Welcome to Third Grade!

1. Welcome to Third Grade! Curriculum Night August 28, 2012

2. YES Third Grade Teachers Mrs. Amy Anderson Mr. Lamarrius Anderson Ms. Lora Haghighi Mrs. Julie Price Mrs. Selena Tapley We are very excited about working with your children and are looking forward to a great year!

3. 3rd GradeA New Experience… • Letter Grades in ALL Subjects • ARMT Testing • Moving toward National Core Curriculum • Cursive Handwriting • Memorization of Multiplication Facts • More independence • Focus shifts from “Learning to Read” to “Reading to Learn”

4. Change of Transportation • Students must have a Change of transportation form if their afternoon dismissal changes. • These should be sent into the office in the mornings. Please refrain from calling the office. • Forms are in the binders • Please do not call the office as you are in route to have your child wait in the office to be checked out.

5. Arrival and Dismissal • Car riders need to come between 7:10-7:30. • Instruction begins at 7:30. • The students need to be in the classroomready to begin our day by 7:30. • Please write your child’s name on jackets and coats.

6. Snack Time • We will have Snack Time every day. • Please send healthy snacks: • Crackers, fresh fruit that is ready to eat • Vegetables • Please DO NOT send cakes, cookies or candy • Snacks are eaten as we work. Please send things that your child can eat independently A number of our students are unable to bring snacks. Any “extras” that you would like to send to share would be greatly appreciated.

7. Grading Policies and Procedures • Auburn City Schools Grading Scale: • A = 90-100 • B = 80-89 • C = 70-79 • D = 60-69 • F = 59 and below

8. Communication • Please read your child’s newsletter EVERY week in order to keep informed of weekly school and grade level events. • PTO and School-wide information is sent home in their Gold Folders on Thursdays. • Each classroom teacher has their own procedures for sending home classroom work.

9. PARENTS: Please check your child’s ROYAL Binder for Weekly newsletter Homework School announcements Academic Resources Transportation forms Royal Binders (Responsibly Organizing Your Awesome Learning)

10. Homework • Knightly Reading Card – 20 minutes of reading a night • Fluency Homework • Math Fluency Card • Nightly Spelling – Spelling Workbook • Math homework – assigned by math teacher

11. Plans For The Year This is a projected schedule. It is subject to change slightly as needed. Third Grade objectives may be found on the Alabama Course of Study. This is on Yarbrough website under Parent Info. and Resources

12. Walk to Math • Pre-test before every unit (not counted as a grade) • Students change classes to meet each child’s instructional needs. • Post tests are given at the end of every unit. • Groups are fluid and changed every unit.

13. Math Fact Fluency The state of Alabama is stating that all third grade students should be fluent in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. We will be giving timed math fact tests. Please practice these facts at home and record time spent practicing facts on the yellow math card.

14. Math Tests Class Work Homework 50% 40% 10% Skills Tests Pretest will be given. Post test will count as final test grade. Daily Class Work (differentiated work in individual math classes) Homework (Differentiated homework given by math teacher) Knightly Math Card (Students must complete 4 boxes a week. Each box represents 5 minutes of math fact practice.)

15. D.I.B.E.L.S.(Dynamic Indicators of Beginning and Early Literacy Skills) D.I.B.E.L.S. is a standardized reading assessment that is given to all elementary students in the state. The assessment measures reading fluency. Students are given scores such as: Benchmark, Strategic, and Intensive Students will need to read 110 words a min. to be considered benchmark .

16. Science andSocialStudiesReading Intervention • Students will have 4 weeks of Social Studies or Science instruction then switch classes and have 4 weeks of Science or Social Studies • Some students will have Reading Intervention during this time. These students will participate in condensed, yet meaningful, Science and Social Studies lessons that coincide with what is being taught in the other classrooms.

17. Why do we needReading Intervention? • Elevate student reading to grade level • Last year, 99% of our Third Grade Students were in the highest levels of proficiency on the ARMT in reading and math. • Students enjoyed the small group instruction and felt successful in reading

18. Reading Tests Class Work Homework 70% 28% 2% Weekly Scott Foresman Selection Tests 50% Scott Foresman Unit Assessment Reading Portion ONLY (at the end of each unit) 20% Daily Classroom Center/Book Group Activities FluencyHomework (Calculated by percentagecomplete) Fluency Grade (every other week) Consists of the average of fluency and comprehension questions Knightly Reading Card (Calculated by percentage complete. Students must complete at least 4 lines each week. Each line represents 20 minutes.)

19. LanguageArts Tests Class Work Homework 28% 70% 2% 20% Scott Foresman Weekly grammar assessments 50% Grammar Tests (at the end of each week) Daily Classroom Center/Book Group Activities Spelling Homework (Calculated by percentage complete) Scott Foresman Unit Assessment GRAMMAR Portion ONLY (at the end of each unit) Spelling Tests (every week) Oral Language Sentences – graded according to capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Writing Assignments (1 per quarter) Will develop a rubric for each writing assignment as a common grading tool.

20. Field Trips • DeSoto Caverns (approx. $35) • Tuskegee Airmen Museum • Forest Ecology Preserve • Please write your phone number on your checks.

21. Special Events • Fairy Tale Ball • Oregon Trail • International Day

22. Thanks for coming tonight • Questions? • You will go to your child’s classroom to discuss individual classroom procedures.