My plan for the year is to provide your child with a loving and caring environment that focuses on the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards. Below is a brief description of each subject area we will explore in 3rd Grade and the curriculum used to facilitate the mastery of the Standards.
Reading: We currently use the Houghton Mifflin Journey's Series for all components of reading, phonics, writing, and language. This curriculum ensures that the essential standards are met by each student. Some of the concepts you will see your child work on this year are identifying characters, settings and major events in a story, retelling and identifying main ideas and key details in a story, identifying the author and illustrator, and comparing and contrasting. Reading instruction will focus on the five pillars of effective reading instruction which include phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary.
Writing: Our curriculum for handwriting is D'Nealian. This is a systematic program that helps students correctly form letters in a way that makes for an easier transition to cursive writing. Our Units of Study writing program focuses on the writing process and the 6 traits in order to build writing skills throughout the year and throughout grade levels.
Math: Eureka Math provides full alignment with the Standards. Some of the concepts you will see your child working on this year are multiplication, division, fractions, measurement, area, and elapsed time.
My focus for 3rd Grade will be on reading, writing, and math to ensure students are adequately prepared for AZMERIT testing in the Spring. We will also work on Character Education, Science, and Social Studies to ensure we are providing a well rounded education for your child.
More information on the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards can be found at the Arizona Department of Education Website: