What your child learns in Grade 3 in New Brunswick
Grade 3 is a bridge year, and science and social studies become courses of their own. Students study their local environment, weather and climate, habitats, plants and animals, and in social studies they learn about New Brunswick: its location, its peoples (including the Wolastoqey, Mi'kmaq and Peskotomuhkati nations), its governments and the Peace and Friendship treaties.
Grade 3 subjects in the New Brunswick Curriculum
Math
Big Ideas
- Number: Number Sense. Develop number sense.
- Number: Operations. Develop number sense.
- Statistics and Probability: Data Analysis. Collect, display and analyze data to solve problems.
13 units, including numbers to 1000, add & subtract, facts to 20, multiplication.
English Language Arts
Big Ideas
- Interactions: Expression. Describe and discuss thoughts, feelings, experiences, ideas, and opinions.
- Interactions: Exchanges. Ask and respond to questions to clarify information, explore possibilities, or identify solutions to a problem.
- Interactions: Reception. Receive and critically reflect on the ideas and opinions of others.
12 units, including speaking & listening, spelling patterns, prefixes & suffixes, word pairs.
Science
Big Ideas
- Grade focus: Our Local Environment.
- Scientific Literacy: Investigation. Plan investigations to solve problems relating to the local natural world: weather and climate, habitats, plants, and animals.
- Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking. Analyze data to construct explanations and conclusions based on evidence from scientific inquiry.
5 units, including plant parts & needs, how plants grow & change, pushes, pulls & forces, structures & their jobs.
Social Studies
Big Ideas
- Geography: Methods and Tools. Locate New Brunswick in the Atlantic region, Canada, North America, and the world.
- Geography: Places and Regions. Use evidence to investigate major physical features, climates, and vegetation of New Brunswick and the Atlantic region.
- Geography: Human Systems and Interactions. Describe Wabanaki Peoples’ relationships with the natural environment.
9 units, including maps & globes, my province: new brunswick, wabanaki nations of new brunswick, the peoples of new brunswick.
French Immersion
Big Ideas
- Speaking and Listening: Oral Comprehension. Understand different oral texts on familiar topics, studied topics as well as personal experiences.
- Speaking and Listening: Oral Production and Interaction. Give short presentations and participate in conversations about known topics, concepts studied and personal experiences using speech and interaction strategies.
- Reading and Viewing: Phonological Awareness. Recognizing, hearing and manipulating the sounds of the French language.
7 units, including je me, tu te, il se, et, mais, ou, avec, ne… pas, le futur proche.
What to look for on the report card
Look for comments about reading comprehension, paragraph writing, early multiplication and fractions, and using evidence in science and social studies.
New Brunswick report cards describe learning with Working below, Approaching, Meeting, Excelling. See what each level means.
The Global Competencies grow through every subject from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Read about global competencies.
Ready for Grade 3?
Grade 3 builds on what your child practised in Grade 2. If a skill feels shaky, a few short practice sessions before or early in the year can help:
- Math: tens & ones, bigger or smaller, facts to 20, adding to 100, balance it
- English Language Arts: rhyme time, sound detectives, word power, super sentences, build sentences
- Science: life cycles, animal adaptations, water world, solids & liquids, push & pull
- Social Studies: needs & wants, caring citizens, groups in our community, traditions & celebrations, communities in canada
- French Immersion: le, la, un, une, les adjectifs, l'ordre des mots, les contes, d'abord, ensuite, enfin
Common questions
Grade 3 covers math, english language arts, science, social studies, french immersion in the New Brunswick Curriculum. Grade 3 is a bridge year, and science and social studies become courses of their own. Students study their local environment, weather and climate, habitats, plants and animals, and in social studies they learn about New Brunswick: its location, its peoples (including the Wolastoqey, Mi'kmaq and Peskotomuhkati nations), its governments and the Peace and Friendship treaties.
New Brunswick report cards describe learning with Working below, Approaching, Meeting, Excelling.
Short, regular practice works better than long sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week, on the skills your child's teacher flags. Read together, use math in real life, and praise effort.
Practise Grade 3 skills with Gradelings
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