Chesney Elementary School
Third Grade Curriculum Letter
First Nine Weeks
2011-2012
Important Testing Dates:
September 19-23 Cognitive Abilities Test
October 17-26 Iowa Test of Basic Skills
March 19-30 Georgia Writing Evaluation Window
*April 23-27 CRCT
*Passing Reading Test Required for Promotion
Dear Parents,
Welcome to third grade! As you can see from all of the standards listed in this letter,
we have a lot to learn this nine weeks but we know that our students are capable of
exceeding our expectations. If you would like to contact your student’s teacher at any time,
please send them an email at the address below:
Brooke Treadwell: [email protected]
Carrie Halron: [email protected]
Lindsay Ross: [email protected]
Kerrie Spence: kerrie [email protected]
Jackelyn Torres: jackelyn torres @gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Diane Park: diane [email protected]
Jacqueline Ocasio: [email protected]
Shari Gotschall: [email protected]
We will have early release and conferences on October 3rd and 4th. During the
conference we will be looking at your child’s Data Notebook and discussing your child’s
progress, goals, expectations and plans for the remainder of the school year. We hope this
will be very beneficial to both you and your child. We are looking forward to working with
you to ensure a great year!
Sincerely,
Third Grade Teachers
Reading: The goal for all readers is to read grade-level appropriate material with fluency
and comprehension. Instruction will emphasize recognizing implicit and explicit
information in fiction, nonfiction, and other literary genres. Students are taught a variety of
reading strategies to help develop strong, independent readers. Reading instruction will
include recognizing when reading doesn’t make sense, identifying explicit information using
details, sequence of events, cause and effect relationships, problem and solution, and
determining the author’s purpose in writing to entertain. Students will practice using oral
language to entertain and adapting to fit rules of conversation. They will also use Greek and
Latin roots to read new words and determine their meaning (focusing on ex- and dem).
AKS 3LA_2009-4, 8, 24, 38, 45
Ongoing skills: 1-3, 5-7, 9, 10, 12-16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 39, 40, 43, 46
Writing: All students will take several pieces of writing through the writing process,
including pre-writing, revising, and publishing. Emphasis will be on correct grammar and
improving content, organization, and personal expression. Students will write and publish
in the narrative and response to literature genres. Students are expected to write in complete
paragraphs with clear and appropriate topic sentences and write with correct subject-verb
agreement. Students will also write, combine, and vary simple and compound sentences and
use adverbs and adjectives to improve writing.
AKS 3LA_2009- 54, 55, 58, 63, 80-84, 91-94, and 3LA2010-1, 2
Ongoing skills: 48-52, 56, 61, 62, 64, 66-79
Reference Skills: Students check out books from the media center on a regular basis. This
nine weeks, we will focus on using a variety of resources, such as books, periodicals, and
dictionaries.
AKS 3LA_2009- 99
Mathematics: Process skills such as problem solving, building mathematical knowledge, and
reasoning skills will be ongoing all year. During the first nine weeks, students will learn
how to solve problems using bar graphs, tables, pictographs, Venn Diagrams, and line plot
graphs. Students will also use properties of addition and subtraction to count back change
with the fewest coins. The emphasis will be on multiplication, including the relationship
between multiplication and addition and the properties of multiplication.
AKS 3MA_2007- 24, 56-59, 63, 64
Ongoing skills: 1-19
Science: Students will learn about the scientific process and inquiry in third grade. During
the first nine weeks, we will study the habitats in Georgia and the effects of pollution and
technology on the environment.
AKS 3SC_2006- 12, 13
Ongoing skills: 1-7
Social Studies: Students will learn how to use a map to locate important places and
landforms in the world. They will also learn about the roots of democracy and the principles
that form the foundation of our government. Students will learn about Paul Revere and his
contributions and character traits.
AKS 3SS_2008- 23-25, 30-32
Ongoing skills: 1-22
Health: Students will learn about how to stay safe. They will receive additional instruction
during specials from Mrs. Copeland.
AKS 3HE_B2009-2, 3
These are the major AKS taught and tested the first nine weeks. Many other AKS are continuously spiraled through
using review, preview, and maintenance techniques. A complete list of the third grade AKS can be found on the county
website: www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us and in the booklet given at registration.
Suggestions for helping your child at home:
 Read to your child
 Listen to your child read aloud to you
 Ask your child questions about the books they read (characters, setting, problem,
solution)
 Practice addition and subtraction facts with flashcards
 Count out change at the grocery store
 Review papers in the Friday Folder
 Visit Sparky’s sites on your computer with your child if you have internet access or at
the public library (computer games, Book Adventure tests, Renzulli)
 Write a letter to a friend or relative (by hand or on a computer)

Write and illustrate stories and poems (by hand or on a computer)