In Grade 3 Math, students deepen and broaden their understanding and skills of mathematics. This understanding and skill is developed through the pedagogy of the Singapore Math framework, which emphasizes concept mastery, a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, metacognitive reasoning, and the use of model drawing to solve problems and justify solutions. At this level, students learn addition and subtraction up to 10,000 and multiplication and division facts and algorithms. They learn to compare and identify equivalent fractions and compare and classify shapes, lines, and angles. Key skills that weave throughout every math unit are solving two-step word problems using all four operations and using and creating visual models (i.e. arrays, bar models) to represent mathematical understanding.

In Science in Grade 3, students engage in science investigations where they pose questions, observe patterns and scientific phenomenon, make predictions, and communicate what they observe with others. Inquiry in third grade includes: What is typical weather in different parts of the world and during different times of the year? How is water involved in weather? Where do organisms come from and how do they survive? What causes objects to move? Learning is centered on hands-on investigations using the Full Option Science Systems (FOSS) materials. Grade 3 students have science three times during each eight-day cycle rotation.

In Grade 3 Music, creating, performing, and expressing music are integrated as students continue to develop the building blocks of music literacy. Students, at this stage, read, write, and perform simple rhythmic patterns, such as ostinati, and they identify pitches through solfege and Curwen hand signs in the pentatonic scale. Students also study rhythm, beat, and rhythmic values through stick notation which is used to compose rhythm combinations, and they perform rhythmic patterns in various tempi, dynamics and beginning articulation. Our Grade 3 musicians learn early music reading through moveable Do and time signatures, 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4, and they employ these skills through introductory recorder playing by ear and notes B-A-G in the second half of the school year. Grade 3 students attend Music three times during each eight-day cycle.

Grade 3 students, in Garden to Table, keep our garden plants and habitats healthy and learn uses for their plant products. They care for the creatures in the garden, and they help to grow food used in various cooking sessions. Students at this level actively participate and engage in the cycle of planting, nurturing, and harvesting varieties of plants and utilize their knife skills and flavor know-how to cook recipes connected to their core curriculum learning. Grade 3 students learn in the garden once during each eight-day cycle rotation and engage in cooking throughout the year in sessions coordinated with the core curriculum.

In Grade 3, in Reading, the focus is on students further developing their fluency, expression, and comprehension strategies, including making inferences beyond the text, as they become independent, passionate readers. Students also learn to engage in literature discussions via book clubs where importance is placed on listening and thinking actively to respond to others. In Writing, Grade 3 students expand skills to include paragraphing, dialogue development, revising for elaboration, and making informed decisions about the organization of writing. Students add to their writing repertoire by writing informational books, exploring a topic of choice, and they continue to develop and build their spelling and grammar skills. 

In Grade 3 Spanish, using comprehensible input, present in both TPR/TPRS (Total Physical Response/Storytelling), students practice more complex spoken responses and acquire expanded vocabulary through reading, character creation and storytelling. Spanish learning at this level consists of increased reading practice in Spanish with the addition of reading their first Spanish novel. Instruction leads students through a guided reading of the book “Edi el Elefante.” Students also continue to practice simple writing in Spanish. Reading comprehension is assessed through both verbal and written responses to comprehension questions. Grade 3 Students attend Spanish four times during each eight-day cycle rotation.

In Grade 3 Mandarin, students continue to develop a foundation in the essentials of the Mandarin language. This embodies tones, Pinyin, and stroke order of Chinese characters. Units of study focus on listening and responding to the questions in short simple sentences. As students progress through this level, they gradually increase their ability to comprehend and speak using common courtesy expressions, target vocabulary, and simple sentences. At the end of Grade 3, students are able to ask and answer simple questions in complete sentences. Students also explore cultural topics and gain an understanding of the pictographic evolution of Chinese characters. Grade 3 students attend Mandarin four times during each eight-day cycle rotation.

In Grade 3 PE, students are encouraged to embrace challenges and learn from their experiences while developing skills of teamwork, communication, and sense of fair play. At this level, students practice transitioning from one locomotor skill to another and balance and transfer weight from feet to hands. They develop the ability to dribble a ball with their hands and feet at a slow to moderate jogging speed, and they learn to strike a ball with hands and feet using a mature pattern. Grade 3 students also learn how to perform intermediate jump rope skills with both long and short ropes. At this stage, as social skills continue to grow and develop, students learn to offer encouragement to classmates and show appreciation for differences in themselves and others. Grade 3 students have PE three times during each eight-day cycle.

In Grade 3, in DBi, students learn the phases of the engineering design cycle where a focus is on creating, improving, and troubleshooting cardboard prototypes. Developing students to become resilient builders is a core feature of DBi in Grade 3. Students work ten times in the DBi Lab within a semester of learning.

In Social Studies, in Grade 3, students learn about history and activism in the Bay Area and beyond. Students explore Huchiun/Oakland’s history, centered around its Ohlone roots. Students also read and listen to the family stories of Chinese Americans who were detained at the Angel Island Immigration Station. To learn about history and activism beyond the Bay Area, students read and write about the ways free and enslaved Black abolitionists fought for their own and the freedom of others. Lastly, students learn the stories of activists who are fighting for equity for people of all races, genders, religions, and abilities.

Lower School Art is where students explore and express their creativity through a variety of mediums and study artists from diverse backgrounds. In Grade 3 Art, as children become more detail-oriented at this stage, they begin to recognize patterns and textures in their environment. As a result, at this level in Art, students explore the theme, “Discovering Patterns and Textures.” This theme encourages students to observe and replicate patterns and explore different textures through various media. Grade 3 students engage in weaving, stamp-making, textured rubbings, pattern drawing, and using different materials to create tactile art. They study the work of Abdoulaye Konaté, Esther Mahlangu, Gustav Klimt and Hassan Hajjaj in their artistic exploration of pattern and texture. Grade 3 students have Art three times during each eight-day cycle rotation.

The Lower School library program and space invites students to explore ideas and interests, gather and enjoy individual and communal activities, engage in inquiry and research that supports the curriculum, and experience the joy of reading. Lower School students attend library classes once every eight-day cycle where they are exposed to rich, diverse texts, have the opportunity to explore and select books, and learn the fundamentals of information literacy as part of a developmental continuum.

Grade 3 students gain important digital citizenship skills and learn responsible, safe, and healthy use of technology through classes taught in the core classroom facilitated by our technology specialist and core teachers.

In Grade 3, DEIB concepts are developed across the academic program including within Social Emotional Learning, Morning Meetings, and within Equity and Inclusion groups that focus on developing students’ identities and their roles within the Redwood Day community. At this level, students explore a deeper sense of self and awareness of others. This is contextualized by inclusively exploring identities (including neurodiversity) to actively recognize the perspectives and experiences of our community members and of those not represented in our community.