Third Grade
Olivia Robertson - orobertson@rcps.us
Melissa Alderman - malderman@rcps.us
Jenn Hill - jhill@rcps.us
Danielle Wilcox - dmwilcox@rcps.us
Third grade is an exciting milestone year! Our focus throughout the year is to build strong skills in reading, math, science, and social studies, all aligned with the Virginia SOLs. We also focus on building independent learners with critical thinking skills.
In reading, developing literacy skills remains a key focus, with an emphasis on reading fluently, accurately, and with understanding. Students will explore a variety of genres, while expanding vocabulary and applying comprehension strategies. Writing skills are strengthened through the full writing process, cursive practice, and research projects completed in their own words. Students will also grow as communicators by engaging in collaborative discussions and giving oral presentations.
In math, students focus on building a strong understanding of multiplication and division, working toward automatic recall of facts through 10 × 10 and their related division facts. They extend place value knowledge to six-digit numbers (up to 999,999), deepen their understanding of fractions, and explore measurement using standard U.S. Customary and metric units. Students also solve problems involving elapsed time, study the properties of shapes, and work with polygons. In addition, they engage with data through pictographs and bar graphs and investigate growing patterns using multiple representations.
Science focuses on Interactions in Our World — how living things, non-living things, and Earth systems interact. Students build on science and engineering practices like asking questions, conducting investigations, using models, analyzing data, and communicating findings.
In social studies, students are introduced to the heritage and contributions of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the West African empire of Mali. They continue to build map skills while learning basic economic and civics concepts. Students explore the social, cultural, and political characteristics of these civilizations and recognize how ancient cultures laid the foundation for many modern governments, technologies, and traditions.
This spring, students will take the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests for the very first time for reading and math. These assessments give students an opportunity to show what they’ve learned and help us celebrate their growth and hard work. #teamcundiff