Typical Course of Study: Grade 3

Grade 3 Math
Measurement and Data
Tell and write time to nearest minute
Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time
Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects
Solve word problems involving four operations with masses or volumes
Generate measurement data, measuring lengths to halves and fourths of an inch
Understand how concepts of area relate to multiplication and to addition
Recognize and measure perimeter
Measure areas by counting unit squares
Multiply side lengths to find areas of rectangles in real-world problems
Recognize area as additive
Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons
Use tiles and pictures to represent areas
Understand that data are sets of individual numerical facts or measurements
Interpret information and solve problems from data on graphs and tables
Draw a picture graph or scaled bar graph to represent a set of data
Algebraic Thinking and Operations with Whole Numbers
Understand products as total number of objects in a number of same-size groups
Understand quotients as the number of objects in each share when a total is equally partitioned
Understand division as a problem of finding an unknown factor
Know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers
Apply commutative, associative, and distributive properties to multiply and divide
Multiply and divide fluently within 100
Find unknown numbers in multiplication or division problems within 100
Use drawings and equations with a symbol to represent an unknown number
Solve two-step word problems involving the four operations
Identify arithmetic patterns (5 times a number always ends in 5 or 0)
Assess the reasonableness of answers (using estimation and mental calculation)
Fractions and Operations
Understand a fraction as a quantity formed when a whole is partitioned into equal parts
Understand that a unit fraction (1/b) is the quantity formed by one part when the whole is
partitioned into b equal parts
Represent fractions on a number line diagram
Compare fractions by reasoning about their size
Explain the concept of fraction equivalence
Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions
Create models to show equivalent fractions

Geometry and Spatial Relationships

Identify and describe a variety of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes
Understand that shapes in different categories may share attributes
Understand that rectangles, rhombuses, squares, and trapezoids are all quadrilaterals

Categorize shapes by their attributes

Partition shapes into equal areas, describing each part as a unit fraction of the whole (for a shape
partitioned into 6 parts with equal area, each part is 1/6 of the whole)

Numbers and Operations

Understand and use place value to 1,000
Round numbers to the nearest 10 or 100
Add and subtract within 1,000 using place value understandings
Multiply one-digit whole numbers by multiples of 10

Grade 3 Language Arts

Reading Literature and Informational Text
Identify main topic, idea, lesson, moral, or argument in grade-level text
Show understanding of key details in a text
Identify text evidence to support the authors message or readers responses
Retell stories, including tales from diverse cultures
Describe characters in a story and how characters' actions contribute to the plot
Determine meanings of words or phrases as used in a text
Describe effects and uses of words and phrases in passages
Describe overall structure of a passage and its effect on the message
Describe how parts of a story, poem, or drama build on other parts
Use text features and search tools to locate relevant information
Explain connections between events, ideas, concepts, or steps in a text
Explain differences in points of view of characters, narrators, or writers
Explain differences between an authors point of view and their own
Explain how visual images and graphics contribute to and clarify a text
Compare and contrast themes, settings, plots, or ideas in two texts on the same topic or by the same
author
By the end of the academic year, read and understand grade-level literary and informational texts
at grade level independently and with proficiency
Speaking and Listening
Express ideas and feelings clearly
Speak clearly and audibly in sensible sentences
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details
Add visual components to a speech to clarify ideas, feelings, and thoughts
Give and follow simple two-step directions
Participate in conversations with diverse partners and groups
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions
Listen and respond to others with focus and care
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text or in an oral presentation
Present a report or tell a story with appropriate facts and relevant details
Create audio recordings of stories or poems
Foundational Skills
Apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in reading words
Know meanings of most common prefixes and suffixes
Decode irregularly spelled grade-level words and multi-syllable words
Read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding
Orally read grade-level texts with accuracy, expression, and appropriate rate
Confirm and self-correct words during oral reading
Vocabulary
Use context clues to determine word and phrase meanings
Use word structure clues to determine word meanings

Use synonyms and antonyms to clarify and explain word meanings

Use dictionaries and glossaries (print and digital) to determine or clarify word meaning
Understand and use figurative language (similes, metaphors, idioms, adages, proverbs, etc.)
Distinguish literal and nonliteral meanings of words in context
Distinguish shades of meanings among related words
Learn and use grade-level general academic vocabulary

English Language Skills

Identify nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs and their functions in specific sentences
Form and use regular and irregular nouns and verbs and verb tenses
Form and use conjunctions, superlative adjectives, and superlative adverbs
Produce complete simple, compound, and complex sentences
Capitalize proper nouns and appropriate words in titles
Use end punctuation, commas, and apostrophes
Punctuate dialogue correctly
Use grade-level spelling patterns and rules
Consult reference materials to check spellings
Correctly use the English language when speaking, reading, or writing
Know when to use formal and informal English
Writing
Write opinion, informative, or explanatory pieces that state a topic or purpose, supply relevant facts
and reasons, and present a conclusion
Write stories that include details, put events in order, and provide a conclusion
Make improvements and needed changes to written work
Use transitional words and phrases to connect ideas
Add dialogue and descriptions to develop characters and events
Take part in shared research and writing projects
Conduct short research task on a topic or question
Gather information from print and digital sources and take notes
Create written and visual works to summarize and share information
Use tools, including digital tools, to produce and publish writing
Write regularly for a variety of tasks, purposes, and audiences

Grade 3 Science
Life Science
Life cycles of plants and animals
Plant and animal adaptation and survival
Plant and animal behaviors
Learned and inherited traits of living things
Variations of inherited traits
Relationships between traits of organisms and their survival
Influence of environment on plant and animal traits
Relationships in an ecosystem
Effects of environmental changes on organisms in the environment
Animal behavior and social interactions
Evidence of extinct plant and animals
Biodiversity
Earth

and Space Science

Weather and climate patterns and predictions
Climate variations
Natural hazards resulting from natural processes

Physical Science
Physical properties of matter (size, shape, weight, volume, flexibility, luster, color, texture, hardness,
odor, etc.)
Forms of energy (heat, sound, chemical, mechanical, and electrical)
Heat release and transfer
Energy transformations (such as heat to light)
Interactions of matter and energy
Sound (pitch, vibrations, volume) and how sound travels
Sizes and kinds of forces, including gravity
Relationships between force and motion
Effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on an object
Patterns and measurements of an objects motion
Electric or magnetic interactions between objects not in contact with each other
Simple machines

Grade 3 Social Science

History
Uniqueness of the history of each community or culture
Ways cultural history is passed from one generation to the next (legends, oral histories, folktales, etc.)
Key events in history of selected world communities
Key places and people in history of selected world communities
Timelines of historical features of selected world communities
Technological developments in transportation and communication in selected world communities
Development of trade in selected world communities
Economics
Available resources, human and natural, for the selected world community
How the selected community uses resources to meet basic needs and wants
Concepts of surplus and scarcity in relation to the selected community
Ways of meeting basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter in the selected community
Ways people earn a living now and in the past in the selected community
Goods and services produced in each selected community
Goods products or services exported and imported in the selected community
The role of trade in the selected community
Community and Culture
Comparison of family and school activities in own community with those of selected world
communities
Comparison of cultural traditions in own community with those of selected world communities
Components of culture and diversity of communities (language, customs, traditions, beliefs,
practices, celebrations)
Cultural features, traditions, and symbols of selected world communities
Arts, music, dance, and literature of selected world communities
Concept of cultural diffusion and how it happens
Comparison of effects of cultural communities in selected world communities on people, ideas,
practices, and products
Geography
Earths equator, hemispheres, continents, and oceans
Earths regions
Earths grid system (lines of latitude and longitude)
Understanding of map features and use, including scale
Comparing locations of selected world communities to ones own country
Use of a variety of maps to locate and examine selected world communities
Political and physical features of selected communities

Ways physical and climate features influence people in selected communities

Use of maps to identify ones own location and relative locations
Location of ones own local land, regions, river systems, and highways
Physical and human features of state (or province, territory) and neighboring states (or provinces,
territories)
How geographical features affect population patterns
Human adaptations to the geography of the specified world community
Construction of maps, tables, graphs, charts

Citizenship
Concept of democracy and principles of democratic government
Type of government in the selected community; comparison to other governments
How leaders are chosen in the selected world community
How problems are solved in the selected world community
Ways the government keeps people safe, maintains order, provides for needs
Role of citizens in the selected community
Concept of universal human rights of fair treatment and fulfillment of needs
Examination of the concept of human rights in the selected community

Grade 3 Health and Safety

Concept and examples of health choices and their consequences

Influences on health choices (peers, media, family, community, culture)
Elements of and reasons for good personal hygiene
Types of nutrients and healthy choices for food
Regular participation in active play and other physical activities (contingent on any physical or other
limitations)
Reasons to get enough sleep and relaxation
Strategies for a personal health plan
Safety rules for daily and recreational activities (walking, being near streets, water play, riding in a
car, biking, etc.)
Ways to prevent common childhood injuries (including poisoning)
Basic structures and functions of the human body
Symptoms of common illnesses; causes of diseases
Ways body defends against germs
Measures to prevent spread of disease
Practicing procedures for response to emergencies, including using telephone
Getting out of house or school in event of fire
Appropriate skills to identify, avoid, and cope with potentially dangerous situations
Identify safe behaviors around strangers
Harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs on health
Understanding of human development and changes
Development of self-confidence and self-esteem
Respect and consideration for all individuals
Ways to identify, express, and manage feelings appropriately
Positive social practices with peers, in home, and community
Differences between tattling and reporting
Bullying, alternative behaviors to bullying, and appropriate responses to bullying
Strategies for resolving conflicts with peers and others
Skills for meeting people, making friends, and being a good friend
Getting personal support from family; communication with family
How and where to get help in making health decisions

Grade 3 Arts

Perform and create artistic movements and patterns

Identify melody, rhythm, harmony, and timbre in musical selections
Respond to sounds and sound patterns with body movements
Improvise music with classroom instruments
Listen, describe, and respond to a variety of music
Read and write patterns with musical notes
Identify some common musical instruments by sight and sound
Identify some musical forms
Sing age-appropriate songs with accuracy from memory
Improvise dramatizations of stories or ideas
Take part in writing scripts, designing sets, and performing group dramas
Create costumes and props for a performance
Observe patterns in nature and works of art
Identify and describe elements in works of visual art (line, color, texture, shapes/form, space, value)
Create original works of visual art in various media and dimensions
Express observations, ideas, or feelings through music, drama, or visual art
Identify and discuss some well-known works of dance, drama, music, or visual arts and some artists,
actors, writers, musicians, choreographers, or composers
Analyze a variety of works of dance, music, drama, and visual arts
Learn and use vocabulary of dance, music, drama, and visual arts
Describe techniques for a given form of art
Compare and contrast two works of art
Understand how culture affects art and how art reflects culture
Demonstrate appropriate audience skills for live artistic performances

Grade 3 Technology

Concepts, characteristics, and real-life uses of technology

Basic parts of technology systems and basic technological devices
Continued development of keyboard skills
Opening, closing, saving, sending, and storing files, applications, and programs
Effective use of available grade-level technology
Use of tools and devices to complete tasks and solve problems
Use of tools to produce creative original works
Use of tools to interact and exchange ideas with peers, teacher, parents, or other students
Use of tools and devices to develop cultural understanding
Use of tools to access information for an inquiry project
Exploring virtual environments, simulations, programs, models, and applications
Participation in group collaborative interactive projects and activities
Developing, printing, and publishing in print and digital formats
Evaluating content, applications, and programs
Digital citizenship, etiquette, fair use guidelines, and copyrights
Practice of safe online behavior
Responsible care of digital equipment
Positive attitudes toward technology for learning
Demonstrating openness to learning and using new technologies