Grade 3
English Language Arts
EL Education is the provider of the OUSD ELA curriculum for grades K-5,.* The curriculum is standards-based, and relies heavily on fiction and nonfiction trade books. This curriculum is open access, and full materials are available to view and at the EL Education website.
* OUSD Dual Language schools use the Benchmark Education curriculum for language instruction.
Module 1
Overcoming Learning Challenges Near and Far
Why are education, books, and reading important? How can I overcome learning challenges?
Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown
Rain School by James Rumford
Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter
My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco (one per classroom)
More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby
Module 2
Adaptations and the Wide World of Frogs
How does an author engage the reader in a narrative? How do experts build knowledge and share expertise about a topic? How do frogs survive?
Everything You Need to Know about Frogs: And Other Slippery Creatures by DK Publishing
Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle by Deborah Dennard
Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs: Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
Module 3
Exploring Literary Classics
How do writers capture a reader's imagination? What can we learn from reading literary classics?
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (one per student)
Module 4
Water Around the World
Why are the world's freshwater sources threatened? Due to rainfall, freshwater is not distributed equally around the world. How do people persuade others to take action to contribute to a better world?
Water Dance by Thomas Locker
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
One Well: The Story of Water and Earth by Rochelle Strauss
Math
Eureka Math2 (Eureka Math "Squared") is the adopted OUSD curriculum for elementary schools. The curriculum is aligned to California Common Core standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in each subject in each grade.
Science
For elementary science instruction, OUSD uses FOSS (Full Option Science System), a research-based science curriculum developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. This curriculum emphasizes hands-on activities and is aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Each grade's curriculum spans three modules - physical science, earth science, and life science. The order of the three modules varies from school to school, depending on the rotation of physical science kits at each school site.
Physical Science
Family Resource: Motion and Matter
What causes objects to move?
How can we use tools to measure the mass of materials in mixtures?
Investigations:
Forces
Patterns of Motion
Earth Science
Family Resource: Water and Climate
How do Earth’s geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere interact to create a sustainable environment for life?
Investigations:
How is water involved in weather?
Are weather conditions the same around the world and throughout the year?
Life Science
Family Resource: Structures of Life
Where do organisms come from?
How do they survive?
How are all the different kinds of plants and animals able to continue to exist on earth?
Investigations:
Origin of Seeds
Growing Further