Third Grade
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Third Grade Curriculum
The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) creates instructional programs based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study as specified by the NC Department of Public Instruction. For an overview of WCPSS instructional programs, see WCPSS Connections.
Salem Elementary supplements the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and WCPSS instructional program with the concepts of Core Knowledge.
What Is Core Knowledge?
Core Knowledge is an idea for promoting academic excellence, greater fairness, and higher
literacy in elementary and middle schools by implementing a solid, specific, shared core
curriculum. Core Knowledge is designed to help children establish strong foundations of
knowledge, grade by grade. For more information on Core Knowledge, see
http://www.coreknowledge.org/.
Third Grade Core Knowledge
Language Arts
World History and Geography
American History and Geography
Mathematics
Science
Language Arts I. Poetry Adventures of Isabel (Ogden Nash) The Bee (Isaac Watts; see also below, "The Crocodile") By Myself (Eloise Greenfield) Catch a Little Rhyme (Eve Merriam) The Crocodile (Lewis Carroll) Dream Variation (Langston Hughes) Eletelephony (Laura Richards) Father William (Lewis Carroll) First Thanksgiving of All (Nancy Byrd Turner) For want of a nail, the shoe was lost... (traditional) Jimmy Jet and His TV Set (Shel Silverstein) Knoxville, Tennessee (Nikki Giovanni) Trees (Sergeant Joyce Kilmer) II. Fiction A. Stories Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) From The Arabian Nights: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves The Hunting of the Great Bear (an Iroquois legend about the origin of the Big Dipper) The Husband Who Was to Mind the House (a Norse/English folk tale, also known as "Gone is Gone") The Little Match Girl (Hans Christian Andersen) The People Who Could Fly (an African American folk tale) Three Words of Wisdom (a folk tale from Mexico) William Tell selections from The Wind in the Willows: "The River Bank" and "The Open Road" (Kenneth Grahame) B. Myths and Mythical Characters · Norse Mythology Asgard (home of the gods), Hel (underworld), Valhalla, Odin, Thor, trolls, Norse gods, and English names for days of the week: Tyr, Odin [Wodin], Thor, Freya · More Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome Jason and the Golden Fleece Damon and Pythias Perseus and Medusa Androcles and the Lion Cupid and Psyche Horatius at the Bridge The Sword of Damocles C. Literary Terms biography and autobiography fiction and nonfiction III. Sayings and Phrases Actions speak louder than words. Beat around the bush Beggars can't be choosers. Clean bill of health Cold shoulder A feather in your cap His bark is worse than his bite. Last straw Let bygones be bygones. One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. On its last legs Rule the roost The show must go on. Touch and go When in Rome do as the Romans do. World History and Geography I. Geography A. Spatial Sense (Working with Maps, Globes, and Other Geographic Tools) · Name your continent, country, state and community · Understand that maps have keys or legends with symbols and their uses. · Find directions on a map: east, west, north, south. · Identify major oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic. · The seven continents: Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia. · Locate: Canada, United States, Mexico, Central America. · Locate: the Equator, Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, North and South Poles. · Measure straight-line distances using a bar-scale. · Use an atlas and, if available, on-line sources to find geographic information. B. Geographical Terms and Features · boundary, channel, delta, isthmus, plateau, reservoir, strait C. Introduction to Canada D. Important Rivers of the World · Terms: source, mouth, tributary, drainage basin · Asia: Ob, Yellow (Huang He), Yangtze (Chang Jiang), Ganges, Indis · Africa: Nile, Niger, Congo · South America: Amazon, Parana, Orinoco · North America: Mississippi and major tributaries, Mackenzie, Yukon · Australia: Murray-Darling · Europe: Volga, Danube, Rhine II. Ancient Rome A. Geography of the Mediterranean Region · Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Adriatic Sea · Greece, Italy (peninsula), France, Spain · Strait of Gibraltar, Atlantic Ocean · North Africa, Asia Minor (peninsula), Turkey · Bosporus (strait), Black Sea, Istambul (Constantinople) · Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean B. Background · Define B.C./A.D. and B.C.E/C.E · The Legend of Romulus and Remus · Latin as the language of Rome · Worship of gods and goddesses, largely based on Greek religion · The Republic: Senate, Patricians, Plebeians · Punic Wars: Carthage, Hannibal C. The Empire · Julius Caesar Defeats Pompey in civil war, becomes dictator "Veni, vidi, vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered") Cleopatra of Egypt Caesar assassinated in the Senate, Brutus · Augustus Caesar · Life in the Roman Empire The Forum: temples, marketplaces, etc. The Colosseum: circuses, gladiator combat, chariot races Roads, bridges, and aqueducts · Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, destruction of Pompeii · Persecution of Christians D. The "Decline and Fall" of Rome · Weak and corrupt emperors, legend of Nero fiddling as Rome burns · Civil wars · City of Rome sacked E. The Eastern Roman Empire: Byzantine Civilization · The rise of the Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire · Constantine, first Christian emperor · Constantinople (now called Istambul) merges diverse influences and cultures. · Justinian, Justinian's Code III. The Vikings · From area now called Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Norway) · Also called Norsemen, they were skilled sailors and shipbuilders. · Traders, and sometimes raiders of the European coast · Eric the Red and Leif Ericson (Leif "the Lucky") · Earliest Europeans (long before Columbus) we know of to come to North America · Locate: Greenland, Canada, Newfoundland American History and Geography I. The Earliest Americans A. Crossing the Land Bridge · During the Ice Age, nomadic hunters cross what was a land bridge from Asia to North America (now the Bering Strait). Different peoples, with different languages and ways of life, eventually spread out over the North and South American continents, These early peoples include: Inuits (Eskimos) Anasazi, pueblo builders and cliff dwellers Mound builders B. Native Americans · In the Southwest Pueblos (Hopi, Zuni) Dine (Navajo) Apaches · Eastern "Woodland" Indians Woodland culture: wigwams, longhouses, farming, peace pipe, Shaman and Sachem major tribes and nations (such as Cherokee Confederacy, Seminole, Powhatan, Delaware, Susquehanna, Mohican, Massachusett, Iroquois Confederacy) II. Early exploration of North America A. Early Spanish Exploration and Settlement · Settlement of Florida · Ponce de Leon, legend of the fountain of Youth · Hernando de Soto · Founding of St. Augustine (oldest continuous European settlement in what is now the U.S.) · Geography: Caribbean Sea, West Indies, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River B. Exploration and Settlement of the American Southwest · Early Spanish explorers in the lands that are now the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California; missionary settlements (missions), especially in Texas and California · Coronado and the legend of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" (of Gold) · Geography: Grand Canyon and Rio Grande · Conflicts with Pueblo Indians C. The Search for the Northwest Passage · Many explorers undertook the perilous, sometimes fatal, voyage to find a short cut across North America to Asia, including: John Cabot: Newfoundland Champlain: "New France" and Quebec Henry Hudson: The Hudson River · Geography "New France" and Quebec Canada, St. Lawrence River The Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario III. The Thirteen Colonies: Life and Times Before the Revolution A. Geography · The thirteen colonies by region: New England, Middle Atlantic, Southern · Differences in climate from north to south: corresponding differences in agriculture (subsistence farming in New England, gradual development of large plantations in the South) · Important cities in the development of trade and government: Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Charleston B. Southern Colonies · Southern colonies: Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia · Virginia Chesapeake Bay, James River 1607: three ships of the London Company (later called the Virginia Company) arrive in Virginia, seeking gold and other riches Establishment of Jamestown, first continuous English colony in the New World Trade with Powhatan Indians (see also Eastern "Woodland" Indians, above) John Smith Pocahontas, marriage to John Rolfe Diseases kill many people, both colonists and Indians The Starving Time Clashes between American Indians and English colonists Development of tobacco as a cash crop, development of plantations 1619: slaves brought to Virginia · Maryland A colony established mainly for Catholics Lord Baltimore · South Carolina Charleston Plantations (rice, indigo) and slave labor · Georgia James Oglethorpe's plan to establish a colony for English debtors · Slavery in the Southern colonies Economic reasons that the Southern colonies came to rely on slavery (for example, slave labor on large plantations) The difference between indentured servant and slaves: slaves as property The Middle Passage C. New England Colonies · New England colonies: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island · Gradual development of maritime economy: fishing and ship building · Massachusetts Colonists seeking religious freedom: in England, an official "established" church (the Church of England), which did not allow people to worship as they chose The Pilgrims From England to Holland to Massachusetts 1620: Voyage of the Mayflower Significance of the Mayflower Compact Plymouth, William Bradford Helped by Wampanoag Indians: Massasoit, Tisquantum (Squanto) The Puritans Massachusetts Bay Colony, Governor John Winthrop: "We shall be as a city upon a hill." Emphasis on reading and education, The New England Primer · Rhode Island Roger Williams: belief in religious toleration Anne Hutchinson D. Middle Atlantic Colonies · Middle Atlantic colonies: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania · New York Dutch settlements and trading posts in "New Netherland" Dutch West India Company acquires Manhattan Island and Long Island through a (probably misunderstood) purchase from the Indians; Dutch establish New Amsterdam (today, New York City) English take over from the Dutch, and rename the colony New York · Pennsylvania William Penn Society of Friends, "Quakers" Philadelphia IV. Government Mathematics I. Numbers and Number Sense II. Time III. Money IV. Multiplication V. Division VI. Fractions VII. Geometry VIII. Measurement IX. Probability Science I. The Human Body A. The muscular system · Muscles Involuntary and voluntary muscles B. The skeletal system · Skeleton, bones, marrow · Musculo-skeletal connections Ligaments Tendons, Achilles tendon Cartilage · Skull, cranium · Spinal column, vertebrae · Joints · Ribs, rib cage, sternum · Scapula (shoulder blades), pelvis, tibia, fibula · Broken bones, x-rays C. The nervous system · Brain: medulla, cerebellum, cerebrum, cerebral cortex · Spinal cord · Nerves · Reflexes II. Light and Optics · The speed of light: light travels at an amazingly high speed · Light travels in straight lines (as can be demonstrated by forming shadows). · Transparent and opaque objects · Reflection Mirrors: plane, concave, convex Uses of mirrors in telescopes and some microscopes · The spectrum: use a prism to demonstrate that white light is made up of a spectrum of colors. · Lenses can be used for magnifying and bending light (as in magnifying glass, m camera, telescope, binoculars). III. Sound · Sound is caused by an object vibrating rapidly. · Sounds travel through solids, liquids, and gases. · Sound waves are much slower than light waves. · Qualities of sound Pitch: high or low, faster vibrations = higher pitch, slower vibrations = lower pitch Intensity: loudness and quietness · Human voice Larynx (voice box) Vibrating vocal cords: longer, thicker vocal cords create lower, deeper voices. · Sound and how the human ear works · Protecting your hearing IV. Astronomy · The "Big Bang" · The universe: an extent almost beyond imagining · Galaxies: Milky Way and Andromeda · Our solar system Sun: source of energy (heat and light) The nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto · Planetary motion: orbit and rotation How day and night on earth are caused by the earth's rotation Sunrise in the east and sunset in the west How the seasons are caused by the earth's orbit around the sun, tilt of the earth's axis · Gravity, gravitational pull Gravitational pull of the moon (and to a lesser degree, the sun) causes ocean tides on earth Gravitational pull of "black holes" prevents even light from escaping · Asteroids, meteors ("shooting stars, comets, Halley's Comet · How an eclipse happens · Stars and constellations · Orienteering (finding your way) by using North Star, Big Dipper · Exploration of space Observation through telescopes Rockets and satellites: from unmanned to manned flights Apollo 11, first landing on the moon: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Space shuttle V. Science Biographies Alexander Graham Bell Copernicus Mae Jemison John Muir