The third grade team here at Ecoff welcomes you and your child to third grade! The transition from second to third grade is both an exciting and challenging one. This is the first year students receive actual grades, as well as take the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments. One of our main goals will be to help students develop independent work habits and self-discipline, both in conduct and academics. Here is an overview of our curriculum for the year:

Students will participate in daily writing activities to plan, draft, revise, and edit stories. In addition, students will gather and use information from print and nonprint sources.

We will build upon and extend concepts previously learned in the areas of number sense, graphing, addition, subtraction, money, geometry, time, measurement, and fractions. We will also introduce area, perimeter, multiplication and division concepts.

We will be placing an increasing emphasis on conducting investigations through the study of a variety of topics. We will begin the year by covering food chains, ecosystems, and behavioral and physical adaptations in animals. The second nine weeks will include the study of simple machines, matter, and the water cycle. During the third nine weeks, we will study moon phases, seasonal changes, and other naturally occurring cycles, as well as energy sources. We will end the year with a study of soil and the effects of natural events.

We will be studying elements of civilizations with a focus on Greece, Rome, Egypt, China and Mali.  The rules, laws, and basic principles held by all Americans will be covered, as well as several historical figures that impacted these principles. Finally, economic concepts including specialization, interdependence, and resources will be covered.