With our new Science Lab, the students will be able to augment their lessons with hands-on experiments. This area of the curriculum is fascinating to students as they learn about the human body, animals and their habitats, the solar system, and dinosaurs.

Social Studies, while taught as an isolated subject, is well integrated with Language Arts and Science.  We combine primary sources and local experiences with thematic units, which focus on California communities as they relate to geography, Native Americans, rules and laws, and the economy.  Additionally, the notions of continuity, change, and communication are explored.  We make connections between past and present, harnessing such resources as San Francisco’s landscape and cultural diversity.  Students are inspired to think critically about their own communities and the greater influence they have on the world.  Through discussion, investigation and meaningful interactions with each other and the outside world, students begin to build links between a variety of settings.

A wide array of quality literature provides students with various resources for a rich reading curriculum.  The third grade reading program covers identification of main ideas, topics, and facts in a paragraph.  We deepen comprehension through response to literature with story summaries, evaluation of sequence of events, and knowing the difference between fact and opinion.  The development of reading strategies is supported with decoding (e.g. knowing prefixes and suffixes, root and base words) and spelling and vocabulary enhancement.  Literature extension in Social Studies and Science combines these practices and encourages students to investigate independently across different contexts. Houghton Mifflin’s Invitations to Literacy compliments the curriculum by introducing additional methods of interacting with literature.
In writing, students study and practice the contrasts of creative writing and essay writing.  Students are exposed to diverse kinds of writing, which encapsulate the process, structure, and main characteristics in writing (ideas, organization, language, fluency and conventions).  Students become familiar with making drafts, revising, and integrating descriptive language and detail.  For penmanship, we emphasize paragraph spacing, introduce cursive, and identify how to edit work properly.  We motivate students to enjoy and become competent in their own writing.

In 3rd grade Armenian, students read and understand at grade level. They make predictions and compare information from different sources. Students read and learn about Armenian holidays and traditions such as Armenian Christmas, Dyarnuntaratch, Agrahadig, Easter, and Hampartzoom.
During the school year, they are asked to complete 2 projects: a family tree in November and an Armenian scrapbook in March.
In grammar, students learn prefixes, suffixes, compound words, punctuation, verbs, and conjugation in present, past and future tenses. In writing, students write short essays about themselves, Armenian themes, and other things appropriate to their age level.

In spelling, students are tested to spell a short paragraph every Friday. They are also tested on their grammar knowledge.In addition, students learn Armenian poems and songs to perform on stage during Armenian assemblies.
In Armenian Social Studies, students read, write and learn about the Armenian genocide, Armenia’s two independences (1918, 1991). They continue to learn about important Armenian events and figures as well as Armenian folk epic heroes. Students are tested twice in social studies every quarter.

The third grade math curriculum is organized  to shape problem-solving skills and  leverage all four operations across mathematical content.  It addresses a variety of modalities through the use of manipulatives, hands-on activities, charts, drawings, and other visuals.  The curriculum is designed to encompass familiar patterns and concepts to allow for movement from the concrete to the more abstract.  The content areas studied in third grade are: number sense including place value and rounding, addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing, time and money, customary and metric measurement, multiplication and division up to three digits, reducing fractions to decimals, geometry, and probability and data analysis.