SCHIESHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THIRD GRADE OPEN HOUSE SCHIESHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THIRD GRADE

I dreamed I stood in a studio And watched two sculptors there- The clay they used was a young child’s mind And they fashioned it with care. One was a teacher: the tools he used Were book, music, and art. The other, a parent worked With a gentle, loving heart. Day after day the teacher toiled With touch that was deft and sure; While the parent labored by his side, And polished and smoothed it o’er. Until at last their task was done, They were proud of what they had wrought- For the things they had modeled into the child Could neither be sold or bought. But each agreed he would have failed If he had worked alone. But behind the teacher stood the school And behind the parent, the home.

Classroom Schedule - A.M. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 8:45-9:00 Opening 9:00-9:15 Language Arts/Literacy Block 9:45-10:30 Computer Lab Journal Vocabulary Making Meaning Words Their Way 9:15-9:30 9:30-9:45 9:45-10:00 10:00-10:15 10:15-10:30 10:30-10:45 10:45-11:00 Math 11:00-11:15 11:15-11:30 11:30-11:45 11:45-12:00 Lunch/ Recess 12:00-12:15 12:15-12:25

Classroom Schedule - P.M. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 12:30-12:45 Music Class Mtg Writing PE LRC Computer Lab/Book Check-out 12:45-1:00 1:00-1:15 1:15-1:30 1:30-1:45 Art Science 1:45-2:00 2:00-2:15 Social Studies 2:15-2:30 2:30-3:00 3:00-3:10 Read Aloud 2nd Step

Priority Goals In Third Grade 1. To teach children to develop good study habits. 2. To teach children to organize their time. 3. To teach children to assume responsibilities academically and socially. 4. To provide more individual attention. 5. To place emphasis on L.A. and Math Programs. 6. To provide an atmosphere in which learning is fun.

What to Expect Every night your child should be doing independent reading…Reading Log. Homework should be around 30 minutes a nigh.t Please check your child’s assignment notebook and Take Home folder every day.

Student Expectations Use Standard English Say “Please”, Thank You”, “Excuse Me”, “You’re Welcome!” Talk Politely to Everyone Walk in School Act Responsibly in Class and Around the School

Behavior Plan Stop Light Program Red Card Consequences Green-Keep it up! Yellow-Warning Red- Stop. Consequence given. Red Card Consequences 1st offense- warning 2nd offense- conference with teacher and inside for recess 3rd offense- call home and inside for recess 4th offense- write up- conference with principal

Behavior Plan Children monitor their behavior with a monthly calendar. Each day the cards are reset. Every child starts the day with a green card. Red card violations are reset each trimester.

Homework Policy Assignments are given orally and posted on the assignment poster. The students are required to copy them in their assignment notebooks which are kept with the take home folders. The assignment notebook and folder are checked by the teacher, sent home, checked by the parents and returned the following school day with the completed assignments. Time is given in class to begin an assignment. Any work not completed is considered homework. If an assignment is overdue, a reminder notice (pink slip) is issued. Please sign and return it and the schoolwork the following day. If your child is absent, an absent sheet is filled out containing the daily homework and other notices. You may request that the homework be sent home with another child, or you may pick it up in the office at the end of the day.

Grading Scale Letter grades in reading, math, and social studies. B 89-80 C 79-70 D 69-60 F 59 and below

Report Cards Progress reports are sent home on an individual basis as needed midway through the trimester. Report cards are sent home at the end of the trimester, approximately every twelve weeks.

THE BEST THING TO SPEND ON YOUR CHILDREN IS TIME

Ways You Can Help your Child Read to children even after they have learned to read. Discuss the stories with them. Give your child books as gifts. Work together while your child finishes their homework. Turn everyday chores into learning experiences. Check their assignment sheets daily.

THIRD GRADE CURRICULUM CONTENT

LANGUAGE ARTS Shared Reading- Making Meaning Guided Reading- Scholastic Blue Paragraph writing Spelling Cursive Creative Writing Poetry Oral Communications AR Tests- 7,8,7/Reading Logs Curriculum is aligned to the Common Core Standards

Why is sorting important? August, 2014 Dear Parents, Please take a moment to read about the spelling program that we will be using this year. Also, be sure to read the attached page which outlines weekly word activities for your child to complete at home.   Words Their Way Words Their Way is described as a hands-on activity that allows students to compare and contrast categories of word features and discover similarities and differences within and between categories. During word study, spelling words are sorted in routines that require students to examine, discriminate and make critical judgments about speech sounds, word structures, spelling patterns, and meanings. Commercial phonics, spelling, and vocabulary programs are often characterized by explicit skill instruction, a systematic scope and sequence, and repeated practice. Much of the repeated practice consists of rote drill, so students have little opportunity to manipulate word concepts or apply critical thinking skills. Through active exploration, word study teaches students to examine words to discover the regularities, patterns, and conventions of English that are necessary to read and write. Why is sorting important? Word sorts are interesting and fun for students because they are hands-on and manipulative. The process of sorting requires students to pay attention to words and to make logical decisions about their sound, pattern, and or meaning as they sort each word. Sorting works from the known to the unknown. For instance, students work with words or the names of pictures that they can already pronounce. This takes away the tedious behavior of sounding out everything which subsequently detracts from meaning and engagement. Word sorts do not rely on rote memorization or the recitation of rules. During sorting, students determine similarities and differences among targeted features as they utilize higher level critical thinking skills to make categorical judgments. Sorts are effective and offer more concentrated practice than most commercial phonics programs. Sorting doubles or triples the number of examples children study, and they study them in a shorter amount of time. Sincerely, Miss Mizen

Miss Mizen and Mrs. Poremba   August, 2014 Dear Parents, Your child’s spelling level has been assessed, and based on that assessment, we’ve put together words that are appropriate for your child to learn at this time. The students will be bringing home a collection of spelling words on a weekly basis that have been introduced at school. Each night of the week, your child is expected to do a different activity to ensure that these words and the spelling principles they represent are mastered. These activities will be modeled and practiced in school, so your child should not have a problem with doing them. Monday: Have your child cut the words apart. Remind him/her to sort the words into categories like the ones in school. Your child should read each word aloud during this activity. Ask him/her to explain to you why the words are sorted in a particular way. Ask your child to sort the words a second time as fast as possible. Tuesday: Do a no peeking sort with your child. Lay down a word (face up) from each category as a header and then read the rest of the words aloud. Your child should indicate where each word goes without seeing it. Lay it down and let your child move it into the correct category if he/she was incorrect. Repeat if he/she makes more than one error. Sometimes we may call this a Blind Sort. Wednesday: Assist your child in doing a word hunt, looking for words in an AR book or other familiar book that have a similar pattern as his/her spelling words. Your child can write down the words that were found. Thursday: Do a writing sort to prepare for the Friday test. As you call out the words in random order, your child should write them into the correct categories. Call out any words he/she misspells a second or even third time. The final test will be given on the last day of the week unless our schedule changes. Be sure to ask your child. There will be some weeks when we will not have a sort. If your child did not write SORT on their assignment sheet and has written something else, then our class will be working on something different that week. Reviewing previous weeks’ sorts would be beneficial. Sincerely, Miss Mizen and Mrs. Poremba

Independent Reading To receive full credit on independent reading(AR), your child must read a minimum of: 1st trimester- seven books 2nd trimester- eight books 3rd trimester- seven books Student can take Accelerated Reader test to receive credit on book read. Student must receive 80% or better. Book must be approved by teacher before test is taken. Book must be at child’s appropriate level or higher. Failed test may be retaken with teacher permission. Star Reading test is given each trimester to evaluate students. Complete Reading/Math Log.

Writing Focus on three types of writing Pre-write- graphic organizer Narrative Explanatory Persuasive Pre-write- graphic organizer Rough Draft Final Draft Poetry

MATHEMATICS Curriculum Aligned to Common Core State Standards Unit 1-Measurement Unit 2- Operations and Algebraic Thinking: The Relationship between Multiplication and Division Unit 3- Operations and Algebraic Thinking: The Properties of Multiplication and Division Unit 4- Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Patterns in Addition and Multiplication Unit 5- Geometry Unit 6- Representing and Comparing Fractions

Math Practices Make sense of problems and persevere in solving Reason abstractly and quantitatively Construct viable arguments and critique reasoning of others Model with math Use appropriate tools strategically Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

SCIENCE/HEALTH Sound Dinosaurs People and Animals The Human Body

SOCIAL STUDIES Maps Native Americans The Growth of Communities Pioneers Government Lisle

Technology Microsoft Word PowerPoint Photo Story Map Maker Google Earth Timeliner

Field Trips Field Museum- Dinosaurs and Pioneers Fullersburg Woods- Life Cycle Lisle Depot- History of Lisle

Please check out our class web site for the latest weekly information.

Thank you for coming!! Julie Mizen(630)493-8132 jmizen@lisle202.org *Remember to sign Parent/Student Handbook