Katherine Washburn, Amanda Wilson, Valerie Pignato, Emma Voiles, Megan Sampson, Tricia Krome, Divanny Rodriguez (Left to Right)

Third grade proves to be a challenging year for students, as it is such a huge academic jump. There are a lot of changes in expectations as students become part of the “upper” elementary group. The grading scale changes and this is the first year students will take the VA SOL tests.

In Reading students are taught to think while they are reading. Good Readers think about their thinking by listening to their inner voices. They use their background knowledge and apply it to what they read to make inferences, predictions, ask questions, synthesize, determine importance and make connections.

In Math students are taught to think more critically. They learn to multiply and divide as well as add and subtract up to 4 digit numbers. Conceptual math is used to help with these skills.

In Science students learn how to think like a scientist as they investigate, earth patterns, soil, animals, conservation, simple machines and the water cycle.

In Social Studies, children become more aware of the world they live in. We discuss government, ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome and Mali, explorers, important holidays, economics and diversity.