses the TCI Our Community and Beyond and Communities Here and There program. There is also a focus on geography. The district principles behind this curriculum are based on the program:
- Engaging students with compelling questions
- Hands-on geography lessons
- Online student texts from Grades 2-5
- Online resources for teachers and students
- Incorporating technology
- Engaging and interactive activities for students of all ages that encourage and support rich discussions
Our three units are as follows:
- Trimester 1 - Economics
- Trimester 2 - Culture
- Trimester 3- Immigration
Health
Third Grade Health Units
- Our first health unit is Keeping My Body Fit which deals with safety, injury prevention, personal health, and physical activity.
- The unit of study during the second trimester is About Myself and Others which addresses mental, emotional, family, and social health.
- Avoiding Alcohol and Tobacco is our third unit.
- In addition, Ms. Salaman, our social worker, or Mrs. Annen, our school psychologist are also available to discuss topics such as conflict resolution and bullying.