The third grade program incorporates the constructivists
learning theory into everyday instruction, engaging students in
hands on, project -based learning. Students are provided
differentiated instruction to fit their particular needs.
They participate in cooperative and collaborative learning
activities designed to develop their social and academic skills.
Each student is provided with individualized learning
profiles through Renzulli Learning. The Renzulli program is
used both in and out of the classroom to enrich students' learning
experiences. In addition, technology, art, music, and PE are
important, integral components of the third grade curriculum.
The language arts curriculum provides students an opportunity to
solidify literacy skills. This includes: fluency,
comprehension, critical thinking, predicting, drawing conclusions,
inference, and constructing genuine responses to literature.
The writing program, one of the hallmarks of the third grade
curriculum, is integrated throughout all subjects. Students
practice the writing process through a variety of genres, such as,
narratives, compare and contrast, summary, and a persuasive letter.
Along with the writing process, vocabulary, spelling, and
grammar are taught in context in order to be more meaningful to the
students.
In math, third grade students begin to delve into complex
mathematical concepts that utilize their higher level thinking
skills. Students begin to learn and master place value to the
hundred thousandths place, rounding, adding and subtracting whole
numbers, geometry, multiplication concepts and facts, division,
fractions, measurement, metric measurement, perimeter, area,
volume, decimals, data and probability. CD-ROMs and
manipulatives are both utilized to help students grasp
concepts.
In social studies, third graders learn more about our connections
to the past. There is an emphasis on the physical and
cultural landscape of California, including the study of American
Indians, the subsequent arrival of immigrants, and the impact they
had on our contemporary society.
In science, third graders study matter and energy, structures of
life, and the sun, moon, and stars. Students utilize the
Scientific Method through hands-on science experiments and record
their hypothesis, data, and conclusions in a science notebook.