Third Grade for Parents

Ms. Denise DeAngelis     Mrs. Marsha Goldstein   
Mrs. Nicole Bianca    Mrs. Barbara O'Hanlon/Ms. Danielle Cherry

Third grade at Chairville School is a happy and productive place in which to learn. The children are actively involved in a rich, diverse curriculum that meets the needs of all their learning styles.

The language arts of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing are practiced in a variety of ways. Third graders enjoy both fiction and non-fiction literature read aloud by their teachers. They read self-selected, “just right” texts on their own and with partners. They also enjoy reading selections in large and small group settings from the anthology entitled Invitations to Literacy, magazines, poetry, and class novels, including the Holocaust survival novel, The Night Crossing. The language arts program is further supported by The Units of Study for Writing Workshop by Lucy Calkins. This writing program serves as the basis for investigations of grammar and mechanics, as the children learn the craft of writing in a variety of genre. The children practice spelling through their writing and are held accountable for the high frequency spelling words of the Rebecca Sitton spelling program.

Everyday Mathematics is the math series used at Chairville School. Its primary goal is to create an environment where children enjoy mathematics, are comfortable and flexible mathematical thinkers, and see a connection to what they learn at school and the thinking they do in everyday life. This curriculum incorporates traditional methods while widening the student’s mathematical horizons. An emphasis is placed on conceptual understanding before developing procedural skill.  The program actively involves students, stresses reasoning and application skills, and incorporates the use of calculators and computers.

Upon entering third grade, every student should have mastered the basic addition and subtraction facts. An important third grade goal is the practice and mastery of the basic multiplication facts. A broad range of context will introduce the children to multiplication and division.

Our Social Studies curriculum is extensive. It begins in September with a unit on our town of Medford and its place in the world community. This involves learning map skills. Next, the children learn about life in the mountains, rivers, forests, and deserts of our country. The second half of the third grade year focuses on the diverse lives of three Native American groups.  We visit the Native American exhibit at the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania to culminate this unit of study.

The teachers in grade 3 use the science series from Scott Foresman. It is designed to use exploratory and investigative methods through scientific experimentation as a means for student learning.  The following units of study are explored.

        Focus:      Unit A - Life Sciences
                                                 Plant/Animal Life Cycles

                           Unit B - Physical Sciences 
                                       Matter and How it Changes
                                                 Forces, Machines and Work      

                           Unit C - Earth Sciences
                                                 Sun, Planets, and Moon
                                                 Clouds and Storms

                           Unit D - Human Body
                                                 The Body Systems and Nutrition

Students also learn the scientific method and science process skills such as:
Observing, Classifying, Estimating/Measuring, Inferring, Predicting, Making/using models, Hypothesizing, Collecting/Interpreting data, Controlling Variables, Experimenting, and Communicating.

In addition to the basic areas of study described above, third graders’ days are enriched by a wide variety of programs. They attend classes in physical education, art, music, Spanish, and guidance, as well as visiting the media center weekly to learn library skills and borrow books. Their 40-minute lunch and recess time is a well-deserved social break for relaxing, playing sports, and spending time with friends. Wouldn’t you like to be a third grader at Chairville?

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