Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Grade 3 Curriculum - Language Arts

This curriculum is based on the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Harmonized Curriculum for Primary School Language Arts (Grades 3-4), revised in June 2005. It emphasizes a balanced, integrated, and learner-centered approach, promoting active participation, discovery, and problem-solving. The curriculum aims to develop students into competent language users, proficient in Standard English while acknowledging their home language. It fosters critical thinking, creativity, and positive attitudes towards language learning.

Grade 3 Language Arts

Grade 3 is a pivotal year, focusing on extending abilities in all language arts domains. Students refine strategies learned in previous grades and apply them to more complex tasks, including reading and writing advanced narrative and expository texts. Instruction emphasizes teaching strategies for listening, speaking, reading, and writing; integrating activities across domains; and developing critical thinking skills. Oral proficiency is given increased attention, with planned presentations evolving beyond simple show-and-tell. A key goal is developing proficiency in academic language, crucial for success in school. Consistent use of Standard English is encouraged and monitored, particularly for Creole and Creole-Influenced Vernacular (CIV) speakers.

Key Instructional Focus Areas:

• Setting clear purposes for tasks and explaining requirements for successful completion.
• Expanding reading materials to include non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies, and diverse narratives.
• Incorporating text analysis as a regular reading activity.
• Building vocabulary through identification, understanding, and usage of new words across the curriculum.
• Reinforcing and extending comprehension strategies, including literal and inferential comprehension.
• Teaching speaking strategies for fluency, intonation, and expression.
• Increasing writing of sentences and paragraphs in various text types.
• Promoting expository language use for schoolwork.
• Integrating activities across domains and content areas.

Curriculum Strands and Domains:

The curriculum is organized into receptive and productive competence domains, covering various strands:

Receptive Competence:

• Listening: Focuses on comprehension, following directions, identifying main ideas, and distinguishing between language varieties.
• Reading: Emphasizes decoding, vocabulary development, comprehension (literal and inferential), understanding text features (expository and narrative), and responding to literature.
• Viewing: Includes interpreting visual information, comparing video and print versions of stories, and analyzing visual elements in narratives.

Productive Competence:

• Speaking: Covers interpersonal communication, giving information, expressing personal responses, presenting oral reports, using appropriate voice skills, and developing positive communication attitudes.
• Writing: Includes writing for self and academic purposes, using the writing process, developing research skills, and mastering conventions of written English (grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling).
• Representing: Focuses on visually representing information and ideas from texts.

Assessment:

Assessment is ongoing and multifaceted, including:

• Entry-level assessments to determine existing skills and identify learning gaps.
• Continuous monitoring of progress through various tasks and activities.
• Specific tests at intervals throughout the year.
• Portfolio assessment of writing samples.
• Student self-evaluation.

This comprehensive approach aims to provide a balanced and effective language arts education for Grade 3 students in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.