Third Grade
Favorite resources and curricula.
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Third grade is part of a considerable shift in elementary education. It is around this time that children shift from learning to read to reading to learn. By around third grade, most children have finished a foundational reading program and are reading age-appropriate text fluently. Third grade is the start of “upper elementary,” where many parents start to feel a shift in education and feel the “weight” of homeschooling. Our family takes homeschooling one year at a time, one child at a time. That being said, third grade was about the time I began thinking more big picture about our home education. What resources are out there for middle school? What types of outsourcing will I want to do? I am a collector of resources, so starting to think about this around third grade has helps me save ideas and start to mentally prepare for what our homeschool might look like in the future.
Recommended Third Grade Resources:
Language Arts
Begin literature studies. I am for one formal lit book a month. I choose these books by looking at a variety of book lists and compiling a list that might be a good fit for us. There are many great novel study resources out there. This video by Rainbow Resource flips through a bunch. Our personal favorites are those by Novel-Ties guides (I share these in my literature highlights on Instagram).
Continue with formal spelling instruction. My go-to spelling recommendations are All About Spelling and Spelling Connections (workbook only). Check out my Spelling Guide for routines and instructional strategies.
Continue or begin a systematic, explicit writing program. My recommendations include the thematic writing programs from the Insitute for Excellence in Writing (IEW), Write by Number (WBN), and Essentials in Writing (EIW). Check out my Writing Guide for evidence-based writing instruction recommendations and my Notebooking Guide for ideas for incorporating narration, drawing, and writing into your content areas.
Math
Explicit, systematic math instruction — Math With Confidence Third Grade is my go-to recommendation. You can see a full video flip-through of MWC 3 here.
Beast Academy Online is a great supplement for pulling in additional critical thinking skills, logic, and math reasoning.
Social Studies
Continue or begin a social studies routine. You can opt for a “mastery” or cycle approach where you cycle through different historical periods. You can also opt to focus on interest-based social studies, utilizing unit study resources. We have dabbled in a bit of both, following my kiddos’ interests. Programs we have enjoyed include:
History Quest (we enjoyed the audiobook & guide)
Story of the World Vol 1: Ancient Times, Story of the World Vol 1: Middle Ages, or Story of the World Vol 3: Early Modern, and check out the SOTW resources, such as the activity guides and student review pages.
Unit Studies using Nomad Press Guides. Check out these examples of our unit studies on ancient Rome and ancient Greece.
American Girl History (More on this coming soon! I’m working on guides!)
Another resource we love is History Plus, an online video-based resource with monthly themes and short, 5-10-minute daily videos.
Science
Continue or begin a science routine. You can opt for a “mastery” approach where you do a deep dive on one area of science for the whole year (or break into semesters), a spiral approach where you cycle through different branches of science each year, or a unit study approach. Similarly to social studies, we have dabbled in all three methods, following my kiddos’ interests. Programs we have enjoyed include:
Nancy Larson Science Third Grade (for more on NLS, check out my blog post here)
Blossom and Root Science and/or Nature Study offerings
Unit Studies using Nomad Press Guides
Science is Weird is a fun supplemental option
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