Greetings Parents and Guardians,
The third grade teachers would like to welcome you and your child to third grade at Tayac Academy! We will be learning a lot and we look forward to working with you for a successful year. This year third-graders will focus on building their reading comprehension! Reading daily at home and at school will be expected. Students will also learn multiplication facts and engage in higher level problem solving activities. Third grade is a time of change for most youngsters with increased responsibility as they prepare for the MSA assessment. Our goal is to facilitate every student’s learning process in order for each child to become happy, responsible, independent thinkers. Together we can guide our students to success through continued communication and partnership. Here are some highlights of your child’s daily schedules and routines. Please review the items below. Thank you for your support!
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Friendly Reminders
☺Students will be graded A, B, C, D, E, Grades are based on classwork (35%), homework (15%), and assessments (50%)
A- Excellent progress (90%-100%)
B- Above average progress (80%-89%)
C- Average progress (70%-79%)
D- Below average progress (60%-69%)
E- Unsatisfactory progress/ failure (below 60%)
☺Uniforms
Students are required to wear the proper uniform at all times.
Girls: white blouse, navy blue sweater, plaid kick-pleat skirt jumper, navy or black knee socks or tights, All black shoes
Boys: white button-down dress shirt, navy blue sweater, navy blue dress pants, grey tie, nay or black socks, ALL black shoes, PLAIN black belt.
☺Supplies
Please make sure that students have the appropriate materials including pencils, erasers, crayons, markers, etc. Pencil cases are preferred, since boxes will not fit in desks. Students MUST have their supplies every day to earn good work habits grades.
☺Agenda Books
Students will be supplied with an agenda book in which to record daily homework assignments. This book must be brought to and from school each day. It is essential that parents check and sign your child’s agenda book. The agenda may have notes from the teacher. Parents may also communicate with their child’s teacher in the agenda book.
☺Reading Logs
Reading logs are a required part of the third grade curriculum and are a part of students’ reading and homework grades. Students should read every evening for 30 minutes and make a recording of it on their logs. Parents should monitor their child’s daily reading habits and sign the log at the end of each week. Reading logs are due every Friday. Students will receive a new log each Friday to begin over the weekend.
☺Homework
Homework will be assigned Monday –Friday each week. Homework is to be completed on loose-leaf paper. Please make sure each assignment has a date, subject, and page number. Papers without names will not receive credit. All homework is due the NEXT DAY..
• Homework is assigned daily in Reading and Math.
• Science, Social Studies, and Health assignments are rotated so students receive one of these subjects per evening.
• Students are required to write daily assignments in their agenda book.
• The students must have their agenda book with them in school.
• Parents must check to see that homework is completed daily and sign the agenda book each night.
• Graded papers sent home are to be signed by parents and returned.
• Parents should check the SchoolMax family portal to view their child’s grades.
• Homework can be found on Tayac’s homework website:
o http://www.pgcps.org/~tayac/ThirdGrade.htm
• Late homework will receive 50% credit.
☺Textbooks & Journals
Students will receive 2 reading anthologies, a math textbook, science textbook, social studies textbook, and health textbook. If you decide to cover your books, please make sure to place appropriate size covers on books as to prevent damage to the spine of the book. Paper covers are preferred. If a student takes a textbook home for any reason, it must be returned to school so the child can use it for classroom instruction. Students must also have at least 3 composition books in which to record written work.
☺Please label your child’s belongings like sweaters, coats, lunch boxes, bookbag, supplies, textbooks.
☺Please make sure your child’s lunch account is up to date. You or your child can put money on the account at any time or pay online at:
https://paypams.com/HomePage.aspx
Meal Prices 2011-2012:Still the Best Buy in Town!
Student Breakfast: $1.50; Elementary Lunch: $2.60; Milk: $0.55
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Third grade Class Schedule
*School begins at 7:30. Please be on time.
7:30-7:45 Homeroom – Morning activity and announcements.
7:45-8:15 Social Studies
Students will learn aspects of communities: communities throughout the world, types of rural suburban and urban communities, immigration, celebrations in communities, regions of the USA, Resources, History of communities in the USA, government, and CITIZENSHIP.
8:15-10:00 Reading
During the reading block students will switch classes pertaining to their reading level. The class begins with silent –independent reading, then a whole group comprehension lesson focusing on a skill and/ or strategy such as sequencing, cause & effect, main idea, questioning, etc… Depending on the day, children will have small group instruction geared to their reading level.
0:00-10:30 Lunch
10:30-12:15 Math
Students will switch teachers based on their instructional level. During math the class begins with a whole-group lesson to teach each skill. The students have opportunities to work with manipulatives, paper and pencil activities, projects, journals, and math textbooks. Students will be guided through the lesson, then have time to engage in independent practice. Small group instruction will occur daily.
12:15-12:40 Specials
Students will go to P.E., music, or library depending on the day. Art class occurs once per quarter.
12:40-12:55 Recess
Students may bring basketballs, soccer balls, kick-balls. NO FOOTBALL is allowed. Proper sportsmanship is expected at all times. If a student chooses not to adhere to the rules of sportsmanship, they will be excluded from the activity.
12:55-1:55 Science/ Health
1:55 Packup/ Dismissal
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Third-Grade Behavior Policy
Our students participate in a community of caring philosophy. This philosophy expects attitudes of:
Respect
Family
Caring
Responsibility
Honesty
Trust
Our major standards for behavior are:
1. Show respect for yourself and others at all times.
2. Be mindful of personal space by keeping hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
3. Follow teacher directions.
4. Come to school ready to learn.
Consequences could be:
• Warning- reminder of expectations and a chance to reconsider choices.
• Move within the class to allow re-focus.
• Written note in agenda book.
• Time-out in another class.
• Phone call home.
• Loss of privileges (centers, recess, etc.)
• Removal from class.
• Guidance counselor/ administrative intervention.
• In-school suspension.
• After school detention.
Daily Positive Reinforcements include:
• Verbal praise.
• Good Job! Phone call home.
• Teacher’s helper.
• Visit to another favorite teacher.
• Recognition on A.M./ P.M. announcements
• Stickers and tangible rewards (prizes, books, erasers, pencils, certificates, etc...)
• Lunch with the teacher.
• Team points.
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Scholastic Reading Inventory
The Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) is a comprehension test that assesses student reading levels, tracks growth over time, and helps guide instruction according to student needs. Prince George’s County Public Schools uses the SRI throughout the year to measure reading growth. The scores are called lexile levels.
Here are the target reading levels your child should meet throughout the year:
Time Period: Proficient On-grade level score should be:
Beginning of year At least 316
Mid Year At least450
End of Year At least 511
Go to www.lexile.com to find books on your child’s reading level!
Characteristics of Above Grade Level Readers:
• High level of success on reading core anthology.
• Reads a wide variety of text including advanced chapter books and magazines
• Reads above grade level material independently and with good comprehension.
• Independently applies reading strategies (see pg. 6) and skills to more complex materials including social studies and science ext.
• Exhibits advanced phonics (Multi-syllabic words, blends, digraphs, prefixes, suffixes, word endings.)
• Exhibits advanced vocabulary (knows and uses a wide variety of words from different subject areas, knows multi-meaning words, comprehends figurative language in text)
• Reads fluently (pauses between sentences, attends to punctuation, uses intonation)
• Scores high proficient/ advanced on SRI and weekly assignments.
Characteristics of On Grade Level Readers
• Student is successful when teacher models skills and guides students through the anthology.
• Reads grade level material independently and with good comprehension.
• Reads beginning chapter books.
• Fluency is appropriate and does not interfere with comprehension (Student may read in a monotone fashion).
• Takes an interest in fiction and non-fiction including news articles.
• Has a variety of words in their vocabulary and decodes text well.
• Is familiar with most words in books, but needs guidance with multi-syllabic or multi-meaning words.
• Needs guidance to understand figurative language or themes in literature.
• Scores proficient on SRI and other class assignments.
• Needs some teacher or peer support to complete class work.
Characteristics of Below Grade Level Readers:
• Experiences difficulty with the reading anthology
• Dependent on teacher or other support to read and understand text.
• Needs teacher support when applying skills and strategies to grade-level material.
• Phonics skills may be missing (student may know some sounds but not know how to put them together to make words)
• Fluency is weak and interferes with comprehension (Student has a very labored/ slow reading rate).
• Scores basic on SRI and weekly assignments.
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Reading Strategies
THE INNER CONVERSATION
• I have an inner conversation to help me better understand the text by paying attention and thinking about the words and ideas as I read. It is a quiet inner voice, not a speaking out loud voice. Readers use many different starters for their thinking.
MONITOR COMPREHENSION:
• I monitor when I ask myself if what I’m reading makes sense, and when I stop to think if I’m confused or don’t understand what I’ve read. I clarify when I work to figure out what’s confusing me. I can clarify by rereading, using illustrations or other text features, or reading ahead, and thinking about clues from the text and what I know.
o Thinking Starters:
• (Monitor) I’m confused about… I don’t understand… What doesn’t make sense is…
• (Clarify) It could be… Maybe… Oh, now I see… When I reread I realized…
USE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE CONNECTIONS:
• I make connections when I relate what I am reading to:
o my own experience (text-to-self connection)
o other texts I have read (text-to-text connection)
o my knowledge of the world around me (text-to-world connection)
o Thinking Starters: This reminds me of… I have a connection… I remember when… What happened is just like… The character is like…
QUESTION:
• I question when I wonder about important ideas in the text, and ask questions to think more about them.
o Thinking Starters: I wonder… Why… How come…
VISUALIZE:
• I visualize when I make pictures in my mind of what I’m reading.
o Thinking Starters: I visualized… I have a picture in my mind of… I have a mental image that… I see… The movie in my head is…
INFER:
• I infer when I figure out things the author does not say directly. To infer, I use what I’ve read so far and my own knowledge to help me.
• Thinking Starters: I infer… I think this means… I think…
DETERMINING IMPORTANCE IN TEXT:
• I determine importance in text when I pick out the most important information.
o Thinking Starters: This is really important…I now know that…The most important point to remember about…is…
Note: When readers determine importance in fiction, they infer the bigger ideas and themes. When readers determine importance in non-fiction, they focus on important information to arrive at main ideas.
SUMMARIZE:
• I summarize when I think about the main ideas or the most important parts of what I read. Then, I briefly tell in my own words what it was all about. Summarizing means restating briefly the most important parts of the text in my own words.
o Thinking Starters:
• (Informational text) The main idea is … I learned that… (I think about the most important parts of the text, passage or paragraph)
• (Literary text) What happened is… The story is about… (I think about the main characters, setting, problem, solution, and theme or lesson)
SYNTHESIZE:
• I synthesize information when I combine new information with my own knowledge to form a new idea.
o Thinking Starters: I used to think…but now I’m thinking…At first I thought…but now I’m thinking…Here’s what I’m thinking so far… This is very different than I thought it was going to be… I get it… Aha!... Yes!!...
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Overview of Skills for Third Grade
Reading Skills
Math Skills
Story Structure
Sequence of Events
Main Idea and Details
Noting Details
Identifying Character Traits
Compare and Contrast
Categorize and Classify
Fact and Opinion
Cause and Effect
Fantasy and Reality
Drawing Conclusions
Making Judgments
Identifying Text Features
Organizational Structure of Informational Text
Number Sense & Operations
⇒ Place value up to 10,000’s
⇒ Fractional parts of a set
⇒ Fractional parts of a whole
⇒ Compare and order numbers
⇒ Even and odd numbers
⇒ Round whole numbers
⇒ Add and subtract whole numbers
⇒ Multiply whole numbers
⇒ Write number sentences
⇒ Use estimation
⇒ Word problems
Algebra
⇒ Number patterns
⇒ Visual patterns
⇒ Equations (ex. 7+3+b=18)
⇒ Expressions
⇒ Inequalities
Statistics
⇒ Read & interpret bar graphs, tally charts, pictographs
⇒ Probability
Geometry
⇒ Solid figures
⇒ Polygons
⇒ Quadrilaterals
⇒ Symmetry
⇒ Congruence
⇒ Slides, flips, turns
Measurement
⇒ Time & elapsed time
⇒ Count money and make change up to $100
⇒ Area
⇒ Perimeter
⇒ Read a thermometer
⇒ Use a calendar
Teacher Contacts:
Ms. Daffin
tiffany.daffin@pgcps.org
Mrs. Pearson
keisha.pearson@pgcps.org