Parents and Campers,

Here is the curriculum focus for Term One based on the Gr. 3 Ontario Curriculum documents.  To view the whole year, please click on the link to the right titled Grade 3 Curriculum to see in detail what your child will be learning this year!

Language:
Reading:  Making Connections:  Text to Self:  We are learning how to extend our  understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to our own knowledge and experience, to other familiar texts, and to the world around us.  We are reading and analyzing a variety of texts both fiction and non-fiction in small guided reading groups.  Finally, we are identifying the key features of Fiction (Character, Setting Problem and Solution) and Non-Fiction (Facts and information, subtitles, index, glossary, subtitles, photographs, etc).
Writing: We are learning about writing the 4 types of sentences:  Statements (Declarative), Commands (Imperative), Questions (Interrogative) and Exclamatory.  Also, we have covered nouns both proper and common.  Students are expected to be able to identify, write and correctly punctuate each of those types of sentences and use it in their daily writing.

Author's Purpose: Identify a variety of purposes for reading:  Easy as PIE:  Persuade / Information / Entertainment

Math: Number Sense and Numeration

• identify and represent the value of a digit in a number according to its position in the number (e.g., use base ten materials to show that the 3 in 324 represents 3 hundreds); 
• represent, compare, and order whole numbers to 1000, using a variety of tools (e.g., base ten materials or drawings of them, number lines with increments of 100 or other appropriate amounts); 
• compose and decompose three-digit numbers into hundreds, tens, and ones in a variety of ways, using concrete materials (e.g., use base ten materials to decompose 327 into 3 hundreds, 2 tens, and 7 ones, or into 2 hundreds, 12 tens, and 7 ones); 
• round two-digit numbers to the nearest ten, in problems arising from real-life situations; 
• solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of two and three-digit numbers, using a variety of mental strategies
• add and subtract two and three-digit numbers
• use estimation when solving problems involving addition and subtraction, to help judge the reasonableness of a solution; 

Religion: We are learning about the Holy Spirit and developing an understanding of the three parts that make up God; The father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Also, we will be learning about the fruits of the Holy  Spirit; Love, Joy, Peace, Kindness, Patience, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control and how we can put these fruits into action in our daily lives.  We will also learn about the 4 main parts of a mass and how to prepare for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Visual Arts:  We are learning about the elements of design:

• line: variety of line (e.g., thick, thin, dotted) 
• shape and form: composite shapes; symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes and forms in both the human-made environment and the natural world
• space: foreground, middle ground, and background to give illusion of depth 
• colour: colour for expression (e.g., warm and cool colours); colour to indicate emotion; mixing of colours with white to make a range of warm and cool tints 
• texture: real versus visual or illusory texture
• value: mixing a range of light colours and dark colours
  
  Science:  Strong and Stable Structures:
• assess the importance of form, function, strength, and stability in structures through time;
• investigate strong and stable structures to determine how their design and materials enable them to perform their load-bearing function;
• demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of structure, strength, and stability and the factors that affect them. 

Physical Education: This subject is made up of four areas that are equally assessed;

Living Skills:

• Use self-awareness and self-monitoring skills to help them understand their strengths and needs, take responsibility for their actions, recognize sources of stress, and monitor their own progress, as they participate in physical activities, develop movement competence, and acquire knowledge and skills related to healthy living.
• Use adaptive, management, and coping skills to help them respond to the various challenges they encounter as they participate in physical activities, develop movement competence, and acquire knowledge and skills related to healthy living 
•  Communicate effectively, using verbal or non-verbal means, as appropriate, and interpret information accurately as they participate in physical activities, develop movement competence, and acquire knowledge and skills related to healthy living
• Apply relationship and social skills as they participate in physical activities, develop movement competence, and acquire knowledge and skills related to healthy living to help them interact positively with others, build healthy relationships, and become effective team members

Active Living:

• actively participate in a wide variety of program activities (e.g., tag games, cooperative games, movement exploration with equipment, dance, outdoor activities), according to their capabilities, while applying behaviours that enhance their readiness and ability to take part
• describe the benefits of participating in physical activity every day (e.g., physical benefits, such as better sleep, more energy, reduced risk of getting sick; social benefits, such as improved interaction with peers, greater empathy, stronger interpersonal skills, improved independence; emotional/mental benefits, such as stress release, greater self-confidence, improved concentration
• demonstrate behaviours and apply procedures that maximize their safety and that of others during physical activity 

Movement Competence:  Skills, Concepts, and Strategies:

• perform controlled transitions between static positions, using different body parts and shapes and different levels, with and without equipment 
• perform a variety of locomotor movements with and without equipment, alone and with others, moving at different levels, using different pathways, and travelling in different directions
• send and receive objects of different shapes and sizes in different ways, using different body parts, at different levels, and using various types of equipment

Health: This section will be taught Will be taught by Mrs. Stefani. 

Social Studies:  First Nations and Early Settlers:  Student will compare ways of life among some specific groups in Canada around the beginning of the nineteenth century, and describe some of the changes between that era and the present day.   Students will investigate some of the major challenges that different groups and communities faced in Canada from around 1780 to 1850, and key measures taken to address these challenges. 




I will continue to add new information as we learn it to keep you posted of our daily learning.  I hope this helps you initiate some great conversations with your child now that you can ask specific questions about the above learning goals!


Physical Education: 


Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  What do we call the organization tool we use when comparing the similarities and differences between two things?