Third Grade Curriculum Guide

Curriculum Guide

Third Grade

253.265.2150
gigharboracademy.org
6820 32nd St NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Gig Harbor Academy
Gig Harbor Academy is committed to providing the highest quality
education to all students. One way to provide a quality education is with
an effective curriculum that reflects high standards and high expectations.
Thus, GHA has developed rigorous content standards aligned with
national guidelines. But even the most rigorous standards cannot make
schools and students successful without the support of parents.
Each grade level’s curriculum guide is designed to inform parents of
GHA’s expectations for students in the major curriculum areas: reading/
writing, mathematics, and science. These expectations are aligned with
the curriculum that is used by the classroom teacher for daily instruction.
These curriculum guides also provide examples of what your child should
know and be able to accomplish upon completion of each academic year.
GHA believes in educating the whole child, therefore these expectations
are the foundation upon which we build the educational experience for
each student.
Because of learning styles and differences, we know that not all children
reach the same expectations at the same time. If at any time you wish
to talk about your child’s educational progress, classroom teachers are
always available to speak with you directly. GHA believes that all children
can learn if parents and schools work together.

2

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

Reading Writing and Speaking

GHA’s English Language Arts Learning Expectations are adapted from
two professional organizations, National Council of Teachers of English
and the International Reading Association’s combined document titled,
NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts.
Reading continues to be a priority in third grade. Emphasis is on learning
about words, reading text with fluency and expression, and learning
comprehension strategies. The student will read a variety of fiction and
nonfiction texts, which relate to all areas of the curriculum.
At the third-grade level, students will make the transition from a focus
on learning how to read to an emphasis on reading to learn and reading
for academic purposes and enjoyment. Students will build reading
comprehension through reading a variety of literature, i.e., narrative
fiction, poetry, nonfiction, etc., and will continue to develop strategic
reading skills, such as word analysis and construction of meaning from
text.
Gig Harbor Academy employs a balanced literacy approach to reading
and writing acquisition. A balance literacy program contains all of
the components necessary for students to master written and oral
communication. It includes teaching phonics, spelling patterns, grammar
and writing skills, reading and comprehension strategies, presentations,
performances, and much conversation and discussion about reading and
writing. In the classroom, there is direct and indirect reading and writing
instruction, through modeled, shared, guided and independent reading
and writing experiences. Children are given direct instructional support
and a variety of daily reading and writing experiences that promote
student engagement in the complex process of becoming independent
readers and writers.
In a balanced literacy classroom, teachers provide individualized support
through conferencing that may include re-teaching and prompting

3

Gig Harbor Academy
for reading and writing behaviors as young children begin to read. As
children mature in their reading abilities, Thinking Map and Story
Mapping enables students to think about how the different story elements
work together such as Characters– Setting– Problem– Main events–
Resolution. Character Sketching helps students focus on how the main
character’s personal traits often direct the action of the story. Children are
given ample opportunities for group discussions which encourage their
engagement. Under the guidance of the teacher, students help each other
to unravel confusing concepts.
A key component of a balanced literacy program entails scaffolding
instruction in order to make learning to read and write less problematic
for all children. One example of scaffolding is guided reading where the
teacher works with a small group of students that are on the same reading
level or have similar instructional needs. Students usually have their own
texts and the teacher works with the students on skills and strategies.
Guided reading includes mini-lessons with a targeted focus that meets
a specific need of a particular group of students. A mini-lesson could
include phonics, word attack skills, comprehension skills/strategies, or

4

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

grammar or mechanics. The class will regroup during sharing time to
discuss what they practiced, learned, or did independently, with partners
or in groups. During shared reading time, the teacher will often assess
what students have learned and give them time to reflect on their own
learning. This develops responsible learners and accountability.
Students will continue to develop their writing skills. They write in
various forms and for various audiences, in each case the instructional
emphasis will be on paragraph development. Instruction will provide
students with many opportunities to interact with print: listening to
stories, participating in shared book experiences, making language-
experience stories and books, composing stories through play, enacting
dialogue through drama and reading and writing books.
Third grade writing becomes more complex as students learn to vary
sentence structures and select details to elaborate the main idea of the
paragraph. Students will revise and edit for correct sentence formation,
grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. They will use their
written communication skills across the curricula. Students will plan,
draft, revise, and edit stories, simple explanations, and short reports. In
addition, they will gather and use information from print and electronic
sources.

Reading

Student’s ability to read unknown words when reading across subject
areas becomes more automatic.

• Utilize strategies, i.e., spelling patterns, phonetic / structural
analysis, suffixes, prefixes, homophones, syllabification to decode
and read unknown words.

Students will apply interpret, analyze and apply knowledge when reading
nonfiction.

• Make inferences, determine cause/ effect, compare / contrast,
draw conclusions, make judgments, summarize, and make
generalizations.
5

Gig Harbor Academy

Students develop habits that support reading independently.
• Read independently across the subject areas to gain practical or
instructional information, to participate in discussions, and for
personal interest.
• Discuss underlying themes or recurring themes, examine the
reasons for a character’s actions, and ask questions that require
supporting arguments about the reading.

Writing

Students develop writing habits and processes that allow them to write for
a variety of audiences.

• Edit and revise their writing to make it more understandable to the
reader.

• Write longer, more complex, and more varied pieces
Students support their writing with appropriate language use and
conventions.

• Use more complex vocabulary, sentence structure, usage, details/
reasons to support their argument, and conflicting opinions and
contrasting views to bring their writing to life.

Speaking

Students will listen attentively and speak articulately when interacting
with others or presenting information to the class.

• Will persuade others, describe feelings and ideas, respond to
speakers, and retell / summarize information.

6

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

Mathematics

GHA math standards are adapted from the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics (NCTM), Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
The third grade math curriculum places emphasis on learning
multiplication and division facts through the twelves’ table. Students
will be fluent in the basic addition facts through the tens table and the
corresponding subtraction facts. Concrete materials and two-dimensional
representations will be used to introduce addition and subtraction with
fractions and the concept of probability as chance. Students will use
standard units (U.S. Customary and metric) to measure temperature,
length, liquid volume, and weight and identify relevant properties of
shapes, points, line segments, rays, angles, vertices, and lines. Students
will investigate and describe the identity and commutative properties for
addition and multiplication.
Mathematics has its own language of specialized vocabulary and language
patterns which will be integrated into classroom instruction. Students
will begin to use correctly the concepts, symbols, and vocabulary of
mathematics. Problem solving has been integrated throughout the math
curriculum at GHA and, in all grades; the development of problem-
solving skills is a major goal.

7

Gig Harbor Academy

Numbers and Operations

The focus of instruction in the number and operations strand is to
promote an understanding of counting, classification, whole numbers,
place value, fractions, number relationships (“more than,” “less than,” and
“equal to”), and the effects of single-step and multistep computations.
These learning experiences will allow students to engage actively in a
variety of problem solving situations and to model numbers (compose
and decompose), using a variety of manipulatives. Additionally, students
will have opportunities to observe, to develop an understanding of
the relationships they see between numbers, and to develop the skills
to communicate these relationships in precise, unambiguous terms.
Students select, explain the meaning of, and use a variety of models to
demonstrate multiplication and division of whole numbers.

• Work on the addition and subtraction of multi-digit numbers with
regrouping.

• Introduced to multiplying multi-digit numbers.
• Divide two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers
• Work on fractions and equivalent fractions, operations of addition

and subtraction using common denominators, and the link between
fractions and the decimal system.

Algebra

The focus of instruction at this level is to observe, recognize, create,
extend, and describe a variety of patterns. Students will experience
and recognize visual, kinesthetic, and auditory patterns and develop
the language to describe them orally and in writing as a foundation to
using symbols. They will use patterns to explore mathematical and
geometric relationships and to solve problems, and their observations
and discussions of how things change will eventually lead to the notion of
functions and ultimately to algebra.
8

Third Grade Curriculum Guide
Students recognize and describe a variety of patterns formed using
numbers, tables, and pictures and extend the patterns using the same or
different forms.

• Investigate the identity and the commutative properties for
addition and multiplication and identify examples of the identity
and commutative properties for addition and multiplication.

Geometry

The focus of geometry instruction in third grade is observing, identifying,
describing, comparing, contrasting and investigating solid objects and
their faces; and sorting objects and ordering them directly by comparing
them one to the other.

• Construct two and three –dimensional geometric figures.
• Determine the area and perimeter of a rectangle and square and the

volume of a simple cube

9

Gig Harbor Academy

Measurement

Measurement instruction in third grade focuses on developing the
skills and tools needed to measure length, weight/mass, capacity, time,
temperature, area, perimeter, volume, and money. Classroom experiences
will focus on developing a sense of the attributes of measurement, the
concept of a measurement unit, and the differences between nonstandard
and standard units of measure. Students will apply both techniques to
find measurements along with developing an understanding of simple

U.S. Customary and Metric Units.

Students estimate and find area and perimeter using diagrams, models,
and grids, or by standard-unit measuring.

• Work on linear measurement (in, ft, mm, cm,etc.), two dimensional
measurement, (sq. mm, sq ft, ,etc.), mass (oz, lb, g, kg, etc.) volume,
(cup, qt, cc, mm).

Data Analysis and Probability

The focus of probability instruction in the third grade is to help students
begin to develop an understanding of the concept of chance. Students
experiment with spinners, two-colored counters, dice, tiles, coins, and
other manipulatives to explore the possible outcomes of situations and
predict results. They begin to describe the likelihood of events, using the
terms impossible, unlikely, equally likely, more likely, and certain.
The focus of statistics instruction at this level is to help students
develop methods of collecting, organizing, describing, displaying, and
interpreting data to answer questions they have posed about themselves
and their world.

10

Third Grade Curriculum Guide
Students translate one form of data representation to another and evaluate
the different aspects of information offered by each form.

• Collect data, depicting data in graphs (bar, line, pie), studying data,
and reading and interpreting graphs.

• Introduced to averages.

11

Gig Harbor Academy

Science

GHA follows the Next Generation Science Standards developed by The
American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science
Teachers Association, and National Research Council.
The science learning expectations in third grade help students formulate
answers to questions such as: “What is typical weather in different parts
of the world and during different times of the year? How can the impact
of weather-related hazards be reduced? How do organisms vary in their
traits? How are plants, animals, and environments of the past similar or
different from current plants, animals, and environments? What happens
to organisms when their environment changes? How do equal and
unequal forces on an object affect the object? How can magnets be used?”
Students will organize and use data to describe typical weather conditions
expected during a particular season. By applying their understanding of
weather-related hazards, students are able to make a claim about the merit
of a design solution that reduces the impacts of such hazards. Students are
expected to develop an understanding of the similarities and differences
of organism’s life cycles. An understanding that organisms have different
inherited traits, and that the environment can also affect the traits that an

12

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

organism develops, is acquired by students at this level. In addition,
students are able to construct an explanation using evidence for how
the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species
may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
Students are expected to develop an understanding of types of organisms
that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environments. Third
graders are expected to develop an understanding of the idea that when
the environment changes some organisms survive and reproduce, some
move to new locations, some move into the transformed environment,
and some die.
Students are able to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced
forces on the motion of an object and the cause and effect relationships of
electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with
each other. They are then able to apply their understanding of magnetic
interactions to define a simple design problem that can be solved with
magnets. In the third grade learning expectations, students are expected
to demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in asking questions
and defining problems; developing and using models, planning and
carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing
explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from
evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
Students are expected to use these practices to demonstrate understanding
of the core science expectations below.

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

• Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects
of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object, i.e.,
an unbalanced force on one side of a ball can make it start moving;
and, balanced forces pushing on a box from both sides will not
produce any motion at all.

• Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion

13

Gig Harbor Academy

to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future
motion, i.e., motion with a predictable pattern could include a child
swinging in a swing, a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, or two
children on a seesaw.
• Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric
or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with
each other, i.e., an electric force could include the force on hair from
an electrically charged balloon and the electrical forces between a
charged rod and pieces of paper; a magnetic force could include
the force between two permanent magnets, the force between an
electromagnet and steel paper clips, and the force exerted by one
magnet versus the force exerted by two magnets; cause and effect
relationships could include how the distance between objects affects
strength of the force and how the orientation of magnets affects the
direction of the magnetic force.
• Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying
scientific ideas about magnets, i.e., constructing a latch to keep a
door shut or creating a device to keep two moving objects from
touching each other.

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse
life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and
death, i.e., changes organisms go through during their life form a
pattern.

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help
members survive.

14

Third Grade Curriculum Guide
Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

• Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and
animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of
these traits exists in a group of similar organisms, i.e., patterns are
the similarities and differences in traits shared between offspring
and their parents, or among siblings.

• Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced
by the environment, i.e., the environment affecting a trait could
include normally tall plants grown with insufficient water are
stunted; or a pet dog that is given too much food and little exercise
may become overweight.

15

Gig Harbor Academy
Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the
organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago, i.e.,
data identifying type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms,
fossils and environments could include marine fossils found on dry
land, tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas, or fossils of extinct
organisms.

• Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in
characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide
advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing, i.e., cause
and effect relationships could be plants that have larger thorns than
other plants may be less likely to be eaten by predators; or animals
that have better camouflage coloration than other animals may be
more likely to survive and therefore more likely to leave offspring.

• Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat
some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and
some cannot survive at all, i.e., evidence could include needs
and characteristics of the organisms and habitats involved. The
organisms and their habitat make up a system in which the parts
depend on each other.

16

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

• Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused
when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals
that live there may change, i.e., evidence could include needs
and characteristics of the organisms and habitats involved. The
organisms and their habitat make up a system in which the parts
depend on each other.

Earth’s System

• Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical
weather conditions expected during a particular season, i.e.,
data could include average temperature, precipitation, and wind
direction.

• Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different
regions of the world.

• Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces
the impacts of a weather-related hazard, i.e., design solutions to
weather-related hazards could include barriers to prevent flooding,
wind resistant roofs, and lightning rods.

Engineering Design

• Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that
includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials,
time, or cost.

• Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem
based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints
of the problem.

• Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and
failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or
prototype that can be improved.

17

Gig Harbor Academy

Social Studies

Social Studies at Gig Harbor Academy has inquiry at the heart of
instruction. Teachers use questions to spark curiosity, guide instruction,
and deepen understanding of topics being investigated. Each inquiry unit
takes root in a compelling question that draws from one or more of the
social studies disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history.
Children are naturally curious about the complex world they inhabit. But
they quickly become disengaged when instruction is not engaging nor
meaningful. Intentionally teaching social studies in an inquiry approach
and having compelling questions drive student investigations builds
critical thinking, problem solving, and participatory skills that makes
learning not only more engaging but also more relevant.
Third grade begins with a social studies inquiry unit titled “Geography”.
This inquiry engages third-grade students in exploring world geography
through the compelling question “Where are we?” This question sparks
students’ intellectual curiosity through the study of geographic location
and the impact of humans on their environment. Working with evidence
from sources, students should understand that, although we can be in
different “places,” our impact on Earth is worth considering. Three
supporting questions that students will investigate are, “Where are we
as people on earth, located?” (Location of world’s people in terms of
population density) “Why are we where we are?” (Geographic features
that encourage or deter human settlement.) “What are the “human
footprints” on Earth? (How the choices and actions of people influence
our planet). In order to answer these questions, students have to gather
and evaluate information, develop answers using evidence, and then
communicate their conclusions.

18

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

Spanish

The ultimate goal of Spanish at Gig Harbor Academy is students’
acquisition of the speaking skills needed to interact in Spanish in real-
life situations. The curriculum is organized around broad themes such
as family members, greetings, animals, alphabet, shapes, and colors.
This allows students to connect the language they are learning to
meaningful content. Lessons in Spanish are planned to include a wide
range of culture-rich, age-appropriate activities, such as singing, dancing,
rhyming, playing Spanish educational games, and using iPads with
students working independently, in pairs, and in groups.
Spanish class incorporates materials that encourage young students’
interaction and involvement with the language, including stuffed
animals, puppets, storybooks, videos, and games. Students are engaged
in activities, such as storytelling, that emphasize the gradual acquisition
of language rather than the memorization of vocabulary and rules. Also,
incorporated into lessons are cultural activities, such as introducing the
foods, music, and dance that are enjoyed in Spanish speaking countries.
Spanish is used in the classroom as much as possible both by teacher and
student. If a student asks the meaning of a word in the foreign language,
the teacher uses both gesture and description to explain the word, rather
than reverting to English.

19

Gig Harbor Academy
Most students at Gig Harbor Academy are beginners to Spanish and have
had no previous instruction in the language. It is our intent to teach Spanish
in an engaging and fun way so that students, over time, will develop the
ability to do such things as greet and respond to greetings, express likes
and dislikes, make requests, and begin to provide information. We do
this through various topics such as family, shopping, directions, food and
customs, places and events. As a culminating educational experience, all
students participate in an annual Spanish festival performance.

20

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

Art

Gig Harbor Academy has implemented an approach to education referred
to as Discipline Based Arts Education. (DBAE). DBAE is an approach
developed by The Getty Center for Education in the Arts. DBAE continues
to be an outstanding framework which insures that all students receive an
excellent and ongoing study of the arts. It also involves the integration
of visual art into any curriculum in order to enhance overall learning.
DBAE presents a time proven art curriculum involving the following four
components: aesthetics, art criticism, art history and art production:

Art Production:

The production of art guides students through higher levels of thinking,
imagination, and contemplation. The production of art conjures
imaginative and critical thinking processes. The production of art
expresses our deepest understanding of our visual world. The creation of
art in any form is the expression of the heart, mind, spirit, and hand. Art
helps children understand other subjects more clearly – from math and
science, to language arts and geography…and much more.

Art History:

Art history has given us a peek into an understanding of past cultures
and times. By studying art history we begin to realize the connections
which help us make sense of the world. Not only do students begin to
understand art history, they begin to connect the dots relating to our
physical, spiritual, and soulful life on this planet.

21

Gig Harbor Academy

Art Criticism/Analysis:

One may look inside of oneself and love a particular piece, and another
may not. Analysis and criticism simply speaks about it. There is a
difference between liking a work of art and understanding its relevance to
the big (art world) picture. This process involves higher levels of thinking.
Art criticism and analysis often goes hand in hand with the beginnings
of aesthetics.

Aesthetics:

The values and ideas of “what is beautiful” is a highly personal one. Students
begin to understand the relationship between what is personally beautiful
and what is more beautiful as a collective society. Critical thinking skills
are used in aesthetics as we endeavor to design and create our personal
environments as well as to personally respond to architecture and public
spaces.
All grade levels work with a variety of materials and methods which are
age appropriate. By the completion of 5th grade, all GHA art students
have a solid foundation in visual art which well prepares them for middle
school art classes.

22

Third Grade Curriculum Guide

Physical Education

The physical education program at Gig Harbor Academy is a
comprehensive and skills-based curriculum. The program helps students
develop locomotor skills, balance, spatial awareness and manipulative
skills. Students engage in a wide variety of outdoor activities, sports,
and challenges that will increase their physical, social, teamwork and
cooperation skills. The goal is to provide a safe, fun and motivating class
that will encourage all students to want to participate , have fun and try
their personal best. In addition, positive sportsmanship is taught and
encouraged throughout the year.

The physical and health curriculum exposes students to relevant issues,
with the goal of promoting healthy choices while helping students
understand the benefits of lifelong physical activity. Focused fitness
activities help teach students the importance of physical health and
daily nutrition. Gig Harbor Academy students are offered differentiated
instructional strategies that create a safe and inclusive environment
ensuring that all students are successful.

23

Gig Harbor Academy

Technology

The objective of technology enrichment at Gig Harbor Academy is two-
fold, digital citizenship and creating information:

Digital Citizenship:

Digital citizenship is the appropriate, safe, and responsible use of
technology. In the lower grades we ask questions such as, “How do you
safely go places on the computer?”, “What can you do when someone
is mean to you online?”, “How can you use the alphabet to find things
online?”. In the upper grades, questions such as, “Which keywords will
give you the best search results?”, “What kinds of responsibilities does a
good digital citizen have?” are asked.

Bridging the Gap Between Consumption and Creation:

At Gig Harbor Academy we wish to teach creation rather than only
consumption of information. Even our youngest children have now been
raised with electronic devices and use them intuitively. However as adults
we daily use computers to write documents, organize data, and automate
tasks. Our technology program is designed to bridge that gap between
consumption and production, and do so in an exciting and meaningful
way.
To that end there are a number of fundamental concepts to outline
and build upon step-by-step. Among these are articulating a problem,
expressing a concise and specific solution, then developing a logical and
elegant procedure to carry out that solution. We will explore how large
problems can be broken down to simple tasks and handled in turn or in
parallel through teamwork.
At Gig Harbor Academy there are several devices and robots available
that allow for the introduction and exploration these ideas with even
some of the youngest students. Scratch, an environment developed by
scientists at the MIT Media Lab is utilized. Students can program and
share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation.
24

Third Grade Curriculum Guide
As children explore Scratch, they learn to think creatively, work
collaboratively, and reason systematically. They also use math and language
in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of
early–childhood numeracy and literacy.
In the upper grades structured languages are introduced, where specific
commands or phrases are used to accomplish the solutions we have
designed. Students work hands-on with core computational concepts
such as iteration and conditionals, and math concepts such as coordinates,
variables, and random numbers. When students learn about variables
in traditional math classes, they usually feel little personal connection
to the concept. But when they learn about variables in Scratch, they are
used immediately and meaningfully, whether they control the speed of an
animation, or keep track of the score in a game they are creating.

As they learn about the process of design a student will start with an idea,
create a prototype, debug it when things go wrong, get feedback from
others, then revise and redesign it. This spiral leads to new ideas, which
lead to new projects, and so on. Designing animation, games, or stories
through Scratch enables students to express themselves more fully and
creatively, develop as logical thinkers, and understand the workings of
new technologies they encounter everywhere. The problem-solving habits
they develop will help them achieve and overcome throughout their lives.

25

Gig Harbor Academy

Music

The objective of the Gig Harbor Academy music program is to develop
joyful musicians who are confident and accurate singers, controlled and
accurate rhythmic performers, and inquisitive listeners who are sensitive
to the expressive and historical qualities of music.
In each class, students are given the opportunity to: sing focusing on
tune, pitch, and expressiveness; read: developing skills from identifying
notation symbols to reading complex notation; listen: to quality music
of many genres and cultures; move: reinforcing beat, and form, and
exploring Laban’s themes of movement; and to play instruments:
improving instrumental technique from shakers and sticks to drums and
pitched percussion, to ukulele and recorders.
Beginning in preschool, GHA students are introduced to a variety of ways
to make music with their voices and bodies through stationary gross-
motor movement, locomotor movement and lots of vocal exploration.
From prekindergarten to first grade, students follow the First Steps in
Music curriculum and participate in a “musical workout” of eight different
activities in each class. Second through fifth grade classes are guided by
the Conversational Solfege curriculum and focus on reading notation as
they improve their musical skills. Fourth and fifth grade classes also add
recorders and The Complete Recorder Resource to their music classes to
increase their technical abilities and study music theory in greater depth.
The music program also includes two large music performances each year,
plus several opportunities to perform musical selections at our “Colors”
all-school gatherings and other school events.

26

Empowering every child
through joyful discovery

Gig Harbor Academy
6820 32nd Street NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

253-265-2150
www.gigharboracademy.org