Sample 3rd Grade Curriculum

I am trying to get a jump start on 3rd grade, by setting up my curriculum early. This is the first one I have done myself. It is a basic curriculum, and things can be added or remvoed. You will note that each subject has two parts the main electives for each subject, and then extra electives. I did this because there was so much information to be learnt. I separated them by most important and ones to add, after the others were mastered. Feel free to copy this curriculum for your own use, and change to fit your needs. Some were add ons because, we have already learnt them, and will just review them, or are closer to 4th grade level, and will be taught after the others have been mastered. I do not have PE, Music, Art, or foreign language on there. We do PE, Music, and Art, but they are not formal type education. I want to teach Spanish, but have not yet found a program I like.


3rd Grade Curriculum created 04/18/08 by Myself


3rd grade Mathematics:
Reading and writing numbers to 5 places *
Addition and subtraction facts to 25 *
Multiplication and division facts to 100 *
Customary and metric measurement *
Time to 1 and 5 minute measures *
Charts and graphs *

These below are add on math electives once the above are mastered:
Beginning Roman Numerals
Rounding numbers
Positive and negative numbers in daily life
Simple fractions and equivalents
Properties of one
Numeration systems
Perimeter, area, volume
Geometric constructions
Similar and congruent figures
Properties of solid figures
Estimation of outcomes
Problem solving analysis
Word Problems

3rd grade Health:
Care of eyes and ears *
Dental health *
Parts of the body *
Nutrition *
Home safety hazards *

These below are add on health elective once the above is mastered:
Proper balance of activities
Healthful leisure activities
Prevention and control of diseases
Health with relation to food, shelter, clothing
School and community health services
Safety in the community
Simple first aid


3rd grade Language Arts:
Reading prose and poetry aloud *
Alphabetizing through the third letter of a word *
Dictionary skills *
Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms *
Spelling *
Beginning cursive writing *
Concepts of a paragraph *
Using period, comma, question marks, apostrophe, quotation marks *
Postwriting skills: editing and proofreading *

These below are add on Language Arts electives once the above are mastered:
Silent reading
Oral presentations: reporting experiences orally with accuracy
Developing word attack methods
Writing short, original stories and poems
Increasing indexing skills


3rd grade Science:
Dinosaurs *
Weather and climate *
Plants and animals of the sea *
Magnets *
Compass *
Gravity *
Machines *
Plants and animals of the desert *

These below are added elective science subjects after the above are mastered
Animal helpers
Life cycle
Common birds, trees and flowers
Forest plants
Conservation of plants and animals
Earth’s changing surface
Light and color
Energy and its sources
Force and work
Moon and stars
Earth satellites
Scientific method and scientific inquiry


3rd grade Social Studies
Holidays and folk customs *
Native Americans *
Explorers and pioneers *
Appreciation of different cultures, races and religions *
Community helpers *
Shelters of animals and people *
History and development of transportation *
History and development of communication *
Citizenship and social responsibility *
The continents *
Flat maps and globes *

These are additional electives for Social Studies to be done after above is mastered:
History and development of local community
Consumers and producers
Sources of food and clothing
Basic human needs and wants
Local geography
US geography and regions