Third Grade:
Curriculum Outline

Groveland Park uses the District and National Common Core Curriculum (Literacy only).Groveland Park’s third graders are taught a standards-based curriculum. We use best practices to guide instruction and implement the curriculum.

Reader's Workshop and Fountas & Pinnell Classroom Curriculum:
Reader's Workshop provides students with a variety of literacy experiences. All students participate in a Language Skills block, Guided Reading and Independent Reading. During the Language skills blocks, students are engaged in various activities that teach: phonics, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting. We use Words Their Way for our spelling instruction, and we teach cursive!  Students are also involved in Guided Reading groups and Literature Circles (latter part of the year).  Each day, students have the opportunity to self-select literature. Weekly visits to the library support in-class reading.

Mathematics:
We love math in 3rd grade!  Growth mindset is an important foundation for teaching students math.  We believe that all children are talented in math and teach them to trust in their potential.  Our math lessons teach rigorous math concepts with a creative, collaborative, and child-centered approach.    In 3rd grade we place particular emphasis on concepts such as: 

•multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and division within 100;

•fractions, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1) and comparing fractions;

•developing an understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area; and

•describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes, finding the perimeter of a 2-d shape, including the missing length of a side when given the perimeter.

The work of Jo Boaler is an inspiration for how we teach math.  You can find out more about her work here: https://www.youcubed.org/

Writer's Workshop:
Writer's Workshop aims to support students in their journey as developing writers by introducing them to strategies that make writing effective. Focused instruction helps ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications.  Each writing session begins with a brief mini-lesson about a new writing craft or strategy. Students have the opportunity to try out the strategy they learned during their independent writing time. As students write independently, they meet one-on-one with their teacher to discuss their writing. Third grade writers complete the following units: opinion pieces, informative/explanatory text and creative text.

3rd Grade English Language learners (ELL):
ELL students work with Groveland’s  MLL specialist.

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Other tidbits about Third Grade...

Homework Policy:
Families should expect approximately 20-30minutes of homework almost daily.  We have homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Your child is expected to read 30 minutes on average each night.
Parent communication:
Teacher-parent communication is ongoing. We connect through Class Dojo, e-mail, phone calls, and volunteer opportunities, Groveland community functions, monthly newsletters, and Spring and Fall conferences.

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Special Events!

Projects:
*Science Fair/Writer's & Artist's Fair (a rotating schedule)
*Art residency

Field trips:
*St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (Musician visit and concert)
*Belwin Outdoor Science
*Como Planetarium

Groveland Park Community events:
*Open House
*National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID)
*School picnic

Other:
*'Spirit Days throughout the year