Grade 3 Curriculum

Four in-depth units of study structure the year. Each study builds on the concepts and skills developed in previous studies, allowing children to deepen their understanding and apply skills and concepts with creativity and innovation.

 

Over the course of the school year, teachers and children embark on four in-depth studies:

The first unit of study, Challenges to Learning, uses literature and informational text to introduce students to the power of literacy and how people around the world overcome learning challenges. It is intentionally designed to encourage students to embrace a love of literacy and reading. 

 

Third grade students take time to explore social science content more extensively with two specially designed units of study. The first unit has students examine the questions of how people can get involved in government and how Native Peoples lived in New England before Europeans arrived. In studying these topics, students apply grade 3 standards for reading informational text, writing, and speaking and listening, and learn vocabulary and concepts related to history and social science.

 

In the Adaptations & the Wonderful World of Frogs module, students will use literacy skills to become experts--people who use reading, writing, listening, and speaking to build and share deep knowledge about a topic. Throughout the module, students will consistently reflect on the role of literacy in building and sharing expertise.

 

By the end of the year, students return to their focus on social science and explore The Pilgrims, the Plymouth Colony, Native Peoples, the Puritans, and the Mass Bay Colony. Inquiry is driven by questions such as what were the challenges for women and men during the early years in Plymouth and how the interactions fo Native Peoples, European, and enslaved and free Africans shaped the development of Massachusetts.    In studying these topics, students apply grade 3 standards for reading informational text, writing, and speaking and listening, and learn vocabulary and concepts related to history and social science.

For more detailed information on the specifics of the Grade 3 EL ELA curriculum, click here.

 

In Grade 3, the Illustrative Mathematics curriculum is designed to progressively build upon foundational concepts. Each unit connects to and extends ideas from previous units, weaving a coherent mathematical narrative throughout the year. The Illustrative Math Curriculum uses a problem-based learning approach, ensuring that students not only master grade-level content but also develop critical, lifelong cognitive skills. This methodology deepens conceptual understanding, promotes active learning, and fosters skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and perseverance. The curriculum is designed to be student-centered, encouraging inquiry, collaboration, and active engagement with challenging real-world problems. The curriculum builds third grade students' understanding of fundamental math concepts through eight units:

 

Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication
Students explore multiplication through the context of graphs, learning to interpret and represent data on scaled graphs. They connect multiplication with equal groups and arrays, recognizing the commutative property. This unit builds on Grade 2 skills in graph analysis and skip-counting.

 

Unit 2: Area and Multiplication
Focusing on area concepts, students relate the area of rectangles to multiplication, applying their knowledge of shapes and lengths from Grade 2. They learn to measure area using unit squares and explore standard units of area.

 

Unit 3: Wrapping Up Addition and Subtraction Within 1,000
Strengthening their Grade 2 foundations in addition and subtraction, students learn to round numbers and solve two-step word problems using these operations along with multiplication.

 

Unit 4: Relating Multiplication to Division
Introducing the concept of division, this unit emphasizes its relationship to multiplication. Students work with division as finding the size of each group or the number of groups, consolidating their multiplication skills within 100.

 

Unit 5: Fractions as Numbers
Students gain an understanding of fractions, particularly unit fractions. They represent fractions on diagrams and number lines, building on their Grade 2 knowledge of partitioning shapes into equal parts.

 

Unit 6: Measuring Length, Time, Liquid Volume, and Weight
This unit extends measurement skills, focusing on length, weight, liquid volume, and time. Students measure in standard units, enhancing their understanding of mixed numbers and equivalent fractions.

 

Unit 7: Two-dimensional Shapes and Perimeter
Students explore two-dimensional shapes, focusing on quadrilaterals, and learn about perimeters. They apply their knowledge of shapes and area to solve perimeter-related problems.

 

Unit 8: Putting It All Together
The final unit revisits key concepts from the year, including fractions, perimeter, area, and scaled graphs. Students engage in activities to consolidate their learning and prepare for the transition to Grade 4.

 

For more detailed information on the specifics of the Grade 3 Illustrative Math curriculum, click here.