The first few weeks of school are an exciting time to be a third-grader at Bryant Elementary! Our third grade team is composed of Carleen Confer, Lynn Fahselt, and Jenny Williams. We are very excited to welcome a new school year and are already hard at work planning the first trimester.

Students will study Rocks and Minerals, the first of three science units, during the first trimester. This hands-on unit explores the differences between rocks and minerals and culminates in students creating a minerals guide. Our second unit is Sound, our physical science unit, which explores the relationship between sound and vibrations. Lastly, students study Plant Growth and Development and plant Brassica Rapa seeds of their own to study and observe.

Our Everyday Math curriculum starts with a quick review of second grade material and moves on to problem solving strategies, different algorithms for solving multi-digit addition and subtraction problems, and measurement/area. We also explore measurement, multiplication and division concepts, geometry, algebra, fractions, and decimals.

The third grade team uses a writer’s workshop style of teaching. Students write a variety of narrative and expository essays throughout the year. Writing is also used across the curriculum in science and math.

The focus for reading in third grade is comprehension and reading to learn. We use a variety of material (Time For Kids, chapter books, etc.) to teach skills in making inferences, summarizing material just read, and monitoring details.

Third grade is also the year where cursive is introduced, along with keyboarding.