Welcome to Mrs. Beasley’s Room

1. 3rd Grade Curriculum Night Brookwood Elementary 2012-2013 School Year Welcome to Mrs. Beasley’s Room

2. Way to go Brookwood!!!! • Ranked #2 in the state out of 1,161 public elementary schools in Georgia • 3rd Grade Test scores 2011-2012 school year: Check out www.schooldigger.com for more info. * Math… #1 * ELA…. #1 * Reading… #1

3. OUR DAILY SCHEDULE • 7:10-7:45- Morning Work/Start the Day Activities • 7:50-8:20- RTI or Class Meeting (Instructional Remediation and Extension Activities) • 8:25-9:10 Science or Social Studies • 9:10-9:50 Specials • 9:50-10:40 Language Arts and Writing • 10:40-11:45 Reading • 11:50-12:10 Recess • 12:12-12:42 Lunch • 12:40-1:50 Math • 1:50-2:10 Silent Reading or Teacher Read • 2:10-2:20 Pack up and dismissal

4. Specials Area Teachers Art (K-5) Ms. Edwards Music (K-5) Mr. Evans PE Para (K-5) Ms. Spear Physical Education Coach Johnson Guidance (K-5) Ms. Bain Science Lab (3-5) Ms. Hayes Technology (K-2) Ms. Paluzzi Media Para Ms. Elmore Media K-2 Ms. Lessard Home of the Bobcats!

5. Specials Areas Expectations: • Listen quietly and follow directions • Respect yourself and others • Use materials (equipment) correctly • Be kind and helpful (good sportsmanship) • Clean-up at the end of class Visit Brookwood’s Website for more information about the specials schedule and programs.

6. Specials Rotating Schedule Please pay special attention to what special your child will attend on each letter of the day. If your student has PE on the “C” day, notice how the “C” day is not always Wednesday. The day rotates because of early release and no school days. On early release days we will be having “Bobcat Den Days”. This could be used for school wide assemblies, team building activities or student performances. Student should wear gym shoes on Bobcat Den Days in case there is an active game.

7. Bobby’s Bistro Family Lunchroom Procedures Please sign in at the front desk with Mrs. Lance. Meet your child in the main school hallway (Brookwood Boulevard) behind the cafeteria. If you are purchasing a cafeteria lunch, you may accompany your child through the line. If you are not purchasing a cafeteria lunch, please proceed to the parent lunchroom. Please remain in the parent lunchroom until a classmate stops by to walk with your child to the classroom. Sign out at the front desk with Mrs. Lance. Lunchtime is very busy at Brookwood and we appreciate your support.

8. Classroom Discipline • At the start of the year, students learned the rules and consequences for our classroom. • Our clip chart allows students to move up or down depending upon their choices each day.

9. Homework Policy • STUDENT is responsible for completing and turning in all homework assignments • Homework is a review of concepts taught • Homework will not be assigned a grade • Incomplete homework will result in a consequence • Homework is either checked in class or by the teacher for understanding Remember – practice makes perfect and homework is practice.

10. In Mrs. Beasley’s Class… • In Mrs. Beasley's class, you can expect....   • * Reading for 20 minutes each night • * Nightly math practice sheet or activity • * Weekly spelling words and activities • * Occasional studying for upcoming quizzes or tests • * Math fact practice as needed • Here is a bit more information on how spelling will work this year: • Each Monday the entire class will take a pre-test. There will be 10 words on the pre-test. If you get them all correct or only miss 1 word, you will get a challenge list for the week. If you get more than 1 word wrong, you will get the regular list. • You should study your words throughout the week. You will be given 4 different activity choices to complete throughout the week- you must choose 3 to do. On FRIDAY you must turn in your 3 activities and be ready for your spelling test. Everyone will also get tested on 5 extra words that you will NOT see before the test- this is so Mrs. Beasley can see if you learned the spelling pattern for the week. • Everyone will also be given 5 bonus words relating to something we are studying in class. You should be familiar with these words because we will always have a challenge with these words on Fridays. • Spelling List Example

11. Common Core Curriculum • Nation-wide curriculum aimed to unify academic standards across the country • Standards are aligned with college and work expectations • Are informed by other top-performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in a global economy and society • Rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills www. educationnorthwest.org

12. Reading • Literature, informational texts, poetry • Asking and answering questions • Retelling stories • Describing characters • Establishing own point of view • Determining word meanings, literal vs. non-literal • Comparing and contrasting • Using information gained from text features and illustrations to aid in comprehension • Reading and comprehending literature (stories, drama, poetry) • Reading and comprehending non-fiction texts (science, social studies, technical texts) Being read to is the most influential activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading. • -( Anderson, R.C., 1985: Becoming a Nation of Readers)

13. Guided Reading • We will work on our reading skills as a class, in small groups, and individually. • Comprehension • Fluency • Decoding • Spelling • Vocabulary • Responding to reading in journals • Group discussions

14. Writing and Language • Narrative, opinion, and informative pieces • Short research projects • Mastering basic parts of speech • Understanding basics of capitalization and punctuation • Able to use spelling patterns • Prefixes, suffixes, syllable patterns, root words • Listening and speaking skills

15. Math • Rounding, addition, subtraction • Word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division • Understanding concepts of multiplication and division • Understanding fractions • Geometry (plane figures, understanding area) • Measurement and data (graphing, time, liquid volume, masses of objects)

16. Science • This year in Science, students will learn about: • Rocks and Minerals • Fossils and Soil • Habitats of Georgia - plants and animals • Exploring Heat Energy • Magnets

17. SocialStudies • Throughout this year we will study: • Greece • Economics • Map Skills • Famous Americans • Government

18. Grading and Reporting Academic Achievement and Specials Areas • X- Not assessed at this time • 1- Limited achievement toward standard mastery • 2- Moderate achievement toward standard mastery • 3- Consistent achievement toward standard mastery • 4- Complete standard mastery Work Habits D- Does Not Meet S- Successful E- Exemplary

19. Report Card and Grading Rubrics • http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/35142

20. Forsyth Testing Dates • CogAT • September 10: Verbal Battery • September 11:  Quantitative Battery/Non-Verbal   Battery • September 12: Make-up

21. General Information – CogAT • The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most linked to academic success in school: Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal. • While CogAT is well-suited to help educators make important student placement decisions, such as selecting students for Gifted and Talented programs, exclusive features such as the Ability Profile Score can be used to expand the educational opportunities of all students.

22. What is the CogAT? Q: Is CogAT an IQ test? Are SAS scores IQ scores? A: No. CogAT measures reasoning abilities. Although these abilities are central to all definitions of intelligence, the word intelligence implies much more. However, psychologists have never agreed on the definition of intelligence, so how much more should be included in an intelligence test is often debated. Further, the notion of IQ comes from an earlier set of procedures for indexing the rate of mental development. CogAT does not use these procedures. The SAS scale used on CogAT provides normalized Standard Age Scores for that fraction of the population that attends school. Although SAS scores are very helpful for professionals, nonprofessionals can confuse them with IQ scores, so they are generally not reported to parents and lay organizations. Percentile ranks and stanines are better suited for general audiences.

23. Other Points of Interest • Your child’s agenda must be signed each night. • Your child must read for 20 minutes and record what they read in their agenda each night. • Your child must wear tennis shoes on P.E. days. • A change in transportation must be approved through the office. Please send in a note! • Important information can be found the Friday folder. • You can write notes to me in the agenda. • Students may purchase breakfast each morning. • Always remember that you can contact me with any concerns or questions you may have. We are on the same team – your child’s!

24. TheBrookwood Bridge to SuccessStrengthening our Learning Community in orderto support the success of our children. “Putting It All Together- The Brookwood Way!”

25. Results of data collection showed a need for: • Strengthening skills - responsibility/problem solving • Additional parent opportunities- involvement/educational support • Clarity of communication -academic/social expectations. Why? How? • Additional Instruction and resources will be provided: • Classroom instruction- responsibility/problem solving. • Parent Nights (Family/Health/Literacy) • Visuals and Communication • Volunteer Training Program • Instruction for teachers and students during guidance sessions. • Family Resource nights will be announced soon. • Volunteer Program Orientation will be announced soon. When?

26. Age Appropriate Academic and Social Responsibilities Tonight you will be provided with one of our communication tools “Age Appropriate Academic and Social Responsibilities” The list was based on developmental readiness skills & the experience of our staff and focus committee. Please keep these in a safe place since we will be referring to them throughout the year. Please join our Learning Community as we build The Brookwood Bridge to Success!

27. Other Bits and Pieces • Check out my website • Browse around the Third Grade Website! • Please read our class newsletter. • If you have not been receiving it, please let me know. • Join the PTA if you haven’t yet. 

28. Teacher Contact • Notes in agenda • E-mail: dbeasley@forsyth.k12.ga.us • Call 678-965-5060 ext. 470336

29. Thank you for coming to Curriculum Night!