Welcome, 3 rd Grade Parents!

1. Welcome, 3rd Grade Parents! Curriculum Night for 3rd Grade September 9, 2013

2. 3rd Grade is a Transition Year.. …but we are here to help!! The biggest changes you can expect: Assignment notebooks Tests/study guides Speed with which we move through curriculum Organization: Binders Paperless initiative-Check websites and emails http://www.northallegheny.org/Domain/667 Wonderful Wednesdays Online Textbooks-Math, Reading, SS, Science

3. ITBS and PSSATesting Dates for 3rd Grade • ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) Monday,January 13th through Friday,January 17th • PSSA Reading and Math Monday, March 17th through Friday, March 28th

4. Bully Prevention Program • Kickoff-October • PES SCHOOL-WIDE • All NASD buildings have gone through Bully Prevention Training. • Program developed on teaching students how better to get along with others. • PES has an Olweus training committee made up of principal, counselor, teachers, paras, and parents. • Goal to reduce the amount of unkind behavior and replace it with the positive. • Activities will include: role modeling, class meetings, and PES announcements.

5. Peebles Rules • We will not bully others. • We will try to help students who are bullied. • We will include students who are left out. • If we know somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and at home.

6. Crisis Management at Peebles Fire Drills Lock Down Drills Severe Weather Drills

7. Communication Arts~~Reading Reading to learn vs. learning to read.

8. Communication Arts~~Reading • Structure of Class • Reading Support • Mrs. Jan Spohn • Mrs. Michelle Carpenter • Differentiated Instruction • Leveled Readers

9. Communication Arts~~Reading COMMUNICATION ARTS/ENGLISH • GRADE THREE • The Storytown series designed by Harcourt School Publishers will be utilized with third grade students. These teacher and student resources were selected after a comprehensive evaluation process conducted by members of our faculty and administration. The progression of learning activities for students in this program is based on current research in the field of reading instruction. In addition, the instructional strategies utilized by teachers are also proven to enhance student learning and performance. • The Storytown series is organized by Themes, Lessons, and Skills. Six Themes will be covered during the course of the school year. Each Theme is comprised of a series of Lessons. Each Lesson lasts for approximately one week and is further organized by a variety of stories, activities, and skill development focus points.

10. Communication Arts~~Reading • Theme 1: School Days 5 Lessons/Weeks • Theme 2: Together We Can 5 Lessons/Weeks • Theme 3: As We Grow 5 Lessons/Weeks • Theme 4: Tales to Tell 5 Lessons/Weeks • Theme 5: A Place For All 5 Lessons/Weeks • Theme 6: Discoveries 5 Lessons/Weeks

11. Communication Arts~~Reading • The Storytown series focuses on explicit, systematic instruction with a spiraled review of key skills. Student experience many opportunities for practice and the application of concepts. In addition, a series of leveled activities and resource materials exist to meet the varied needs of learners. Sample skills that are developed through these resources include: • Various types of literature (Main and Paired Selections) • Phonics/Spelling • Comprehension (Focus Skills and Focus Strategies) • Fluency • Robust Vocabulary • Grammar • Writing-marking indicators given 2nd and 4th 9 weeks

20. Spelling • Monday-The students will be given a pretest of 15 words and the spelling generalization is introduced. Five challenge words will be given to students who miss 0 or 1 on the pretest. • Tuesday-Thursday- Reinforcement and practice activities are completed. • Friday- The students complete a weekly test. • Spelling correlates with reading lessons, we may not have spelling every week. • Tests may not always fall on a Friday. • Beginning in January, spelling tests will be written in cursive.

21. Classroom Management • Olweus program • Black Book-Bjalobucks • *Assignment notebooks* • “Take Home” folders • Birthday treats-extra recess • Grades/Tyler • Missed Assignment Notices • *Notes for pick-up* • Stickers and Tickets • Think Cards

24. Teacher e-mails • Mrs. Knepp: • kknepp@northallegheny.org • Ms. Belz: • rbelz@northallegheny.org • Peebles phone number: (412)366-9667

25. Social StudiesScienceMrs. KneppMs. Belz • Social Studies~ Economics, Geography, Government, History Examples of chapters: • Science~ • Earth Science, Physical Science, Space Study Guides/Tests Components of Grade Graphic Organizers/Reading Help

26. Mathematics • Harcourt Mathematics Program • Monitor homework daily • Math Criteria: • Second grade end-of-book test • ITBS Scores • Concepts • Problem solving • Computation • Basic fact speed quizzes (+ and -) • Math student attributes

27. Rocket Math Teachers in grades one through five will be fully implementing Rocket Math as part of their daily Math instruction. This research-based program has shown that students who gain automaticity with their basic facts are then able to free up cognitive abilities to focus on more complex math concepts. Rocket Math offers a supplemental curriculum that is uniquely structured to present sequential practice and mastery of math facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. There will be approximately ten-minutes of instruction dedicated to this program each day. Go to the District Web Site Click on Especially for Parents under Quick Links Click on Rocket Math (General Rocket Math information for parents and the Rocket Math Guide for Parents)

28. Structure of Math Class • Homework • Vocabulary • Components of Math Grade: • Basic Facts • Problem Solving • Computation • Written Explanation • Concepts

29. Thank you for coming! • Any help with supplies is appreciated.  • Please make sure you leave a note for your child to read tomorrow morning. • Don’t forget to sign up for conferences and party volunteers!