Third Grade Curriculum

Third grade main lessons typically include stories of the ancient Hebrew people, Native American legends, math and measurement, farming and gardening, and shelters and housebuilding. Third graders are interested in practical subjects and hands-on work. Our inspiration will come more from real-life projects than from gnomes and fairies this year. This doesn’t mean that the third grader has any less of a need for engaging the feelings through stories. It’s just that they will connect more with stories of people making their homes on earth than they will to the invisible realm of the elementals.

The third grader’s feelings are engaged by a growing awareness of the need to survive. They’re engaged by the incredible resourcefulness of human beings, the power of individuals to do hard work and see the fruits of that labor, questions of free-will and authority, the ways people are able to control their environment (domesticating animals, planting seeds, making tools, developing skills, building shelters, inventing bread-baking, and so on), and all the ways that nature is out of our control (weather, the limits of climate, and the resources we have available).