Welcome to 3rd Grade

1. WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THIRD GRADE Mrs. Castleberry

2. School begins at 8:15Breakfast is from 7:45-8:05. If students arrive before 7:45 they must go to the lunchroom even if they are not eating breakfast.Please have your child in the room and ready so our day can begin on time, and they will not lose learning time.

3. Attendance • It is very important that your child be at school everyday. • If your child is absent, please send an excuse for the absence the day your child returns to school.

4. INDPENDENCE • In third grade we are working on creating independence in our students. We encourage our students to walk to class by themselves, unpack their own book bags, go to breakfast, and follow morning procedures. • At home encourage independence in such ways as : choosing their own clothes for the next day, fixing their own plate at supper, cleaning up after themselves. • If you encourage independence – your child will be independent!

5. CLASS ROOM MANAGEMENT • Rules are displayed in the classroom and taught the first weeks of school. • Keep hands, feet, and objects to ourselves. • Follow directions at all times. • Walk in a quiet, straight line. • Be respectful to the teacher, friends, and classroom. • Take care of your business! • Raise your hand before speaking. • When rules are not followed there are consequences. • Yellow = Warning • Orange = Lose 10 minutes of recess • Red = Lose all recess-Detention/Note sent home • Blue= Office Visit • REWARDS: Praise, hugs, Principals Award at the end of each nine weeks, and pride in a job well done!

6. CLASS SCHEDULE 7:45-8:15- Breakfast/Morning Work/Announcements 8:20 – 9:10 Reading First Workstations and Guided Reading Groups 9:15 – 9:30 Read Aloud 9:30-10:20- Reading First/Large Group 10:20-11:20 – Whole Group Math 11:25-12:15- Rotation/Planning 12:20-12:35 –Math Stations/Small Groups 12:35-1:00- Writing/Language Arts 1:00-1:30- Lunch 1:30-2:10 Writing/Language Arts (1:45-2:15 Intervention Pull Out) 2:10-2:40 Social Studies or Science 2:40-2:55- Recess 3:00-3:05- Pack-up/Announcements Parent Conferences: As our day is filled with many activities and LOTS of learning it is very important that you schedule conferences as opposed to just “popping in” to talk. Before school and after 3:15, as well as during rotation time, which is my planning, is the best time to reach me for a conference. Please call ahead to schedule conference at 783-7359 or send in a note.

7. Morning Procedures • Come in with a smile • Take out your homework and all supplies you need • Put your homework in your mailbox • Hang up your book bag • Go to breakfast/ bathroom • Sharpen 3 pencils • Write your homework in your agenda • Complete your morning work • Read a book quietly • Sit quietly and listen when announcements come on

8. Homework • Practice of what we do at school. • Should take only 30 to 45 minutes - this is what is developmentally appropriate for third grade students. • NEVER do your child’s homework for them. Find a quiet and comfortable place for them to do homework – without distractions (ex. TV., other children, toys) • Teach your child to pack their homework and folder up immediately after completing – don’t wait until the next morning. Your child is responsible for turning their homework in daily, another reason for independence. • Look at your child’s homework and discuss it with them so you will know what they are learning at school. • Agendas should be signed on the appropriate day. DO NOT sign the agenda for the whole week and ONLY sign it if the homework has been completed and checked.

9. Homework • Remember for each homework assignment not turned in, 2 points will be deducted from the homework grade in both Math and Reading/Language Arts each 9 weeks. • The homework grade will be averaged like a test grade with all the other grades for the 9 weeks.

10. Read WITH your child EVERYnight • It will be easy reading because they have read it and worked with it at school. • Children learning to read will use various reading strategies: • Using pictures • Knowledge of talking language and sounds in words READING FIRST

11. Children begin at lower levels than they are tested because there is much more to reading than calling words. • We work on fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and higher level thinking skills. • 3rd graders should be reading 120 words per minute at the end of this school year (Georgia Performance Standard) • Children who can read fluently at high levels do not sustain interest in reading when pushed to read higher levels that are about topics that 8 and 9 year olds do not relate to. REMEMBER TO READ ALOUD EVERYDAY TO YOUR CHILD READING FIRST

12. Literacy Workstations • We do not teach with work sheets very often – worksheets do not teach children. • Students learn through authentic reading and writing activities. Hands on work that engages the whole student – body and mind. • Centers that you might find in our classroom: WORKING WITH WORDS WRITING LISTENING COMPUTER READING MATH

13. Writing Workshop Children write everyday. Writing is about thinking and composing. Learning how to put ideas on paper and making meaning with what we write. Spelling and conventions are taught but not during composing time. Spelling is developmental and children learn spelling over time. We encourage children to write the sounds they hear in words when they do not know the correct spelling. We do not spell for them because that just makes them dependent on adults for spelling and inhibits their spelling development.

14. Writing Workshop • Conventional spelling will emerge as we work with words during word study. • We keep all of the children’s writing throughout the year. Children will use some of their pieces to get ideas for new stories and learn how to revise and edit previous pieces. • Teaching children to love writing and put stories on paper. • It is not the product, but the process that children go through as they learn to write that matters.

15. MATHEMATICS • Georgia Performance Standards • Even/odd numbers to 50 • Counting on to add • Adding and subtracting two whole numbers up to 4 digits each with regrouping • Understand multiplication as repeated addition and use multiplication table • Understand and compare fractions • Measurement: length and temperature • Tell time to the nearest 5 minutes • Describe and classify plane figures according to the number of edges and vertices • Types of angles: right, obtuse, acute • Estimation: rounding to nearest ten • Subtraction and fact families • Word problems • Recognizing money/values/make fair trades with money • Recognize/count/order numbers 0-50 • More less/one more,less/10 more, less • Compare sets >, <, = • Skip counting 1’s to 50, 2’s forward and backwards to 50, 5’s to 50, 10’s to 50 forward and backwards • Tally marks • Place value • Calendar • Graphs

16. Grading & Report Cards • Report cards are issued every 9 weeks. o Progress reports are issued in the middle of each 9 weeks o We do not grade everything the students do-usually only if we have taught it, reviewed it, and practiced it already so we can tell the students progress and identify strengths and weaknesses. (Some papers may just have a check, sticker or smiley.) However, we do look over all of their work as a guide to the direction that our teaching should be headed. o Our grading system consists of number grades. 90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, below 70=F.

17. Grading & Report Cards o Graded papers will come home Wednesday or Thursday afternoons. Look for my comments to help you understand the grade or the activity. Please sign the papers and send them back to school the next day. Please return all test that are attached. As always, stay in contact with me if there are questions or concerns about grades, etc.

18. Important Dates *PTO Meetings: September 18th December 4th March 5th April 16th *Parent Teacher Conferences: October 21st (6:00 9:00 P.M.) October 22nd (1:30 – 4:30 P.M.) March 19th (4:00 – 9:00 P.M.) *ITBS: March 24th – 27th *CRCT: Test Window April 20th – 30th ( 3 days)

19. Great Websites for 3rd Graders • www.starfall.com • www.kidsspell.com • www.softschool.com • www.schoolexpress.com • www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html • www.pbskids.org • www.softschools.com • www.schoolexpress.com • www.georgiaoas.org (CRCT online) • Login ID: Grade3 • Password: Grade3

20. That’s All Folks! Thank you for coming. I look forward to working with you and your child this year!