Selinsgrove Area Intermediate School

Third Grade

Language Arts

Language arts skills are developed in the areas of grammar, mechanics, composition, vocabulary, and study skills. Types of sentences, sentence structure, parts of speech (nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives) and the mechanics of punctuation and capitalization are dealt with in greater detail. Vocabulary in language arts, as well as reading, deals with such things as contractions, homophones, synonyms and antonyms, root words, suffixes, and word meaning. Dictionary skills, book skills, and listening and speaking skills are presented in greater detail. Different kinds of letters are discussed and written. Students are given many opportunities to express themselves in written form using original fiction and poetry as well as research-based reports.

Some useful and interesting websites:

• Wacky Web Tales: aka "Madlibs;" students type in the requested parts of speech; computer generates a story.
• Alan Cooper's Homonyms: an alphabetical list of hundreds of homonyms - well, actually they're homophones; contributions from readers are welcome.
• Roget's Thesaurus: not the prettiest site on the Web, but the content is astounding; type in a word, and it displays an exhaustive list of synonyms and antonyms.
• The Grammar Gorillas: player clicks on certain parts of speech in given sentences; two levels of play - beginner (nouns and verbs only) and advanced (all parts of speech).
• Word Central's Student Dictionary: student enters a word and clicks the "Find" button; a definition appears on the screen; sometimes an illustration shows up, too; from Merriam-Webster.

Spelling

The third grade student uses a variety of methods to learn basic spelling patterns and processes necessary to expand basic word lists into an unlimited spelling vocabulary. Children are encouraged to verify the accurate spelling of words used in written work and to become aware of the relationship between reading skills and spelling skills.