3rd Grade
Tierra Joseph: 3rd Grade Teacher
B.A. in Childhood Education
M.A. in Special Education
Teaching at Thornton-Donovan since 2023
"I believe that every student has their own unique way of learning. It is important to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students. My classroom must be an environment where all students feel safe, loved, and important. Cooperative learning and making sure students work together are crucial."
MATH: Students learn how to order numbers, count on a number line, and differentiate between addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division properties. In addition, students learn how to multiply and divide. As well as learn about factions.
LANGUAGE ARTS: Students practice vocabulary words and learn grammar, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. Also, students learn phonics, including consonants, short and long vowels, and syllables.
READING: Students learn about traditional tales, folktales, realistic fiction, informational texts, myths, and other genres. Students learn how to summarize information and write paragraphs to make essays. Students have a reading log to track their reading every night.
SCIENCE: Students learn about forces and motions, energy, plants, living things, ecosystems, weather, and technology. Students perform experiments throughout the year.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students learn about the different types of communities now and in the past. Students learn about urban, suburban, and rural areas. Students learn about Ellis Island and take a virtual field trip, as well as learn about the government now and long ago.
ITALIAN: Students learn basic vocabulary, phrases, grammar. Topics may include a selection of the following: greetings, telling the date and time, telling the weather, telling age, classroom vocabulary, geography, family, adjectives, grammatical gender, singular and plural, personal pronouns, essere, avere.
SPANISH: Students learn basic vocabulary, phrases, grammar. Topics may include a selection of the following: greetings, telling the date and time, telling the weather, telling age, classroom vocabulary, geography, family, adjectives, grammatical gender, singular and plural, personal pronouns, ser, estar, tener.
MUSIC: 3rd grade expands on the 2nd grade's lessons, building on that foundation, as well as adding ukuleles and other instruments from around the world. Basic songs are learned on these instruments.
ART: Learning shapes, colors and how to blend them, rainbow sequence. Learning concepts of pattern and symmetry. Basic drawing techniques for animals, plants and figures. Some techniques we explore include simple origami folding, blot painting, stencil printing, rubbings, crayon/watercolor resist painting, "melted" magic marker painting, model magic sculpting.