The Minnesota Learning Project

GRADE 3 • DISCOVER & MASTER

The Big World

Grade 3 deliberately broadens a child’s knowledge of the world through ancient civilizations, geography, science, mathematics, writing, and introductory evidence reasoning.

What students explore

  • Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and mythology
  • World geography, rivers, mountains, volcanoes, oceans, and planets
  • Mammals, reptiles, insects, weather, ecosystems, inventions, architecture, and transportation
  • Multiplication, division, fractions, perimeter, area, tables, and graphs

Example experiences

  • Build a model bridge and compare designs.
  • Create a map showing major world landforms.
  • Write a short report on an ancient invention.
  • Track weather data and graph the results.

TECHNICAL STANDARDS

  • 3.1.2.1 Identify a text’s main idea and supporting details.
  • 3.1.2.2 Distinguish narrative, explanatory, and informational writing.
  • 3.1.3.1 Write a multi-paragraph explanation using organized facts.
  • 3.2.1.1 Demonstrate multiplication and division fluency.
  • 3.2.1.2 Understand fractions as quantities and parts of wholes.
  • 3.2.3.1 Calculate perimeter and area of rectangles.
  • 3.4.1.1 Distinguish direct observation from inference.
  • 3.4.1.2 Identify evidence supporting a simple factual claim.

Policy relationship: MLP-POL-02, MLP-POL-03, and MLP-POL-04.

Mastery check

Students should read substantial grade-level text, explain main ideas, write organized multi-paragraph pieces, multiply and divide fluently, work with basic fractions, interpret simple data, and distinguish observation from inference.

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