Group III is a busy and exciting year! Serving as the bridge year between the lower and upper elementary grades, Group III students will develop the organizational and study skills that they will carry with them throughout their years in school. Group III students will expand their understanding of mathematics and how it relates to the world around them. Students will grow as readers and writers as they learn to use and interpret language in new ways. Collaboration is woven throughout the Group III curriculum through small group work activities and discussions. Studying our nation and how it has developed and changed throughout history is the year’s theme as students learn about the importance of perspective and the challenges faced by the first Americans. Responsible and independent, Group III girls learn how to be confident in their abilities and proud of their accomplishments. Highlights of the year include a performance based on the expedition of Lewis and Clark and a simulation of a wagon train headed west on the Oregon Trail. Fridays in the spring are spent exploring and investigating local outdoor nature preserves as part of our Into the Wild program.

Language Arts
The primary goal in Language Arts is to foster a love of reading and to develop the writing skills and sophisticated language needed to communicate ideas effectively. Reading instruction is composed of multisensory phonics, decoding skills, fluency practice, and comprehension instruction. In small groups, the shift from learning to read to reading for meaning happens through exposure to a range of fiction and nonfiction texts. Students learn how to ask questions, recognize plot elements, and demonstrate literal and inferential comprehension of studied texts. By providing students with multiple avenues through which to demonstrate their understanding, students learn to respond to literature in written form. Beginning with a careful examination of writing mechanics, students explore sentence structure, paragraph form, and the revising and editing process.

Mathematics
In mathematics, students solidify their understanding of place value, boost computational automaticity in all operations, and develop multiple strategies for complex problem solving. Studies of multiplication and division begin with explorations with manipulatives and models, and progress to a more abstract stage in which only numbers and algorithms are used. Data interpretation, geometry, measurement, and fractions are examined in the final trimester. Enrichment extensions promote creative problem solving using real life situations, and encourage flexible and critical thinking. The goal is for students to develop methods for problem solving, apply learned math concepts, and evaluate their conclusions.

Social Studies
Throughout the year, students use maps to learn about the expansion of the United States and study how geography played a vital role in its formation. Students investigate how political, religious, and cultural influences motivated people to take risks and to seek a better life. Group III students explore essential questions such as why people migrated and explored new regions, and how their discoveries impacted our nation's history. Through project based activities, field trips, simulations, and exposure to non-fiction texts, students learn and reflect on how courage was demonstrated as explorers and settlers moved west.