Brenda+Selby--Who+Is+My+Student

Who Is the Typical Third Grader? Third grade is a //transition// period between primary and upper elementary school grades,  when children show vast //maturity//  while still having the //needs of a younger child//. toc

= ﻿Physical Abilities =
 * Enjoy rough and tumble games, as well as team sports
 * May be physically daring
 * Fine motor skills show increased speed and smoothness
 * Some write with tiny letters and artwork becomes more detailed
 * Large muscles in arms and legs are more developed than small muscles
 * Seven to nine-year olds are learning to use their small muscles skills (printing with a pencil; using scissors and small tools) and their large muscle skills (throwing and catching a ball)
 * Large differences in size and abilities of children; may affect the way they get along with others, how they feel about themselves, and what physical activities they do
 * Enjoy testing muscle strength and skills
 * Good sense of balance
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Girls generally ahead of boys in physical maturity
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Improve coordination and reaction time
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">May have poor posture; lots of physical habitual movements; fingers in hair, slouching, picking at nails
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Stomachaches, headaches, leg pains common
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">High energy, often playing to the point of fatigue
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Inconsistent appetite and sleep patterns

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=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Intellectual Abilities =
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Learn best through active, concrete experiences, but are learning to see books as sources of information; reading may become a major interest
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Developing a longer attention span
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Enjoy collecting, organizing, and classifying objects and information
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Imaginative play in the form of skits, plays, and puppet shows
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Likes groups and group activities
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">May reverse printed letter (b/d) (until mid-third grade)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Enjoy planning and building
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Speaking and listening vocabularies are expanding rapidly; talkative
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Increased problem-solving ability
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Interested in magic and tricks
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Learning to plan ahead and evaluate what they do
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When something is suggested, they may say, “That’s dumb”or “I don’t want to do that.”
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Beginning to see and understand the perspectives of others.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Listen well, but they are so full of ideas that they cannot always recall what has been said
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Like to explain ideas--may exaggerate
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Engrossed in activity at hand; love to socialize at the same time
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Industrious; often work quickly
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Basic skills begin to be mastered; begin to feel a sense of competence with skills
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Concrete Operations Stage of Thinking is solidifying or has solidified for most children, they can reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. However, most thinking is done about actual physical objects. They cannot handle abstract thinking very well unless abstractions are related to something they have directly experienced. Even if they can make abstractions, they still learn best through active, concrete experiences
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Showing signs of being more responsible, inner directed, an independent worker
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Appreciate being trusted
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Interested in many different types of reading: fictional stories, magazines, how-to project books, and non-fiction informational books
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">May develop special interest in collections or hobbies
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Better able to understand concepts
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Are becoming much less egocentric and are able to understand the perspectives of others
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Better understanding the concept of “audience” when writing
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Less interested in fantasy; more involved in the real world
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">May have problems with increased homework demands
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Age of negatives: “I can’t,” “boring”
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Maybe less imaginative than at earlier grades

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=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Social Abilities = <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">//Reference: "GCISD - Curriculum Guides and Developmental Characteristics." 2002. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. 7 Dec. 2007.//
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Begin to define self based on certain attributes or achievements, such as “I wear glasses,” etc.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Can become self-conscious based on how they believe they look in the eyes of others
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Establishing friendships is very important, although they may lack skills to do so
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Emergence of a sense of humor--telling jokes
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Less dependent on adults and more dependent on peers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Begins to question authority and test limits
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Often overestimate abilities; “they bite off more than can chew”
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Interested in rules and rituals
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Generally girls tend to play more with girls; boys with boys
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Strong desire to perform well, do things right
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Find criticism and failure difficult to handle
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">View things as right or wrong, wonderful or terrible, with little middle ground
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Need a sense of security in groups, organized play and clubs; friendship groups may be larger
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Generally enjoy caring for and playing with younger children
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Enjoy being a member of a club
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Increased interest in competitive sports
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Learning to take responsibility for his/her own actions
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Begin to see parents and authority figures as fallible human beings; sees adult inconsistencies and imperfections
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Peer conformity in dressing is important
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">May begin to be interested in the opposite sex
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Self-aware
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Concerned about being right or wrong, being fair; may complain about fairness issues
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Have great need to be in a group, but are also individualistic
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Need to be in control of some choices
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">May become deeply attached to a best friend
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Can be sullen and moody

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=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 115%;">Brain Development and Language Acquisition Resources = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How a Third Grader Thinks <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Child Development--The Eight-Year-Old <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Brain Development Facts <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Third Grade Crossroad <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reading and the Third Grade <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Your Child's Communication Development <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Learning and Brain Development <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Early Warning! Why Reading By the End of Third Grade Matters <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">According to the School Psychologist--Third Graders <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Developmental Milestones <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Social-Emotional Issues--Teacher Resources

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=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">﻿At-Risk Factors = <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Poverty Impacts Brain Development <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Learning to Read in American ElementarySchool Classrooms: Poverty and theAcquisition of Reading Skills <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How Does Explicit Vocabulary Instruction in ESL/HILT Third Graders Affect their PALS Scores? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Top 8 Tips to Recognize Early Signs of Learning Disabilities  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Subtle Learning Disabilities More Visible at Certain Grade Levels  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reading Methods and Learning Disabilities Return to Top

=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Instructional Tips and Techniques = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reading Rockets Tips for teaching reading and helping struggling readers (for parents and educators) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Math and Reading Help Answers to education questions, including lesson plans <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">ProTeacher Community Discussion board for teachers with 1000s of ideas <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Helping ADHD Students Be Successful in School From Families Online Magazine and written by an educator <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How Teachers Can Help Students with ADHD From Education World <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How Parents Can Help Their Child Be Successful in School From the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension (This article has ten tips, signs that signal a child may need assistance, and a daily checklist to help a child's learning.) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Vocabulary Games and Resources

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=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Language Arts Expectations and Instruction = =<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">﻿ =

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create Apt Listeners
“Listening and Following Directions” from Articles for Educators provides educational activities that address pre-reading and listening skills, as well as following multistep directions.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 115%;">By the end of their third-grade year, children should be capable of careful listening, even in group situations. **

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create Growing Conversationalists
Many engagement and checking for understanding strategies help students develop their speaking skills. More good ideas:
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Third grade level speaking skills include: **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Speak clearly with an appropriate voice
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ask and respond to questions
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Participate in conversations and group discussions
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Use subject-related vocabulary
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Stay on topic, use appropriate eye contact, and take turns in conversation
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Summarize a story accurately
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Explain what has been learned
 * Poetry: Choral reading, performing, etc.
 * Reader's Theater--Scripts, tips, and other links for reader's theater

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create Wonderful Readers

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">By the end of third grade, students should: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Demonstrate full mastery of basic phonics: SCORE (Schools of California Online Resources for Education) has a full list of links to help teachers and parents with phonics instruction.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Use word analysis skills when reading
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Use clues from language content and structure to help understand what is read
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Predict and justify what will happen next in stories and compare and contrast stories
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ask and answer questions regarding reading material
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Use acquired information to learn about new topics
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Read grade-level books fluently (fiction and nonfiction
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reread and correct errors when necessary

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create Blossoming Writers

 * During third grade, students:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Plan, organize, revise, and edit
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Include details in writing
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Write stories, letters, simple explanations, and brief reports
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Spell simple words correctly, correct most spelling independently, and use a dictionary to correct spelling
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tabstops: list .5in;">Write clearly in cursive

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<span style="color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">﻿ ﻿<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">