Grade 3
Unit 1: Classic Tales
Focus: Unit 1 reinforces many of the skills taught and practiced in the grade 2 Skills program. Students also read a series of literary excerpts in the Student Reader, Classic Tales. In addition, a Beginning-of-the-Year Assessment is administered to each student in order to identify code knowledge gaps.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: fictional narrative • beginning-of-year-assessment • Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland • The Wind in the Willows
Unit 2:
Rattenborough's Guide to Animals
Focus: Unit 2 introduces the Skills components of spelling, grammar, and morphology. Students also read Rattenborough’s Guide to Animals and learn about warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals, vertebrates and invertebrates, and how scientists classify living things.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • animal classification • suffixes • prefixes • adjectives • nouns • verbs
Unit 3: How Does Your Body Work?
Focus: In Unit 3, students continue to learn and refine skills in spelling, dictionary use, grammar, and morphology. They also learn how to write a paragraph with a topic and concluding sentence. Through their Reader, How Does Your Body Work?, students learn about the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems of the body.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • human body • reader’s theater • plural nouns • paragraphs • topic sentences • concluding sentences
Unit 4: Stories of Ancient Rome
Focus: In Unit 4, students continue to build skills in spelling, dictionary use, grammar, and morphology. Through their Student Reader, Stories of Ancient Rome, they compare and contrast present-day Rome with the Ancient Roman Empire, learn about the legend of Romulus and Remus, and read several Roman myths.
Number of Lessons: 20
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: Hannibal • Julius Caesar • reader’s theater • r-controlled vowels • quotation marks
Unit 5: Adventures in Light and Sound
Focus: In Unit 5, students learn how to build sentences using adjectives, adverbs, and synonyms. They also practice reading and spelling words with the /ee/ and /ae/ sounds. Through the Student Reader, Adventures in Light and Sound, they are introduced to the concepts of refraction, reflection, pitch, volume, and intensity.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • Alexander Graham Bell • Thomas Edison • adjectives • adverbs • synonyms
Unit 6: Gods, Giants and Dwarves
Focus: Unit 6 contains a Mid-Year Assessment that evaluates students’ ability to apply grade 3 skills taught thus far. Lessons following this assessment allot time to remediate skills in need of re-teaching as well as provide enrichment opportunities. Through the Student Reader, Gods, Giants, and Dwarves, students learn about Norse mythology.
Number of Lessons: 10
Lesson Time: 80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: Vikings • Mid-Year Assessment
Unit 7: What's In Our Universe?
Focus: Unit 7, students continue to build skills in spelling, grammar, and morphology. In addition through their Student Reader, What’s in Our Universe, they build a greater understanding of the universe and the celestial bodies within it. At the end of the unit, students apply note-taking skills and their knowledge of the qualities of strong paragraphs to write a research paper on a topic about astronomy.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • astronomy • singular possessive nouns • plural possessive nouns • research paper
Unit 8: Native American Stories
Focus: In Unit 8, students continue to build skills in spelling, grammar, and morphology. The Student Reader, Native American Stories, depicts specific groups of Native Americans living in various regions of North America from an earlier period in time. As students read the text, they consider how people adapt to their environment and how that adaptation can shape their culture.
Number of Lessons: 10
Lesson Time: 80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: Native Americans • historical fiction • plural possessive nouns • summary
Unit 9: The Age of Exploration
Focus: In Unit 9, students continue to build skills in spelling, grammar, and morphology. Through their Reader, The Age of Exploration, students learn about navigation, early notions of the location of continents, and journeys to new lands. The explorers studied include Christopher Columbus, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and Samuel de Champlain.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: explorers •possessive pronouns • plural nouns • linking words • comparative and superlative adjectives
Unit 10: Living in Colonial America
Focus: In Unit 10, students continue to build skills in spelling, grammar, and morphology. Through their Reader, Living in Colonial America, students learn about life in each of the 13 colonies as well as what it was like for people to settle in a new land.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 50–80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: colonists • historical fiction • comparative and superlative adjectives • comparative and superlative adverbs • subject pronouns • pronoun antecedents
Unit 11: Introduction to Ecology
Focus: Unit 11’s Student Reader, Introduction to Ecology, familiarizes students with the concepts of food chains, the balance of nature, changes to the environment, and protecting the environment. Students are administered a cumulative End-of-Year assessment, the results of which can be shared with fourth grade teachers via the End-of-Year Assessment Summary sheet included in the Student Workbook.
Number of Lessons: 10
Lesson Time: 80 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • ecology • John Muir • comparative and superlative adjectives • comparative and superlative adverbs • subject and object pronouns
Domain 1: Classic Tales
The Wind in the Willows
Focus: Students are introduced to the adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad in selections from The Wind in the Willows. Listening to these stories and participating in associated activities reinforces students’ understanding of story elements and exposes them to rich vocabulary, language, and syntax.
Number of Lessons: 13
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: fictional narrative • fantasy • plot • dialogue • personification • narrator
Domain 2: Classification of Animals
Focus: Students are introduced to the science of classification. They learn about five groups of vertebrates, why scientists classify animals into groups, and the characteristics of these groupings.
Number of Lessons: 9
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • cold-blooded • warm-blooded • invertebrates • vertebrates • life science
Domain 3: The Human Body
Systems and Senses
Focus: As part of their study of human body systems, students examine the structure and functions of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. Students also learn about the senses of sight and hearing, and how the eyes and ears work.
Number of Lessons: 9
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • bones • tissues • organs • involuntary muscles • nerve cells • life science
Domain 4: The Ancient Roman Civilization
Focus: Students are introduced to ancient Roman society and the rise and decline of the Roman Empire. They learn about Roman geography, government, major leaders, monumental battles, myths and legends, social class structure, and forms of entertainment. They also learn about the lasting legacy of ancient Roman civilization in our art, architecture, language, and laws.
Number of Lessons: 13
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • Julius Caesar • Hannibal • Cleopatra • Constantine • Byzantine Empire • Pax Romana
Domain 5: Light and Sound
Focus: Students learn about the properties of light and sound, how light and sound travel, and how light and sound can be manipulated. They also learn about the life and contributions of Alexander Graham Bell, including his experience with teaching the deaf.
Number of Lessons: 8
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • senses • microscopes and telescopes • science biographies • physical science
Domain 6: The Viking Age
Focus: Students are introduced to the seafaring warriors from Scandinavia known as Vikings. Students also learn about the culture, beliefs, and everyday life of the Norse people.
Number of Lessons: 8
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • Norsemen • Scandinavia • Leif Eriksson
Domain 7: Astronomy
Our Solar System and Beyond
Focus: Students learn about the planets in our solar system, as well as celestial objects such as asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. They are also introduced to galaxies, the Big Bang theory, and key people involved in the study and exploration of space.
Number of Lessons: 10
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • constellations • gravity • Copernicus • Mae Jemison • eclipse • physical science
Domain 8: Native Americans
Regions and Cultures
Focus: Students learn about early migrations across a land bridge from from Asia to North America. They learn how early Native American people moved across the Americas and how they adapted to their new environments.
Number of Lessons: 8
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • Bering Strait • nomad • pueblos • kachinas • wigwam
Domain 9: European Exploration of
North America
Focus: Students learn about the motivations behind European exploration and how those motivations changed over time. They also learn how European explorers and settlers interacted with the Native Americans.
Number of Lessons: 8
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • conquistadors • Christopher Columbus • Juan Ponce de León • Hernando de Soto • Francisco Vasquez de Coronado • John Cabot • Henry Hudson • Samuel de Champlain • Northwest Passage
Domain 10: Colonial America
Focus: Students learn how the English colonies in North America were established and how each developed a distinctive culture. They also learn how the climate, geography, and motivations of the settlers influenced life in each of the 13 colonies.
Number of Lessons: 12
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • New England colonies • Middle colonies • Southern colonies • Jamestown • Native Americans • slavery • religious freedom
Domain 11: Ecology
Focus: Students learn about how all living species in an ecosystem are interdependent and interconnected. They also learn about changes to the environment due to natural occurrences as well as the actions of people.
Number of Lessons: 7
Lesson Time: 70 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: nonfiction • ecosystem • food web • habitat • interdependence • Earth science
Ancillary Materials
Grade 4
Unit 1: The Middle Ages
Focus: Students develop reading and writing skills through engagement with informational text in the Student Reader Knights, Castles, and Chivalry. The unit provides background information to place the Middle Ages in western Europe in historical and geographical context. Students learn about the feudal system, chivalry, manors, the growth of towns, the power of the Christian Church, the Magna Carta, the plague, and the legacy of the Middle Ages. Students review the writing process and engage in an extended writing project. Lessons include explicit instruction in grammar, morphology, and spelling.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 90 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: Medieval Europe • William the Conqueror • King John • opinion writing • action, linking, and auxiliary verbs • adjectives and adverbs
Unit 2: Geology
Focus: Students develop reading, writing, listening, and thinking skills through engagement with informational text in the Student Reader The Changing Earth. Students explore how different geological processes shape the earth’s landscape and related environments. Students learn that the earth is composed of layers that, through heat and pressure, cause movements that result in geological features above and below earth’s surface, such as mountains, volcanoes, and trenches. Students also study rock formation, weathering, and erosion in order to understand how the earth changes over time. Students write informational and descriptive paragraphs and practice using figurative language. Lessons include explicit instruction in grammar, morphology, and spelling.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 90 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: plate tectonics • rock cycle • tsunami • simile • suffixes • quotation marks
Unit 3: American Revolution
Focus: Students develop reading, writing, listening, and thinking skills through engagement with informational text in the Student Reader The Road to Independence. Students explore disagreements about principles of government that led the colonists in North America to seek independence from Great Britain. Students learn about the major figures, causes, and consequences of the American Revolution, and about significant ideas and values at the heart of the conflict. Students also read literary selections by Phillis Wheatley and Washington Irving. Students write a cause-and-effect essay. Lessons include explicit instruction in grammar, morphology, and spelling.
Number of Lessons: 17
Lesson Time: 90 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: French and Indian War • thirteen colonies • Declaration of Independence • Rip Van Winkle • Legend of Sleepy Hollow • suffixes • quotation marks
Unit 4: Treasure Island
Focus: Treasure Island chronicles the adventures of the young narrator, Jim Hawkins, who discovers a treasure map and travels in search of the treasure on a distant island. The novel vividly portrays Jim’s encounters with dangerous pirates and shows how Jim uses his wits to outsmart the pirates. Through reading an abridged version of this classic novel, students learn about the adventure story as a specific genre of fiction. They explore the development of plot, characters, setting, and literary elements over the course of a longer work of fiction. Students also learn about topics relevant to the novel, such as geography and sailing. Students write a character sketch and an adventure story. Lessons include explicit instruction in grammar, morphology, and spelling.
Number of Lessons: 19
Lesson Time: 90 minutes each. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: Robert Louis Stevenson • narrative writing • figurative language • relative pronouns • conjunctions
Ancillary Materials
