Welcome to Room 20!

1. Welcome to Room 20!

2. Communication: • Fall conferences: sign up sheets on table • Report Cards: November, February, June • Email address: sbagley@hopkinton.k12.ma.usThere are times when we experience problems with our email system. If you do not hear back from me within a day after sending me an email, please contact me again. Note: My contact information is on our class website. • Voice mail number:121: I will get back to you as soon as possible, usually within one day. If the message is one that needs to be addressed more quickly (bus changes, etc.), please contact Mrs. McPhail or Mrs. Napolitano in the office. • Most school notices will be sent through Elmwood School’s listserve. You can find information on the school website about how to sign up. • Parent survey/questionnaire/bookmark: Feel free to take these home and send them in with your child. • Class directory: If you would like to have your child’s name included, please fill out and return the form. • Sign up:Room Parents:sign up sheets on the table. In order to volunteer, you need to have an updated CORI form filed with the school. October 7th Field Trip to concert at Mechanics Hall. • On the school website, information is available about each subject by going to Parent Link and then to the HPS Curriculum Website. • Check out our class website to see what’s going on in our classroom and other important information.

3. Classroom Routines and Expectations: • Assignment book/homework folder: Please check your child’s assignment book each night. Although homework is only assigned 3 nights a week, the children are asked to write down other important information at times, such as test dates, reminders, etc. Feel free to jot notes to me in the assignment book. • Homework: In addition to reviewing and reinforcing skills, homework is also an important way for the children to develop independence and responsibility. Homework is assigned on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. For most children the homework should take around 20 - 30 minutes. This time does not include studying for upcoming tests or quizzes. It also does not include the reading/math logs. If your child has actively worked on the homework for 30 minutes but has not yet finished, I will accept the work with a parent signature. For children who would benefit from additional homework, they should be encouraged to take part in the enrichment independent reading projects. Information about these projects is on our class website.

4. Independent Book Projects: Focus on Different Genres • Design a poster that includes the most important information from your book. • Design a book jacket. • Complete a story map. • Complete a character web for the main character. • Create a television or radio advertisement for your book. • Write a short play based on your book. • Write a poem about your book. • Write a different ending for the book. • Write the next chapter in the book. • Rewrite a favorite scene from a different character’s perspective. • Create a comic strip based on your book. • Write a new scene that would happen before your book begins. • Create a newspaper based on events from your book. • Write a book review. • Create a photo album. • Create a travel brochure based on the setting of your book. • Write a new adventure for one or more of the characters. • Write a post card from one character to another. Make sure to illustrate an important scene on the front of the postcard. • Create a timeline of the important events in the story. • Write a diary as the main character. Include at least 5 entries. • Create a collage that includes the important information from your book. • Which character in the story you would like to meet? Explain why. • If you could be a new character in the story, who would you be? Explain why.

5. Homework Hints Along with reinforcing and enriching concepts learned in the classroom, homework is an opportunity for your child to develop responsibility and independence. These are some suggestions to make homework a successful learning experience for your child this year. • Choose a quiet place to study at home. • Try to find a consistent time for homework. • Review the directions with your child to make sure he/she understands what to do. Once the directions are clear, encourage your child to complete the homework on his/her own. • Provide a dictionary for looking up definitions and/or spelling unknown words. • Another option, which is especially helpful for paragraph and story writing, is to have your child brainstorm a list of words he/she would like to use. Write the words down for easy reference. This is helpful for both ideas and for spelling. • Once the homework is completed, have your child put the homework into his/her backpack right away. • For long-term projects and assignments, it is helpful to have your child keep a calendar so that it’s easier to keep track of due dates. • Since developing a sense of responsibility for their homework is important for third grade students, it is helpful if you do not bring your child’s homework in if he/she has forgotten it at home. My policy is to give children a second day to complete and bring in homework. If a child is consistently forgetting homework, I will contact you to discuss ways to help him/her become more independent in this area.

6. More Classroom Routines and Expectations: • Monthly math/reading logs: In addition to the assigned homework, I would like the children to spend time each week practicing their math facts and reading on a regular basis. At the beginning of each month, we will decide on a class goal for both reading and math. Log sheets will be sent home weekly. Extra sheets are available on our class website. The children should keep track of the number of minutes they read and practice their facts each week. Please sign the logs each week. • Tickets and stars: Classroom rules and expectations • Long term projects are assigned throughout the year. Our first book report will be assigned in October. • Star of the Week: This will begin in October. A schedule and more information will be coming home soon. Star of the Week letter forms and our Star of the Week schedule will also be available on our class website.

7. Responsive Classroom Responsive classroom is an approach that focuses on both academic and social growth for students. Part of Responsive Classroom is a daily Morning Meeting. An important part of our Morning Meeting will be for the children to build connections to each other. It will also be a vehicle for classroom discussions focusing on a variety of academic and social skills. We use the word CARES to remind the children of the social skills we are focusing on. CARES stands for cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.

9. Reading and Writing • Treasures Reading Program: This program utilizes leveled readers for differentiation. There is a focus on different genres such as realistic fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, fables, poetry, etc. Chapter books are also used throughout the year both for whole class reading and for small groups. • Writingis a focus throughout the Treasures program as well as through Writing Workshop. Specific writing genres include personal narratives, persuasive writing, informational writing and poetry. • Guided reading/balanced literacy approach: The goal is for students to become more fluent readers and writers who are able to apply strategies accurately and independently at their specific levels. There will be a strong focus on comprehension strategies before, during and after reading. Reading experiencesinclude: reading aloud to children, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading Writing experiencesinclude: shared writing, interactive writing, writing workshop and independent writing • Spelling isintegrated into Treasures – individualized lists (focus on strategies)

10. Name: ________________________________ 1. _____________________________ 1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________ 4. _____________________________ 4. _____________________________ 5. _____________________________ 5._____________________________ 6. _____________________________ 6. _____________________________ 7. _____________________________ 7. _____________________________ 8. _____________________________ 8. _____________________________ 9. _____________________________ 9. _____________________________ 10. _____________________________ 10. ____________________________ 11. _____________________________ 11. ____________________________ 12. _____________________________ 12. ____________________________ 13. _____________________________ 13. ____________________________ 14. _____________________________ 14. ____________________________ 15. _____________________________ 15. ____________________________ Study the spelling list on the right side of the paper. Remember to bring the list back on Friday for 2 bonus points.

11. Spelling Strategies • Break it Apart– Break the word into syllables and memorize it syllable by syllable. • First and Last- It is easiest to learn the first and last words in a list. So if you have a list of words to study, break the list into several different lists. Then focus on one list at a time. • How Does It Look?- When you are not sure how to spell a word, write it 2 different ways. Then circle the way that looks right. Use your reading skills to help you spell. • Spelling Talk- Spell out the word as you use it in a sentence. For example: I went to the store and B-O-U-G-H-T some milk. • Change Your Tone- Decide which part of the word is hardest for you. Focus on this part. Say these letters in a louder voice as you spell the word out loud. • Find the Rhyme- When you are writing and are not sure how to spell a word, think of a word you KNOW that rhymes. For example: soggy-foggy; best-west. If you can spell the rhyming word, try using this to help you spell the first word. • Spelling Song– Sing out the letters of the word to the tune of a familiar song, such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Clap your hands as you sing the letters. • Find the Pattern- When you have a list of words to study, group the words with the same pattern together in a sentence – the sillier the sentence, the better! For example: It started to rain straight down inside the train. This is especially helpful if more than one pattern has the same sound, such as ai, a_e, etc. • Words-in-Words – To remember the spelling of words, find the smaller words in them and try to connect the words. For example, the word end is in the word friends (friends to the end) and pie is in piece (a piece of pie).

12. Ideas for Book Discussions: • What are the most exciting parts of the book? • How does the book remind you of another book? • How does the book make you feel? • How does the author describe things? • Do you like the book? Why or why not? • Why do you think the author wrote the book? • Why did you choose to read the book? • How you feel about the author’s style of writing? • Why did you abandon a book? • What do you predict will happen next? Why do you think this? • What would you change about the book? • What do you find interesting? • What are you wondering about? Is there anything that doesn’t make sense to you? • Is the book easy, just right, or challenging for you? How can you tell? • What genre, or type of literature, is the book? What do you like/dislike about this genre? • What do you think is the author’s message? • What books are you looking forward to reading? • How do you feel about the main character? • What do you notice about the author’s style and word choice? • What do you think is funny in the story? • What do you like/dislike about the setting? • How does the setting affect the story? • What you think about the way the author begins/ends the story? • How does the author capture your interest? • Would you recommend the book to another reader? Why or why not?

13. Mathematics • Pearson enVision Mathematics:This program maximizes hands-on experiences to broaden the children’s mathematical thinking skills. A major focus will be encouraging the children to communicate their approaches to problem solving, both orally and in writing. Through this program, we will be extending the children’s knowledge of a variety of skills, such as number concepts, place value, estimation, geometry, fractions, time, money, addition/subtraction with regrouping, multiplication and division. An online component will be coming soon. • Strategies for facts:Although our primary focus in third grade is ensuring the children’s understanding of the concepts, time will also be spent on mastery of math facts (+ and – to 18, x and ÷ to 10 with exposure to facts through 12). It is important for children to connect new skills to skills they have already mastered. • Problem Solving:There will be a strong focus on the steps to problem solving. It is important for the children to be able to show and/or explain their mathematical thinking. The discussion about how a child solves a problem is as important as his/her answer. Children need to be encouraged to “think about their thinking” so they can recognize patterns and make connections to their prior knowledge.

14. Mrs. O’Dell bought some sand for the sandbox. Each bag of sand weighed 50 pounds. She used 6 bags of sand. How much did all of the sand in the sandbox weigh? Student 1: The sand weighed 300 pounds. Solution: I know that 6 X 5 = 30 so 6 X 50 = 300. So I know the answer is 300 pounds. Student 2: The sand weighed 300 pounds. Solution: 50 pounds + 50 pounds = 100 pounds (2 bags) 50 + 50 = 100 (2 more bags) 50 + 50 = 100 (2 more bags) So for 6 bags: 100 + 100 +100 = 300 (pounds) Student 3: The sand weighed 300 pounds. Solution: I counted by 50s. I used my fingers to help me keep track. 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 so the answer is 300. Student 4: The sand weighed 56 pounds. Solution: 50 + 6 = 56

15. Science and Social Studies • Science:Plants and Seeds, The Moon, Rocks and Minerals, Simple Machines • SocialStudies:The History of Massachusetts: The Wampanoag People, Pilgrims and Plimoth Colony, Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the American Revolution

16. I DECIDE . . . • TO CHALLENGE MYSELF • TO LEARN • TO BE CREATIVE • TO BE CURIOUS • TO BE ACCEPTING • TO BE RESPECTFUL • TO BE RESPONSIBLE I DECIDE!

17. The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.  - John Lubbock

18. What a Wonderful Class!