RD Curriculum Guide - Grade 3

Curriculum Guide
GRADE 3

This curriculum guide provides a summary of grade level
curriculum. Our goal is to clearly communicate with the
community the knowledge, skills, and concepts students
learn at each grade level.
Our Values
• Tell the truth
• Be accountable for the impact of your
choices and actions
• Have integrity
• Admit when you are wrong
• Use everyone’s names and pronouns
• Take care of others
• Learn about someone else
• Welcome and make room for others
• Do what you say you will do; be dependable
• Keep yourself and others safe
• Own and repair your mistakes
• Think before you act
• Be considerate of yourself and others
• Celebrate differences
• Support and uplift others
• Take care of our campus and the environment
Mission Statement
Redwood Day inspires students to reach for
their next challenge, embrace differences
and develop the intellectual and emotional
• Advocate for yourself and others
• Take risks; embrace a growth mindset
• Be an upstander and not a bystander
• Do the right thing
• Care about someone else’s feelings
• Care about someone else’s experience
• Actively listen for understanding
• Recognize someone else’s perspective
courage to be ready for anything.
• Be thoughtful and courteous
• Ask for and offer help
• Share with others
• Be patient
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Mission-Aligned Pillars of Learning
at Redwood Day
The Optimal Learning Zone
Part of Redwood Day’s mission is to inspire students to reach for their next
challenge, which encompasses learning that promotes growth and recognizes
that to learn well, each student needs challenge and success. To achieve
this, Redwood Day provides instruction in what it describes as the Optimal
Learning Zone.
The Optimal Learning Zone is where students are stretched just beyond what
they can do independently with support and guidance to reach new levels
of understanding and skill. Teaching and learning in the Optimal Learning
Zone is underscored by a positive, trusting environment where students
embrace challenges and where mistakes and errors are viewed as learning
opportunities.
Practices that support the Optimal Learning Zone include teachers gathering
data such as pre-assessments and formative assessments to know where
students are in their learning and provisioning for instruction in response to
that information. Teachers may create structures such as flexible groupings,
give feedback and one-on-one coaching, scaffold learning and materials,
diversify assessments, use a variety of instructional strategies, or provide
choice based on interest and learning profiles.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)
Redwood Day is dedicated to creating an equitable learning environment for
all students: we want every child to be seen and heard, feel safe and valued,
and experience belonging. We want students to see, hear, support and value
others while fostering active allyship. As learners, our students are partners in
the learning process where they set goals, self-reflect, and have agency and
ownership over their learning.
DEIB extends across the curriculum and is rooted in the Social Justice
Standards, a set of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes
divided into four domains—identity, diversity, justice, and action. Lower
School students focus on exploring and celebrating identity and diversity and
learning about themselves and others. As students move through the Lower
School program, they further recognize and understand different abilities,
perspectives, stereotypes, and the roles of intersectional identity and privilege.
Through our K-8 Equity and Inclusion Groups, we’ve created dedicated time
during the school day for students, faculty, and staff to engage in intentional
discussions about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Social-Emotional Learning
In the Lower School, social-emotional learning is recognized as essential
to developing the whole child and nurturing academic success. Integrated
throughout the day, social emotional learning is cultivated for example, on
the playground where children exercise agency and learn to resolve their own
conflicts, in math where they learn to be resilient when faced with a difficult
math problem, or in the Design Build Innovate Lab, where teams learn the skills
of collaboration and cooperation in approaching a design project.
Social-emotional learning at Redwood Day takes its cue from the core
concepts and characteristics of Positive Discipline that include teaching
valuable social and life skills for good character (respect, concern for others,
problem-solving, accountability, contribution, and cooperation). Every
day starts with a Morning Meeting to build community, get oriented to the
school day, and invite students to learn by doing. Students learn to use
their voice, to practice looking at issues from multiple points of view, to see
strengths in themselves and others, and to influence others in socially useful
ways. Students engage in appropriate restorative practices when behavioral
infractions occur to help them be accountable for and understand the impact
of their actions, and provide them with an opportunity to repair any harm they
may have caused in the community.
Provided is general information about each Grade 3 subject area that
highlights key learning and approaches to learning. Learning outcomes are
derived from local and national standards.
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Grade 3 Math
PHILOSOPHY
Redwood Day’s math program creates learning environments that
promote confidence, resiliency, and agency in order to prepare
students for their next challenge in math.
We do this by:
• creating meaningful, relevant connections of math to students’
lives;
• encouraging students to meet challenges head-on, engage in
productive struggle, and view errors as opportunities to learn;
and
• promoting a balance of procedural fluency, structure, and
abstract reasoning
Our core vision is to ensure all students have equitable access to
mathematics through embracing differences and supporting all
learners in their Optimal Learning Zone.
Course Overview
In Grade 3 Math, students deepen and broaden their understanding and
skills of mathematics. This understanding and skill is developed through
the pedagogy of the Singapore Math framework, which emphasizes
concept mastery, a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, metacognitive
reasoning, and the use of model drawing to solve problems and justify
solutions. At this level, students learn addition and subtraction up to
10,000 and multiplication and division facts and algorithms. They learn
to compare and identify equivalent fractions and compare and classify
shapes, lines, and angles. Key skills that weave throughout every math
unit are solving two-step word problems using all four operations and
using and creating visual models (i.e. arrays, bar models) to represent
mathematical understanding.
Grade 3 Math Key Learning Outcomes
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
` Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division
• Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems
• Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division
equation relating three whole numbers
` Understand properties of multiplication and the relationship between
multiplication and division
• Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide
` Multiply and divide within 100
• Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the
relationship between multiplication and division or properties of
operations. By the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products
through 10
` Solve problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain
patterns in arithmetic
• Solve two-step word problems using the four operations, represent
these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown
quantity, and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental
computation and estimation strategies, including rounding
Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
` Use place value understanding up to 10,000 and properties of operations
to perform multi-digit arithmetic
• Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10
or 100
• Fluently add and subtract within 10,000 using strategies and algorithms
based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship
between addition and subtraction
• Multiply one-digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range
10–90 (e.g., 9 × 80, 5 × 60) using strategies based on place value and
properties of operations
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Numbers and Operations - Fractions
` Develop understanding of fractions as numbers
• Understand a fraction as a number on the number line; represent
fractions on a number line diagram
• Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions
by reasoning about their size
Measurement and Data
` Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time,
liquid volumes, and masses of objects
• Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in
minutes, and solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of
time intervals in minutes
• Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using
standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l), and add,
subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving
masses or volumes that are given in the same units
` Represent and interpret data
• Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a
data set with several categories., and solve problems using information
presented in scaled bar graphs
• Generate measurement data and show the data by making a line plot
` Geometric measurement: understand concepts of area and relate area to
multiplication and to addition
• Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in,
square ft.)
` Geometric measurement: recognize perimeter as an attribute of plane
figures and distinguish between linear and area measures
` Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of
polygons
Geometry
` Reason with shapes and their attributes
` Recognize rhombuses, rectangles, and squares as examples of
quadrilaterals
• Partition shapes into parts with equal areas and express the area of each
part as a unit fraction of the whole
Mathematical Practices (mathematical habits of mind)
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
4. Model with mathematics
5. Use appropriate tools strategically
6. Attend to precision
7. Look for and make use of structure
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Math
` Singapore Math approach and
framework through Math in Focus
` Concrete-pictorial-abstract approach
` Multi-sensory manipulatives
` Metacognitive thinking: monitoring
and using mathematical thinking
` Application of skills to problem
solving situations
` Solving non-routine problems to
become flexible problem-solvers
` Exploring concepts more deeply
in extension/enrichment and other
problem-solving activities
` Differentiation through small group
instruction, hands-on projects, and
math games
` Beast Academy extension materials
and curriculum
` Real-world connections
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
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Grade 3 English Language Arts
Grade 3 English Language Arts Key Learning Outcomes
Reading: Literature
PHILOSOPHY
The English Language Arts program at Redwood Day cultivates
critical readers, writers, and communicators who engage in
transformative learning experiences that spark a passion for lifelong
learning and curiosity. We inspire students to reach for their next
challenge, and we support them in achieving their literacy goals.
Through consistent exposure to diverse literature and informational
texts, students gain insights and perspectives into themselves and
others to better navigate the world around them.
Course Overview
In Grade 3, in Reading, the focus is on students further developing their
fluency, expression, and comprehension strategies, including making
inferences beyond the text, as they become independent, passionate
readers. Students also learn to engage in literature discussions via book
clubs where importance is placed on listening and thinking actively to
respond to others. In Writing, Grade 3 students expand skills to include
paragraphing, dialogue development, revising for elaboration, and making
informed decisions about the organization of writing. Students add to their
writing repertoire by writing informational books, exploring a topic of choice,
and they continue to develop and build their spelling and grammar skills.
` Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
` Recount stories and determine the central message, lesson, or moral and
explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text
` Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings)
and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
` By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, proficiently, at the
high end of the grade level range
Reading: Informational Text
` Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
` Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how
they support the main idea
` Use text features and search tools to locate information relevant to a given
topic efficiently
` Use information gained from illustrations/graphics and the words in a text
to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how
key events occur)
` By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including
history/social studies, science, and technical grade level texts at the high
end of the grade-level range
Reading: Foundational Skills
` Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding
words
` Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and
derivational suffixes
` Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency (appropriate rate and
expression) to support comprehension of on-level text
` Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding
` Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding,
rereading as necessary
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Writing
` Write opinion pieces that introduce a topic or text they are writing about:
state an opinion, provide reasons that support an opinion, use linking
words and phrases, and provide a concluding statement or section
` Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas
and information clearly: introduce a topic and group related information
together; include illustrations when useful, develop the topic with facts,
details, and definitions, use linking words and phrases to connect ideas,
and provide a concluding statement or section
` Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events, using
descriptive details and clear event sequences: introduce a narrator/
characters/situation, organize an event sequence, use dialogue and
descriptions, use temporal words and phrases to signal event order, and
provide a sense of closure
` With guidance and support from adults and peers, strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising and editing
Language
` Demonstrate command of grade level conventions of grammar, usage, and
mechanics when writing or speaking
• Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences
• Capitalize appropriate words in titles; use commas and quotation marks
in dialogue
• Use spelling patterns and generalization in writing/spelling words
` Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words
and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from
an array of strategies
` Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general
academic, and domain-specific words and phrases
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in English Language Arts
` Engage in short research projects that build knowledge about a topic:
recall information from experiences or gather information from print
and digital sources, take brief notes on sources, and sort evidence into
provided categories
Listening and Speaking
` Come to discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) prepared,
explicitly drawing on that preparation and other information known about
a topic to explore ideas under discussion
` Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering
appropriate elaboration and detail
` Plan and deliver an informative/explanatory presentation on a topic that:
organizes ideas around major points of information, follows a logical
sequence, includes supporting details, uses clear and specific vocabulary,
and provides a strong conclusion
` Collaborative Classroom’s Being
a Reader and Being a Writer
curricular programs
` Relevant, diverse, engaging texts
` Genre studies and author’s craft
` Book clubs
` Science of reading
` Library visits
` Writing process
` Relevant contexts, purposes, and
audiences for writing
` Independent reading
` Reading-writing connections
` Word study
` Small group differentiated
instruction
` Giving and receiving peer
feedback
` Read alouds
` Typing Club keyboarding
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
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Grade 3 Social Studies
PHILOSOPHY
At Redwood Day, the History/Social Studies program is committed
to cultivating critical, informed citizens who actively and thoughtfully
engage with the world around them. Grounded in inquiry and the
exploration of essential questions, the History/Social Studies program
equips students with critical thinking skills by encouraging them
to analyze and explore diverse sources and perspectives. Through
a mix of meaningful activities, discussions, and projects, students
demonstrate their content knowledge and ability to apply historical
concepts to real-world contexts, connecting the past to the present.
Our vision centers on equity, ensuring that every student has access
to a rich and inclusive understanding of history and social studies.
We support all learners in their Optimal Learning Zone, fostering a
community of empowered and engaged global citizens.
Course Overview
In Social Studies, in Grade 3, students learn about history and activism in the
Bay Area and beyond. Students explore Huchiun/Oakland’s history, centered
around its Ohlone roots. Students also read and listen to the family stories
of Chinese Americans who were detained at the Angel Island Immigration
Station. To learn about history and activism beyond the Bay Area, students
read and write about the ways free and enslaved Black abolitionists fought
for their own and the freedom of others. Lastly, students learn the stories
of activists who are fighting for equity for people of all races, genders,
religions, and abilities.
Grade 3 Social Studies Key Learning Outcomes
Theme: Continuity of Culture, Inclusivity, Preservation, and Protection of
Culture
` Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps,
tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about
people, places, and environments in a spatial context
` Students describe the American indigenous nations in their local region
now and long ago
• Describe national identities, religious beliefs, customs, and various
folklore traditions
• Discuss the ways in which physical geography, including climate,
influenced how the local indigenous nations nurtured their natural
environment
• Understand that people (e.g., the Ohlone, Chinese-Americans, African
Americans, and Black communities), when interacting with colonists,
made decisions to protect and preserve their culture and assert their
rights
` Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the
sequence of local historical events
• Know how the Oakland community has changed over time, drawing on
maps, photographs, oral histories, letters, newspapers, and other primary
sources
` Students understand the role of rules and laws in our daily lives
• Determine the reasons for rules, laws, and the consequences for people
who violate or critique rules and laws
• Discuss the importance of public virtue and the role of community
members, including how to participate in a classroom, in the community,
and in civic life
• Describe the ways in which California, the other states, and sovereign
indigenous nations contribute to the making of the United States
• Describe the lives of American heroes who took risks to secure our
freedoms
` Students demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills and an
understanding of the economy of the local region
• Describe the ways in which local producers have used and are using
natural resources, human resources
• Trace the ways in which people have used the resources of the local
region and modified the physical environment
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Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Social Studies
` Inquiry and essential questions:
• What makes an inclusive community?
• How can we make our communities inclusive?
• In what ways can we inclusively preserve and protect our cultures?
• What does it mean to live in Huchiun in the past and the present?
• What responsibilities do people who live in Huchiun today have?
• What does determination and resistance look like throughout history?
• How can people use their voices in a powerful way to make the world
fairer?
` Service learning
` Authentic voices and stories
` Primary sources
` Current events
` Community building and
celebrations
` Field trips
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
Grade 3 Science Key Learning Outcomes
Earth and Space Science – Earth’s Systems: Weather and Climate
` Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather
conditions expected during a particular season
` Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the
world
Physical Science – Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
` Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of
balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object
` Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide
evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion
` Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or
magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other
` Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying ideas about
magnets
Grade 3 Science
PHILOSOPHY
The science program at Redwood Day fosters a spirit of inquiry
by nurturing students’ curiosity and bringing relevant, realworld
science into the learning experience. Through hands-on
investigations, exploration of scientific phenomena, and developing
science and engineering practices, science learning at Redwood
Day further develops in students the knowledge and skills of
science to be stewards of the planet to bring about positive change
in their communities and the world.
Course Overview
In Science in Grade 3, students engage in science investigations where they
pose questions, observe patterns and scientific phenomenon, make predictions,
and communicate what they observe with others. Inquiry in third grade
includes: What is typical weather in different parts of the world and during
different times of the year? How is water involved in weather? Where do
organisms come from and how do they survive? What causes objects to move?
Learning is centered on hands-on investigations using the Full Option Science
Systems (FOSS) materials. Grade 3 students have science three times during
each eight-day cycle rotation.
` Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how
well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem
` Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure
points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be
improved
Life Science – Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Heredity: Inheritance
and Variations of Traits, & Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
` Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members
survive
` Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms
and the environments in which they lived long ago
` Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some
organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at
all
` Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the
environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may
change
` Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles
but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death
` Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the
environment
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` Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have
traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group
of similar organisms
` Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in
characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide
advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing
Science and Engineering Practices
` Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
` Developing and using models
` Planning and carrying out investigations
` Analyzing and interpreting data
` Using mathematics and computational thinking
` Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for
engineering)
` Engaging in argument from evidence
` Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Science
` Inquiry-based learning
` Science and Engineering Practices
` FOSS (Full Option Science System)
hands-on investigations
` STEAM connections
` Science notebooks
` Exploration of real-world
phenomena
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
Grade 3 World Languages
PHILOSOPHY
At Redwood Day, we believe that language has the capacity to
connect people and communities through communication and
developing an appreciation for other viewpoints and cultures.
Guiding this belief is a world language program rooted in cultivating
a life-long appreciation and enthusiasm for languages and the
cultures they represent. Empowering students to communicate
in the target language supports this vision for world language
learning while partnering with students as they begin their language
acquisition journeys.
The Redwood Day World Language Program balances learning
about the language and using the language to prepare students for
their next challenge.
Grade 3 Spanish Course Overview
In Grade 3 Spanish, using comprehensible input, present in both TPR/TPRS
(Total Physical Response/Storytelling), students practice more complex spoken
responses and acquire expanded vocabulary through reading, character
creation and storytelling. Spanish learning at this level consists of increased
reading practice in Spanish with the addition of reading their first Spanish
novel. Instruction leads students through a guided reading of the book “Edi el
Elefante.” Students also continue to practice simple writing in Spanish. Reading
comprehension is assessed through both verbal and written responses to
comprehension questions. Grade 3 Students attend Spanish four times during
each eight-day cycle rotation.
Grade 3 Mandarin Course Overview
In Grade 3 Mandarin, students continue to develop a foundation in the essentials
of the Mandarin language. This embodies tones, Pinyin, and stroke order of
Chinese characters. Units of study focus on listening and responding to the
questions in short simple sentences. As students progress through this level,
they gradually increase their ability to comprehend and speak using common
courtesy expressions, target vocabulary, and simple sentences. At the end of
Grade 3, students are able to ask and answer simple questions in complete
sentences. Students also explore cultural topics and gain an understanding
of the pictographic evolution of Chinese characters. Grade 3 students attend
Mandarin four times during each eight-day cycle rotation.
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Spanish and Mandarin K-5 Communication Goals (Novice Range)
Communicative language in the Novice Range is characterized by common,
informal settings/aspects of daily life using individual words and phrases that
may be difficult for the listener to understand.
Interpersonal Communication (interpersonal listening and speaking)
` Communicate in spontaneous spoken, written, conversations on both very
familiar and everyday topics, using a variety of practiced or memorized
words, phrases, simple sentences, and questions
Interpretive Communication (listening and reading comprehension)
` Identify the general topic and some basic information in both very familiar
and everyday contexts by recognizing practiced or memorized words,
phrases, and simple sentences
Presentational Communication (writing and oral presentation)
` Presents information about one’s self and some other very familiar topics
using single words or memorized phrases (spoken or written)
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Spanish and Mandarin
` Comprehensible input
` Total Physical Response (TPR)
techniques
` Teaching Proficiency through
Reading and Storytelling (TPRS)
` Plays and role-playing
` Technology tools
` Guided writing
` Assessment through illustration
` Choral response
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
Grade 3 Art
PHILOSOPHY
The Redwood Day Visual Arts program engages students in
authentic creative processes where they learn to look closely,
see clearly, and perceive differently. Instruction is fluid and
philosophically rooted in the idea that all children are artists and
that growth comes from continuous practice, experimentation,
and reflection. Students explore diverse artists, forms, and artistic
genres while gaining a lifelong appreciation, understanding, and
engagement with visual arts.
Course Overview
Lower School Art is where students explore and express their creativity
through a variety of mediums and study artists from diverse backgrounds.
In Grade 3 Art, as children become more detail-oriented at this stage, they
begin to recognize patterns and textures in their environment. As a result,
at this level in Art, students explore the theme, “Discovering Patterns and
Textures.” This theme encourages students to observe and replicate patterns
and explore different textures through various media. Grade 3 students
engage in weaving, stamp-making, textured rubbings, pattern drawing,
and using different materials to create tactile art. They study the work of
Abdoulaye Konaté, Esther Mahlangu, Gustav Klimt and Hassan Hajjaj in their
artistic exploration of pattern and texture. Grade 3 students have Art three
times during each eight-day cycle rotation.
` Singing and games
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Grade 3 Art Key Learning Outcomes
Creating Art
` Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to
investigate personal ideas through the art-making process
` Create personally satisfying artwork using a variety of artistic processes
and materials
` Demonstrate an understanding of the proficient use of materials, tools, and
equipment for a variety of artistic processes
` Individually or collaboratively construct representations, diagrams, or maps
of places that are part of everyday life
Responding and Connecting to Art
` Interpret art by analyzing use of media to create subject matter,
characteristics of form, and mood
` Investigate and explain how and where different cultures record and
illustrate stories and history of life through art
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Art
` Diverse artist explorations
` Expression of creativity through a variety of mediums
` Literature connections
` Using and caring for art studio tools
` Cross-disciplinary connections
` Art reflection, response, and interpretation
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
Grade 3 Music
PHILOSOPHY
Redwood Day School’s music program inspires a love of music in all
students. Through critical listening, composition, and performance of
a diverse repertoire, students develop musical skills while exploring a
variety of genres and traditions. Within this framework, students are
encouraged to embrace their own cultures and identities as well as
others. The culmination of the K-8 music program is to foster a deep,
life-long curiosity and appreciation of music and to provide them
with the tools to express themselves musically.
Course Overview
In Grade 3 Music, creating, performing, and expressing music are integrated as
students continue to develop the building blocks of music literacy. Students,
at this stage, read, write, and perform simple rhythmic patterns, such as
ostinati, and they identify pitches through solfege and Curwen hand signs in
the pentatonic scale. Students also study rhythm, beat, and rhythmic values
through stick notation which is used to compose rhythm combinations, and
they perform rhythmic patterns in various tempi, dynamics and beginning
articulation. Our Grade 3 musicians learn early music reading through moveable
Do and time signatures, 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4, and they employ these skills through
introductory recorder playing by ear and notes B-A-G in the second half of the
school year. Grade 3 students attend Music three times during each eight-day
cycle.
Grade 3 Music Key Learning Outcomes
Creating Music
` Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and musical ideas for a specific
purpose and context
` Generate musical ideas (such as rhythms and melodies) within a given tonality
and/ or meter
` Demonstrate selected musical ideas for a simple improvisation or composition
to express intent and describe connection to a specific purpose and context
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Grade 3 Music Key Learning Outcomes
` Evaluate, refine, and document revisions to personal musical ideas, applying
teacher-provided and collaboratively developed criteria and feedback
` Present the final version of personal created music to others and describe
connection to expressive intent
Performing Music
` Demonstrate understanding of the structure in music selected from a variety
of cultures for performance
` When analyzing selected music, read and perform rhythmic patterns and
melodic phrases using iconic and standard notation
` Apply teacher provided and collaboratively developed criteria and feedback
to evaluate accuracy of ensemble performances
` Demonstrate performance decorum and audience etiquette appropriate for
the context and venue
Responding and Connecting to Music
` Demonstrate and describe how expressive qualities (such as dynamics,
tempo, and timbre) are used in performers’ personal interpretations to reflect
creators’ expressive intent
` Identify and demonstrate connections between music and societal, cultural,
and historical contexts
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Music
` Exploration of songs from diverse
cultures
` Musical expression through a
variety of instruments
` Exploration and expression of
music through movement
` Using and caring for musical
instruments
` Cross-disciplinary connections
` Use of technology tools
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
Grade 3 Physical Education (PE)
PHILOSOPHY
Redwood Day recognizes the value of physical activity for health,
enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and social interaction and
believes that physical education is an integral part of developing
the whole child. Through learning experiences in physical education,
students develop motor skills and use their knowledge of movement
concepts, tactics, and strategies across a variety of environments.
They apply knowledge of health-related and skill-related fitness to
enhance their overall well-being, and they develop the social skills
necessary to exhibit empathy and respect for others and foster
and maintain relationships. In addition, students develop skills for
communication, leadership, and conflict resolution in a variety of
physical activity settings, all contributing to an individual’s physical
literacy journey.
Course Overview
In Grade 3 PE, students are encouraged to embrace challenges and learn
from their experiences while developing skills of teamwork, communication,
and sense of fair play. At this level, students practice transitioning from one
locomotor skill to another and balance and transfer weight from feet to
hands. They develop the ability to dribble a ball with their hands and feet
at a slow to moderate jogging speed, and they learn to strike a ball with
hands and feet using a mature pattern. Grade 3 students also learn how to
perform intermediate jump rope skills with both long and short ropes. At
this stage, as social skills continue to grow and develop, students learn to
offer encouragement to classmates and show appreciation for differences
in themselves and others. Grade 3 students have PE three times during each
eight-day cycle.
` Literature connections
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Grade 3 Physical Education Key Learning Outcomes
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in PE
Develops a Variety of Motor Skills
` Combine varied locomotor skills in a variety of practice tasks
` Combine jumping/landing, rolling, balancing and transfer of weight from feet to
hands in a non-dynamic environment
` Demonstrate jumping rope in a variety of practice tasks
` Demonstrate jumping and landing in a non-dynamic environment
` Cooperative learning
` Community and team building
` A variety of games and activities
` Learning stations
` Indoor and outdoor learning/playing
spaces
` Social-emotional skills development
` Inclusive, equitable learning
environments
` A wide array of equipment to
support skills acquisition
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
` Demonstrate balancing on different body parts in a non-dynamic environment
` Demonstrate striking a ball with hands above and below the waist in a variety
of practice tasks
` Demonstrate dribbling with hands and feet in non-dynamic and dynamic
practice tasks
Applies Knowledge of Concepts and Strategies Related to Movement
` Apply movement concepts and strategies for safe movement within dynamic
environments
` Demonstrate knowledge of offensive and defensive strategies in small-sided
invasion practice tasks
` Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate movement concepts for efficient
performance of manipulative skills
` Explain the benefits of physical activity
Develops Personal and Social Skills Related to Movement
` Describe the perspective of others during a variety of activities
` Use communication skills to negotiate roles and responsibilities in a physical
activity setting
` Demonstrate respectful behaviors that contribute to positive social interaction
in group activities
` Solve problems independently, with partners, and in small groups
Grade 3 Library/Information Literacy
and Digital Citizenship
PHILOSOPHY
The Redwood Day Library is a vibrant community space and
information hub where students are invited to explore ideas and
interests, gather and enjoy individual and communal activities,
engage in inquiry and research that supports the curriculum, and
experience the joy of reading.
Learning and the Library is supported by a framework with the
following focus areas and overarching learning goals:
• Use Inquiry to Build Understanding and Create New Knowledge
• Demonstrate Civic Responsibility, Respect for Diverse
Perspectives, Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship
• Engage in Personal Exploration, Social and Emotional Growth,
Independent Reading and Learning, and Personal Agency
Course Overview
The Lower School library program and space invites students to explore ideas
and interests, gather and enjoy individual and communal activities, engage in
inquiry and research that supports the curriculum, and experience the joy of
reading. Lower School students attend library classes once every eight-day
cycle where they are exposed to rich, diverse texts, have the opportunity to
explore and select books, and learn the fundamentals of information literacy
as part of a developmental continuum.
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Grade 3 students gain important digital citizenship skills and learn responsible,
safe, and healthy use of technology through classes taught by our technology
specialist in the core classroom.
Grade 3 Library/Information Literacy Key Learning Outcomes
Use Inquiry to Build Understanding and Create New Knowledge
` Use a source provided by the librarian/teacher to acquire background
information
` Formulate questions for investigation of a topic with guidance
` Identify the major areas of the library and what main topics are included in
each
` Search the online catalog (author, title, and subject) with assistance to
locate materials
Demonstrate Civic Responsibility, Respect for Diverse Perspectives,
Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship
` Give credit to sources used in research by listing the authors and titles
` Demonstrate basic online privacy practices (strong passwords, privacy,
accessing appropriate sites)
` Determine what to do if someone is mean on social media
` Observe internet safety procedures including safeguarding personal
information
Engage in Personal Exploration, Social and Emotional Growth, Independent
Reading and Learning, and Personal Agency
` Demonstrate a motivation to read and learn on own
Approaches to Learning in the Library/Information Literacy
Grade 3 Garden to Table
PHILOSOPHY
The Garden to Table program creates curious eaters and growers
by promoting intentional interactions with the natural world. It also
develops in students empathy for animal and plant life where they
become community stewards and responsible global citizens. The
program provides hands-on opportunities where young cooks and
gardeners cultivate curiosity by exploring food systems and grow as
lifelong learners. The Garden to Table classroom is an indoor/outdoor
space where all learners have access and agency, and where crossdisciplinary
connections make learning multi-dimensional.
Course Overview
Grade 3 students, in Garden to Table, keep our garden plants and habitats
healthy and learn uses for their plant products. They care for the creatures
in the garden, and they help to grow food used in various cooking sessions.
Students at this level actively participate and engage in the cycle of
planting, nurturing, and harvesting varieties of plants and utilize their
knife skills and flavor know-how to cook recipes connected to their core
curriculum learning. Grade 3 students learn in the garden once during each
eight-day cycle rotation and engage in cooking throughout the year in
sessions coordinated with the core curriculum.
Garden to Table K-5 Learning Goals
Gardening Knowledge and Skills
` Use gardening tools appropriately to intentionally care for garden spaces
` Exposure and access to a diverse,
relevant library collection
` Exploration and pursuit of
individual interests
` Promoting and supporting the joy
of reading
` Care and responsibility for
communal space and texts
` Cross-disciplinary curriculum
connections
` Inquiry and research skills and
process
` Co-creation of learning and
sharing of ideas in the library
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
` Identify and tend to the needs of garden spaces at different times of the
year
` Understand that gardening provides access to food, connection to food,
and knowledge of where food comes from
Cooking Knowledge and Skills
` Learn that sharing food is a practice in empathy and that it grows capacity
for differing opinions which allows everyone to feel welcome, connected,
and respected
` Common Sense Media digital
citizenship lessons
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` Know how a safe kitchen is calm, organized, and cared for
` Use kitchen tools appropriately and with care for intended tasks
` Know that cooking provides access and connection to living things
Grade 3 Design Build
Innovate (DBi)
Care and Connection
` Using all senses, tend to the Earth to connect with plants and animals in
the garden and to provide what they need to survive, grow, and thrive
` Understand that cooking is related to self-care, care of others, and
sustainable practices
` Act responsibility to be a community steward and global citizen who cares
for and nurture our environments and ecosystems and champions respect
for cultural diversity
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Garden to Table
` Learning guided by inquiry:
• Where does our food come from?
• What is our responsibility as consumers and producers?
• How can gardening skills and tools allow me to take care of a garden
space?
• What does it mean to tend to the Earth?
• How does gardening connect me to food?
• What does sharing in food mean?
PHILOSOPHY
The Design Build Innovate (DBi) program nurtures and develops
purpose-driven, empowered, and resilient designers and builders
who seek the perspectives and ideas of others to achieve informed
and inclusive solutions and outcomes. We achieve this by creating
environments where students embrace complexity with curiosity,
empathy and courageous risk-taking and where students are aware
of the impacts of their design choices. Creatively and collaboratively
applying design principles and processes to define and solve
problems, designers and builders are exposed to multiple modes and
tools of design–both analog and digital.
Course Overview
In Grade 3, in DBi, students learn the phases of the engineering design cycle
where a focus is on creating, improving, and troubleshooting cardboard
prototypes. Developing students to become resilient builders is a core
feature of DBi in Grade 3. Students work ten times in the DBi Lab within a
semester of learning.
• What does safety in the kitchen look like?
• How can cooking skills and tools allow me to care for myself, for others,
and for the Earth?
` Cross-disciplinary connections
` Experiential, hands-on learning in the kitchen and garden
` Indoor and outdoor classroom spaces
` Care and responsibility for communal spaces, materials, and living things
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
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Design Build Innovate K-5 Learning Goals
Innovative Designer: Students use a variety of tools within a design process to
identify and solve problems by building new, useful or imaginative solutions
Resilient Builder: Students use a variety of tools to prototype design solutions
and show resilience when confronted with setbacks and challenges
Empowered Learner: Students are self-directed, resourceful, and confident in
using materials, tools, and technology to take ownership of their learning journey
and take creative risks
Creative Communicator & Collaborator: Students communicate clearly and
express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools,
styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals. Students enrich their
learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in DBi
` Design thinking process
` Authentic, real-world design problems and projects
` Use of analog and digital tools
` Collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication
` STEAM project learning
` Cross-disciplinary learning
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
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Grade 3 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,
and Belonging (DEIB)
PHILOSOPHY
Redwood Day is dedicated to creating an equitable learning
environment for all students: we want every child to be seen and
heard, feel safe and valued, and experience belonging. We want
students to see, hear, support and value themselves and others
while fostering active allyship throughout their educational journey.
As a result, DEIB is a critical part of students’ academic and social
emotional growth.
Course Overview
In Grade 3, DEIB concepts are developed across the academic program
including within Social Emotional Learning, Morning Meetings, and within
Equity and Inclusion groups that focus on developing students’ identities and
their roles within the Redwood Day community. At this level, students explore
a deeper sense of self and awareness of others. This is contextualized by
inclusively exploring identities (including neurodiversity) to actively recognize
the perspectives and experiences of our community members and of those not
represented in our community.
Grade 3 DEIB Key Learning Outcomes
Identity
` I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and
describe our various group identities
Diversity
` I like knowing people who are like me and different from me, and I treat
each person with respect
` I want to know more about other people’s lives and experiences, and
I know how to ask questions respectfully and listen carefully and nonjudgmentally
` I feel connected to other people and know how to talk, work and play with
others even when we are different or when we disagree
` I know that the way groups of people are treated today, and the way they
have been treated in the past, is a part of what makes them who they are
Justice
` I know when people are treated unfairly, and I can give examples of
prejudice words, pictures and rules
` I know that words, behaviors, rules and laws that treat people unfairly
based on their group identities cause real harm
` I know about the actions of people and groups who have worked
throughout history to bring more justice and fairness to the world
Action
` I pay attention to how people (including myself) are treated, and I try to
treat others how I like to be treated
` I will work with my friends and family to make our school and community
fair for everyone, and we will work hard and cooperate in order to achieve
our goals
Approaches to Teaching and Learning in DEIB
` Inquiry
` Guest speakers
` I know that all my group identities are part of who I am, but none of them
fully describes me and this is true for other people too
` I can feel good about my identity without making someone else feel badly
about who they are
` Cross-disciplinary connections
` Relevant texts and read-alouds
` Discussions and role-plays
` Community engagement
` Optimal Learning Zone practices
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3245 Sheffield Avenue
Oakland, CA 94602
510.534.0800
rdschool.org
Updated for School Year 2024-2025
Cover art credit: Jordan F. (created in Third Grade)