Reading and Oral Comprehension

• Use explicit information to identify the main idea or primary purpose of a text or part of a text.
• Identify explicit details from a passage and provide answers to “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” questions about the text.
• Use implicit information from a passage to make inferences about the motives or behaviors of characters.
• Use implicit information from a passage to summarize or draw conclusions.
• Draw connections between and among various pieces of information in a text.
• Synthesize explicit and implicit information to make predictions or draw conclusions about a text.
• Describe the main idea of a passage.
• Describe a supporting idea in a passage.
• Compare and contrast elements from two texts.
• Synthesize information from texts to make predictions or draw conclusions.

Vocabulary

• Identifies the correct definition of a word in the context of a sentence.
• Identifies the synonym of a word or phrase in context of a sentence, phrase or passage.
• Distinguishes among subtle shades of meaning in choosing an appropriate word or words to fill in blank(s) in a sentence.
• Efficiently use a dictionary for specific word meanings.
• Efficiently use a thesaurus to enhance written assignments.

Phonics and Spelling

Learning the sound structure of language is essential for reading fluency, and building phonemic awareness. It is important that students are able to recognize familiar words and can decode unfamiliar ones. Third grade students will be able to recognize common words that are vital to reading fluency, especially those that do not follow basic rules of sound correspondence. Third graders also learn to recognize vowel and consonant sounds and blends in varying positions within a word. Our students also understand the correct use of contractions and what they mean, as well as plurals and recognizing compound words. Misspellings of commonly used words including words with affixes and words that display improper plurals are also considered.

Phonics builds decoding skills which helps students in their reading. Spelling develops encoding skills which helps students in their writing.

Literature

Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature. They begin to find ways to clarify ideas and make connections between literary works. Students are encouraged to learn and practice different strategies for getting involved with literature. Active reading strategies include predicting, questioning and visualizing. Students are also expected to circle, highlight, underline and take notes. This is complimented with an extensive independent reading program and with materials from SRA Reading Laboratories. This provides our students with a range of reading levels that enable all students to learn independently and at their own pace.

Writing

Third grade students learn The Steps in the Writing Process and demonstrate Traits of Effective Writing.

• The Steps in the Writing Process
  Prewriting.
  Writing the first draft.
  Revising.
  Editing and proofreading.
  Publishing.

• Traits of Effective Writing
  Stimulating ideas.
  Logical organization.
  Personal voice.
  Original word choice.
  Smooth sentences.
  Correct and accurate copy.

Grammar Skills

• Capitalization of proper nouns.
• Capitalization of the first word of a sentence.
• Proper punctuation for dialogue and letter writing.
• Correct end punctuation.
• The correct use of the apostrophe in contractions and possessives.
• Correct pronoun use, including pronoun-antecedent agreement.
• Correct verb form and tense, including subject-verb agreement.
• Rules of diction within the context of a sentence.

Forms of Writing

Students write narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive texts.

The following content strands are emphasized:

Science

Science is an integral part of the FASSV curriculum, and is taught in both programs simultaneously. The third grade features:

• Environmental Education; Water
  The water cycle.
  Features of a river.
  Model of a drainage basin.
  Local sources of water.
  Sewage treatment.
• The Living World
  Plant structure.
  Functions of a plant.
  The biological significance of plants.
  Conditions required for plant growth.
  Experimenting with plants.
• The Human Body
  The Human Skeleton.
  How I move.
  The 5 Senses.
  Teeth and nutrition.
  What’s inside a tooth?
• Space
  The Solar System.
  Planet Mars.
  Surviving in Space workshop at Chabot Space and Science Center.
• Matter
  Electricity.
  Electric Meters.
  Generators and motors.
  Static electricity.
  Electric Safety.