Third Grade
Math Resources | Literacy Resources
Third Grade
Mathematics Curriculum Overview
In Grade 3, instructional time
should focus on four critical areas: (1) developing understanding of
multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and
division within 100; (2) developing understanding of fractions,
especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1); (3) developing
understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area; and
(4) describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes.
(1) Students develop an understanding
of the meanings of multiplication and division of whole numbers through
activities and problems involving equal-sized groups, arrays, and area
models; multiplication is finding an unknown product, and division is
finding an unknown factor in these situations. For equal-sized group
situations, division can require finding the unknown number of groups or
the unknown group size. Students use properties of operations to
calculate products of whole numbers, using increasingly sophisticated
strategies based on these properties to solve multiplication and
division problems involving single-digit factors. By comparing a variety
of solution strategies, students learn the relationship between
multiplication and division.
(2) Students develop an understanding
of fractions, beginning with unit fractions. Students view fractions in
general as being built out of unit fractions, and they use fractions
along with visual fraction models to represent parts of a whole.
Students understand that the size of a fractional part is relative to
the size of the whole. For example, 1/2 of the paint in a small bucket
could be less paint than 1/3 of the paint in a larger bucket, but 1/3 of
a ribbon is longer than 1/5 of the same ribbon because when the ribbon
is divided into 3 equal parts, the parts are longer than when the ribbon
is divided into 5 equal parts. Students are able to use fractions to
represent numbers equal to, less than, and greater than one. They solve
problems that involve comparing fractions by using visual fraction
models and strategies based on noticing equal numerators or
denominators.
(3) Students recognize area as an
attribute of two-dimensional regions. They measure the area of a shape
by finding the total number of same-size units of area required to cover
the shape without gaps or overlaps, a square with sides of unit length
being the standard unit for measuring area. Students understand that
rectangular arrays can be decomposed into identical rows or into
identical columns. By decomposing rectangles into rectangular arrays of
squares, students connect area to multiplication, and justify using
multiplication to determine the area of a rectangle.
(4) Students describe, analyze, and
compare properties of two-dimensional shapes. They compare and classify
shapes by their sides and angles, and connect these with definitions of
shapes. Students also relate their fraction work to geometry by
expressing the area of part of a shape as a unit fraction of the whole.
www.corestandards.org
Key Shifts in English Language Arts
The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and
Literacy build on the best of existing standards and reflect the skills
and knowledge students will need to succeed in college, career, and
life. Understanding how the standards differ from previous standards—and
the necessary shifts they call for—is essential to implementing the
standards well.
The following are key shifts called for by the Common Core:
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Regular practice with complex texts and their academic language
Rather than focusing solely on the skills of reading and writing, the
ELA/literacy standards highlight the growing complexity of the texts
students must read to be ready for the demands of college, career, and
life. The standards call for a staircase of increasing complexity so
that all students are ready for the demands of college- and career-level
reading no later than the end of high school. The standards also
outline a progressive development of reading comprehension so that
students advancing through the grades are able to gain more from what
they read.
Closely related to text complexity and inextricably connected to
reading comprehension is a focus on academic vocabulary: words that
appear in a variety of content areas (such as ignite and commit).
The standards call for students to grow their vocabularies through a
mix of conversation, direct instruction, and reading. They ask students
to determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and
steadily expand their range of words and phrases. Vocabulary and
conventions are treated in their own strand not because skills in these
areas should be handled in isolation, but because their use extends
across reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Because the standards are the roadmap for successful classrooms, and
recognizing that teachers, school districts, and states need to decide
on the journey to the destination, they intentionally do not include a
required reading list. Instead, they include numerous sample texts to
help teachers prepare for the school year and allow parents and students
to know what to expect during the year.
The standards include certain critical types of content for all
students, including classic myths and stories from around the world,
foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and
the writings of Shakespeare. The standards appropriately defer the
majority of decisions about what and how to teach to states, districts,
schools, and teachers.
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Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and informational
The Common Core emphasizes using evidence from texts to present
careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. Rather
than asking students questions they can answer solely from their prior
knowledge and experience, the standards call for students to answer
questions that depend on their having read the texts with care.
The reading standards focus on students’ ability to read carefully
and grasp information, arguments, ideas, and details based on evidence
in the text. Students should be able to answer a range of text-dependent questions, whose answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text.
Frequently, forms of writing in K–12 have drawn heavily from student
experience and opinion, which alone will not prepare students for the
demands of college, career, and life. Though the standards still expect
narrative writing throughout the grades, they also expect a command of
sequence and detail that are essential for effective argumentative and
informative writing. The standards’ focus on evidence-based writing
along with the ability to inform and persuade is a significant shift
from current practice.
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Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction
Students must be immersed in information about the world around them
if they are to develop the strong general knowledge and vocabulary they
need to become successful readers and be prepared for college, career,
and life. Informational texts play an important part in building
students’ content knowledge. Further, it is vital for students to have
extensive opportunities to build knowledge through texts so they can
learn independently.
In K-5, fulfilling the standards requires a 50-50 balance between
informational and literary reading. Informational reading includes
content-rich nonfiction in history/social studies, sciences, technical
studies, and the arts. The K-5 standards strongly recommend that
texts—both within and across grades—be selected to support students in
systematically developing knowledge about the world.
www.corestandards.org
Diagnostic Reading Assessment (DRA)
What is a DRA?
The Diagnostic Reading Assessment (DRA) provides teachers with a
method for assessing and documenting students' development as readers
over time within a literature-based instructional reading program. The
DRA is designed to be used in classrooms with a rich literature
environment. The assessments are conducted during one-on-one reading
conferences as children read specially selected assessment texts. A set
of 20 stories, which increases in difficulty, are used for the
assessment. The DRA evaluates two major aspects of reading: accuracy of
oral reading and comprehension through reading and retelling of
narrative stories. Both aspects of reading are critical to independence
as a reader. Questions pertaining to concepts about print are also
included in the assessment with lower leveled texts.
