Reader’s Workshop – Third Graders have mastered 'learning to read' and enter the exciting realm of 'reading to learn.’ Able to read fiction and non-fiction, students are engaging with more complex texts. In Reader's Workshop, teachers start with a minilesson where a particular reading skill or strategy is explicitly taught. Then the children go off and read, with teachers coming to them to confer. Children read “just right” books and try the strategies learned in the lesson. Reader’s Workshop provides children with feelings of success and competence while reading.

Young readers need opportunities to read high-interest, accessible books of their own choosing. Our classroom libraries in the upper grades contain over 600 leveled books, all organized into collections, shelves, and bins based on level, genre, topic. Our libraries meet all learners’ needs, both for students reading at, above, and below the benchmark.

Book Clubs - Book clubs provide a structure for meaningful and purposeful conversations about the books they are reading. When in book clubs, students meet regularly to talk about a book they are reading together and study author moves. Students carry out their work independently, assigning roles to various members and using the coaching and suggestions from the teacher.

Writer’s Workshop - In the Third grade, students write personal narratives with increased attention to the revision process. They learn The Art of Information Writing, by writing their first chapter books on topics on which they have firsthand knowledge: dogs, ice hockey, the State Forest. In their persuasive writing unit called Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches, Petitions, and Editorials third-graders use their newfound research abilities to gather and organize information to persuade people about causes the children believe matter: stopping bullying, composting, saving seals. And then building off their Norse Mythology unit in Social Studies, students engage in Fairy Tale Writing, using familiar myths and tales to explore fiction writing techniques.

Every writing session starts with a minilesson where a particular skill or strategy is taught. Then the children go off and write, with teachers coming to them to confer. Writers learn to use the writing process: rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Writing is taught with direct, explicit instruction including spelling conventions and the skills of proficient writing. Writing across genres gives children practice with different authorial voices. At the end of each unit, authors edit their work for publication and are celebrated at publishing parties.

Listening and Speaking - Through classroom discussions, teachers actively utilize the social dynamic of the classroom to develop each student’s ability to express thoughts, feelings, and needs respectfully and effectively.  Through a variety of literature, students are introduced to the concept of 'windows and mirrors.' Windows allow you to view someone else’s experience and mirrors allow you reflect on your own culture. Both resources help build one’s identity and develop empathy and understanding.

Reading Support - When students are not meeting the literacy benchmarks that they developmentally could meet, the Head Teacher makes a referral to the Reading Support Teacher. Our Reading Support Teacher is trained in the Institute for Multi-Sensory Orton Gillingham Reading Approach. The Reading Support Teacher meets frequently with students either one-on-one or in small groups using an explicit, sequential, systematic, and multi-sensory approach used to teach literacy. The support program breaks reading and writing into smaller skills involving letters and sounds, then builds on these skills over time. The Teacher will also meet with children for reading fluency and writing support as needed.

Third graders focus on multiplication, fractions, and area. Throughout the year, students multiply numbers from 0 to 10 with fluency; multiply with numbers greater than 10; add and subtract with numbers to 1,000; work with unit fractions and add and subtract fractions; and explore division.

As children grow out of an egocentric orientation, they can begin to consider other perspectives. As such, a fiery interest arises as to what is fair. Third graders consider twofold concepts, such as ‘long ago’ and ‘far away.’ The study of myths, historical fiction, and biographies of historical figures serve to instruct and inspire.

Third graders are discovering the world in new ways and are eager to uncover how things work. This natural curiosity is channeled in the study of creatures and their natural habitats. Through observation and research, children learn about the characteristics and needs of diverse creatures and plants and their shared habitats. They learn about geology and the formation of our island, including the environmental challenges Nantucket faces.