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Block 2. Life on Earth. Farming. 

Monday, September 29 – Friday, October 17. 13 Days. 

Life on the farm will be a theme for this block. As I have mentioned many times over, the nine year old is experiencing a normal, healthy developmental transformation in the way they see the world. It can be described as the end of childhood or the ‘Expulsion from Paradise’, as they begin to have an innate sense of their own individuality. This can often be accompanied by a deep sense of loss or loneliness. We work with this transformation by giving them a shared sense of work and responsibility, along with a growing sense of self confidence and ease as they learn a great deal of applicable and practical skills. The first of these blocks in a series called ‘Life on Earth’ is farming. The third graders will learn about life on the farm, the cycle of the seed, and how minerals, plants, and animals come together to sustain life. This is a short block, but much of the practical mathematics they learn throughout the year will harken back to this block and life on a farm.

Language Arts:

  • Handwriting practice. Continued practice with both print and cursive alphabets.
  • Spelling/Vowel Sounds:
    • Week 1: OR Sound: corn, thorn, chore, work, more
    • Week 2: OR Sound: roar, soar, board, hoard
    • Week 3: OR Sound: war, warm, warn, swarm, wart
  • Grammar Review: Adjectives
  • Grammar: Continued work with three basic parts of the sentence
  • Continued expansion of Weekly Dictation Exercises
  • Reading/Listening Comprehension: More nuanced discussion during review
  • Reading: Weekly reading class. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  • Writing: Introduction to expository writing

 

Mathematics: 

  • Daily rhythmic working of times tables
  • Daily sheet of math facts
  • Fact of the Week:
    • Week 5: 8+4; 7+5; 10−4; 10−3; 10−2
    • Week 6: 8+5; 7+6; 11−9; 12−9; 13−9
    • Week 7: 8+6; 8+7; 14−9; 15−9; 3×7
  • Math Class: Continued review of Grade 1 and Grade 2 content. (Double Digit Subtraction and Addition). Word Problems.

 

Life Sciences: 

  • Soil and dirt
  • Weather
  • Life cycle of a seed
  • Corn and wheat
  • Cows

 

Paintings: 

  • Seasonal and Farm paintings

 

Life Skills: 

  • See Social and Emotional Benchmarks for Grade 3 for year goals.
  • Self Reliance
  • Reverence for the natural cycles which support life on earth

 

Special Days/Festivals: 

  • Sukkah Construction: TBD
  • Sukkoth: October 9 – 15
  • Farm Trip: Tuesday, October 14

 

Practical Arts Class:

  • Gardening (Harvesting and Planting)
  • Sukka Construction
  • Soup Making