Third grade is a really important year as students will finish their early elementary years. Foundational reading and math skills are necessary to have success in future school years. Make sure your student is working at grade level. If you think there may be a potential problem with keeping up, speak to your teacher and/or seek an outside evaluation. Utilization of a tutor or specialized reading program might be necessary if your child is having difficulty. You might see that your child seems to know it all this year, and if they think they do not, be ready to discover that his or her teacher knows much more than you do-according to your child that is. During this year, your third grader will be able to set goals and better understand the consequences of their choices.
The following is a very generalized listing of some of the things your third grader should learn by the end of the school year. For a more in depth look check out What Your Third Grader Needs To Know from your local library, or purchase it through the Core Knowledge Foundation.
In Language Arts, your student will begin the wonderful task of learning to write in cursive. Some children at this age may experience problems in writing in cursive. More often than not, their hands are just not physically ready for the rigors of taking on cursive writing. This may correct itself by the end of the year or next year as they grow physically. Always talk to the teacher if there is great difficulty. Reading fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from both classical and contemporary authors will occur. Researching and writing reports will help to expand the third graders knowledge base.
Continued study of ancient cultures will occur in History and Geography. Early colonial times as well as the early exploration of North America from people such as the Vikings, and Lewis and Clark. Students will also learn about other locations of other countries through the study of world geography.
There will be curriculum crossover in Music and Art as students learn about art and music from ancient civilizations, and other historical cultures including European composers.
In Math, students will continue to master the 0-10 times tables. Students will also begin to study fractions at a higher level. Third graders should be able to use appropriate units and procedures to measure the perimeter and area of shapes. Students will also begin to use lists, tables and charts to convey information and demonstrate relationships.
Through Science, students will continue to study the systems of the body. Third graders will also learn about light and sound, ecology and astronomy.
Due to vacation, I will take a few days off from writing this series of articles on what your student needs to learn. I will resume with 4th grade next week. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the next two blog posts.