3rd Grade ELA
Reading Unit 1
Overview:
We want to support our students in this unit by setting goals, getting to know themselves as
readers, and creating plans to better achieve those goals. We will focus on fluency and how to
better understand challenging words and what to do to monitor and adjust comprehension. We
will dive into partnerships, and sharing our thinking. We will make connections, predictions and
learn all about vocabulary development. One focus will be on words in context and using context
clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar words. Students will study: synonyms, antonyms,
homonyms, homophones. We will track our reading on a reading log in class.
Writing Unit 1
Overview:
In this unit students will set up their writer's notebook and learn that it is a place to hold the
treasures of their lives. We will also focus on learning a variety of strategies to help gather ideas
for writing. As we begin to write entries into our notebooks, we will cycle through the writing
process. At the end of the unit students will take one of their entries form their notebooks and
revise, edit and write a final draft.
Word Study/Conventions Unit 1
Overview:
In this unit we will be focusing on three main spelling patterns, long and short vowel
phonograms, y as a vowel sound and consonant clusters and consonant diagraphs. We will also
be learning many high frequency words. Students will also be reviewing what makes a complete
sentence, nouns and printing neatly.
Social Studies: Unit 1- Where in the World is our Community?
Vocab/some things we will study:
geography- the study of Earth-its land, water, air, and people
sphere- a round solid figure (not flat), such as Earth, a globe, a ball…
hemisphere- half of a sphere
equator- this imaginary line across Earth that divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and
the Southern Hemispheres
prime meridian- This imaginary line starts at the top of Earth and runs down one side of Earth to
the bottom. It passes through the city of Greenwich England and divides Earth into the Western
and Eastern Hemispheres
oceans- large bodies if water (Earth has 4: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic)
continents- large bodies of land (Earth has 7: North America, South America, Europe, Asia,
Africa, Australia, Antarctica)
country- an area of land that has its own government (Examples: United States, Canada,
Mexico..)
border- the line where on place, such as a country or state, ends and another begins
states- most large countries are divided into many smaller parts. In the United States, these parts
are called states. We have 50 states.