Grade 3 Adapted Curriculum Alignments

Listens and speaks for specific purposes

• Answer questions about a passage 
• Answer questions about the main idea of a nonfiction text
• Identify an event, idea, or step in a fiction and nonfiction passage 
• Identify a character in and setting of a story
• Identify a beginning, middle, or end of a nonfiction text

Uses background knowledge and vocabulary to communicate ideas when listening to or reading texts

• Understand the meaning of words in passages

Uses phonemic awareness and phonics to read fluently and accurately

• Answer questions about a passage
• Answer questions about the main idea of a nonfiction text
• Identify an event, idea, or step in a fiction and nonfiction passage 
• Identify a character in and setting of a story
• Understand the meaning of words in passages

Understands texts read aloud and text read independently

• Answer questions about a passage
• Answer questions about the main idea of a nonfiction text
• Identify an event, idea, or step in a fiction and nonfiction passage 
• Identify a character in and setting of a story
• Understand the meaning of words in passages

Writes with clarity and expression to convey a purpose

• Select a topic and use drawing, dictating, or writing to compose a message with one fact or detail about the topic
• Select an event or personal experience and use drawing, writing, or dictating to compose a message about it by introducing the event or experience, and following with three or more events in sequence
• Use technology (including assistive technologies and the Internet) to produce, publish, and share writing
• Write to convey ideas and information clearly by selecting a topic and listing words, facts, or details related to the topic
• Plan by brainstorming, revise, and add more information to own drawing, dictation, or writing to strengthen the message
• Select a text and write an opinion about it and one reason to support the opinion
• Use spelling rules when writing by capitalizing the first letter of familiar names
• List words that describe an event or personal experience to use when writing about it
• Recall information from literary and informational text to support writing
• Sort information into two provided categories and write information learned about them
• Produce writing that expresses more than one idea with a logical organization
• Recall information from personal experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources to include in writing
• Gather information about a topic from two or more sources for a research report
• Write to persuade by stating an opinion and provide reasons to support it

Uses writing conventions in handwritten or digital work

• Write routinely for a variety of tasks, purposes, and audiences
• Produce all letters
• Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the first letter of familiar names and places when writing
• Spell words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of letter-sound relationships, and/or common spelling patterns
• Spell common high-frequency words
• Use simple question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what)
• Use end punctuation and correct spelling when writing

Explains how the people and events of the past have influenced the present

• Identify contributions of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and the influence in the present world in terms of architecture, inventions, the calendar, and written language
• Describe oral tradition (storytelling), government (kings), and economic development (trade) of early West African empire of Mali
• Compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present
• Describe the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de León, Jacques Cartier, and Christopher Newport
• Identify the reasons for exploring the Americas, the information gained, the results of the travels, and the impact of the travels on American Indians
• Describe how archaeologists have recovered new material evidence at sites including Werowocomoco and Jamestown
• Identify examples of past events in legends, stories, and historical accounts of Powhatan, Pocahontas, George Washington, Betsy Ross, and Abraham Lincoln
• Identify the people and events honored by the holidays of Thanksgiving Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Presidents’ Day, and Independence Day
• Interpret information presented in picture timelines to show sequence of events and distinguish among past, present, and future
• Describe the stories of American leaders and their contributions to our country
• Discuss the lives of people associated with Presidents’ Day, Columbus Day, and the events of Independence Day (Fourth of July)
• Identify and compare changes in community life over time in terms of buildings, jobs, transportation, and population

Reads maps and understands the impact of geography on culture

• Recognize basic map symbols including references to land, water, cities, and roads
• Use cardinal directions on maps
• Identify the shapes of the United States and Virginia on maps and globes
• Locate Washington, D.C. and Richmond on a United States map
• Locate the United States, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, West Africa, Spain, England, and France on world maps
• Understand the relationship between the environment and the culture of ancient China and Egypt
• Describe the physical and human characteristics of Greece, Rome, and West Africa
• Explain how the people of Greece, Rome, and West Africa adapted to and/or changed their environment to meet their needs
• Locate and identify water features important to the early history of Virginia 
• Locate the regions of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians on United States maps
• Understand the relationship between the environment and the culture of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians
• Locate the equator, the seven continents, and the five oceans on maps and globes, and position and label them to create a world map
• Locate selected rivers, mountain ranges, and lakes in the United States and other countries
• Use the equator and prime meridian to identify the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Hemispheres
• Locate the regions in the Americas explored by Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de León, Jacques Cartier, and Christopher Newport
• Locate specific places, using a simple letter-number grid system 
• Read and construct maps, tables, graphs, and/or charts
• Locate Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States
• Locate and describe Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau
• Locate three American Indian language groups on a map of Virginia
• Describe how American Indians related to the climate and their environment to secure food, clothing, and shelter
• Identify and locate the current state-recognized tribes
• Describe how geography influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown
• Describe how the location of his/her community, climate, and physical surroundings affect the way people live, including their food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and recreation

Recognizes the structure of government and the relationship between rules, laws and becoming a good citizen

• Identify the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in establishing the Jamestown settlement
• Identify the American flag, bald eagle, Washington Monument, and Statue of Liberty
• Demonstrating respect for the American flag by learning about the Pledge of Allegiance
• Identify the contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Rosa Parks Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez
• Recognize that Veterans Day and Memorial Day honor people who have served to protect the country’s freedoms
• Identify the reasons why the colonies went to war with Great Britain, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence
• Identify the ideas of George Mason and Thomas Jefferson as expressed in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• Participate in classroom decision making through voting
• Recognize that communities in Virginia have state and local governments and government officials who are elected by voters, benefit from people who volunteer in their communities, and include people who have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions, who make contributions to their communities, and who are united as Americans by common principles
• Explain the purpose of rules and laws
• Explaining that the basic purposes of government are to make laws, carry out laws, and decide if laws have been broken
• Explain that the government protects the rights and property of individuals
• Describe the individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and equality under the law
• Describe how people can serve the community, state, and nation 
• Identify the importance of the General Assembly (1619) as the first representative legislative body in English America

Understands economic concepts and the impact of culture

• Explain how producers in ancient Greece, Rome, and the West African empire of Mali used natural resources, human resources, and capital resources in the production of goods and services
• Identify the effects of Reconstruction on life in Virginia
• Describe the importance of railroads, new industries, and the growth of cities to Virginia’s economic development
• Match simple descriptions of work that people do with the names of those jobs
• Explain that people work to earn money to buy the things they want
• Explain that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want
• Recognize that people save money for the future to purchase goods and services
• Distinguish between the use of barter and the use of money in the exchange for goods and services
• Explain that scarcity requires people to make choices about producing and consuming goods and services
• Recognize that because people and regions cannot produce everything they want, they specialize in what they do best and trade for the rest
• Identify examples of making an economic choice and explain the idea of opportunity cost 
• Explain the importance of agriculture and its influence on the institution of slavery
• Describe how money, barter, and credit were used in colonial Virginia
• Describe everyday life in colonial Virginia

Represents numbers accurately and demonstrates an understanding of number relationships

• Match number names to numerals from 0 through 20
• Identify the closest number above or below a given number from 0 through 20
• Compare whole numbers from 0 through 20
• Identify and match representations of one half for numbers 2 through 20

Computes numbers with fluency and makes reasonable estimates

• Add and subtract whole numbers from 0 through 20
• Solve one-step word problems using addition and subtraction
• Identify a product of two whole numbers where one number is 5 or less and the other number is 4 or less

Measures with accuracy and and makes reasonable estimates of measurements

• Match and count coins through 25 cents
• Tell time in whole hour increments using a digital clock, including with context
• Compare length using simple terms: same, shorter, longer

Analyzes characteristics and properties of geometric figures and demonstrates an understanding of spatial relationships

• Compare volume using simple terms: same, more, less, larger, smaller
• Determine perimeter of equilateral triangles and squares
• Determine the area of squares and rectangles
• Use attributes of circles, triangles, and squares to identify shapes
• Identify figures that are the same size and shape

Uses data to describe, interpret, and predict events

• Compare categories represented in picture graphs using simple terms: same, more, less

Represents situations and mathematical relationships with algebraic symbols

• Perform basic counting operations including skip counting by 2s and 5s

Investigates and demonstrates understanding of the natural world in a systematic way like a scientist and applies these skills and knowledge to solve problems

• Make and repeat observations and predictions using a variety of sources of information
• Differentiate observations from personal interpretation
• Classify items into at least two sets and two subsets based on two or more characteristics or properties 
• Estimate and measure length, volume, mass, and temperature in metric units and standard English units using the proper tools and techniques
• Measure time to the nearest minute using proper tools and techniques
• Identify conditions that influence a change, make inferences, and draw conclusions
• Collect and record data 
• Construct bar graphs using numbered axes
• Gather, chart, graph, and analyze data and recognize unexpected or unusual quantitative data
• Communicate observations and data
• Design and construct simple physical models to clarify explanations and show relationships
• Sequence natural events chronologically
• Develop questions to formulate hypotheses

Demonstrates understanding of the concepts of physical science including matter, force, motion, and energy

Investigate and understand the following:

• Natural and artificial magnets have certain characteristics and attract specific types of metals
• Basic properties of solids, liquids, and gases
• Simple machines and their uses
• Objects are made of materials that can be described by their physical properties

Demonstrates understanding of the concepts of life science including life processes and living systems

Investigate and understands the following:

• Living things are part of a system
• Weather and seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and their surroundings
• Adaptations allow animals to satisfy life needs and respond to the environment
• Relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains
• Plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes as they mature and grow
• Plants produce oxygen and food, are a source of useful products, and provide benefits in nature
• Ecosystems support a diversity of plants and animals that share limited resources
• Natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species

Demonstrates understanding of Earth’s patterns, cycles, changes, and Earth/Space Systems

Investigate and understands the following:

• Basic types, changes, and patterns of weather
• Weather and seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and their surroundings
• The major components of soil, its origin, and its importance to plants and animals including humans
• Basic patterns and cycles occurring in nature
• The water cycle and its relationship to life on Earth
• Natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species
• Different sources of energy