Welcome to 3G!

Third grade is a transitional year for your child. He/she will be asked to take on more responsibility for his/her learning. It is my goal that we work together to help your child find success in third grade!

Curriculum: I generally use the four blocks method of language arts instruction: guided reading, independent reading, words, and writing. This means that each day time is devoted to each of these four blocks. In math, the main focus is the learning of multiplication and division basic facts. In social studies, we learn about the geography, history, economy, and people of Illinois. Our science series includes units on life science, geology, physical science, and technology.

Homework/Assignment Notebooks: Homework is assigned most nights Monday thru Thursday. It is the student’s responsibility to have a parent/guardian sign that they have seen the assignment notebook and homework each of these nights. I will try to post the assignment page to my website daily.

Friday Folders: Instead of an assignment notebook on the weekend, your child will bring home a folder full of completed or graded papers from the past week, a weekly report on behavior and homework completion, and a classroom newsletter. The Friday Folder is to be signed and returned on Monday mornings. You may send notes, corrected homework, or other information back to me in this folder if you like.

Assessments: Assessments will be given in different formats throughout the year. Math assessments will be given in a written form at the end of each chapter. Language arts assessments will include vocabulary quizzes, weekly spelling tests, book projects, and written responses to literature. Social studies and science assessments will vary throughout the year with some being written assessments and some being project-based assessments. Study guides and rubrics for all subjects except math will be given at the beginning of the unit, and the students will be told of the date of the assessment at that time. In math, study guides are generally given about a week ahead of test time. Study guides are completed as a class and not considered homework or counted as a grade. I also use pre-assessment an ongoing assessment to determine a child’s placement in a unit of study. Pre-assessments are especially used in math.

PBIS: Glenn School has used the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) discipline system for the past couple of years, and I use it in my classroom as well. Students can earn BUG slips for good choices they make by following classroom and building expectations. These BUG slips allow them to be part of our daily classroom drawing as well as building wide drawings. When students do not meet expectations, they receive checks. They can receive checks from any teacher/supervisor at Glenn. Checks take time away

from their recess time. Three checks result in a pink behavior slip that is turned in to the office. You will be notified of checks and minor pink slips on the weekly behavior sheet. Major pink slips are sent home by the office for your signature.

ISAT Tests: In March, third grade takes the Illinois Standards Achievement Test over math and reading. It is an important test for the students and our school, and we spend much of our year preparing for these tests. It is not a rote memory test; rather it requires a great deal of higher level thinking and writing. We will try to use these formats as much as possible and to expose the students to the necessary material so that they are comfortable when the tests begin. I will attach practice online sites for your child to use at home in order for him/her to become more comfortable with the format and questions.

Reading Calendars: Students will be given a reading calendar each month on which to write the minutes they read each night. The goal for each month is 400 minutes. Please return the reading calendar at the end of the month whether your child reaches the goal or not. I keep track of minutes read at home, and students are given incentives for their performance on the calendars, but I do not count the calendars for a reading grade.

Poetry Recitals: In order to promote student reading fluency, public speaking, and their exposure to poetry, students will participate in poetry readings four to six times during the school year. Students will choose a poem at school at the beginning of the designated week and have all week to practice reading the poem for presentation on Friday. A rubric is given at this time to ensure that the students know what is expected during their reading. On Friday, students will randomly read their poems to the class. Parents or guests are welcome to come to listen to the class’s poetry readings. If you would like to attend, notify me so that I can give you an idea of the time for the recital.

Independent Reading: Students will be given time nearly every day to read books at their reading level independently. Students will be responsible for discussing the books with me, sharing them with the class, and writing about them for different assignments. Students are encouraged to have books ready at their desk at the “Relax and Read” time each day. They may read books from home, from the classroom, or from the library. I will listen to them read on a regular basis so that I can see that they are choosing books at the appropriate level for them. Students will also be recorded reading aloud so that they can begin to self-evaluate their oral reading skills.

Spelling Lists: Students are given lists of varying lengths depending on the pretest performance. After I check the pretest, I will determine the number of words for the week’s list, and I will mark it for each child. A child’s list length could change each week depending on the difficulty of the list. Contact me if you don’t know the length of your child’s spelling list, and I will be happy to get back to you with the number of words.

Field Trips: We hope to be able to enjoy some field trips this year. Parents are welcome to accompany us on our trips, but we must have a signed note from the person who would like to accompany us. Some field trips limit the number of adults that can come with us, so we will let you know if we are expecting you to go with us.

Birthday Treats: We are happy to help your child celebrate his/her birthday here at school. If you are going to send in treats, please do not send anything that needs to be cut up to be distributed. If plates or napkins are necessary, please send them in with the treat.

I am so pleased to have your child as part of our class this year! I am looking forward to learning a lot with this group, having a lot of fun, and helping each student find areas of personal success. Please feel free to contact me whenever you have a question or concern.