welcome to 3 rd grade! april gould and kerry mcrae
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to 3rd Grade!
April Gould and Kerry McRae
Overview of 3rd Grade
Your child is in a class with two teachers , each of whom specialize in specific content areas:
Mrs. McRae: reading, writing, grammar
Mrs. Gould: math, science, social studies
We are both available by appointment
Please send any communication to both teachers
Communication
Major School-Wide News/Events: Steck homepage and Steck E-Newsletter (steck.dpsk12.org)
Third Grade Monthly News: Room parents Katy and Sonya
Important Updates about PT Conferences, Field Trips, etc.: Emails directly from Mrs. Gould and Mrs. McRae
Meet Our Room Parents!
Katy and Sonya
Student Activities Fund
$20.00 per student, used for…
• Field trips
• Supplies for hands-on learning activities in class
Please bring payment directly to teachers
Checks should be made payable to Steck
Volunteering
DPS requires all volunteers who will have contact with students to complete a volunteer application form and return to the Office of Volunteer Services. Processing time varies (approx. 2 weeks). Sign-up sheets are available in the hallway tonight. Those who have already completed a background check are on file in the office.
Our volunteer needs:
Field trips, one-on-one support with students, grading, clerical duties
See sign-up in hallway
Birthday Celebrations
• Last Friday of each month at 2:30**
• No nuts of any kind (no tree nuts or peanuts)
• Please provide your email address next to your child’s name on the sheet in hallway
**August/Sept combined, Oct./Halloween Party combined, Nov./Dec./Winter Party combined, Feb/Valentine’s Day
combined, May/June/July/EOY Picnic combined
Birthday Celebrations
Volunteers are asked to help with set up and clean up
Additional volunteers needed for October, February, and April celebrations- consider if several parents share your month
Please sign up in the hallway if you’re interested!
Behavior Expectations
Each third grade classroom has agreed upon a list of classroom expectations to ensure that all students will succeed academically and socially. Students must respect the expectations created.
If three redirections are given, the student will be sent to another classroom to complete a “think sheet,” which allows the student to reflect on their choices. This needs to be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to the teacher the next school day. If the form is not returned with a signature, we will call or email parents.
Student Think Sheet:
Student reflects on action, its consequences for self and others, what they can do differently next time
If three are issued, next step is a referral and a parent-teacher- student conference
Office Referral:
Issued immediately if behavior is a safety concern or if student has completed 3 student think sheets in a trimester.
Referrals are documented in Infinite Campus
3rd Grade Wiki Pagehttp://steck3rdgrade.wikispaces.com
• 3rd grade policies and behavior expectations
• Our general schedule and curriculum overview
• Volunteer sign-up information
• This slideshow and other BTSN parent resources
• We’re trying to go paperless!
Homework Policies• Monday: All homework will be assigned- see yellow folder.
• Nightly math page from packet passed out on Mondays (Please don’t work ahead.)
• Nightly practice of math facts (Fluency tests are on subtraction and multiplication.)
• Nightly reading and spelling practice (signature required)
• Literacy packet
• Friday: All homework is due! Students should keep all their work in their yellow folder. Fridays are also spelling test days.
Homework Policies
• Any homework that is not turned in or is incomplete will receive a zero. Several missing assignments will affect SBPR grades.
• Homework is a communication tool between school and home. The work we assign is intended as a review of concepts already taught in class. Please let us know if your child is struggling with homework.
Literacy Homework
All homework is assigned on Monday and collected on Friday.
Homework will be reviewed in class on Fridays. This gives students to opportunity to self-evaluate their work and ask questions. Missing work prevents this from happening.
Weekly packet: spelling list, grammar review, reading comprehension practice
Nightly reading: 30 minutes
Nightly spelling practice
Sample Homework Planner Given Each Month
Million Word Reading ChallengeGoal: Increase reading fluency and comprehension by reading regularly outside of school
Third grade expectation: Read 25 grade-level chapter books over the course of the school year and complete a written response for each book. (Assignment available from Mrs. McRae.)
Students should be self-motivated to meet this goal and understand the purpose behind it.
Celebration in May for those who have met the goal.
Math Homework
All pages of homework assigned every Monday of each week, due on Friday.
Students will practice the skill of self-correcting their homework, while learning how to identify mistakes or misconceptions.
Faster feedback on completed work will help your child clarify their learning.
This year, we will be learning…
Math:• Properties of Multiplication and
Division
• Multi-step story problems
• Place Value
• Multiplication and Area
• Geometry
• Fractions
• Collecting and Displaying Data- graphing vocab, interpreting information
• Measurement: US Customary and Metric, conversions
Math Performance
In-class participation and assigned classwork
Mid-Module and End of Module (Unit) Assessments.
Exit Tickets
Constructed Response-claim and evidence
Frequent practice with short, in-class writing assignments with emphasis on pertinent vocabulary.
Spelling quizzes with relevant math words (later in the year).
Math Fluency Facts-Math Masters
Timed math tests will be given once per week
100 problems in 5 minutes
Subtraction and multiplication
Practice timed tests available on the 3rd grade home page
Flash card practice with nightly homework
Math Fluency Facts-Math Masters v. Sprints
At home: Flash card practice recommended as an addition to the assigned nightly homework (5-10 minutes)
In class: Math Masters
In class: Sprints (with some lessons) – 2 minute practice problems, given twice within 10-15 minutes
Online Math Resources
Google search: Math Magicians (Oswego school district-free website to practice facts.
www.coolmath4kids.com
www.engageny.org
The right side of the toolbar on their website has a Parents and Families option for available resources for educational activities online.
Standardized Math Assessments
District Benchmarks (Interims) given three times throughout third grade-fall, winter, spring
PARCC/CMAS given twice per academic school year for third grade-March and May.
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers/ The Colorado Measures of Academic Success
Recommended practice PARCC tests available online: www.parcconline.org
We will also be learning…
Social Studies
• Social Scientists
• Exploring the Northeast, South and Midwest Regions
• Exploring the Southwest and West Regions
• Local Government
And also learning…
Science
• Life Cycles
• Electricity
• Objects in the Sky
Experiential Learning-Field Trips
Late Fall/Early Winter: In-class visit from the Butterfly Pavilion to extend learning of Life Cycles science unit.
Late Fall/Winter: In-class visit from the Denver Center for Performing Arts dramatic learning workshop regarding Economics and Personal Finance
Spring: Planetarium (Destination Solar System) and Space Odyssey Exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science. Extension of Objects in the Sky science unit.
Key Ideas in Literacy
Reading closely and leaving evidence of our thinking through annotations
Reading closely to locate explicit evidence
Responding to texts: Providing a clear claim and giving text evidence to support it
Finding the main idea of a variety of texts, identifying key supporting details
Key Ideas in Literacy
• Identifying the author’s point of view
• Determining fact v. opinion
• Analyzing characters, events, themes in texts
Key Ideas in Literacy
Writing to inform, persuade, or entertain
Grounding our writing in evidence
Structures used in third grade: essay, short constructed response, narrative
In a Nutshell: Learning how to organize and support our thinking while also being able to identify and evaluate how authors do the same
Literacy Curriculum: Expeditionary Learning• Aligned to Common Core State Standards
• Each unit/module includes fiction and non-fiction texts focused on a common theme
• Connection to other content areas: geography, social studies, science
This year’s units:Beginning of Year: Reviewing the genres, learning year-long reading strategies and writing structures
Fall: The Power of Reading: How do people around the world access books?
Winter: Researching to Build Knowledge and Teach Others- Connecting Literary and Informational Texts to Study Culture Then and Now
Spring: Analyzing Narrative and Supporting Opinions: A Study of Peter Pan
Literacy Assessment
District Assessments: interims, DRA2
Ongoing classroom assessments: reading comprehension and application of strategies, writing samples, exit slips
Participation in whole- and small-group discussions
End-of-unit assessments, including written publications
PARCC Literacy Assessments- March and May
Common Core State StandardsObjectives
Closer alignment of standards state-by-state
Prepare all students for college or careers after graduation
Designed to focus on clear, specific expectations
Major Shifts in Literacy as we move to CCSS and E.L.• Greater emphasis on content-rich nonfiction
texts
• Increased rigor in written work: grounding our thinking in text evidence
• Increasingly complex texts and regular practice with academic language
Grading Practices
3 = Regularly meeting grade level expectations independently
2 = Meeting grade level expectations part of the time and/or with consistent help
1 = Performing below grade level
This Year Third Graders will take CMAS! (aka PARCC)Colorado Measures of Academic Success
• Replacing TCAP (formerly CSAP) as our state standardized testing program
• Sessions in March and May- all on the computer
• The more keyboarding your child can practice at home, the better!
Sample PARCC Math Problem
A library has 126 books about trees.
Part AThe library has 48 fewer books about rivers than about trees.Select from the drop-down menus to correctly complete the statement.
The number of books the library has about rivers is...4878174
And the total number of books the library has about trees and rivers is...174204300
Part BTwo students borrow books about trees. Each student borrows 8 books. How many books about trees remain in the library?
Enter your answer in the box.
Please use our link on the 3rd grade website to take a practice English Language Arts PARCC
test.
The same website will also allow you to access a Practice PARCC math test. To review your performance, it is necessary to keep track of your responses to the questions. The website does not score your practice test and provide a grade. Instead, you will need to check your answers against the answer sheet located on the homepage of the PARCC website.
A Friendly Reminder…Thank you for being so patient at dismissal. We’re trying our best to dismiss quickly.
Please notify Mrs. Gould, Mrs. McRae and the office if another person will be picking up your child (even if it’s another Steck parent that we know and trust). Thank you! Your child’s safety is important to us.
If another adult will be picking your child up often, please ask the office to add that person to your child’s authorized pick-up list.