Third Grade

Reading- Junior Great Books

Stage 1: Beginning  Interpretation

Stories:

The Banza, Haitian folktale as told by Diane Wolkstein

The Man Whose Trade Was Tricks, Georgian folktale as told by George and Helen Papashvily

The Fisherman and His Wife by Brothers Grimm

Stage 2: Seeing Alternatives

Stories:

Ooka and the Honest Thief, Japanese folktale as told by I.G. Edmonds

It’s All the Fault of Adam, Nigerian folktale as told by Barbara Walker

The Monster Who Grew Small by Joan Grant

Stage 3: Going Deeper

Stories:

The Selkie Girl, Scottish folktale as told by Susan Cooper

The Mushroom Man by Ethel Pochocki

The Princess and the Beggar, Korean folktale as told by Anne Sibley O’Brien

The Fire on the Mountain, Ethiopian folktale as told by Harold Courlander and Wolf Leslau

(Junior Great Books information and image on this page are from The Great Books Foundation, 2013)

Novel Study- The Puzzling World of Winston Breen

Novel Study- The Puzzling World of Winston Breen

(Image from scholastic.com)

Math- Polygons Galore!

Polygons Galore! investigates two-dimensional and three-dimensional components of geometry by exploring polygons and polyhedra and their properties.

Geometry is a fundamental and powerful strand of mathematics, and the foundation for spatial reasoning. Typical curriculum materials address geometry in a rote method that emphasizes recalling shapes and memorizing formulas. This unit goes beyond those methods by allowing students to:

  • identify, compare, and analyze polygons by using properties of the polygons;
  • construct meanings for geometric terms;
  • develop strategies to find areas of specific polygons;
  • identify and build regular and nonregular polyhedra;
  • analyze the relationship of the numbers of vertices, faces, and edges in a polyhedron; and
  • recognize geometric ideas and relationships as applied to other disciplines, such as art.

This unit gives students a much broader and deeper experience with geometry than do most curriculum materials. It is challenging in that it requires deep understanding of the mathematical strand of geometry rather than merely memorizing formulas and definitions or recognizing shapes.

(The Polygons Galore! information and image on this page are from The Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary, 2013)