Third grade establishes a framework of independence by emphasizing accountability and responsibility. Keeping the St. Andrew’s mission as the heart of our program, students are taught the principles of spiritual growth, the meaning of moral responsibility, the importance of a diverse community, and the value of academic excellence. These essential components are strategically positioned within a challenging and enriching curriculum.
Reading
Reading skills are enhanced through novel studies and reading in content areas. Students learn to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate text. Comprehension skills taught at this level include main idea, sequencing, context clues, researching topics, vocabulary, and auditory comprehension. Phonetic concepts are reviewed through direct spelling instruction.
Writing Process
Students learn to create and develop sentence structure and paragraph form. The writing process includes pre-writing, first draft, revisions, editing and proofreading, and final copies. Students learn how to write narratives, summaries, descriptions, and research reports. Students also record their personal thoughts and ideas in journals. Third graders have the opportunity to enter the annual lower school writing contest – the Golden/Silver Pen Award for Writing Excellence.
Handwriting
Cursive handwriting is taught in third grade. Students review forming and connecting letters first semester and begin writing all assignments in cursive second semester.
Grammar and Vocabulary
Third graders learn to identify the eight parts of speech, review sentence parts and types of sentences, construct sentences correctly, and apply grammar mechanics and usage skills. Vocabulary study requires students to analyze and apply multiple word definitions.
Math
Third graders develop and enhance their math skills in the areas of numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis. Woven throughout the curriculum are algorithms, estimation, mental math, and problem-solving.
Social Studies
Third-grade students develop an understanding of the social sciences, along with map skills, geography, history, culture, and current issues of the United States through units broken into five geographic regions. This study culminates with a unit on the state of Mississippi. Additionally, students review a monthly edition of a national student magazine, which enables them to develop a broader understanding of the world in which they live.
Co-Curriculars
All students in grades 1-4 participate regularly in co-curricular classes taught by dedicated professionals in specific subject areas, including art, music, science, library, technology and innovation, fitness, Little Chapel, and Spanish. Prospective families will receive more information when they visit campus about how these co-curricular offerings engage our students and help enrich and define the St. Andrew’s experience, while current families should reach out directly to their homeroom or co-curricular teachers or the lower school administration for more details.
