The Third Grade reading program includes reinforcing word attack skills, fluency and expression that are taught in earlier grades. They also continue to work on comprehension in terms of literal and inferential responses. Students learn to identify story elements including characters, setting, plot, mood, tone and style. The teachers aim to broaden the childs outlook on reading through working with the series, introducing trade books, and encouraging independent reading and reading aloud on a daily basis. The reading series, Houghton Mifflin, contains many stories and appropriate skill work. In addition, stories such as Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachan, Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner and The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, are included in the curriculum. Students are expected to use reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries to expand on information learned in required reading texts. Teachers also encourage daily independent reading at home. Teachers aim to help to promote an interest in, and appreciation for, the written word. Teachers integrate literature with mathematics, creative writing and Social Studies.

Third Graders apply the writing process to many assignments throughout the year. They are responsible for research projects as well as shorter writing assignments. Some of these writing assignments include letter writing, invitations, postcards, book reports, poetry, short stories, descriptive paragraphs and other creative writing projects. Writing activities are also integrated with other subject areas. Students enjoy journal writing and diaries. They learn the importance of different types of writing such as expository and narrative. Solid, strong writing skills are encouraged in all areas of the curriculum.

The spelling program is based on the lessons in the Spellwell workbook, which builds on phonetic rules as well as sight words. Each week students have a spelling test on their current list, which also includes two sentences of dictation. Teachers also include vocabulary, which they encounter in classroom literature or other areas of the curriculum.

The math program is based on the Saxon math series. The program has a spiraling approach to scope and sequence. The girls learn new skills and concepts and revisit those taught in previous grades. The students work on prior skills and concepts as well as adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers, multiplying multi-digit numbers by single-digit numbers, dividing by single digit divisors, adding positive and negative numbers, measurement, geometry, using graphs and creating, reading and writing observations from real graphs, pictographs, bar graphs, Venn diagrams and line graphs. The five instructional practices that are representative of Saxon math include the meeting, the lesson, number fact practice, written practice, homework, and assessments.

The Third Grade studies colonies, states and utilize map skills throughout the course of the year. They are responsible for learning all 50 states and being able to identify them on the map. One of the highlights of the state unit is learning and singing the song "Fifty, Nifty United States." The culminating state study project involves researching, writing and presenting a report on a state. The state report integrates many of skills learned in language arts and builds on previous report writing skills. Students learn about Baltimore by touring Federal Hill, Fort McHenry, Fells Point, Little Italy and the Inner Harbor. The girls also visit St. Marys City and other colonial sites as part of their colonial study. Students also have a special day in which they portray early colonists and imitate their lifestyle. Geography is also an integral component of the curriculum, which integrates other subjects as well.

In the Third Grade they study different systems, cycles and changes. They learn about electricity and magnetism, the digestive system, plant cycles and earth features. The work is often investigative and hands-on as the girls learn logical thinking and problem solving. The scientific method continues to be reinforced in Third Grade. Some highlights of the year include making a model of the digestive system, charting the life cycle of a plant and adopting a tree and creating a book about it. They also explore astronauts and space travel discovering the specific training and survival needs of an astronaut. Science class is dynamic including field trips on (for example, to the pond) and off campus (for example, to the Science Center) to help reinforce some of the topics covered in class.

The Music curriculum, designed to meet the National Standards for Music Education, presents Music concepts and skills in a logically sequenced and developmentally appropriate way. Using Silver Burdetts Music Connection 2000, Orff instruments and supplementary materials students sing, move, play instruments and engage in dramatic improvisation to Music. Elements of Music theory, vocabulary and staff notation are introduced and reinforced in relation to these activities. Third Graders learn how tempo, beat, meter, rhythm, dynamics and tonality contribute to the expressive quality of a piece of Music. They also continue to work on singing with attention to intonation, tone quality and good diction. Specific songs and Musical examples frequently coordinate with and reinforce the academic curriculum. Structured contemporary and multi-cultural selections heighten Musical perception while students become acquainted with Music of various styles, eras, genres and cultures. Students thus begin to learn to express themselves Musically in meaningful ways, and to make valid aesthetic judgments about Music. Musical performances include Winter Sing, Spring Sing, and the Third Grade class play.