My third grade teacher, a Camel smoking Southern belle, was all business. A Film strip was a treat. We learned to write cursive, spell and arithmetic. Once a week, we had a spelling bee. When you got shot down, you had to write the multiplication tables to 12x12. This was about 1960, so no duck and cover. But our principal was very concerned with fire drills because the school had a 3 story wing with stairwells at each end. He would pull an alarm and time the drills with a stop watch. He drilled us until he could empty the school in under a minute. One day, the furnace broke and it was a for real fire. We filed out just like we did for the drills. Most of my school career after grade 6 was baby sitting. What I learned in 3rd grade has served me well.
