School gets hard in 3rd

[Anonymous]

I think 3rd grade is when it goes from learning to read to reading to learn. But in my estimation, the expectations increased in 4th.

[Anonymous]

Good! My kid is in 2nd and is bored because it's a lot of repeat of stuff they learned in 1st. I think because reading hasn't clicked for all the kids yet, they hit a holding pattern in 2nd because they can't reliably give the entire class assignments in any subject (including non-ELA) that requires decent reading comprehension. So for the kids are are reading fluently, it feels like a lot of review.

My kid is especially anxious to start doing more science and social studies but right now there is still a lot of focus on acquiring reading skills and it curtails how much of that they can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Behavioral expectations take a jump in third. In MCPS, though, fourth is when there is additional formal separation based on achievement (for reading and math).

Yes, they do that why we started medication in 2nd grade to be ready for 3rd grade.

daughter is now a junior in high school.

The meth is working?

As my mother would say, you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think 3rd grade is when it goes from learning to read to reading to learn. But in my estimation, the expectations increased in 4th.

This is the key! If a kid is struggling with reading, school gets much harder in 3rd and then 4th grades. Not only to they need it for reading, but also for the word problems in math and information in social studies or science.

Practice the reading any chance you get. Books, graphic novels, cereal boxes, whatever the kid will read. Act helpless and have them read you directions from a box. Emphasize reading each night. Buddy read if it helps motivate your kid. (And if I never see one of those Magic Fairy books again, I will be thrilled!!!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good! My kid is in 2nd and is bored because it's a lot of repeat of stuff they learned in 1st. I think because reading hasn't clicked for all the kids yet, they hit a holding pattern in 2nd because they can't reliably give the entire class assignments in any subject (including non-ELA) that requires decent reading comprehension. So for the kids are are reading fluently, it feels like a lot of review.

My kid is especially anxious to start doing more science and social studies but right now there is still a lot of focus on acquiring reading skills and it curtails how much of that they can do.

Take her to the non-fiction section at the library and pick out some good books! She can do science experiments at home or learn about hedgehogs, Amelia Earhart or whatever else interests her.

[Anonymous]

Agree for our experience in MCPS -- 3rd has represented a huge jump up in academics from 2nd grade. Our child whizzed through prior years and now gets a range of grades and needs more reinforcement to understand the material.

Eureka Math is moving at a very fast pace with quizzes and tests 1-3x a week depending on the topics. They now have timed math fluency tests as well which add a layer of stress to learning the material.

The new language curriculum now includes spelling tests, which we never had before. This week's "optional" challenge word is Mediterranean! That's a word many adults get wrong! Other words include "giraffe" and "beginning" which I would say are more reasonable but jumping up from last month, where they had words like "please" and "mouse --> mice" as the plurals. On the plus side, the actual substance they are learning is fun to share as an adult. I'm enjoying learning about ancient Roman times, the body parts, etc.

As far as social-emotional development, unfortunately, we still see the same distracting and negative classroom behaviors as in years past. Add to it, that now the kids having problems and making threats are bigger/stronger and know curse words.

For us, last year (2nd grade) was harder socially. The "mean girls" started to come out and recess was isolating and difficult. There was also a new, sharper divide between boys and girls not wanting to play together as they happily did in K and 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good! My kid is in 2nd and is bored because it's a lot of repeat of stuff they learned in 1st. I think because reading hasn't clicked for all the kids yet, they hit a holding pattern in 2nd because they can't reliably give the entire class assignments in any subject (including non-ELA) that requires decent reading comprehension. So for the kids are are reading fluently, it feels like a lot of review.

My kid is especially anxious to start doing more science and social studies but right now there is still a lot of focus on acquiring reading skills and it curtails how much of that they can do.

In our experience in DCPS, 3rd was still a lot of repetition/reinforcement from 2nd and not much substantive learning. 4th is where that actually started to change.

[Anonymous]

MCPS 3rd grader parent here. 3rd is now where Dd has to actually do things. Read the instructions and do the problems, write the essay etc. Definitely reading to learn and she has gotten Cs!! for not following directions: "write 5 sentences about the story" and she wrote 3. We are working on following instructions and checking work. She reads at a high level and scores 99% on all standardized tests but rushes through school work and relies on memory as opposed to practice of skills. A lot of pushback from her when we do HW and she has to read the instructions herself instead of a parent spelling out what needs to be done step by step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree for our experience in MCPS -- 3rd has represented a huge jump up in academics from 2nd grade. Our child whizzed through prior years and now gets a range of grades and needs more reinforcement to understand the material.

Eureka Math is moving at a very fast pace with quizzes and tests 1-3x a week depending on the topics. They now have timed math fluency tests as well which add a layer of stress to learning the material.

The new language curriculum now includes spelling tests, which we never had before. This week's "optional" challenge word is Mediterranean! That's a word many adults get wrong! Other words include "giraffe" and "beginning" which I would say are more reasonable but jumping up from last month, where they had words like "please" and "mouse --> mice" as the plurals. On the plus side, the actual substance they are learning is fun to share as an adult. I'm enjoying learning about ancient Roman times, the body parts, etc.

As far as social-emotional development, unfortunately, we still see the same distracting and negative classroom behaviors as in years past. Add to it, that now the kids having problems and making threats are bigger/stronger and know curse words.

For us, last year (2nd grade) was harder socially. The "mean girls" started to come out and recess was isolating and difficult. There was also a new, sharper divide between boys and girls not wanting to play together as they happily did in K and 1st grade.

Same here. I know school is for everyone and needs to meet so many needs, but I observed 1/4 of the kids wandering around in class and being loud and disruptive when others are learning and doing independent work. Its a hard environment to learn and concentrate. Teacher reprimanding the misbehaving kids but only so much she can do.

[Anonymous]

I agree that having a solid reading foundation by third is really important.

As for science & social studies, in my experience they don’t ever really go that deep in elementary (4th & 5th are a bit better, but if your child already has decent background knowledge, they will likely be bored). My suggestion is to do that stuff yourself at home (do science experiments, have them read biographies, visit historic sites, go hiking & talk about what you see, etc). It just isn’t the focus of elementary schools, apparently, these days. They mainly focus on reading & math.

[Anonymous]

4th grade for us in MCPS. My kid is in compacted math and the new ELA curriculum is hard! All of the sudden they are expected to spell when up until now there was zero expectation to spell anything correct. Now my kid has to learn words like governor and illiterate.

[Anonymous]

In MCPS, and the math definitely feels like it's getting harder. K-2 felt like they were doing a ton of circling through the same things over and over again (mostly addition and subtraction), slowly increasing complexity. Now in 3rd grade they're adding new topics all the time and expected to grasp them pretty quickly-- multiplication, division, measurements, rounding, etc in just the first few months, and I believe fractions, decimals, and geometry are also up this year.
.

[Anonymous]

For smart kids who understand how to behave in school, school gets hard in about 11th grade.

Sadly.