Year at a glance
Ten monthly themes from September to June. Choose a month to see its goals and weeks.
September: Welcome / Community & Maps
We set up routines, read longer words syllable by syllable, find the main idea, use place value to round, add and subtract within 1,000, explore pushes and pulls, and map our school and town.
Reading & writing
Routines, main idea and key details, multisyllabic words, asking questions with evidence
Math
Place value to 1,000, rounding to the nearest 10 and 100, adding and subtracting within 1,000
Science
Forces: pushes and pulls, balanced and unbalanced forces
Social studies
Our school community, local maps with a grid, scale and compass rose
- Week1Welcome to Third GradeClosed and open syllables · Place value to 1,000: hundreds, tens and ones
- Week2Our Classroom CommunitySilent e and vowel team syllables · Round to the nearest 10 and 100
- Week3Mapping Our TownPrefixes un-, re-, dis-, mis- · Add within 1,000 using place value
- Week4Where We LiveSuffixes -ful, -less, -ness, -ment · Subtract within 1,000 using place value
October: Fall / Weather & Climate
We use text features to learn from informational texts, write to inform, begin multiplication with equal groups and arrays, collect weather data, compare climates, and learn about community helpers and our local geography and history.
Reading & writing
Text features, informational reading and writing, comparing two texts
Math
Multiplication: equal groups, arrays, repeated addition, the commutative property
Science
Weather patterns in data tables and graphs; climates around the world
Social studies
Community helpers and services, local geography and history
- Week5Weather WatchersVowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow · Multiplication as equal groups
- Week6Clouds and RainHomophones · Arrays: rows and columns
- Week7Climates Around the WorldR-controlled vowels: ar, or, er, ir, ur · Multiplication word problems with equal groups and arrays
- Week8Fall in Our TownSuffixes -er, -est, -ly · Turn-around facts: the commutative property
November: Family & Gratitude / Life Cycles
We read and write about events in order, give opinions with reasons, learn multiplication facts for 2s, 5s and 10s, model plant and animal life cycles, and compare family life then and now, including the true story of the 1621 harvest.
Reading & writing
Sequence and text structure, opinion writing with reasons and linking words
Math
Multiplication facts for 2s, 5s and 10s; patterns; word problems
Science
Plant and animal life cycles
Social studies
Family then and now, the Wampanoag and the 1621 harvest, gratitude
December: Winter Holidays / Magnets & Forces
We think about who tells a story, write our own narratives, begin division, practice multiplication facts, investigate magnets, and learn how families celebrate, then and now.
Reading & writing
Point of view, narrative writing with dialogue and description
Math
Division as sharing and grouping, multiplication and division fact families
Science
Magnets: attract and repel, strength and distance, design a magnet solution
Social studies
Winter traditions around the world, then and now
January: Traits & Inheritance
We summarize what we read, write to inform, multiply and divide within 100, learn how traits are passed from parents to young, and compare communities then and now and the important people who changed them.
Reading & writing
Summarizing, informative writing with sections and linking words
Math
Multiply and divide within 100; properties; unknown numbers
Science
Inherited traits and traits shaped by the environment
Social studies
Communities then and now, important people
- Week15New Year, Same Traits?Prefixes pre-, non-, over-, under- · Multiply by 3, 4 and 6
- Week16Family ResemblanceSuffixes -able, -ible, -ous · Find the unknown number: 6 × ? = 42
- Week17Nature and NurtureGreek and Latin roots: tele, photo, graph, port · Properties of multiplication: break apart (distributive)
- Week18People Who Made a DifferenceThree-syllable words · Multiply and divide within 100: mixed practice
February: Friendship / Ecosystems
We compare and contrast stories and texts, do short research projects, find area and perimeter, study ecosystems and how changes affect living things, and read biographies about friendship and courage.
Reading & writing
Compare and contrast, short research projects
Math
Area and perimeter
Science
Ecosystems, living in groups, environmental change
Social studies
Friendship, biographies, Black History Month
- Week19Friends and GroupsWords with silent letters: kn, wr, gn, mb · Area: count square units
- Week20EcosystemsSuffixes -tion and -sion · Area: multiply side lengths
- Week21When Environments ChangeHomographs · Perimeter: add the side lengths
- Week22Research FairReview: prefixes, suffixes and roots · Area and perimeter problems
March: Fossils & Earth’s Past
We use vocabulary strategies, write complex sentences, understand unit fractions, learn what fossils tell us about the past, and study the regions of the United States.
Reading & writing
Vocabulary strategies, complex sentences
Math
Unit fractions, fractions on a number line
Science
Fossils and the environments of long ago
Social studies
Regions of the United States, spring holidays around the world
- Week23Digging Up FossilsContext clues · Unit fractions: one part of a whole
- Week24Clues From the PastWords with -ed and -ing (doubling, drop e) · Fractions on a number line
- Week25Dinosaurs and DiggersGreek and Latin roots: struct, dict, aud, vis · Fractions: halves, thirds, fourths, sixths and eighths
- Week26Spring Around the WorldVowel review in longer words · Show what we learned about fractions
April: Weather Hazards
We take notes as we read, write strong opinion pieces, find equivalent fractions and compare fractions, design solutions to weather hazards, and learn about Earth Day, citizenship and government.
Reading & writing
Note-taking, opinion writing with evidence
Math
Equivalent fractions, comparing fractions
Science
Weather hazards and designs that reduce their impact
Social studies
Earth Day, citizenship, local government
- Week27Storms and FloodsSuffixes -y, -en, -ward · Equivalent fractions with models
- Week28Building to Stay SafeCompound words and hyphenated words · Equivalent fractions on a number line
- Week29Earth DayPrefixes and suffixes together · Compare fractions with the same numerator or denominator
- Week30Civic ActionReview: tricky spellings · Whole numbers as fractions: 3/3 = 1
May: Oceans / Transportation & Inventors
We read fluently with expression, write narratives, measure time, liquid volume and mass, read and make graphs, engineer with forces and magnets, and learn about transportation and inventors.
Reading & writing
Fluency and expression, narrative writing
Math
Time to the minute and elapsed time, liquid volume and mass, graphs and line plots, shapes
Science
Engineering with forces and magnets
Social studies
Transportation and inventors, then and now
- Week31Ocean ExplorersWords from other languages · Time to the minute and elapsed time
- Week32Measure It UpAbbreviations and number words · Liquid volume and mass: liters, grams and kilograms
- Week33Inventors and InventionsSynonyms and antonyms · Graphs and line plots
- Week34Engineering ShowcaseReview: syllables and word parts · Shapes: quadrilaterals and their attributes
June: Review & Celebration
We celebrate how much we have grown: favorite books, independent reading, math games, our favorite investigations and a look ahead to 4th grade.
Reading & writing
Mixed review, favorite books, independent reading
Math
Math games and mixed review
Science
Favorite investigations, again
Social studies
My year in review, looking ahead to 4th grade