Third Grade Success: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn

Part of the new Knowledge Essentials series, Third Grade Success shows you how to enrich your child’s classroom learning and take an active role in your third grader’s education by exploring:

•  What your third grader is learning at school and the educational standards to expect in math, language arts, science, and social studies
• Your child’s learning style—visual, auditory, or kinesthetic—and how it affects the way your child learns and processes information
• Hundreds of easy-to-do activities designed to help your child meet specific learning requirements
• Environmental learning sections that identify learning opportunities in the everyday world
• Methods and checklists to assess your child’s academic progress
• Information on how teachers evaluate performance--portfolios, rubrics, test scores, and other tools of the trade
• Recommendations of age-appropriate books and software that will enhance learning

Amy James, a former social studies teacher, is a nationally respected authority on educational compliance issues and the No Child Left Behind Act. Her company, Six Things, Inc., provides consulting services for national media, publishers, and school districts on compliance with state and national education standards, as well as professional development for K–12 teachers.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1. Getting the Most for Your Third Grader.

Getting the Most from Your School System.

Getting the Most from Your Homeschool Curriculum.

Using Supplemental Materials.

2. Third Grade Development.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development.

Developmental Goals for Eight-Year-Olds.

Developmental Goals for Nine-Year-Olds.

3. Third Grade Learning.

Learning Styles.

Cognitive Learning.

4. The Standards.

Types of Learning Standards.

Learning Standards Resources.

5. Third Grade Reading.

Beginning of Third Grade Reading Checklist.

The Mechanics of Reading.

Comprehension.

Environmental Learning.

End of Third Grade Reading Checklist.

6. Third Grade Writing.

Beginning of Third Grade Writing Checklist.

Cursive Handwriting.

Grammar.

Spelling.

Environmental Learning.

End of Third Grade Writing Checklist.

7. Third Grade Math.

Beginning of Third Grade Math Checklist.

Number Operations.

Number Sense and Patterns.

Geometry and Measurement.

Probability and Statistics.

Environmental Learning.

End of Third Grade Math Checklist.

8. Third Grade Science.

Beginning of Third Grade Science Checklist.

Science Processes.

Science Concepts.

Environmental Learning.

End of Third Grade Science Checklist.

9. Third Grade Social Studies.

Beginning of Third Grade Social Studies Checklist.

Map Skills.

Geography.

Economics.

Environmental Learning.

End of Third Grade Social Studies Checklist.

10. Teaching Your Third Grader Thinking Skills.

Beginning of Third Grade Thinking Skills Checklist.

Problem Solving.

Concentration.

Comprehension.

Reasoning.

Logic.

Environmental Learning.

End of Third Grade Thinking Skills Checklist.

11. Assessment.

Assessing Individual Student Abilities and Knowledge.

Measuring and Comparing School, School District, Statewide, and National Performance for Broad Public.

Accountability.

12. Third Grade Society.

Birthday Parties.

Catch Me If You Can.

Bullies.

That’s Not Fair!

Extracurricular Activities.

13. Moving On to Fourth Grade.

Ready to Go.

Anxieties.

Minimizing “Brain Drain”.

Appendix A: Literature for Third Graders.

Appendix B: Software for Third Graders.

Appendix C: Third Grade Topical Calendar.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Index.