Reading
Thinking is the key to reading! Highland third graders learn exactly what this means in their classrooms each day. Through a guided reading approach, the children learn numerous strategies to increase comprehension including making connections, summarizing, inferring, predicting and visualizing. In addition, students participate in word work and frequent written response activities to compliment learning. Students must become active participants in their own reading to be successful.

Here's what the kids have to say:

"The best thing I've learned about reading is how to make connections."

"The best thing I have learned about reading is to have fun reading, and to pick books you are interested in."

"I have learned that you need to pick a book that is at your level."

"The best thing I have learned about reading is that when you read you're thinking."

"The best thing I've learned about reading is to monitor and repair your comprehension."

"Always read a book you can handle."

"Reading is visualizing what you read."

"The best thing I've learned about reading is if you read every day you will get better at reading."

And finally, "The best thing is to read with "impression"!



Writing
In third grade at Highland Elementary, our students are exposed to many different types of writing. We utilize the Step-up-to-Writing program which helps our students with organizing their writing. Green, yellow, and pink colored strips are used for the different parts of a "power paragraph." The 6-traits + 1 program is used to help our students know about the important aspects of their writing such as good word choice, organization, sentence fluency, voice, and correct conventions. While using these two programs as a guide, students practice creative writing, research reports, letter writing, persuasive paragraphs, and autobiographical writing. In addition, our students also learn how to summarize texts in a clear and concise manner. Finally, we feel that it is very important to incorporate writing into other content areas throughout the day. You will see students writing in math to explain their reasoning, writing in science to explain the steps for an experiment, or writing in response to their reading in language arts. Some thoughts on writing from our students:

"What I like about writing is you get to think, describe what you're thinking, and tell about it."

"I like writing because I like to make up a whole different world."

"I like writing because you can let your imagination soar."

"At Highland, we get to write letters to our friends and I like the postal service."

"The best thing I've learned in writing is that I can always use it."



Math
Third grade is a very busy and exciting year in math. The Littleton Public Schools Curriculum follows the Colorado State Standards which are Number Systems and Numeration, Measurement, Geometric Concepts, Algebraic Concepts, and Probability, Statistics, and Data Analysis. We use textbooks and supplemental materials to deliver the curriculum. In third grade the students are expected to refine their computation skills and become proficient at problem solving and communicating mathematically. Some thoughts on math from our students:

"I like math because I like to be challenged."

"The best thing about math is learning multiplication."

"When I first started math, I hated it. But now, I love it. It is complicated, but I still love it."

"I like math because I get to work with numbers."

"I like how we are taught different strategies to understanding the question."

"I've liked learning the associative property of multiplication."



Science and Social Studies
Highland is committed to following the Littleton Public Schools curricula for science and social studies. Together we explore the nature of science (what scientists do) through inquiry, methodology, problem solving and technology. Our units of study take us from outer space to various ecosystems, in addition to learning about simple machines and the three states of matter. The three content strands we focus on are physical, life and Earth sciences. In social studies, we focus on six Colorado content strands--historical, geographic, civic, economic, social and cultural, and world perspectives. We study the government of the U.S., immigration and migration, communities past and present, and mapping skills. That having been said, third grade science and social studies rule!

What the kids have to say:

"I love learning about space. It makes me more interested in being an astronaut."

"I love science and social studies, too. The solar system is my favorite part. And, it's good to know that I live in a suburban community."

"The best thing I've learned is that they're both (science and social studies) fun!"

"I could never map, but now I could find my friend's house on Clarkson."

"In science, you have to be a good thinker."

"The best thing I've learned is how to observe things."

"I've discovered facts that I didn't know."

"Science is really cool because you get to experience the life of a scientist."