This back-to-school activity (see Resources) helps the students to learn their classmates' names and make some new friends. You can use the sample worksheet provided or come up with your own list of creative questions. This particular sample requires a lot of unscrambling, but you can add fun phrases as well, such as, "Find a classmate who has a dog" and "Find someone who traveled to another country this summer." Then have them write the students' names on the lines provided.
This craft activity works well with third-grade students because they have developed the motor skills to perform many tasks with minimal supervision and it gives them something to take home to their parents. To make an autumn wreath, you need leaf and acorn cutouts, glue, pencils, scissors and craft foam sheets in traditional autumn colors such as brown, orange, red and yellow. Have the child trace his hand on the colored craft foam sheets. You need a total of 14 hand shapes, so mix up the colors. Cut out the hand shapes and glue them together to make a circular wreath. Then glue the leaves and acorn in a pattern along the wreath. This is a simple project that will welcome guests as they arrive at the front door.
Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday of September. This holiday is in recognition of the social and economic progress of the American people. This activity involves having each student silently read a passage about Labor Day and its significance and then answer questions related to the passage (see Resources). You can switch things up by writing a script and doing a role play with the children or have the children take turns reading in groups of four and answering the questions as a team.
This holiday is in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In addition to a history lesson, you can have the third-grade students do a crossword puzzle based on the lesson using words such as "al-Qaeda" and "Giuliani."