St. Dominic Elementary School

Saint Dominic Elementary School’s third grade builds upon the skills students have acquired in previous years, readying them for the important standardized tests they will take in 4th grade. Language arts focuses on taking apart each component of the English language so students gain a better understanding of it as a whole. Reading class, which is split into two sections, concentrates on increas­ing comprehension, including identifying main ideas, finding details in a story, sorting details and forming conclusions. Students learn vocabulary, spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, parts of speech, sentence structure and paragraph formation, which provides a strong support for creative writing as well as other assignments.

In addition to honing addition and subtraction skills, third grade math class requires students to memorize the multiplication table, learn to divide, and use fractions, decimals and basic geometry. Word problems, which build reasoning abilities, become more sophisticated. Social studies introduces the concept of com­munity, from local to country to continent-wide. Students compare the different types of communities, such as rural versus the city versus the suburbs.

Religious education focuses on the various parts of Mass, Holy Days and the Sacraments. Students are asked to reflect on how Catholicism is incorporated into their daily lives.