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Mrs. J. Beamon's Third Grade |
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FAQFrequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
Rockledge Elementary School believes that homework is an integral part of the learning process. Not only does it reinforce a skill, but it also helps to develop responsibility. Students will be required to record weekly and long-term assignments in their agenda books. These should be signed by an adult daily so that we know that you are aware of your child's current and upcoming responsibilities. Students will receive homework in Reading Comprehension, Spelling, and Mathematics Monday through Thursday on a regular basis. In addition, they are encouraged to read for at least 20 minutes of pleasure reading each night. Each month students will be required to submit a Monthly Reading Log documenting a minimum of 4 books read. The log will fulfill the requirements of the Reading Incentive Program at Rockledge. A book report for one of these books will be assigned monthly. A reading vocabulary assignment will be sent home each Monday and will be due each Friday in preparation for the weekly vocabulary quiz. Science or S.S. homework may be assigned 1-2 nights per week on a random basis. How much time should be spent on a homework assignment each night? One accommodation for students struggling with the amount of homework is the 30-MINUTE RULE. This rule applies to ALL subject areas. No student should spend more than 30 minutes on a given assignment. This is regardless of if 1 or 100 problems are able to be completed in Math, or if 10 or 20 words are able to be covered in Spelling. The idea of homework is to reinforce or review skills taught previously. Any incomplete problems can normally be covered as we review homework in class. Please circle any questions or problems that your child finds difficult. In addition, write us a brief note if an assignment was taking over the 30 min. and make a notation where your child stopped. We cannot help if we are not made aware of any struggles. Homework is graded for both accuracy and completion only depending on the assignment. We will do our best to try and circle homework assignments that are not completed in color in your child's Agenda book each day. A check minus will indicate that the assignment was incomplete. Please refer to this book if your child's weekly report states that he or she has not been completing their assignments at home. How much help should I give when my child does homework? Most children need some help on their homework--the trick is finding a balance between giving too much help and not giving enough. If your child is taking more than an hour total for ALL subjects a night to do homework, he/she probably needs more help. Since homework is assigned nightly, your child should be returning finished homework every morning unless it is due over a week long period. Please make sure it is readable. There should be enough space between words or, if math problems, between numbers so as to be easily read. When do students bring home their weekly report? Weekly Reports in our homeroom will go home on Mondays. This gives us a chance to confer with our students' other teachers and their weekly performance. If there is ever a day that we are unable to get the reports out to you in time, you will be notified via agenda book or email. What else can I do to help my child be successful? Do we have a few hours to talk????? No, really, there are so many ways to assist your child in being successful. Here are just a few...1. Check their backpack and agenda book daily. Please remember to sign your child's agenda book every night. Be sure to clean out their Rockledge folder each Friday and their Homework folder each night. 2. Read aloud to your child and listen to them read aloud to you. 3. Practice and study basic math facts daily. 4. Keep a journal writing back and forth to your child or encourage them to have a pen pal or send letters to friends and family. 5. Introduce higher level vocabulary words in your everyday conversations. 6. Conduct scientific investigations together. Go ahead and get messy! Make mistakes! 7. Go on field trips to historical and educational sites in person or on the Internet. 8. Watch the news and educational programming with your child. Ask and answer questions together. 9. Read maps and play games searching for far off places. 10. Go to the library often. How do I know my child's grades if he or she does not show them to me? Prince George’s County School’s has implemented a great way to keep track of your child’s information called the Family Portal which is a part of SchoolMax. You will be able to view your child’s attendance record, grades, assignments, discipline, and schedule. This can all be accessed from your home/office computer, 24/7. If you were not able to pick up your Family Access Key, please stop by the Main Office at Rockledge during normal school hours. Do you accept late assignments? No late assignments will be accepted under any circumstances. This includes papers with no names. All students will receive a 50% in accordance with the county grading policy. Absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS will be made unless in the case of excused absences when 3 days following the absence are allotted. To read our policy for late assignments, please see the Important Documents page. What about organizational struggles? Organization is a HUGE obstacle students face and overcome in 3rd grade. To assist our students, we have requested 2 labeled folders for specific purposes. Over the year they tend to show great wear and tear and may need to be replaced. Please remember that binders are not permitted as they are incredible space munchers and papers just tear and/or fall out of them. If a child needs a more compact storage system, I suggest they purchase and use a STAPLES or Pendaflex brand 7 pocket expandable plastic file. It should be labeled as so: Parents, HW, Reading, Spelling/Vocab., Math, Science, and S.S. Please provide 5 flexible book covers for your childs textbooks this year. All of our materials are either brand new or two to three years old. They are very expensive to replace if lost or damaged. When are Reading Logs collected? Reading Logs (includes and satisfies 20 min. each night) will be collected the first Monday of each month in association with the Reading Incentive Program. They count as part of your child's homework grade. Our students must read and respond to 4 chapter books. Students may count books read in class. One of the books must be in the genre (type) of literature being focused on that month. September is Folklore and Fairy Tales month. This means that we will be monitoring nightly 20 minute reading on an HONOR CODE basis. Students may be asked once a week to share in writing or orally what they read the night before. This will be in random order so as to be sure all students know that they may be asked to share on any given day. How does my child get to take a Spelling test on the Challenge Words? Students have a choice each week of whether or not they would like to study the Basic or Challenge Word List. Words are sent home at the beginning of each week. The Basic and Challenge Word Lists will hopefully be posted on the Internet very soon. All students must be able to spell all of the words correctly from their list. What are Spelling Journal Activities? Journal Activities may be completed by both Regular and Challenge List spellers on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. Spelling Journals are checked in each Friday depending on time constraints. Can my child bring a snack in each day? Rockledge is a designated "Healthy School" as of the 2009-2010 school year. Students are allowed and encouraged to bring a healthy snack each day. This promotes good health and nutrition and refuels bodies in preparation for the afternoon ahead. Please remember that the key word is NUTRITIONAL snack. Foods such as candy and chips will not be allowed. One personal water bottle to refill throughout the day may be provided for all third grade students. Breakfast is provided to students from 8:00am to 8:15am for the price of $1.25. Students have a choice to bring a lunch or purchase a lunch at school. The price of a student lunch is $2.00, including milk. Children who bring lunch from home may purchase milk for $.50 or juice for $.50 a carton during the lunch period. Free and reduced lunch applications are sent home with the children. Parents who believe their child(ren) qualify for the free or reduced lunch program should return the applications as soon as possible. Once verified, the reduced student lunch price is $.40. Are you going to take any field trips? Over the course of the third grade year, we will be taking a variety of field trips both physically and virtually through video and the Internet. Scheduled excursions where we leave the building include a trip to the Smithsonian, Owen's Science Center, and possibly, The Baltimore Museum of Industry or a local theatre production. What tests will my child be expected to take this year? The most important test third graders will take this year is the MSA (Maryland School Assessment) which will be administered in March or April. It focuses on reading and math skills and consists of multiple choice questions and short essay responses. Schools state-wide are judged by the results of this test. You can assist your child prepare for a test by doing the following: Discuss the importance of testing. Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep before a test, and make sure your child eats properly the day of a test. Maintain a pleasant home environment and avoid unnecessary conflicts. Ensure that your child is present during testing (children perform better when taking tests in their groups rather than at a make-up time). If the test is of the kind subject to review (such as a spelling test), assist your child with practice. If your child is disappointed after taking a test, reassure him or her that there will be plenty of opportunities to improve and succeed. Wish your child good luck before he or she leaves for school. Reminders to give your child on the day of a test: - Relax. Just do the best you can. - Your first choice is usually correct. Don't change an answer unless you have a good reason to do so. - Be aware of key words such as "all," "now," "always," "never," "only," and "exactly." - In multiple choice questions the longest answer should be considered, since test writers want to be sure the correct answer is accurate. - When two answers are opposites, one of them is often correct. - Watch for negative words like "not," "no," and "never." - Look for information in some of the questions. This information may help you answer other questions. |
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