Blazing the Trail (Put team picture here) 3 rd Grade

Our Team Cherish Mims Language Arts Jessica Cox Math/Science Debi King Language Arts Brooke Brown Math/Science Holly Lorton All Subjects

Tonight, we will… experience a snapshot of a day in the life of a trailblazer learn ways that you can be involved with your child’s classroom and school Develop understanding of the expectations of Third graders at JC Thompson Have a question and answer session with any time remaining.

Vision of JCT Empowered to learn, motivated to lead! Mission of JCT J.C. Thompson Elementary, together with families and community, will engage students in a premier education, preparing them for success in an ever- changing world.

Attendance We want your child to have every opportunity to learn. Doors open at 7:20 and school starts promptly at 7:45. We encourage and recognize perfect attendance each six weeks. Whenever your child must be absent, please call the front office at to report the absence. When your child returns, please send a note or doctor’s excuse to explain your child’s absence. Attendance is taken each day at 9:30.

Daily Schedule TimeActivity 7:20 – 7:45 Morning Work 7:45 – 8:00 Morning Meeting 8:00 – 11:00 Class 11:00 – 11:30 Lunch 11:30 – 11:50 Recess 11:50 – 12:00 Restroom Break 12:00 – 1:35 Class 1:35 – 2:30 AMP (Art, Music, PE) 2:30 – 2:45 Wrap Up/Clean Up/Pack Up More specific schedules available on teacher’s websites

Volunteers Volunteers are welcome at Thompson Elementary and in our classroom!! You may volunteer services, time, or supplies. You may volunteer here at school or in the comfort of your own home. Watch D.O.G.S.-Dads, Uncles, Grandpas (Kick-Off will be in September) Background check (You must have one from this year to go on Field Trips!)

Student Birthdays Birthday celebrations may take place the last part of the day on the playground or in the classroom only. Please provide individual servings for the celebrations (cupcakes, cookies, napkins, etc.) and must be STORE BOUGHT The treat should be dropped off in the office and office staff will deliver at the end of the day. The district specifies that birthday invitations may not be passed out during the day; however, the child can pass them out as students leave for the day outside the classroom door.

Communication Trail Guide Planners and Take Home Folder Class DOJO Tuesday Newsday (school news, newsletters, graded papers) Blasts Call blasts Progress reports are available online the 3 rd Monday of each six weeks. If your child is failing in a content area, a progress report will be printed and sent home to be signed and returned. Report Cards sent out electronically the Thursday following the end of each six weeks.

AT JCT, we will…  Take care of ourselves,  Take care of each other,  Take care of this place!

Behavior Class DOJO –you can check your child’s daily behavior and receive s and reminders from the teachers. Students are awarded points for good choices and behavior that aligns with our TRAIL guide expectations. They may also have points taken away for poor choices. Each Friday students who meet the minimum point value for the week will participate in PAT (Preferred Activity) time. In addition we will have a grade level “store” that will be open for shopping at the end of each six weeks. Behavior Concerns will be noted in Trail Guide Planners. It will be student’s responsibility to get parent signature if there is a note from a teacher. A ‘blank’ square means there were no concerns and a signature is not required. Please look at planners regularly for homework, subjects being taught, and behavior concerns. You do NOT have to initial nightly. If your child receives a note from a teacher, it is that student’s responsibility to ask the parent to initial to note the communication was received.

Getting to Know the Curriculum

What do we want your children to know? What do we want your children to know? Reader’s Workshop Third Graders will read both independently and in small groups EVERYDAY! More Text and Fewer Pictures Increase Fluency (80 WPM-100 WPM) Independent Reading Stamina (20 minutes or longer) Determine Setting, Characters, Figurative Language & Symbolism Variety of Genres Comprehension Reading Reflection and Reading Log Integration of Social Studies

What do we want your children to know? What do we want your children to know? Writer’s Workshop Third Graders will write independently EVERYDAY! Personal Experiences Respond to learning in Math, Science and Social Studies Write with a Purpose Proofread what they Write Use Correct Conventions (Punctuation, Grammar and Spelling) Increase Sentence Fluency

SKILLS BLOCK Spelling – sight words, spelling patterns, weekly spelling tests Grammar – parts of speech, tense, punctuation, capitalization Cursive – learn the strokes to form each letter, how to connect letters to form words, and how to read cursive writing

How will we know what your children know? Read Aloud Guided Reading Feedback Goal Setting and Monitoring Reader’s Workshop Writing Workshop Reading Reflection Notebook Writer’s Notebook Author Studies Journey’s (Reading Series) Book Clubs Student/Teacher Conferences Before/After School Tutoring

What do we want your children to know? Math Understand the overlying concepts of math. Learn that they can be mathematical thinkers. Math is not just skill and practice. Focus on computational fluency. “Is that the most efficient way to solve that problem?” Provide lots of experience in geometry, measurement, data and early algebra. Provide connections between all parts of math. Students know a variety of strategies to solve a wide range of problems. Emphasize reasoning of mathematical ideas. Engage the range of learners in understanding math.

5E Lesson Design Template - Directions 1. Engagement: (the “catch”) ♦ Describe how the teacher will capture students’ interest. ♦ What kind of questions should the students ask themselves after the engagement? 2. Exploration: (the “do”) ♦ Describe what hands-on/minds-on activities students will be doing. ♦ List at least 2 questions the teacher may use to encourage and/or focus students’ exploration. 3. Explanation: (the “lesson”) ♦ List at least 2 higher order thinking questions which teachers may use to solicit STUDENT explanations and help them to justify their explanations ♦ Student explanations should precede introduction of scientific terms or explanations by the teacher. What questions or techniques will the teacher use to help students connect their exploration to the scientific concept under examination? 4. Elaboration: (“the enrich”) ♦ Describe how students will develop a more sophisticated understanding of the concept. ♦ What scientific terminology will be introduced and how will it connect to students’ observations? ♦ How is this knowledge applied in science or in our daily lives? 5. Evaluation: (the “evaluation”) ♦ How will students demonstrate that they have achieved the lesson objective? ♦ This may be done throughout the lesson as well as at the end of the lesson. Science Inquiry

What do we want your children to know? What do we want your children to know? Science Asking questions Using science tools Physical Science Force is a push or a pull Matter has physical properties Earth Science Nature can cause change Patterns of change in weather, metamorphosis and objects in sky Cycles and simple systems Life Science Habitats of animals Needs of living creatures Environmental changes How living creatures adapt and change environment

STAAR  State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness  Given in grades 3-5  Given in early May  Test is now timed - 4 hours  More difficult than previous test because it will require higher level thinking and multiple step problems.  Builds on previously learned knowledge.  3 rd Grade will take both Reading and Math

Conferences We will have a parent/teacher conferences this year in the fall. Please contact us if you have concerns at other points. Our Fall conferences will be at the beginning of October. Please look for a note home in the next couple of weeks.

Grades and Homework Every night your child should be reading at least 20 minutes and logging finished books in his/her Reading Log in school. Here are some tips to help your child become a better reader! Homework is not the way it used to be! Any homework will be purposeful and meaningful for each child and will be used as a tool to help support the learning done in class. There may be weeks when no additional homework is sent home. Please check the weekly blasts for updates. A lot of grades taken will be directly from their notebooks in class. Therefore you may not see an abundance of graded papers coming home. You can check the status of your child’s grades on line and at any time, if you have questions, contact your child’s teacher.

The Importance of Reading Nightly!

Questions What 3 rd Grade questions do you have for us? If you have a question that you feel pertains to your child only, please write it down and we will contact you individually.