Health and Wellness, grade three, grade four, and grade five focuses on how students can assume more responsibility for their health, develop positive health behaviors, and prevent negative, unhealthy behaviors. Acceptance of differences in individual growth and development as well as strategies to prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are included as part of a planned, sequential, comprehensive health education curriculum that uses the Indiana Academic Standards for Health and Wellness to support student development of essential health skills within the ten health content areas. Health education at this level includes the development of a wider range of skills, enhanced knowledge, and an increased emphasis on attitudes conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Opportunities to apply knowledge and skills are provided through interactive instructional strategies and activities.

In grade three, students continue to recognize and examine the interrelationships of emotional, physical, and social health and the impact of their surroundings on their personal health, decisions, and practices. The identification and practice of refusal and conflict-resolution skills contributes to the continued learning of health-enhancing skills, behaviors, and practices.

Language Arts, grade three, based on Indiana Academic Standards for English/Language Arts, is integrated instruction emphasizing writing, speaking and listening in interest and age-appropriate content. Students build upon language skills and strategies they learned in earlier grades. Using discussion, reading, writing, art, music, movement, and drama, students respond to classic and contemporary literature. Students deliver brief oral, multimedia presentations, and they participate in classroom or group language arts experiences. The writing process is used during compositions to write clear sentences and paragraphs that demonstrate an awareness of audience and purpose. Students tell stories and perform plays. Students listen to stories read aloud and write independently for meaning.

Mathematics, grade three standards are made up of six strands: Number Sense; Computation ; Algebraic Thinking; Geometry; Measurement; and Data Analysis. The skills listed in each strand indicate what students in grade three should know and be able to do in Mathematics. Grade three students understand place value for whole numbers up to 10,000, interpret and model fractions, use strategies and standard algorithms for addition and subtraction of whole numbers within 1,000, and understand the meaning of multiplication and division of whole numbers within 100. Students identify and draw points and lines, measure the length and weight of objects, tell time on an analog clock, find the value of different combinations of money and calculate the area of rectangles. Students draw basic graphs and frequency table to represent data. Using the Process Standards for Mathematics in a planned and deliberate method to present the mathematics content standards will prescribe that students experience mathematics as a coherent, useful, and logical subject that makes use of their ability to make sense of mathematics.

Reading and Literature, grade three, based on Indiana Academic Standards for English/Language Arts, is integrated instruction emphasizing reading in interesting and age-appropriate content. Students develop reading competencies as they receive instruction founded on scientifically-based reading research with a focus on phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Students move from decoding words to learning more about what words mean. Students learn longer and more difficult words that express abstract ideas. Students also start thinking more about what they read. Students identify and discuss main ideas, characters, plot, setting, theme, and problem solution wording. Students begin to recognize the structural features used in textbooks. Students read fluently with expression and without stopping to figure out what each word means. Students read or listen to and then respond to fiction selections, such as classic and contemporary literature, historical fiction, fantasy or science fiction, folklore or mythology, poetry or songs, and plays, and nonfiction selections, such as subject-area books, biographies, children’s magazines or periodicals, various reference (dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia) and technical materials, and online information. Students self-select books and read independently for enjoyment.

Incorporating the crosscutting concepts, disciplinary core ideas, and science and engineering practices, students in grade three investigate balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object while collecting evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion. Students will ask questions to determine the cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions and define problems that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets. Students will construct arguments regarding animal survival and environmental influence on traits. Students will analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and environments in which they lived. Students will present data in tables and graphical displays to describe weather as well as model how water moves through the water cycle.

Students in grade three gain knowledge and process and synthesize information about their local community from a variety of resources. Students identify important historical events, places, and persons from the past and make connections with their present community. Students in grade three explore their own community, including its: (1) geographic location, (2) human and material resources, (3) major work and services, and (4) basic beliefs and values. Students begin to understand other communities in the state and the world through simple comparative studies. For third graders, the study of history emphasizes continuity and change. Concepts of time and space should be taught through direct experiences such as historic role playing, interviews, and the construction of simple maps and charts. Through group work and projects, students should increase communications and decision-making skills and build civic values relating to responsible community citizenship. Skills to receive special emphasis include: (1) using cardinal and intermediate directions and common map symbols; (2) locating their community, major land and water forms, and reference points on maps and globes; (3) making simple generalizations about change, both past and future, and the influence of geographic relationships; (4) giving examples of the diversity of goods and services; (5) exploring the heritage of their own and selected communities; and (6) demonstrating responsible decision-making and citizenship skills