How to read this page
Nova Scotia publishes its curriculum as long official documents written for teachers. This page is the same content, translated for the fridge door: each subject below shows this year's units and the skills inside them. If a skill sounds unfamiliar, that's the point — now you know what to ask about at dinner.
Mathematics this year
Numbers stop being abstract this year — they become things your child can count, compare, build, and explain. In Nova Scotia, that's Mathematics, Grade 3 — 5 units, 44 skills.
Number
- Counting by 1s through the tricky spots
- Showing and reading numbers to 1000
- Mental strategies for adding
Patterns and Relations
- Describing and extending increasing patterns
- Solving equations with an unknown
Measurement
- The passage of time
- Centimetres and metres and how they relate
- Measuring perimeter
See the full Mathematics, Grade 3 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
English Language Arts this year
Reading and writing grow fast at this age — this is the year the letters turn into stories. In Nova Scotia, that's English Language Arts, Grade 3 — 4 units, 36 skills.
Language
- Using listening strategies (Grade 3)
- Phonics: blending and segmenting to read and spell (Grade 3)
- Composing sentences (Grade 3)
Comprehension
- Narrative and informational text forms (Grade 3)
- Purpose for reading / background knowledge (Grade 3)
- Literary devices and rhetorical techniques (Grade 3)
Composition
- Writing strengths, growth areas and goals (Grade 3)
- Writing fluently and legibly by hand (Grade 3)
- Producing and presenting final texts (Grade 3)
Literacy in the Content Areas
- Subject vocabulary in the content areas (Grade 3)
See the full English Language Arts, Grade 3 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Science this year
Science at this age is guided curiosity — observing, sorting, asking why, and testing ideas hands-on. In Nova Scotia, that's Science, Grade 3 — 4 units, 15 skills.
Life Science: Plants
- Plant parts through the life cycle
- How plants connect to living things
See the full Science, Grade 3 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Three ways parents use this list
Common questions
What does my child learn in Grade 3 in Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies for Grade 3 — 104 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and patterns and relations; English Language Arts covers language and comprehension; Science covers earth and space science: soil and life science: plants. The full list is on this page.
Is this the official Nova Scotia curriculum?
It's built from Nova Scotia's official program of studies, reorganized into plain language — and each subject links to a course page that quotes the ministry's own wording and links to the government source, so you can check our work. One honest caveat: we're not the ministry, curricula do change, and we can't guarantee this reflects the very latest revision, so confirm anything important against the live provincial curriculum data.
My child is finding one of these skills hard. What can I do?
That's normal — every skill on this page is one most kids wobble on at first. MapleMind teaches any of them one-on-one: a short lesson in plain words, a worked example, then solving together. It's free to start, on any device, in 14 languages.
Keep exploring
Knowing the list is half the job
The other half is the teaching — and that's what MapleMind does. Pick any skill on this page and see it taught properly, free, in under a minute.
MapleMind isn't affiliated with any ministry of education. We build these guides from each province's official program of studies and refresh them from time to time — but curricula change, and we can't guarantee this page reflects the very latest revision. Always confirm against the live provincial curriculum data. Last updated 2026-08-15.
Social Studies this year
Social studies starts close to home — family, community, and how people live together. In Nova Scotia, that's Social Studies, Grade 3 — 4 units, 9 skills.
Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada
- Locating Nova Scotia in the Atlantic region
+ 1 more skill in this unit →Expressions of Culture
- Asking about diverse people and cultures
+ 1 more skill in this unit →Positive Interactions
- Gathering information about positive interactions
+ 2 more skills in this unit →Rights and Responsibilities in a Democracy
- What makes a responsible citizen
+ 1 more skill in this unit →See the full Social Studies, Grade 3 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →