Grade 3 Curriculum
From learning to read, to reading to learn
Elementary · Grade 3 – Grade 5
Grade 3 is the pivot year. Learners now use reading to acquire knowledge, write multi-paragraph texts, master multiplication and division, conduct structured science investigations and begin real block coding and digital research.
Developmental learning priorities
- Reading for information
- Multiplication and division fluency
- Structured writing
- Research and note-taking
- Block coding and typing
Subjects taught in Grade 3
Reading to Learn & Multi-Paragraph Writing(open for detail)
Learners read chapter books and informational texts, summarise, infer, and write structured pieces of several paragraphs including their first short research report with sources named.
Annual learning objectives
- • Summarise a text accurately
- • Make inferences supported by text evidence
- • Write a three-paragraph informational text
- • Use a dictionary and glossary independently
Key units & topics
- • Comprehension strategies
- • Inference
- • Informational writing
- • Vocabulary
- • Narrative craft
Skills developed
- • Summarising
- • Inference
- • Structured writing
- • Reference skills
Projects & performance tasks
- • Research report on a Liberian animal or place
- • Book review presentations
Technology & AI integration
Learners draft in a word processor and use search with teacher-approved sources.
Assessment approach
Comprehension tests, writing rubric and research report.
Multiplication, Division & Fractions(open for detail)
Learners build multiplication and division fluency, understand fractions as equal parts, work with area and perimeter, and solve multi-step word problems with written reasoning.
Annual learning objectives
- • Know multiplication facts to 10×10
- • Divide with remainders in context
- • Represent and compare simple fractions
- • Find area and perimeter of rectangles
Key units & topics
- • Multiplication and division
- • Fractions
- • Area and perimeter
- • Multi-step problems
- • Data
Skills developed
- • Fact fluency
- • Fraction sense
- • Reasoning in writing
Projects & performance tasks
- • Design a school garden plot to a set area
- • Times-table mastery challenge
Technology & AI integration
Spreadsheet used to record and chart fluency progress over the term.
Assessment approach
Timed fact checks, unit tests and a performance task.
Scientific Inquiry: Ecosystems, Matter & Energy(open for detail)
Learners run structured investigations on plants, ecosystems, states of matter and simple energy transfer, recording data in tables and drawing evidence-based conclusions.
Annual learning objectives
- • Design a fair test with one variable
- • Record data in a table
- • Describe states of matter and changes
- • Explain a simple food chain
Key units & topics
- • Ecosystems and food chains
- • States of matter
- • Energy and heat
- • Investigation method
Skills developed
- • Investigation design
- • Data recording
- • Evidence-based conclusions
Projects & performance tasks
- • Local ecosystem field study
- • Evaporation and condensation investigation
Technology & AI integration
Data entered into a spreadsheet and charted.
Assessment approach
Lab records, tests and investigation reports.
Block Coding: Stories & Games(open for detail)
Learners build real interactive projects using sequences, loops, conditionals, variables and events, planning on paper first and testing with classmates.
Annual learning objectives
- • Use conditionals and variables in a block program
- • Plan a project before building it
- • Debug systematically
- • Explain their code to others
Key units & topics
- • Sprites and events
- • Loops and conditionals
- • Variables
- • Testing and debugging
Skills developed
- • Programming logic
- • Debugging
- • Project planning
Projects & performance tasks
- • Interactive story or simple game shared with the class
Technology & AI integration
Learners test their programs with users and improve based on feedback.
Assessment approach
Working project, code walkthrough and peer testing notes.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?(open for detail)
Learners learn in plain language what AI is: computer programmes that find patterns in many examples. They see where AI appears in daily life, learn that it can be wrong, and agree class rules for honest use.
Annual learning objectives
- • Explain AI as pattern-finding from examples
- • Identify AI in everyday tools
- • Explain that AI can make mistakes
- • Follow honesty rules for schoolwork
Key units & topics
- • What AI is and is not
- • Training by examples
- • AI around us
- • Honest use and never sharing personal information
Skills developed
- • Conceptual understanding
- • Critical questioning
- • Digital honesty
Projects & performance tasks
- • Teach a machine to sort pictures — supervised class demonstration
Technology & AI integration
This is the first formal AI unit of the FutureTech pathway.
Assessment approach
Oral explanation, poster and short written responses.
Typing, Documents & Safe Searching(open for detail)
Learners develop keyboarding speed, produce formatted documents and slides, search effectively with approved tools and judge whether a source is trustworthy.
Annual learning objectives
- • Type at a measured, improving speed
- • Format a document with headings
- • Search with keywords
- • Say why a source may not be reliable
Key units & topics
- • Keyboarding
- • Word processing and slides
- • Searching
- • Source reliability
Skills developed
- • Keyboarding
- • Productivity tools
- • Information evaluation
Projects & performance tasks
- • Typed and formatted research report with images
Technology & AI integration
Links to the school's free productivity apps directory for home practice.
Assessment approach
Typing benchmark and practical document tasks.
Goods, Services & Our First Enterprise(open for detail)
Learners distinguish goods from services, calculate cost and profit on a small scale, and run a class enterprise from planning to sale to review.
Annual learning objectives
- • Explain cost, price and profit
- • Plan a simple product or service
- • Record sales accurately
- • Reflect on what sold and why
Key units & topics
- • Goods and services
- • Cost and profit
- • Advertising honestly
- • Selling and recording
Skills developed
- • Costing
- • Record keeping
- • Customer awareness
Projects & performance tasks
- • Class market day with a costed product
Technology & AI integration
Sales tracked in a shared spreadsheet with a chart of results.
Assessment approach
Business record accuracy and reflection.
Health, PE & Personal Wellbeing(open for detail)
Learners study nutrition, malaria and disease prevention, personal safety and emotions, and develop sport skills, fitness and cooperation through structured games.
Annual learning objectives
- • Explain how malaria spreads and is prevented
- • Plan balanced meals
- • Describe strategies for managing feelings
- • Demonstrate improved fitness and skills
Key units & topics
- • Nutrition
- • Disease prevention
- • Emotional health
- • Sport and fitness
Skills developed
- • Preventive knowledge
- • Self-management
- • Teamwork
Projects & performance tasks
- • Malaria prevention awareness poster campaign
Technology & AI integration
Health data such as class fitness results charted digitally.
Assessment approach
Quizzes, campaign quality and skill assessment.
Art, Design, Music & Culture(open for detail)
Learners draw from observation, study Liberian craft and pattern traditions, design posters with a clear message, and continue music and performance work.
Annual learning objectives
- • Draw with proportion and detail
- • Use pattern and colour purposefully
- • Design a poster for an audience
- • Perform in an ensemble
Key units & topics
- • Observational drawing
- • Pattern and craft
- • Poster design
- • Music and performance
Skills developed
- • Design for purpose
- • Craft skill
- • Performance
Projects & performance tasks
- • Awareness poster linked to a health or environment topic
Technology & AI integration
Digital drawing or layout tools introduced.
Assessment approach
Portfolio, critique and performance.
History: Counties, Peoples & Founding(open for detail)
Learners study Liberia's counties and ethnic groups, settlement and migration, the 1822 arrival and the 1847 declaration of independence, and the national figures associated with them. Every claim is tied to a source.
Annual learning objectives
- • Locate the counties on a map of Liberia
- • Explain the difference between 1822 and 1847
- • Distinguish a primary from a secondary source
- • Write a short account of one national figure using two sources
Key units & topics
- • Counties and peoples
- • Settlement and migration
- • 1822 and 1847
- • National figures
- • Primary and secondary sources
Skills developed
- • Map reading
- • Source classification
- • Note-taking
- • Short historical writing
Projects & performance tasks
- • County history booklet with a hand-drawn map
- • Biography card set of national figures
Technology & AI integration
Learners search a curated digital archive and are taught to record where each image or fact came from.
Assessment approach
Map test, source-sorting task and the written county booklet.
Civics: Local Government & Rights(open for detail)
Learners study who runs their town or county, how leaders are chosen, and the basic rights and responsibilities of a citizen, including the right to education and the responsibility to respect others.
Annual learning objectives
- • Describe the role of a local leader or council
- • Explain two rights and two responsibilities of a citizen
- • Explain what a law is and why laws exist
- • Present a community problem and a possible solution
Key units & topics
- • Local leaders and councils
- • How leaders are chosen
- • Rights and responsibilities
- • What laws do
- • Community problems
Skills developed
- • Civic vocabulary
- • Problem identification
- • Presenting
- • Respectful discussion
Projects & performance tasks
- • Mock community council on a real school issue
- • Rights-and-responsibilities poster campaign
Technology & AI integration
Learners look at an official local-government page and identify who does what.
Assessment approach
Council simulation rubric, poster and short written responses.
End-of-year outcomes
By the end of Grade 3, a learner:
- Reads and summarises informational text independently.
- Knows multiplication facts and works with fractions and area.
- Designs and reports a fair test.
- Builds a working block-coded project.
- Explains what AI is and follows rules for honest, safe use.
Liberia, West Africa & Our Place in the World(open for detail)
Learners study the counties of Liberia, West African geography, resources and trade, and how communities meet their needs, using maps, tables and case studies.
Annual learning objectives
Key units & topics
Skills developed
Projects & performance tasks
Technology & AI integration
Digital maps and simple data tables of population and resources.
Assessment approach
Map tests, project work and presentations.