Grade 3

Grade 3 is a time when students become more independent in the work that they do in school and the homework that they complete at home. Students are becoming more comfortable in using the planner everyday to plan the work that they are to complete and set goals. This is the year where students transition from printing to writing!

In Christian Education, students will explore their talents and how they can use them to serve others, understand how the sacraments help us know Jesus, know what it means to be Easter people, recognize the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and learn how the Church wants us to live justly. Students will gain a fuller grasp of praying the Rosary and understand how the Church is a community with a set of beliefs expressed in the Apostles Creed. They will have the opportunity to lead a mass this year in December.

Reading and Writing instruction will both take place in a workshop format where students will have some choice and more responsibility for their learning. They will become more confident in the sentences that they write, the grammar and punctuation that they use, and the paragraphs that they construct. As the year goes on, Book Clubs will be introduced so students can share and discuss their insights and ideas about different texts.

In Math, Grade 3 continues the topics from Grade 2 at a deeper and more challenging level. Students will be using the program JUMP Math where the concepts are isolated and described very clearly and incrementally so students get a firm foundation of each skill. The following concepts will be taught: number concepts to 1000, addition and subtraction to 1000, multiplication and division, measurement using standard units, time concepts, money up to $100, graphs and charts, 3-D shapes, chance and probability, and fractions.

In Science, students will develop and participate in different experiments in the classroom. Experiments will be conducted so that students will gain a greater understanding of the concepts. The following concepts will be discussed: living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystem; all matter is made of particles; thermal energy can be produced and transferred; wind, water, and ice change the shape of the land.

In Social Studies, students will develop a greater sense of the cultural characteristics of indigenous peoples that exist within Canada and globally.

They will learn how to ask questions when examining artifacts, compare how place affects a peoples’ lifestyle and worldview, and build on the mapping skills that they have learned in Grade 2.

Students are expected to read at least 30 minutes each night and will usually receive some Math review work, sight word activities, and a close reading assignment weekly. These are short tasks that they will be given a few nights to complete.