Third Grade students at St. James must be at least eight years old by September 1. Students attend school on Monday from 9:00 to 3:30 and on Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 to 3:30. Students may arrive as early as 7:20 a.m. and leave as late as 5:30 p.m. if participating in the Wrap Around Program.

In addition to their primary teacher, students have specialized teachers in Music, Physical Education, Spanish, Math Lab, Life Skills, Art, Library, Science Lab, Computer Lab, and Spiritual Formation and Growth.

Admission is based on the previous teacher's recommendation, achievement testing and previous school records.

Third Grade students at St. James must be at least eight years old by September 1. Students attend school on Monday from 9:00 to 3:30 and on Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 to 3:30. Students may arrive as early as 7:20 a.m. and leave as late as 5:30 p.m. if participating in the Wrap Around Program.

In addition to their primary teacher, students have specialized teachers in Music, Physical Education, Spanish, Math Lab, Life Skills, Art, Library, Science Lab, Computer Lab, and Spiritual Formation and Growth.

Admission is based on the previous teacher's recommendation, achievement testing and previous school records.

CENTRAL THEME: Early America - Becoming a Nation
For its Central Theme, each grade studies a particular period of history from a full cultural perspective. Each theme builds on skills and broader concepts from the year before. The goal is to get to know the ordinary life of the times as well as the key historical events. Central Themes integrate history, literature, geography, art, English, composition, science, and religion. Each theme has its own central projects, reenactments, role playing, research topics, field trips, written reports and oral presentations.

Students expand their understanding of their country through study of: European explorers from the Vikings through the Spanish, Portuguese, French, and British explorers who came in the Age of Exploration; the thirteen colonies with a focus on Jamestown and Williamsburg; leaders of the Revolution and the framers of the new government; the movement of people across the nation in the 18th and 19th centuries, their encounters with Native Americans, and the expansion of the Western frontier to the Pacific; and the development of a multi-ethnic, pluralistic society, as evidenced in the student's own family backgrounds. The fundamentals of geography are an integral part of the study with basic map and globe skills, special purpose maps of all kinds, and student created maps of the explorer's routes, the 13 colonies and the Santa Fe and Oregon-California trails.

In all aspects, this unit of Central Theme is a "hands-on" study. Reading includes original journals, letters, and essays of the earliest adventures, settlers, and those who packed belongings and lumbered across the frontier in covered wagons. Researching their own family backgrounds, Third Graders should develop some insight and empathy for the despair, happiness, courage, and faith of individuals facing unknown challenges, forging new governments and molding challenging environments to create the new nation.

Students read legends, tall tales, folklore, and historical fiction. They role-play explorers, colonists, patriots, and later pioneers making the daily decisions facing those traveling across unknown territory.

RETURN TO TOP

Reading
The reading program for Third Graders aims to help children become independent readers with a lifelong love of reading. Students respond to the selections they read by thinking, talking, and writing about them, thus learning to use all their language arts skills to interpret selections. During and after reading, students answer questions at four levels of thinking: literal, inferential, analytic/evaluative, and experiential.

Quality literature gives children a love of reading and makes reading worthwhile. The selections the students read are about characters who have goals and make attempts to reach them, and their attempts result in an outcome. Third Graders will read tall tales, folk tales, legends, myths, fables, plays, and poems. Included in the non-fiction they read are current periodicals written for children at this grade level; newspaper and magazine articles dealing with current events; informational articles about American history, excerpts from biographies and autobiographies, speeches, diaries, letters and interviews. Students in this program read both classic literature and the best of more contemporary authors.

The teacher reads to the class often. This time is one of pure enjoyment for the students -- no strings attached. As a result, students who are sometimes hesitant to speak during formal instruction times often test their voices in the relaxed discussions that follow the reading time. Individuals also have class time each day to read silently in books of their own choice. In addition, all students are expected to read (or be read to) 30 minutes each day, even on the weekend.

RETURN TO TOP

Specialized Reading Instruction
Learning differences vary in their type and severity; however, they often impact a student's acquisition of reading skills. For this reason, every child at St. James is individually screened to determine the most appropriate reading placement. The School offers two distinct programs for students whose reading progress indicates that they would benefit from additional instruction in the mechanics which are at the heart of reading skills. Recommendation into a particular program is based upon teacher evaluation, testing and parent input.

RETURN TO TOP

Language Arts
Students come to Third Grade with a wide variety of experiences. The purpose of this program is to teach them to use language effectively in oral and written communication in order to express these experiences. Participation in structured activities in language skills helps students form a foundation for the effective development of oral and written sentences. Students develop thinking and organizational skills that can be applied when writing extended compositions through the study of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

Third Grade writes on a daily basis. The writing program emphasizes the process of writing. Students develop writing skills by selecting their own topics, drafting, revising and redrafting.

Capitalization, punctuation, and other editing skills are introduced in class lessons and taught individually and in the context of the students' own writing. Third Graders are also given written assignments related to Central Theme literature, poetry, tall tales, legends, science, math and life skills.

The spelling program emphasizes phonics and the recognition of word patterns. Spelling rules and word families are taught and reinforced through small groups, games, dictations, word banks and writing assignments.

Legibility, not machine-like perfection, is stressed in handwriting. Individuality is accepted within the bounds of legibility. Students practice handwriting by copying parts of stories, poems and journals, both their own and those of recognized authors.

RETURN TO TOP

Math
The St. James Third Grade math program strives to foster the student's ability to think mathematically. If students can think mathematically, they will develop their mathematical skills more readily and will be better able to apply those skills to problem solving. In addition, students will be better able to extend this thinking to other areas of school and life. Imaginative, open-ended thinking that is experienced in math problem solving can be used by students to solve other kinds of problems. It promotes the open-minded flexibility that is needed to meet the demands of today's society.

RETURN TO TOP

Science
Good science begins with natural curiosity. Third Graders are natural scientists who approach life with intense curiosity and a precious sense of wonder. They learn their most valuable lessons when they work directly with materials from their everyday lives. St. James provides the types of experiences which will answer their questions, challenge their intellects and open them to the wonders of the world. Students are introduced to the idea that even the most brilliant scientists don't understand everything. There are still lots of mysteries in the world of science. All the fun isn't in getting the answer -- most is found in the process of looking for it!

A continued use of experiments which focuses on the process skills of scientific studies is an important focus of Third Grade science. Students participate in a half hour science lab experience once a week. These lab activities are guided by a Science Lab teacher and the classroom teacher. The introduction of more complex skills of graphing, organizing data, inferring and drawing conclusions, as well as an introduction to problem solving and research skills, highlights unit topics.

Relating Central Theme subjects to science topics such as heart health and diet, electricity, plants, astronomy, bird life, sound, and the earth allows for the study of advancements and American contributions in many areas of scientific endeavors.

RETURN TO TOP

Spanish Language
The overall objectives for Spanish at the Third Grade level are to refine and further develop listening and speaking skills, reinforce and improve reading skills and introduce the development of writing skills. Students learn to write familiar words and sentences using spelling, capitalization and punctuation conventions.

This twice weekly 25 minute class provides students with the vocabulary needed to talk about their activities during a day and to give personal information. In addition, vocabulary extends to going on a picnic, pets and animals in a pet shop, going to the doctor's office, going shopping and going to the circus. Vocabulary picture cards, games, hand puppets, posters, filmstrips, stories and songs are used to teach and reinforce vocabulary.

RETURN TO TOP

Art
Students have numerous opportunities to experiment with a variety of media, including tempera and watercolor paints, chalk, crepes, crayons, markers and clay. Central Theme lends itself to art projects which take place as a regular part of classroom activities. Specific projects include maps, illustrations, cartoons and Colonial American crafts.

In addition to the activities completed within the classroom, Third Graders are scheduled for formal art instruction in painting, print making, design, ceramics, and other media for 50 minutes each week in the Art Studio. Aesthetic education, a vital part of creative and mental growth, will be central to all Art Studio projects.

RETURN TO TOP

Computer and Library
The students spend thirty minutes a week in the Computer Lab with a class room teacher and a computer teacher. Math, reading, and science skills are reinforced through computer programs. Graphic illustration is introduced during the second half of the year. Each classroom contains a computer and a printer which are available for the students' use.

The students spend thirty minutes per week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story and selecting a library book. The Librarian introduces beginning library skills.

RETURN TO TOP

Physical Education
Third Graders participate in a physical education class each day for 30 minutes. A major focus of the program for this age is the development of a healthy attitude toward all types of movement. Cooperative games, fitness activities, gymnastics, specific sport skills and class discussions on topics such as sportsmanship help to challenge and reinforce success. Each student's basic techniques are refined as he or she learns to use them confidently, safely and competently in increasingly more complex situations. Specifically, sports skills lead-up activities include basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, floor hockey, and track and field. In addition, student's are familiarized with aquatic safety skills and the American Heart Association's rope jumping curriculum.

RETURN TO TOP

Music
Music is taught to Third Graders twice a week for 25 minutes. Active participation in a variety of group activities is encouraged. The various skill areas covered during this time include listening, singing, playing, moving, reading, and creating. Music used is drawn primarily from the folk and classical traditions. Melodic and rhythmic patterns are sung, echoed and played. Percussion instruments and some tone bar instruments are used to demonstrate musical concepts and to accompany songs. The method in which music is taught is based on Orff-Schulwerk. Singing methods of Kodaly are used to help with pitch awareness. Movement and dance are taught by using the Phyllis Weikert method. Third Grade students participate in several programs during the year.

RETURN TO TOP

Library/Computer Lab
The students spend thirty minutes a week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story, selecting a library book, and learning basic library skills. The students also spend thirty minutes a week in the Computer Lab. They use a variety of software to reinforce math skills, research Central Theme and science topics, write and create stories, and learn beginning work processing skills. Each classroom contains a computer and a printer which are available for the students' use.

RETURN TO TOP

Spiritual Formation and Growth
A portion of each morning is set aside for daily Bible reading, reflections, and prayer. Students attend a 30 minute Chapel Service once a week, with special services held to recognize holidays and graduation.

A class taught by a St. James faculty member is held thirty minutes a week for two six weeks periods. the end of Third Grade, students are introduced to the Apostle, St. James, the Lord's Prayer, the church year, seasons and colors. They are also familiar with the broad scope of Biblical stories and the major divisions of the Bible. The clergy "guest lectures" in Central Theme on such topics as: the Great Awakening, The Origins of the Episcopal Church, and moral issues.

RETURN TO TOP

Educating the Heart and Life Skills
These specialized programs help students deal with issues that are pertinent to their normal growth and development. A Life Skills class is alternated with Spiritual Formation class for thirty minutes a week during two six week time periods. Participation in this class helps students: develop a healthy self-concept, personal confidence, group interaction and problem solving skills; learn respect for differences in themselves and as part of the class, school and society; and reinforce school responsibilities such as fairness, kindness, courtesy and honesty.

Lower School students also participate in Educating the Heart activities and discussions that focus on the following Life Goals: Personal Responsibility/Trustworthiness, Kindness/No Put-Downs, Active Listening, Personal Best and Honesty/ Truthfulness. In addition to the Educating the Heart activities that will take place within their own classrooms, students will be placed in "Family Groups" with other Lower School students for related lessons.

RETURN TO TOP

CENTRAL THEME: Early America - Becoming a Nation
For its Central Theme, each grade studies a particular period of history from a full cultural perspective. Each theme builds on skills and broader concepts from the year before. The goal is to get to know the ordinary life of the times as well as the key historical events. Central Themes integrate history, literature, geography, art, English, composition, science, and religion. Each theme has its own central projects, reenactments, role playing, research topics, field trips, written reports and oral presentations.

Students expand their understanding of their country through study of: European explorers from the Vikings through the Spanish, Portuguese, French, and British explorers who came in the Age of Exploration; the thirteen colonies with a focus on Jamestown and Williamsburg; leaders of the Revolution and the framers of the new government; the movement of people across the nation in the 18th and 19th centuries, their encounters with Native Americans, and the expansion of the Western frontier to the Pacific; and the development of a multi-ethnic, pluralistic society, as evidenced in the student's own family backgrounds. The fundamentals of geography are an integral part of the study with basic map and globe skills, special purpose maps of all kinds, and student created maps of the explorer's routes, the 13 colonies and the Santa Fe and Oregon-California trails.

In all aspects, this unit of Central Theme is a "hands-on" study. Reading includes original journals, letters, and essays of the earliest adventures, settlers, and those who packed belongings and lumbered across the frontier in covered wagons. Researching their own family backgrounds, Third Graders should develop some insight and empathy for the despair, happiness, courage, and faith of individuals facing unknown challenges, forging new governments and molding challenging environments to create the new nation.

Students read legends, tall tales, folklore, and historical fiction. They role-play explorers, colonists, patriots, and later pioneers making the daily decisions facing those traveling across unknown territory.

RETURN TO TOP

Reading
The reading program for Third Graders aims to help children become independent readers with a lifelong love of reading. Students respond to the selections they read by thinking, talking, and writing about them, thus learning to use all their language arts skills to interpret selections. During and after reading, students answer questions at four levels of thinking: literal, inferential, analytic/evaluative, and experiential.

Quality literature gives children a love of reading and makes reading worthwhile. The selections the students read are about characters who have goals and make attempts to reach them, and their attempts result in an outcome. Third Graders will read tall tales, folk tales, legends, myths, fables, plays, and poems. Included in the non-fiction they read are current periodicals written for children at this grade level; newspaper and magazine articles dealing with current events; informational articles about American history, excerpts from biographies and autobiographies, speeches, diaries, letters and interviews. Students in this program read both classic literature and the best of more contemporary authors.

The teacher reads to the class often. This time is one of pure enjoyment for the students -- no strings attached. As a result, students who are sometimes hesitant to speak during formal instruction times often test their voices in the relaxed discussions that follow the reading time. Individuals also have class time each day to read silently in books of their own choice. In addition, all students are expected to read (or be read to) 30 minutes each day, even on the weekend.

RETURN TO TOP

Specialized Reading Instruction
Learning differences vary in their type and severity; however, they often impact a student's acquisition of reading skills. For this reason, every child at St. James is individually screened to determine the most appropriate reading placement. The School offers two distinct programs for students whose reading progress indicates that they would benefit from additional instruction in the mechanics which are at the heart of reading skills. Recommendation into a particular program is based upon teacher evaluation, testing and parent input.

RETURN TO TOP

Language Arts
Students come to Third Grade with a wide variety of experiences. The purpose of this program is to teach them to use language effectively in oral and written communication in order to express these experiences. Participation in structured activities in language skills helps students form a foundation for the effective development of oral and written sentences. Students develop thinking and organizational skills that can be applied when writing extended compositions through the study of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

Third Grade writes on a daily basis. The writing program emphasizes the process of writing. Students develop writing skills by selecting their own topics, drafting, revising and redrafting.

Capitalization, punctuation, and other editing skills are introduced in class lessons and taught individually and in the context of the students' own writing. Third Graders are also given written assignments related to Central Theme literature, poetry, tall tales, legends, science, math and life skills.

The spelling program emphasizes phonics and the recognition of word patterns. Spelling rules and word families are taught and reinforced through small groups, games, dictations, word banks and writing assignments.

Legibility, not machine-like perfection, is stressed in handwriting. Individuality is accepted within the bounds of legibility. Students practice handwriting by copying parts of stories, poems and journals, both their own and those of recognized authors.

RETURN TO TOP

Math
The St. James Third Grade math program strives to foster the student's ability to think mathematically. If students can think mathematically, they will develop their mathematical skills more readily and will be better able to apply those skills to problem solving. In addition, students will be better able to extend this thinking to other areas of school and life. Imaginative, open-ended thinking that is experienced in math problem solving can be used by students to solve other kinds of problems. It promotes the open-minded flexibility that is needed to meet the demands of today's society.

RETURN TO TOP

Science
Good science begins with natural curiosity. Third Graders are natural scientists who approach life with intense curiosity and a precious sense of wonder. They learn their most valuable lessons when they work directly with materials from their everyday lives. St. James provides the types of experiences which will answer their questions, challenge their intellects and open them to the wonders of the world. Students are introduced to the idea that even the most brilliant scientists don't understand everything. There are still lots of mysteries in the world of science. All the fun isn't in getting the answer -- most is found in the process of looking for it!

A continued use of experiments which focuses on the process skills of scientific studies is an important focus of Third Grade science. Students participate in a half hour science lab experience once a week. These lab activities are guided by a Science Lab teacher and the classroom teacher. The introduction of more complex skills of graphing, organizing data, inferring and drawing conclusions, as well as an introduction to problem solving and research skills, highlights unit topics.

Relating Central Theme subjects to science topics such as heart health and diet, electricity, plants, astronomy, bird life, sound, and the earth allows for the study of advancements and American contributions in many areas of scientific endeavors.

RETURN TO TOP

Spanish Language
The overall objectives for Spanish at the Third Grade level are to refine and further develop listening and speaking skills, reinforce and improve reading skills and introduce the development of writing skills. Students learn to write familiar words and sentences using spelling, capitalization and punctuation conventions.

This twice weekly 25 minute class provides students with the vocabulary needed to talk about their activities during a day and to give personal information. In addition, vocabulary extends to going on a picnic, pets and animals in a pet shop, going to the doctor's office, going shopping and going to the circus. Vocabulary picture cards, games, hand puppets, posters, filmstrips, stories and songs are used to teach and reinforce vocabulary.

RETURN TO TOP

Art
Students have numerous opportunities to experiment with a variety of media, including tempera and watercolor paints, chalk, crepes, crayons, markers and clay. Central Theme lends itself to art projects which take place as a regular part of classroom activities. Specific projects include maps, illustrations, cartoons and Colonial American crafts.

In addition to the activities completed within the classroom, Third Graders are scheduled for formal art instruction in painting, print making, design, ceramics, and other media for 50 minutes each week in the Art Studio. Aesthetic education, a vital part of creative and mental growth, will be central to all Art Studio projects.

RETURN TO TOP

Computer and Library
The students spend thirty minutes a week in the Computer Lab with a class room teacher and a computer teacher. Math, reading, and science skills are reinforced through computer programs. Graphic illustration is introduced during the second half of the year. Each classroom contains a computer and a printer which are available for the students' use.

The students spend thirty minutes per week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story and selecting a library book. The Librarian introduces beginning library skills.

RETURN TO TOP

Physical Education
Third Graders participate in a physical education class each day for 30 minutes. A major focus of the program for this age is the development of a healthy attitude toward all types of movement. Cooperative games, fitness activities, gymnastics, specific sport skills and class discussions on topics such as sportsmanship help to challenge and reinforce success. Each student's basic techniques are refined as he or she learns to use them confidently, safely and competently in increasingly more complex situations. Specifically, sports skills lead-up activities include basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, floor hockey, and track and field. In addition, student's are familiarized with aquatic safety skills and the American Heart Association's rope jumping curriculum.

RETURN TO TOP

Music
Music is taught to Third Graders twice a week for 25 minutes. Active participation in a variety of group activities is encouraged. The various skill areas covered during this time include listening, singing, playing, moving, reading, and creating. Music used is drawn primarily from the folk and classical traditions. Melodic and rhythmic patterns are sung, echoed and played. Percussion instruments and some tone bar instruments are used to demonstrate musical concepts and to accompany songs. The method in which music is taught is based on Orff-Schulwerk. Singing methods of Kodaly are used to help with pitch awareness. Movement and dance are taught by using the Phyllis Weikert method. Third Grade students participate in several programs during the year.

RETURN TO TOP

Library/Computer Lab
The students spend thirty minutes a week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story, selecting a library book, and learning basic library skills. The students also spend thirty minutes a week in the Computer Lab. They use a variety of software to reinforce math skills, research Central Theme and science topics, write and create stories, and learn beginning work processing skills. Each classroom contains a computer and a printer which are available for the students' use.

RETURN TO TOP

Spiritual Formation and Growth
A portion of each morning is set aside for daily Bible reading, reflections, and prayer. Students attend a 30 minute Chapel Service once a week, with special services held to recognize holidays and graduation.

A class taught by a St. James faculty member is held thirty minutes a week for two six weeks periods. the end of Third Grade, students are introduced to the Apostle, St. James, the Lord's Prayer, the church year, seasons and colors. They are also familiar with the broad scope of Biblical stories and the major divisions of the Bible. The clergy "guest lectures" in Central Theme on such topics as: the Great Awakening, The Origins of the Episcopal Church, and moral issues.

RETURN TO TOP

Educating the Heart and Life Skills
These specialized programs help students deal with issues that are pertinent to their normal growth and development. A Life Skills class is alternated with Spiritual Formation class for thirty minutes a week during two six week time periods. Participation in this class helps students: develop a healthy self-concept, personal confidence, group interaction and problem solving skills; learn respect for differences in themselves and as part of the class, school and society; and reinforce school responsibilities such as fairness, kindness, courtesy and honesty.

Lower School students also participate in Educating the Heart activities and discussions that focus on the following Life Goals: Personal Responsibility/Trustworthiness, Kindness/No Put-Downs, Active Listening, Personal Best and Honesty/ Truthfulness. In addition to the Educating the Heart activities that will take place within their own classrooms, students will be placed in "Family Groups" with other Lower School students for related lessons.

RETURN TO TOP