Grade 3

Trimester 1

Butterflies

Journey North
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/index.html

Fabulous site that tracks the monarch's migration journey in the spring and the fall. Includes lessons, activities and information.

Butterflies of North America
Click on states in the U.S. to discover which butterflies reside in each states. Information and photos are included.

Monarch Butterly Life Cycle
http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/monarch.html
photos and brief information about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly

Monarch Butterfly
http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/MBUSA.htm
Information about the life cycle and migration. Also includes links to other websites.

The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly
http://www.geocities.com/wyllz/id178.htm
This site has wonderful close-up shots of the stages of the monarch butterfly.

Butterfly Lab
http://www.chias.org/online/thebutterflylab/
Great information on the anatomy, life cycle and behavior of the monarch butterfly.

Trees

Life of a Tree
http://www.arborday.org/kids/carly/lifeofatree/
An easy to read, kid-friendly story about the life of a tree. Learn about the layers of the tree trunk and the tree rings.

Trees are Terrific - Travels with Pierre
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees1/
A wonderful animated story that can be read by the computer. Contains basic information about the parts of a tree.

Exploring the Secret Lives of Trees
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees2/index2.html
A very kid friendly animated computer read story about the parts of a tree and their function.

Why Leaves Change Color in the Fall
http://www.kidzone.ws/plants/autumn1.htm
Explains in a very readable and easy to understand fashion why leaves change color in the fall. Great kid graphics to help explain.

What Tree is It?
http://www.oplin.org/tree/
Wonderful online tree identification guide. Helps kids identify by tree leaves, by fruit or by name.

What Tree is That?
http://arborday.org/trees/wtit/
An online tree identiffication quiz to help kids identify tree leaves and trees.

Temperate Deciduous Forests
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/temp/index.htm
Contains an autumn leaf scrapbook and a leaf identification section

A Walk in the Woods
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/woods/index.html
Take a virtual trip through the woods to explore.

eNature
http://www.enature.com/guides/select_Trees.asp?curGroup=Trees
Lists types of leaves and gives descriptions of trees and their leaves.

Leaf Movie
http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000571/
This site contains a lesson plan and an imovie about tree leaves.

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Trimester 2

Sound

Physics of Sound
http://www.fossweb.com/modules3-6/PhysicsofSound/index.html
Goes along with the foss kit. Includes an online activity, photos, and movies.

Ben Franklin's Armonica
http://www.fi.edu/pieces/dukerich/studentonlineactivities.html
Learn about sound, sound waves, pitch and play the online armoncia.

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Trimester 3

Water Cycle

Thirstin's Water Cycle
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/flash/flash_watercycle.html
Click on rain, water storage, vapor, and clouds to see an animated visual describing the parts of the water cycle.

The Water Cycle
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Watercycle.shtml
Diagram and information about the water cycle.

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Beverly Cleary
http://www.beverlycleary.com/index.html
Official website with information on the author and her books and characters.

Scholastic Leveled Readers
 http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do

Joanna Cole

http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/home.htm
Site has sound effects and additonal tv/video information, but info on author and her magic school bus books can be found also.

Barbara Cooney
http://www.ortakales.com/Illustrators/Cooney.html
Author information with links at the bottom of the page for book information.

Jean Fritz
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/fritz.html
Author information from Houghton Mifflin with a list Jean Fritz' books.

Patricia McKissack
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/mckissack.html
Information about husband and wife team and the many stories including those of famous African Americans.

Patricia Polacco
http://www.patriciapolacco.com/
Official site of author.

http://www.eduplace.com/author/vanallsburg/
Site includes author bio and interview along with a list of books.

Do We Really Know Dewey?
This site was created by the Nettleton Intermediate Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas in order to teach students about the Dewey Decimal System. It also covers the concepts of fiction and non fiction as well as library/media center organization. It contains valuable lessons and "quizzes" in a self-directed format that is child friendly and fun. This site is a good jumping off point to teach students the value of research and organization.

Children's Creative Theater
a site which teaches use of effective dramatic readings, recitations and performances. Curriculum standard 14 

The Wordsmyth Educational dictionary and thesaurus has an extensive search engine for almost any English word with definition, synonyms, antonyms, usage and cross references provided. Curriculum standard 26

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Everyday Math Messages
http://www.wrightgroup.com/index.php/home/everydaymathematics/emsecondupdate/mathmessages/50
Listed by grade level, the messages download as a file onto your computer.

Everyday Math Resources
http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/Edtech/everydaymath.htm

Everyday Math Family Letters

http://www.wrightgroup.com/index.php/home/everydaymathematics/emsecondupdate/familyletters/46
Letters download as a pdf file onto your computer after choosing your grade level.

Everyday Math Main Page

The main page with choices for parent links, teacher links or student homework help.

Interactive Math
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives Grades preK-12, Great website with lots of great online activities

NCTM - Illuminations
http://illuminations.nctm.org/tools/index.aspx
Interactive online activities for mathematical standards.

Change Maker
http://www.funbrain.com/cashreg/
An interactive site that allows students practice in working with whole numbers, fractions and decimals by making change. There are four levels of difficulty and five types of currency available.

Math Baseball
http://www.funbrain.com/math/
Allows students to compute using addition, subtraction, multipication, division or all in an interactive game format of baseball. There are four levels of difficulty.

Geometry Page
http://homepage.mac.com/efithian/geometry.html
Has 16 activites and 2 pieces of software available for download. This site is specifically geared to elementary school.

Tesselation Tutorials
http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/tess.intro.html
Tutorials and templates for making your own tesselations.

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Trimester 1

History and Geography

Maps of US Exploration
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/usexplorationmaps.htm

Map of New England
http://www.visitnewengland.com/nemap.htm

Shows the New England states. You can also access information about each of the states.

Mayflower
The Mayflower Passenger List

http://members.aol.com/calebj/passenger.html
Information about the passengers on the Mayflower. Also includes a scanned copy of William Bradford's original primary source document of the passengers.

Mayflower Passenger List
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/passengers.php
Another site to view information about passengers on the Mayflower. The information is nicely organized.

Mayflower History
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/history.php
Great site for primary source documents, also includes a list of Mayflower passengers who died during the first winter.

Studying the Mayflower Compact
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/elemcs.htm
Ideas for studying the Mayflower compact with younger students. Lists the four major ideas and concepts as well as some lesson plans.

Plimoth/Wampanoag

Plimoth Plantation
http://www.plimoth.org/
Great resource for information, lesson plans and actvities

Wampanoag Life in 1620
www.shrewsbury.k12.ma.us/ELEMENTARY/SOCIALSTUDIES/People_of_Plimoth/Wampanoag.html
Photos and information from a field trip to Plimoth Plantation.

Plymouth Colony Archive Project
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/Plymouth/links.html
Contains a wealth of great links.

Passenger and Crew Deaths During the First Winter
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/deaths.htm
A great visual activity for students. They can get a sense of the number of married men, single men, women, girls, boys and sailors who died.

Home Building in Plimoth
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/homes.htm
Provides information and a diagram of a Pilgrim home. Also includes a layout of plots where people lived.

Typical Native American Male Clothing
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/indianmensclothing.htm
A diagram showing the clothing worn by a typical Native American male.

Typical Native American Female Clothing
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/womansclothing.htm
A diagram showing the clothing worn by a typical Native American female.

Pilgrim/Wampanoag History
You are the Historian is an interactive activity that explores what really happened at the first Thanksgiving - includes viewpoints from the English colonists and the Wampanoag people.

Thanksgiving

The History of Thanksgiving
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/thanksgiving/main.html
Great site that includes Pilgrim interviews and address myths. Includes a great video clip about the first Thanksgiving.

The First Thanksgiving
http://teacher.scholastic.com/thanksgiving/
Includes links to a picture timeline, daily life in 1621, the voyage of the Mayflower, and answers by Kate Waters and Russ Kendall to questions about the Mayflower voyage, the children in Plimoth and the Wampanoags.


Economics

A Pet for Beans from "Jack and the Beanstalk"
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM289&page=teacher
A great lesson plan that gets across the idea of bartering. It includes a short flash activity where kids can make an online trade.

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Trimester 2

U.S. History Links - from Colonial Times to Civil War History links
Links include pony express, westward expansion, gold rush, Santa Fe Trail in addition to Revolutionary War and Civil War pages.  

Movie Clips - Early America
http://earlyamerica.com/series.html
Movie clips of Ben Franklin, George Washingon, Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold, Molly Pitcher and about the Declaration of Independence are presented in this website. The images give you a glimpse of the past and are courtesy of the Early American digital library.


Trimester 3

Colonial Times
- A list of links to colonial times.

Liberty, The American Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/
Contains "Chronicle of the Revolution",
"Perspectives of Liberty", and "The Road to Revolution Game"

The Papers of George Washington
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/index.html
Washington wrote out a copy of the rules of civility in his school book when he was about 16 years old.

You be the Historian
http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids/springer/
Go on a dig to discover artifacts from the late 1700's.

American Colonial Life in the Late 1700's: Distant Cousins (Lesson Plan for teacher use)
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=411
Wonderful lesson plan with some great links. Explores what life was like in the late 1700's, How life differed for people in different areas, and how colonial life influenced the life we lead today.

The History of Shrewsbury Center
http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/schools/Spring/index.asp
Click on "The History of Shrewsbury" to learn about historical Shrewsbury Center. This site was done by Mrs. Ganas' Grade 3 class at Spring Street School in June 2006. There is also an MP3 file that can be downloaded to an MP3 player and a downloadable PDF map that can be used to journey on a walking audio tour narrated by students in Mrs. Ganas' class. Also included are podcasts from a few Shrewsbury residents.

A Walking Audio Tour of Historical Shrewsbury Center
http://spsaudiotours.blogspot.com/
This website includes a visual podcast of a walking tour of historical Shrewsbury Center. Comments can be written on this blog page. There is also a PDF file of a downloadable walking tour map.

Shrewsbury History
http://www.backyard-history.com/
Information about the history of Shrewsbury. Includes a trivia game.

Shrewsbury Historical Society
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/2771/ShrewsburyHistoricalSociety.html
Information about the history of Shrewsbury.

Economics

The Democracy Project
http://pbskids.org/democracy/
This website has 3 components: "Be a President for a Day", "How Does Government Affect Me?", and "Step Inside the Voting Booth".

President Bush's Allowance
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM375&page=teacher
A lesson plan that looks at government expenditures and taxation. It links to a website "If You Were President for a Day"

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