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Welcome To Third Grade
Dear Parents,
We would like to share with you some information concerning what will be happening in your child’s class this year. We hope that you find this helpful information that you will keep and refer to throughout this year. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at school. You may e-mail us at any time. We will also check our voice mail each day. Please allow us 24-48 hours to respond.
Daily ScheduleAlthough exact times may change, we have included copies of our schedules for you to consider if you should HAVE to make an appointment for your child during school hours. PLEASE NOTE: resource day is Friday. Students must wear gym clothes for that day as well as wear appropriate shoes.
Label Clothing and PossessionsPlease, please make sure that your child’s uniforms, coats, sweatshirts, lunchboxes. etc. have names on them. You would not believe how many sweatshirts end up unclaimed in just one week. With almost 90 third graders together for lunch, recess, and changing classes, the chances of losing things are great! We can waste a good bit of time trying to figure out ‘whose is whose!’
Snack and Birthday TreatsChildren are encouraged to bring a nutritious morning snack, such as fruit, vegetables, cheese, peanut butter crackers, nuts, etc. Please avoid cookies and candy. (We will not be having lunch until 11:15 this year. Students will not be able to do their best in class if they are getting too hungry!) For birthdays, students may bring non-consumable items because allergies. Homework PolicyEach student will use his/her expandable file for all classes. This is separate from the ‘School Folder’, which comes to you each Friday with school bulletins and other information. The school folder is to be signed and returned on Monday. Your child will take his/her expandable file and assignment notebook to each class. Corrected papers and class correspondence will be sent home in it throughout the week. PLEASE check over the assignment book as well as the file NIGHTLY. We need you to encourage your child to be responsible for writing down ALL of his/her homework daily. It is an important habit that will be beneficial to his/her success throughout his/her schooling. Edline should be used as a back up only.
When test papers come home in the folder, you will see a “sign and return” stamp near the grade. These papers are to be signed and returned to school so we know that you are aware of your child’s grade. Remind your child to place completed homework and signed papers back in his/her folder [and backpack!] to be returned to school. In third grade, we focus on helping children become responsible for their own work. You can help us with this by NOT bringing things they have forgotten. As tempting as it is to “bail them out”, it will not help them learn. Please do let them know that you are proud of them as they grow in this area! Children will stay in at snack time to complete missing homework or to receive extra assistance when needed. They will also receive a responsibility “punch” for each missing assignment or signed paper not returned. Children who have not exceeded the “grace number” of punches each 4-week period will be rewarded with a chance to attend a reward party. [More about this under Discipline Policy.]
MassOur K-4 liturgies will be at 8:05 on Wednesdays. We hope you will be able to join us for some of them.
Discipline PolicyYour child will have a conduct/ responsibility card for each 4-week period. A hole punch in the card will be given for missing assignments, unsigned papers, or inappropriate conduct. Children who receive LESS than the pre-set number of “GRACE” punches will be eligible for a reward party. The parties are held every 4 weeks.
To help students become aware of inappropriate conduct, a colored card system is used. All children begin each day on green. 1. The first time a student breaks a rule, he/ she is reminded of the rule. 2. The second time, a warning is given, the child’s card is switched to yellow and he/ she is given one hole punch. 3. The third time, a red card is given and a conduct referral will be sent home for you to sign. A second hole punch is given. 4. According to school policy, if a third referral goes home, a detention is mandatory. Normally, discipline follows this sequence. Some special circumstances, such as hurting another child, would warrant an immediate referral.
This may sound severe, but please be aware that most of our third graders will make it through the entire school year without even one red card!
TestsSpelling tests will be given each Friday or on the last day of a short week. DOL [daily oral language] tests will be scheduled for Thursdays. Students will usually have a notice of at least one week for other tests. Math tests will be given regularly with little or no advance notice. To be prepared, students are expected to practice math skills nightly for a few minutes.
CurriculumPlease see the following pages to see what we will be teaching this year.
Let’s all work together to make this a wonderful year. Thank you for entrusting us with your child.
Sincerely, Michelle Hartlage Emilie Herzig Mimi Lenahan
Language Arts English McGraw Hill – Language Arts Today Reading Scott Foresman Spelling Zaner Bloser- Spelling Connections
Skills: Decoding/ Phonics Oral Language Context Clues Letter/ Sound Association Extending Alphabetical Order Comprehension Word Meaning Following Directions Noting Correct Sequence Categorizing Identifying the Topic and Main Ideas Visualizing Making Inferences Compare and Contrast Relationships Cause - Effect Relationships Literary Skills Types of Literature Story Elements Writing Styles and Devices Vocabulary Introducing New Reading Vocabulary Reinforcing Reading Vocabulary Grammar Sentence Characteristics Sentence Types Parts of a Sentence Nouns Verbs: Forms of have, contractions, present and past tense Pronouns Adjectives Mechanics Capitalization Punctuation The Writing Process Listening and Speaking Skills Literature and Reading Handwriting (Cursive Skills Reviewed) Letter Formation Size and Proportion Vertical Quality Slant Spacing Line Quality
Religion Text This Is Our Faith - Silver Burdett Benzinger Family Life
This program provides your children with the opportunity to:
- experience community - receive systematic instruction in the essentials of Catholic Faith - develop skills in loving God and neighbor - give expression to their own growth in faith - learn about creating new life - learn the importance of all life - learn how to make good choices
Math Text Scott Foresman- Addison Wesley Mathematics In line with KERA principles, our math program focuses on real-life applications of mathematical principles.
Skills Place Value Estimation Renaming: addition, subtraction, and multiplication Rounding to Tens, Hundreds Basic Facts Addition- renaming twice Subtraction- renaming twice Multiplication- renaming twice Division- one-digit divisors Reading and Writing Fractions and Decimals Measurement, Time, Money Graphing Problem Solving Do you add or subtract? Do you multiply or divide? Divide into equal parts Multiple step problems Geometry Plane Figures Rectangle, Square, Triangle, and Circle Solid Shapes Pyramids, Cube, Cone, Rectangular Solid, and Sphere Probability
Social Studies Text Harcourt Brace, Communities Our focus is how communities begin and how they function. We emphasize history (Native Americans, early colonization, revolutionary times), Geography (land forms, map skills), economics, humanities, and citizenship. Some contemporary communities include St. Louis, Brasilia, Mexico City, and an Amish community. If you have resources to share, or would be willing to speak to our class, we would be delighted!
Science Text McGraw Hill, Science Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science will be studied. Our units will be: Unit A- Looking At Plants and Animals Unit B- Where Plants and Animals Live Unit C- Our Earth Unit D- Cycles on Earth and In Space Unit E- Forces and Motion Unit F- Looking at Matter and Energy
During this year, students will use the following skills: -Observation - Inference - Classification - Measurement - Communication - Prediction - Interpretation - Hypothesizing - Using Variables - Experimentation - Making Models - Defining Terms
Evaluation will be based on teacher observation of student behavior, chapter and unit tests, and student projects.
We will be taking several field trips this year that tie to our curriculum. More specific details later.
About Math Facts
Learning math facts in the elementary grades is a common elementary link all around the world. 9 + 4 = 13 whether you are in Japan, Germany, Australia, or Fiji. Speed is a recognized indicator of mastery. Students need to know the answers to math facts in the same manner that they know Tuesday follows Wednesday. Mastery of math facts is essential to learning… and understanding…. Division, fractions, percentages, and higher math.
Some students have an easier time remembering math facts than others. But, math is the one thing that a child can do where practice and effort will result in mastery. All students can master their math facts. Much in the way that a child who wants to make the basketball team will spend hours in the driveway shooting baskets in order to have a good free throw, math practice pays off.
Here are several ideas to try so practicing math facts does not have to be drudgery:
Math Fact Jeopardy (great to play in the car) Give your child a number, and have them give you an equation, which equals that number, phrased as a question. 1 point if the fact equation uses 1 or 0, 2 points for using other addends, 3 points for using subtraction. (This can also be used to learn multiplication facts and basic division.)
Math War (for 2 players, can be used for addition or multiplication facts) Remove the picture cards from a regular deck of cards. Aces are 1’s. Deal the entire deck between the two players, face down. Each player turns over one card. The first person to give the correct sum or product wins the hand. Person with most cards wins.
Fact de Jour (good for learning the “hard” multiplication facts) If you hear a commercial several times in a row, you know it by heart. This idea works on the same principle. Tell your child one fact equation about 30 times in the course of a day. By the end of the day they will know it as second nature.
Other things to use: -Flash Cards - Timed Written Math Sheets – “Race The Clock” This is the best way to learn math facts. Make several copies of math facts problems and have your child write down his starting and ending times. Start out with the number of problems you feel your child can handle in 10 to 15 minutes of work, and gradually increase the number of problems. Do identical sheets again and again, and completion times will fall. (Fact mastery is 200 problems in 10 to 12 minutes) - Computer Games – There are many good math programs available. Computer math games are a good supplement to other methods of learning math facts, but should not be used exclusively. The reason is that it takes too long to read the problem, think up the answer, find the correct number key, and then press enter.
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