Third grade is the year that the students learn the major components that will help them succeed in the years ahead of them at St. Peters. It is a time to celebrate their First Communion and to grow academically, spiritually, and physically throughout the school year. Throughout our classroom, we have created a dynamic learning environment, which fosters independent learner who are not afraid to as questions or take risks.  We are all members of one unique class where learning, faith, respect and caring are a way of life. We have fun when we are learning through “hands-on”, project-based activities that incorporate many different learning styles.  These activities will lead us to better understand the world in which live in an authentic, meaningful way.  Every child is special in this class, and we respect one another for our differences.

In English Language Arts we incorporate spelling, phonics, reading, grammar, and writing from our Scotts Foresman reading series. This reading program correlates with the New York State Standards and preparation for the ELA assessment. It provides students with a variety of genres and forms of media to demonstrate understanding, and use reasoning and critical thinking skills.

Our mathematics curriculum is rich in content; our approaches meet the needs of students who learn in different ways, plus giving practical problem solving and test taking skills that meet the NCTM Standards. Students throughout the school year will be introduced to math through guided activities, the use of manipulatives, and many fun, hands-on activities. Third grade math incorporates using everyday math skills, the use of graphs, place value, telling time, subtracting and adding 2-4 digit numbers, money, problem solving skills, multiplication, division, and fractions.

The Social Studies curriculum provides an in-depth content and hands-on experience that builds a solid understanding of history. The students have the opportunity to explore different communities and their culture in the United States and have an interactive learning adventure within their own communities. We glance into the past to learn more about different Native Americans, the first colonies developed in the United States, how the government was built, global connections, and geography skills.

In Science/Health, students have a variety of different themes that are organized for students to learn through identifying and describing various habitats, characteristics of plants and animals, food chains, nutrition, soil and water, plant energy, building various shelters, simple machines, conductors and inductors of heat energy, the food guide pyramid, body systems, taking responsibility for their health and practicing life skills. Students explore these areas through experiments and field trips.