Common Core Standards (CCS) for ELA, Math and Science

 CCS for Language Arts:  Third grade students will receive instruction in reading, writing, and listening, speaking and viewing.  By the end of 3^rd Grade, students will be able to:

• Read aloud with fluency and comprehension
• Read more thoughtfully, discover more details, and extract deeper meaning from what they read
• Summarize main points from fiction and nonfiction texts
• Work independently on research projects
• Practice, with some guidance, the steps of the writing process in order to produce compositions and reports
• Use more abstract skills of synthesis and evaluation in writing
• Respond to questions with logically developed answers
• Vary language patterns in both speaking and writing
• Engage in abstract discussions as they respond to text and to life experiences

CCS for Mathematics:  All students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts.  By the end of 3^rd Grade, students will be able to:

• Understand place value of numbers through the ten thousands
• Apply skills of addition and subtraction to problem solving
• Use mental mathematics and estimation strategies, and use logical reasoning to solve problems
• Understand the relationship between division and multiplication and between division and subtraction
• Know multiplication facts and multiply and divide whole numbers (2-3 digits by 1-digit)
• Model addition and subtraction of decimals and common fractions
• Use mathematical expressions to represent relationships between quantities
• Understand the concepts of, and measure, length, perimeter, area, and time
• Draw and characterize previously studied geometric shapes
• Solve problems by collecting, organizing, displaying, and interpreting data in tables and bar graphs

GPS for Science:  Third grade students will use inquiry to focus on questions about the world around them, including questions related to earth science, physical science, and life science.  DeKalb students are taught science through the use of Critical Experiences which are direct experiences that children should have when studying a specific content area.  By the end of 3^rd Grade, students will be able to:

• Investigate how heat is produced and the effects of heating and cooling
• Investigate magnets
• Observe things with many parts and describe the ways in which the parts influence or interact with one another
• Represent objects in the real world with geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, maps, and stories; and compare/contrast these representations to their objects
• Observe and compare objects, record findings accurately, and analyze data in order to answer their own questions
• Use information about the relationship between the form and shape of an object and that object’s use, operation, or function to explain fossils, rock cycles, and features of plants and animals
• Differentiate between habitants in Georgia and the organisms that live in our state
• Recognize the effects of pollution and humans on the environment

 GPS for Social Studies:   Third grade students will explore the origins of American Democracy as well as the lives of important Americans. In addition, 3^rd graders will continue to acquire basic economic concepts. By the end of 3^rd grade, students will be able to:

• Explain the political roots of American  democracy
• Discuss the lives of selected Americans who expanded people’s rights and freedoms in a democracy
• Locate and describe the major topographical features of America
• Describe the cultural and geographic systems associated with historical figures in American democracy and explain how these Americans display positive character traits
• Explain the importance of the basic principles that provide the foundation of a republican form of government
• Describe and explain economic concepts involving productive resources, taxation for public services, and interdependence and trade

Grading Scale:  Weighted Averages