Reader’s Workshop 3 provides students the opportunity and skills to expand their comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and interaction with texts in a variety of genres. Students will build skills relating to story structure, main idea and details, inferencing, and author’s purpose among others. This course follows the PA Core Standards for 3rd Grade and assesses students’ proficiency and growth through weekly comprehension assessments and word study activities to build vocabulary and phonics’ skills. Students will complete literature projects and unit tests to demonstrate their growth and mastery of skills. Students will interact with instructional videos and presentations, games, practice quizzes and an online textbook, to enhance their learning. Students will incorporate the use of Google Drive and other online tools to demonstrate their understanding and comprehension of stories and skills obtained in this course
In Reader’s Workshop, students will:

• Explore a variety of fiction and non-fiction literature, including news articles, biographies, research, narratives, plays, poems and fantasy.
• Apply phonics skills by identifying spelling patterns in order to decode longer words in a selection of text.
• Focus on comprehension and fluency during repeated readings of stories.
• Utilize skills and strategies that occur during reading.
• Practice and apply grammatical skills for use in writing.

Digital Textbook:

• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Journeys Grade 3 Student Set

Books/Novels:

• Stellaluna, Janell Cannon
• Boy, Were We Wrong about Dinosaurs!, Kathleen Kudlinski
• The Lighthouse Family: The Storm, Cynthia Rylant
• Amos and Boris, William Steig

Writer’s Workshop 3 provides students the opportunity and skills to develop proficiency in elements of writing such as voice, ideas, organization, word choice, and fluency. Students will strengthen grammar skills as they write in a variety of genres, including descriptive, personal narrative, expository, biographical and creative writing. This course follows the PA Core Standards for 3rd Grade. Students will interact with instructional videos and presentations, games, and graphic organizers, as they work through the writing process to publish and share completed works. Students will incorporate the use of Google Drive and other tools to demonstrate their development and mastery of the writing process and skills learned in the course.
In Writer’s Workshop, students will:

• Develop writing and grammar skills by writing persuasive letters, personal narratives, poetry, creative stories, research reports, biographies and autobiographies.
• Build fluency in writing through continuous, repeated exposure to the process of writing.
• Organize thoughts to create a story or write about a given topic and develop it into an understandable narrative with a voice and focus that present information to the reader.
• Use writing mechanics comfortably and shift their cognitive abilities to higher order thinking to allow them to develop a more sophisticated sense of what makes good writing.
• Learn about story planning, peer conferencing, revision, teacher editing, and direct instruction in the mechanics of grammar.
• Develop expression, revision strategy and skill in writing, and be encouraged to try new things during the revision process.
• Work on a large assigned task from another area of the curriculum.

Math Explorations 3 provides students the opportunity and skills to build upon and develop their mathematical proficiency, while being introduced to new concepts to further their advancement. The focus will be on place value, addition and subtraction fluency, multiplication and division fluency, and problem solving strategies among others. This course follows the PA Core Standards for 3rd Grade and assesses students’ proficiency and growth through both formative and summative assessments. Students will interact with instructional videos and presentations, fluency and skill specific games, practice quizzes and an online textbook, to enhance their learning. Students will demonstrate their understanding of mathematical concepts through their ability to model their work, while explaining the process to solve problems.
In this course, students will:

• Learn to compare, order and round numbers up through 9,999.
• Add and subtract 2 and 3 digit whole numbers with and without regrouping.
• Compare and round money amounts, and make change for an amount up to $5.00.
• Identify, compare and classify shapes and their attributes.
• Represent and interpret data using tally charts, tables, pictographs, line plots and bar graphs.
• Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of temperature, liquid volume, mass, length, perimeter and area.
• Identify, compare, order and represent fractions as parts of a whole, parts of a group and whole numbers.
• Multiply and divide with multiples up to 10 with a focus on fluency.
• Participate in hands-on and interactive activities that reinforce grade-level math concepts.
• Refine writing in math skills.

Physical/Digital Textbook:
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill: My Math Grade 3

Manipulatives/Kits:
Grade 3 Math Kit

Science & Social Studies Explorations 3 follows the PA Core Standards for 3rd Grade and assesses students’ proficiency and growth through weekly written responses and comprehension assessments, as well as through projects, experiments, and unit tests. Students will interact with instructional videos & presentations, games, practice quizzes and an online textbook to enhance their learning.
In this course, students will:

• Alternate instruction between science and social studies topics.
• Learn about Life Science topics such as plants, animals and ecosystems.
• Explore Earth Science topics such as water, weather, natural resources, rocks and soil.
• Study Physical Science topics such as matter, forces and motion, energy and sound.
• Learn about constellations and other aspects of space.
• Participate in lab-based investigations and inquiries that link key unit concepts with real world connections.
• Explore life in the past through ancient civilizations.
• Examine and research historical figures.
• Expand their understanding of US History and Government.
• Develop the skills to become thoughtful and caring citizens.
• Participate in a research project for the 3rd Grade Living History museum.

Physical/Digital Textbooks:

• Pearson: We Are Connected
• Discovery Education: Grade 3 Science

Manipulatives/Kits:
Grade 3 Science Kit

In this course, students will:

• Reach proficiency in understanding various systems of the human body and the importance of caring for it through the daily physical activity and good choices.
• Master appropriate vocabulary to better understand the whole body, how it functions, and how to stay safe at home and in the community.

In this course, students will:

• Draw, paint, and use clay and other media to communicate ideas, experiences and stories.
• Expand creativity and confidence in art skills.
• Solve art problems common to many artists.
• Learn about and review a variety of artists, styles and periods from countries around the world.
• Understand that artists are leaders who help shape the world around us and record events in history.
• Be encouraged and challenged to use materials in new and different ways while creating art.
• Connect skills learned in art to other subjects and real-world situations.
• Share artwork and exchange ideas and opinions in virtual class.
• Develop respectful opinions about their work and the work of others in a safe, fun and dynamic class.
• Receive an art kit with brushes, watercolor and tempera paint, colored pencils, a Sharpie, a kneaded eraser, canvas, watercolor, construction and drawing paper, modeling clay and a ruler. Families will be responsible for providing some additional standard home office supplies such as pencils, scissors and glue.

Manipulatives/Kits:

Grades 3-5 Art Kit

This elective course will explore coding using sites like Scratch and Hour of Code.
In this course, students will:

• Learn computer programming basics while creating animations and games with CodeStudio, Scratch, and a variety of other programming sites.
• Discover the history of computer programming and its applications.
• Identify the parts of a computer and its uses.
• Explore the world of engineering learning about inventors and inventions that have affected our world.
• Apply the engineering design process to create student made projects.
• Recognize technology in the world around us.
• Work both independently and collaboratively, sharing ideas and projects in virtual lessons, group discussions, and code studios.
• Build character qualities such as perseverance, problem-solving, and creativity.
• Work both independently and collaboratively, sharing ideas and projects in virtual lessons, group discussions, and code studios.

Prerequisite: Prior experience with Scratch.
In this course, students will:

• Further explore coding using sites like Scratch, Hour of Code, Google Computer Science, and CodeStudio.
• Examine and compare computer programming languages such as JavaScript and Python.
• Discover the history of computer programming and its applications.
• Identify the parts of a computer and its uses.
• Explore the world of engineering learning about inventors and inventions that have affected our world.
• Apply the engineering design process to create student made projects.
• Recognize technology in the world around us.
• Work both independently and collaboratively, sharing ideas and projects in virtual lessons, group discussions, and code studios.
• Build character qualities such as perseverance, problem-solving, and creativity.
• Work both independently and collaboratively, sharing ideas and projects in virtual lessons, group discussions, and code studios.

The Rosetta Stone program allows students to select a foreign language to study through use of self-paced Rosetta Stone software. There are many languages available upon request and interest. Please see rosettastone.com for a list of all available languages.
Students selecting Rosetta Stone Spanish, French, German or Japanese may receive additional assistance or content from PALCS teachers.
Rosetta Stone does not have a live weekly required virtual lesson.
The Rosetta Stone program has limited availability and continued enrollment in the program requires active student participation.