Preschool - Grade 3

Grade 3

In Grade 3, students expand their abilities as they transition from focusing on their individual needs to thinking about the group and the world around them. This is a rewarding time for students as they develop knowledge, skills, and strategies that help them solve problems independently and collaboratively. Our goal is to help students build these important skills while encouraging each student’s curiosity and passion for learning.  

Our units of study in Grade 3 include the Native Peoples, Ancient Greek Architecture, and Everyday Heroes.

In Grade 3 we work on the following skills: 
  • Reading fluency and comprehension
  • Writing mechanics and spelling
  • Effective writing concepts
  • Number sense and problem-solving
  • Collection and analyzing information
  • Understanding differences
  • Serving the community
  • Listening and presenting
  • Typing

Click on an item below to see a summary of Grade 3 work in that subject area. Please note: Each subject includes a guiding question or questions, some of the topics we address in that area, and an overview of some of the skills we work to build through this subject.

About Grade 3

List of 12 items.

  • A Sample Day in Grade 3

    Students can arrive as early as 7:30 a.m. and spend time with friends in the Dining Commons and the Gym. There is no charge for early arrival. 

    The school day starts promptly at 8:25 a.m. In Grade 3, the day begins with homeroom meeting time and a typical day might include:

    • Writing
    • Art
    • Snack & Recess - students bring their own snacks
    • Preschool Buddies
    • Mathematics
    • Lunch & Recess - the School provides lunch
    • Science
    • Reading
    • Music

    Third graders are dismissed at 3:15 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesdays.

    We offer a number of fee-based Extended Day activities, which allow students to stay as late as 5:45 p.m. 

  • Language Arts in Grade 3

    How do we effectively express ideas through words?

    Topics We Study:
    Writer’s Workshop • Cursive • Spelling patterns • Fiction and Non-Fiction

    Skills We Teach:
    Decoding multi-syllabic words • Building vocabulary • Strengthening oral reading fluency and comprehension • Responding to literature through class discussion and written response • Making connections • Beginning to revise and edit independently • Spelling • Writing mechanics • Research 
  • Technology in Grade 3

    At Nashoba Brooks School, educational technology is meaningfully integrated into all content areas to enhance student learning.

    Skills We Teach
    Managing a personal device • Expanding on problem-solving skills • Using technology-related vocabulary • Increasing understanding of website navigation • Developing formal keyboarding skills • Expanding on word processing • Building on computer skills • Incorporating apps to support skill development in language arts, social studies, and mathematics • Improving block-based coding • Beginning 3D printing
  • Social Studies in Grade 3

    How are a culture's heroes a reflection of its values?

    Topics of Study:
    Native peoples of the United States • Everyday Heroes • Ancient Greece 


    Skills We Teach:
    Conducting research • Comparing and contrasting • Presenting orally • Presenting information using multimedia • Understanding new vocabulary
  • Mathematics in Grade 3

    How do we as mathematicians use manipulatives, words, pictures and numbers to show our thinking?

    Topics of Study:
    Addition and subtraction • Estimation • Problem solving • Multiplication • Number sense • Division • Fractions • Money • Word problems • Measurement • Geometry

    Skills We Teach:
    Representing numbers and identifying place values to 10,000 • Adding and subtracting • Developing mental math addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division strategies • Modeling and solving multi-step addition and subtraction word problems • Improving fluency and accuracy of math facts • Adding and subtracting dollars and cents • Working with unit fractions to build a whole • Compare and order fractions • Interpreting and recording data in bar graphs with scales • Recognizing geometric shapes • Using appropriate forms of measurement
  • Science in Grade 3

    How do we, as scientists, use evidence, models and simulations to answer questions and solve problems?

    Topics of Study:
    Earth's layers • Soil • Decomposition • Bacteria • Botany • Sustainability • Waste management • Fossil fuels • Pollution • Sharks • Electricity • Circuits • Green energy • Environmental engineering • Climate change

    Skills We Teach:
    Design and build • Design solutions to problems • Making predictions • Resiliency in the design process • Working together • Collecting data • Graphing data
  • Drama in Grade 3

    What are the participatory steps of a musical production?

    Grade 3 students participate in a 3rd/7th Grade Musical.

    Skills We Teach:
    Theatre games • Memorizing songs and dance routines • Taking direction • Developing self-confidence • Using voice and body • Collaborating toward a common goal
  • Spanish in Grade 3

    How do we, as Spanish speakers, use our communication skills to take positive risks? How can we help ourselves and others in our community learn Spanish?

    Topics of Study:
    Greetings and introductions • The alphabet • Spanish as a phonetic language • Numbers review • Actions and simple descriptions • Giving and following commands • Emotions • Building simple sentences • Parts of the body

    Skills We Teach:
    Deriving understanding from context, gestures, and images • Taking positive risks in communication with peers • Asking and responding to questions and situations in context • Experiencing cultural similarities and differences • Expressing needs and wants • Collaboration with partners and small groups in activities • Simple conversations • Pronunciation through song and chant
  • Library in Grade 3

    How can we share stories and solve information problems?

    Some Topics of Study:
    Cartography • Native Nations Stories • Historical Mysteries

    Skills We Teach:
    Navigating print and digital resources for research • Paraphrasing nonfiction sources • Note taking • Reading and creating maps • Navigating an index, glossary, and table of contents  
  • Music in Grade 3

    How do we learn to play an instrument well? How do we learn to read music notation? What is musical harmony?

    Topics of Study:
    Taking part in the Grades 3 & 7 Musical • Playing the soprano recorder • Reading music notation • Composing music • Orff accompaniment patterns • Grade 3 Graduation performance • Exploring musical styles: classical and jazz

    Skills We Teach:
    Cooperation and leadership • Playing the soprano recorder • Reading music notation • Movement coordination • Performance skills
  • PE in Grade 3

    How can I be a healthy, skillfull, and cooperative teammate in a variety of activities?

    Topics of Study:
    Character Olympics • Health/fitness • Yoga • Adapted Sports Awareness •  Cooperative activities • Frisbee games • Football • Basketball • Volleying Games • Gymnastics • Jump Roping • Softball/Baseball • Invasion games • Golf

    Key Skills We Teach:
    Teambuilding • Communicating • Compromising • Developing strategies and routines • Various skill themes • Gross/fine motor skill development • Social Skills: (cooperation, communication, listening, respect, teamwork, sportsmanship) • Throwing • Catching • Kicking • Volleying • Dribbling • Spatial awareness • Gymnastics movements: tumbling, balancing, rolling • Manipulative skills (with and without a long-handled implement) • Various sports concepts and strategies • Heart health

  • Visual Arts in Grade 3

    How can I use art as a means for expressing my thoughts and ideas?

    Topics of Study:
    Free and observational drawing • Painting and color mixing • Sculpture • Ceramics • Sketchbooks

    Skills We Teach:
    Expressing creativity through original drawings and designs • Making observations • Understanding color mixing and color theory • Making lines of different varieties • Printmaking • Sculpting • Visual thinking strategies

Third graders can be excitable, dramatic, and inquisitive. We engage their energy in projects that help them to grow.

Grade 3 Homeroom Teachers

List of 2 members.

  • Photo of Peggy Gaffny

    Peggy Gaffny 

    Grade 3, Grades 2/3 Team Leader
  • Photo of Jenny Rutherford

    Jenny Rutherford 

    Grade 3

Next School Placement for Grade 3 Boys

Our co-ed program ends at Grade 3, with our boys going on to a variety of independent and public schools and our girls moving into our all-girls' Middle School (grades 4 through 8). 

Our Assistant Head of Lower School works closely with the Grade 3 boys' families as they consider next school choices and go through the process of preparing for the transition to their new schools.
Situated on a beautiful 30-acre campus in historic Concord, Massachusetts, Nashoba Brooks School enrolls all genders in Preschool through Grade 3, and students identifying as girls in Grades 4 through 8. Nashoba Brooks is an independent school designed to build community, character, and confidence in its students.
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