Reading/ELA

     In third grade, our classroom reading program includes many read alouds to assist in modeling comprehension strategies, leveled reading in small groups, Harcourt whole class stories, and individual self-selected books. We work each week on a variety of reading activities and strategies to improve our reading abilities. We also discuss new vocabulary words and utilize them in our writing. Weekly spelling words will align with the Harcourt story that the class is reading.

     Students will also be working with words throughout the year (Month by Month Phonics by Patricia Cunningham). These lessons have goals for the students such as teaching students the correct spelling for high frequency words, teaching students how to decode and spell words based on patterns,  and to teach students that many big words are made of 2 smaller words (compound).

 

Writer's Workshop     

      In third grade, students will participate in a Writers' Workshop. WW consists of a mini lesson, followed by individual writing and teacher/student conferring, and a group share at the end of each lesson. Units of study are:

Content Focus

The Writing Process

Getting an idea

Adding detail; expand sentences

Stories that tell what happen and the response to what happens

Choice of words, use descriptive language

Leads that grab attention, create mood

Endings, make a lasting impression

Small Moments

Observations

Paragraphing

Staying on focus

Working with a seed idea

Voice

Story Structure

metaphors, similes, personification

Conventions Focus

Use appropriate spacing

Spelling phonetically

Spell "High Frequency" words correctly

Capitalize I, names

Capitalize beginnings of sentences

Ending punctuation marks

Quotation marks

Commas

Using appropriate grammar

Using paragraphs

Recognizing and correcting run-on sentences

 

 

 Harcourt Activities for Third Graders

 

 

Spelling Words

 

Third Grade Spelling Lists

 

Lesson 1        Short a and short e

Officer Buckle and Gloria

 

1.   sat       

2.   felt       

3.   last       

4.   send       

5.   next       

6.   best

7.   went

8.   hand

9.   stand

10.   past

11.   grand

12.   stamp

13.   belt      

14.   lend

15.   checked 

  

 

Lesson 2          Short i, o, and u

Pepita Talks Twice

 

1.   slip

2.   fish

3.   pick

4.   rocks

5.   lunch

6.   gift

7.   thing

8.    inch

9.    truck

10.   pond

11.   from

12.   jump

13.   socks

14.   dish

15.   thump

 

Challenge words

   frown     expression      surprised       emotion       smirk

 

Lesson 3        Long a and long e

Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective

 

1.   easy

2.   grade

3.   meet

4.   late

5.   seat

6.   saved

7.   pail

8.   these

9.   reach

10.   name

11.   raise

12.   leave

13.   gain

14.   theme

15.   scream

 

Challenge words

    mystery      solve     search     found     investigate

 

 Lesson 4     Long i and long o

      Allie’s Basketball Dream

 

    1.   tight

    2.   while

3.   show

4.   stone

5.   bright

6.   whole

7.   window

8.   time

9.   follow

10.   close

11.   flight

12.   tide

13.   grow

14.   broke

15.   below

Challenge words

    basketball    coach     forward     dribble     guard

 

 

Lesson 5     Words with st and str

The Olympic Games: Where Heroes are Made

 

1.   least

2.   fast

3.   just

4.   burst

5.   strip

6.   stick

7.   strike

8.   artist

9.   almost

10.   student

11.   strong

12.   start

13.   blast

14.   step

15.   street

        Challenge words

    events     competitions    stroke     teammate     distance

 

 

Lesson 6      With  kn, wr, gh, and ph

Turtle Bay

 

1.   known

2.   written

3.   laugh

4.   sphere

5.   wreck

6.   writer

7.   wrong

8.   wrap

9.   wrench

10.   knocked

11.   knot

12.   wring

13.   enough

14.   rough

15.   wrinkle

        Challenge words

    tortoise    dolphin     whale     sea horse     coral

 

 

Lesson 7      With sh, ch, and tch

Balto, the Dog Who Saved Nome

 

1.   shot

2.   chance

3.   match

4.   watch

5.   showed

6.   shock

7.   pushed

8.   such

9.   crash

10.   chew

11.   batch

12.   hitched

13.   sharp

14.   mush

15.   speech

Challenge words

    medicine    crutch     nurse     hospital     equipment

 

 

Lesson 8      Words with /s/ and /j/

Wild Shots, They’re My Life

 

1.   space

2.   stage

3.   huge

4.   fence

5.   price

6.   police

7.   office

8.   engine

9.   badge

10.   pencil

11.   excite

12.   force

13.   range

14.   ginger

15.   giraffe

Challenge words

    creature      strange     scaly     peculiar     unusual  

 

 

Lesson 9      Words with /oi/

        Little Grunt and the Big Egg

 

1.   joyful

2.   choice

3.   voice

4.   joint

5.   moist

6.   spoil

7.   royal

8.   annoy

9.   noise

10.   employ

11.   soil

12.   loyal

13.   boiled

14.   destroy

15.   pointy

Challenge words

    rumble     weather      volcano     earthquake     hurricane

 

 

Lesson 10      Words with /ou/

     Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story

 

1.   crown

2.   proud

3.   however

4.   count

5.   crowded

6.   around

7.   south

8.   loud

9.   house

10.   shouted

11.   howl

12.   growl

13.   bounce

14.   fountain

15.   sound

Challenge words

    special     trust     behave     companion     trained

 

Lesson 11      Possessives and Plurals

The Stories Julian Tells

 

1.               brother’s

2.               brothers

3.               uncle’s

4.               uncles

5.               sister’s

6.               sisters

7.               sisters’

8.               man’s

9.               men’s

10.         child’s

11.         girls

12.         girl’s

13.         girls’

14.         mine

15.         yours  

Challenge words

tease    friendship    polite    wiggle      nuisance

 

Lesson 12     Words With /o/

 The Talent Show

 

1.   song

2.   law

3.   because

4.   soft

5.   dawn

6.   crawl

7.   lost

8.   taught

9.   long

10.   pause

11.   frost

12.   lawn

13.   hawk

14.   laundry

15.   author

Challenge words

    sausage     service    tablecloth        mustard    cafeteria

 

Lesson 13      With /oo/ boot and /oo/ book

     Centerfield Ballhawk

 

1.   boots

2.   grouped

3.   shook

4.   school

5.   looked

6.   hood

7.   choose

8.   brook

9.   zoomed

10.         balloon

11.         loose

12.         soot

13.         understood

14.         cartoon

15.         afternoon

Challenge words

    season    umpire     diamond     average     pitcher

 

 

Lesson 14      Words with /ar/

Ramona Forever

 

1.   started

2.   card

3.   park

4.   smart

5.   star

6.   shark

7.   mark

8.   barber

9.   party

10.   pardon

11.   bark

12.   tart

13.   carpet

14.   farther

15.   barn

 Challenge words

     announce     alarm     complain     excitement     speaker 

 

 

Lesson 15      Words with /ar/ like air

      Sayings We Share: Proverbs And Fables

 

1.   bear

2.   tear

3.   haircut

4.   stairs

5.   wear

6.   airplane

7.   compare

8.   repair

9.   pear

10.   prepare

11.   stare

12.   glare

13.   sharing

14.   fairy

15.   aware

    Challenge words

        steady     balance     regular     constant      slowpoke

 

 

Lesson 16      With /or/ like more

     Papa Tells Chita a Story

 

1.   forks

2.   worn

3.   form

4.   fourth

5.   war

6.   storm

7.   horse

8.   warn

9.   morning

10.   forest

11.   court

12.   porch

13.   poured

14.   port

15.   important

        Challenge words

  exciting     trail     defend     marsh      drown

 

 

Lesson 17      Homophones

     Coyote Places the Stars

 

1.   hear

2.   one

3.   won

4.   way

5.   heard

6.   flower

7.   our

8.   flour

9.   weigh

10.   here

11.   beat

12.   herd

13.   beet

14.   hair

15.   hare

        Challenge words

  canyon     bright     shiny     sparkle     horizon

 

 

Lesson 18    Words with /ur/ like purse

    Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

 

1.         curl

2.         birth

3.         burned

4.         perfect

5.         thirty

6.         church

7.         firm

8.         skirt

9.         clerk

10.   jerked

11.   dirt

12.   shirt

13.   person

14.   purse

15.   term

Challenge words

       fault     wrong     error     trouble     reason

 

 

Lesson 19      Double Consonants

     Lon Po Po

 

1.   pulled

2.   begged

3.   hugged

4.   silly

5.   correct

6.   latter

7.   matter

8.   supper

9.   common

10.   lesson

11.   collect

12.   setting

13.   bottles

14.   different

15.   jelly

        Challenge words

  fairy tale     cultural     grandma     courage     weave

 

 

Lesson 20      With er and est

     The Crowded House

 

1.   faster

2.   wisest

3.   bigger

4.   slowest

5.   cooler

6.   hottest

7.   soonest

8.   shorter

9.   kindest

10.   louder

11.   slimmer

12.   wildest

13.   tamer

14.   whitest

15.   strangest

Challenge words

  characters    actor     director     stagehand     orchestra        

 

 

Lesson 21      Compound Words

     Leah’s Pony

 

1.         sometimes

2.         pickup

3.         dishwater

4.         notebook

5.         upstairs

6.         football

7.         sunshine

8.         outdoors

9.         hallway

10.   timeout

11.   doorway

12.   sunset

13.   bookcase

14.   everyone

15.   everything

Challenge words

cornfields      serious      bargain     astonish      debt

 

Lesson 22      VCCV Words

     Yippee Yay

 

1.   cowboy

2.   horses

3.   corral

4.   winter

5.   always

6.   cactus

7.   garden

8.   tender

9.   fifteen

10.   basket

11.   welcome

12.   lasso

13.   market

14.   until

15.   Monday

Challenge words

  pillows     curtain     feather     mattress      bedspread

 

Lesson 23      VCV Words

    Boom Town

 

1.   belong

2.   hotel

3.   focus

4.   miner

5.   pupil

6.   begin

7.   music

8.   future

9.   behind

10.   tiger

11.   become

12.   motel

13.   baker

14.   cabin

15.   ocean

Challenge words

  delicious     filling     pastries      tasty      crumbs

 

 

Lesson 24     Ending with ed and ing

     Cocoa Ice

 

1.   blooming

2.   settled

3.   stamping

4.   leaving

5.   liked

6.   taking

7.   getting

8.   filled

9.   swimming

10.   rolled

11.   hoping

12.   used

13.   hurrying

14.   buying

15.   worried

Challenge words

  chocolate     tropical     freezing     iceberg      island

 

Lesson 25     Ending with tion and sion

     If You Made a Million

 

1.         combination

2.         action

3.         vision

4.         motion

5.         section

6.         nation

7.         permission

8.         confusion

9.         question

10.   attention

11.   vacation

12.   production

13.   quotation

14.   tension

15.   sensation

Challenge words

  expensive     customer     exchange     thrifty     afford

 

Lesson 26     Suffixes –er, -ful, - ly, -able

  I’m in Charge of Celebrations

 

1.         farmer

2.         useful

3.         softly

4.         suitable

5.         lonely

6.         quietly

7.         teacher

8.         thankful

9.         exactly

10.   readable

11.   nicer

12.   safer

13.   harmful

14.   playful

15.   suddenly

Challenge words

   breathing     pleasant     beautiful     float      gentle

 

 

Lesson 27     Changing y to i

    Alejandro’s Gift

 

1.         pennies

2.         buried

3.         replies

4.         candies

5.         emptied

6.         stories

7.         married

8.         copies

9.         parties

10.   studied

11.   mysteries

12.   discoveries

13.   worries

14.   families

15.   ponies

Challenge words

   adobe     marble     brick     building      material

 

 

 

Lesson 28     Contractions

    Rocking and Rolling

 

1.   it’s

2.   isn’t

3.   you’ve

4.   we’d

5.   didn’t

6.   she’s

7.   we’ve

8.   haven’t

9.   he’d

10.   they’d

11.   there’s

12.   don’t

13.   we’ll

14.   won’t

15.   he’s

Challenge words

   temperature      depth        width        weight        height

 

Lesson 29        Words That End Like Ever

    The Armadillo from Amarillo

 

1.   water

2.   over

3.   never

4.   under

5.   river

6.   number

7.   wonder

8.   tower

9.   rather

10.   finger

11.   center

12.   prefer

13.   better

14.   border

15.   fever

Challenge words

   mirth      laughter      chuckle       humor      giggle

 

 

Lesson 30      Words ending with –le or -al

    Visitors from Space

 

1.   simple

2.   total

3.   apple

4.   title

5.   central

6.   purple

7.   signal

8.   normal

9.   middle

10.   able

11.   terrible

12.   people

13.   medal

14.   handle

15.   single

Challenge words

   explore      discovery      astronaut      visible     scientist

 

 

 

 

 

Calendar Language Arts/Spelling Math
Helpful Class Information Classroom Activities/Photos Social Studies and Science
Library Media Center Contact Information Homework

Back to homepage

This page is maintained in accordance with Shenedehowa guidelines by M. McDonald