Moms of 3Rd Graders

My daughter is in 3rd grade in a Prescott school. I beleive it is one of the best elementary schools in Prescott. She has not had any science projects brought home, but I think they are getting ready to because I saw a list of different types of science projects come home the other day with a layout of what a science project needs to include. During November and December the whole 3rd grade did a pilgrim project at school, where they learned how pilgrims lived and what they had to endure. They did not just learn about it, they actually "experienced" it first hand through interactive group lessons. The daily homework includes spelling practice, reading comprehension, math, and 20 minutes of reading each day. A book report has to be completed after each book is finished. They are reading chapter books. The spelling words seem to be pretty easy ones for the most part, but my daughter excells at spelling so I may not have a good grasp at what is easy or hard for her peers. She has gotten 100% on all of her spelling tests since Kindergarten, except 1 this year. In math, they are doing multiplication. The beginning of the year started with 1's and now they are at 10's and reviewing all of the tables. They are also doing addition and subtraction of 3 digit numbers. They are learning to round numbers and estimate answers. In writing they are learning cursive and learning to write stories. In music they are learning to play different instruments and what the different categories of instruments are, such as winds, strings, etc. I don't know that there is anything in particular that makes her school unique, but the principal seems to be really involved with the students.

Even though my ID says I'm in Phoenix, I am no longer there, but did have children in both private and public schools in Phoenix.

We lived in a phenomenal school district where I know our school standards were above average. Families and teachers were typically over educated.

To answer your question, I'm letting my own 3rd grader answer your question. She is in a public school now and these are her answers:

In Math, reviewing -/+, and have started multiplication.

In Art: just studied Ted Harrison, and his use of warm and cool colors; they completed a cool fossil art cast and did clay self portraits. They are currently learning how to draw dinosaurs which will be entered in a contest.

In Science: they studied building structures, where they drew and planned a gingerbread house, down to counting each piece of candy and they did a very cool rock and minerals unit where a real arctic geologist who spends his summers in the arctic visited the classroom and he brought in samples. He brought in one green rock with rare hair. This was a big hit.

In Reading: she's currently reading chapter books, right now Roald Dahl's BFG.

In Gym: they have learned Basketball, soccer, yoga, Hip Hop, Floor Hockey and curling. They are leaving the school for P.E. the next few weeks for swimm lessons.

In Social Studies: they are studying 4 countries: Peru, Tunisia, Ukraine and India.

In Music they are learning the recorder.

In Choir they just finished 2 holiday performances, called A Bug'z Christmas. My daughter was a ladybug and had a speaking part. The 4th grade handbell choir also played with the 3rd graders and the kids were extremely well behaved during the music.

I would look at the state of Massachusetts department of education web site and see their 3rd grade criteria. Mass is rated 17th in the the industrialized countries when the USA 50 states are each treated like a country. The rest of the us in at the bottom. Singapore is #1 I think.

I have a second grader, but here goes...

My daughter is working on basic multiplication, by 10s, single digit numbers, addition and subtraction of double digit numbers, venn diagrams, and word problems using the double digits mentioned. All this math is done in "homeroom" in addition they have "break out math" where kids are placed in levels and they get additional work and homework. In her additional class, she is doing a lot more word problems where she is expected to show all her calculations. She has to answer the questions both with numbers and with correct wording like - Susie bought 15 apples. Not just 15. If she writes 15 she gets it wrong.

She is doing guided reading, reading a small book or chapter of a book and answering questions about what she's read, having to write answers in complete sentences. This is also break out reading where kids are placed in levels according to their vocabulary, comprehension, etc. She also has to do 20 minutes of reading every night in addition to her homework - anything she wants.

She had to do a book report. They sent home specific instructions on how it had to be done - each child picked an animal they wanted to learn about, they had to draw a picture of the animal on poster board for the cover, then inside they had to list interesting facts about the animal using complete sentences, then on the back cover they had to list their name, the book title, the name of their animal and their homeroom information. Then they had to punch holes in everything and tie the pieces together to form a real book. They had two weeks to complete the project.

She goes to library once a week, has music once a week, gym twice a week, break out math and reading daily. They also get computer time, although I'm not sure how often, but I do know that it's a progressive program based on the students ability to complete certain levels.

We have several reading logs - one to daily calculate how many minutes they read each day, another one is to "earn" a 6 flags day pass for reading for 6 hours another is a school to school competition reading "Monarch Books" as designated at the local library. Every book read the kids get to enter a bead into a plastic tube. There is some "reward" for the winning school - I think it's for grades 2-5.

Our teachers also provided online resources...websites the kids can go to using online access codes to play games and do more learning.

We have not had science projects.

We have occasionally gotten social studies homework where they were asked to learn about their community, state, country and the world. I know they have soc stud. in the classroom, but we haven't seen much homework.

We have weekly spelling tests. If the kid pass the pre-test on Monday with 1 or none wrong, they get "challenge words". The challenge words are much harder. But that means they also don't need to do any of the "homework" to practice spelling. Usually there is a crossword puzzle using all the spelling words and other in class assignments to use them in sentences.

One thing that makes our classroom special (I don't know about the school) is that our kids can earn "classroom cash" for good behavior and completing assignments on time. The cash can be redeemed weekly for little toys and trinkets the teacher has. The kids love coming home Friday with a new toy. Also it teaches them how to calculate the cost of the toys, save their money and work for things they want.

Where is the list of rankings by state? I wanted the latest list pls.

I homeschool. This is my first year. My kids are in 3rd and 1st. They have learned all 50 states and where they are on the map. We are learning about space and planets right now. We have done a lot of experiments with science and my dd in 3rd has written a few papers on different science subjects. As for writing, she does a workbook but also has writing assignments, book reports and such. In math she just finished multiplication and will be starting division next week. I try to keep with state standards (MI) with all her subjects but I am flexible with the timing of the learning. Not sure if that helps you. I use Spectrum brand workbooks which are aligned to state standards.

My daughter is in 3rd Grade in Phoenix.

They do not do science projects.
In Math they are doing multiplication, fractions, estimating
In writing/reading - they are responsible for five-six wriiting assignments during the year they do at home - the rest are in school projects.
They break out the kids according to the their reading level at her school so if your child is a better reader they go into the higher level grouping.
My daughter is currently get 1-6 pages of homework for the week - along with 20 minutes a day reading assignment. They also have to do their presentations in front of the class in writing / powerpoint and on paper.

Hope this helps.

I have 5 kids, a 7th grader, a 6th grader, a 3rd grader, a kindergartner, and a 4 month year old, plus we are expecting twins in December. My third grade daughter, Kendal, does not like school......then again, most kids don't, lol, My other kids don't either, except for my 5 year old, she loves it! Kendal came back to school after summer vacation about a month ago. She is working on mathand she usually has a few pages of Math Homework. She does a lot of reading comprehension (sorry if i spelled that wrong) and she loves that. She is doing lots of bring home science projects, including building stuff like a model animal, etc. She also has had several take home social studies projects, like a family tree. My kids school is a private school, that focuses on language and literature, so she has a lot of language classes, like french, spanish, german, etc. For reading, she has to read lots of chapter books. I think she enjoys reading. For spelling, she is spelling words like Pirate. She has had a few spelling tests, and she says her teacher sometimes does little mini spelling bees, in the classroom, with boys against girls, which she really likes. That is about all I can think of now............