Grade 3
English Language Arts
EL Education is the provider of the new ELA curriculum that has been adopted by OUSD for grades K-5, starting in the 2021-22 school year.* 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.
Fall
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
Winter
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
Spring
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)
Math
Math Expressions 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.
* A number of OUSD elementary schools use an alternative math curriculum, including Eureka Math and SWUN Math.
Fall
Multiplication and Division with 0-5, 9, and 10
How can multiple representations including diagrams, number lines, arrays and area models be used to illustrate the concepts of multiplication and division?
Multiplication and Division with 6s, 7s, 8s and Multiply with Multiples of 10
How can multiple representations including diagrams, number lines, arrays and area models be used to illustrate the concepts of multiplication and division?
Winter
Measurement, Time, and Graphs
How do we measure length, weight, capacity and time? How do we visually
represent both categorical and measurement data?
Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction
How can rounding, estimation and properties of operations be used to help us solve addition and subtraction problems proficiently and fluently?
Spring
Polygons, Perimeter and Area
How do we use the attributes of a plane figure to calculate the area and perimeter of a polygon?
Explore Fractions
How can parts of a whole be modeled and represented?
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
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
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
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