Welcome to Third Grade!

WelcomeWelcome to to

Third Third Grade!Grade!

WelcomeWelcome to to

Third Third Grade!Grade!

Contact Information

• Phone: (860) 561-2200 • Email: kim_maloney@whps.org

– Ashley_radis@whps.org– Brian_petronio@whps.org

Agenda

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Reading Writing/Spelling Math Science and Social Studies HomeworkAssessmentsClassroom policies

PBIS• A program to foster positive behavior• Based on research that shows that

acknowledgment for positive behaviors increases their frequency

• Students receive tickets, classes receive paw prints

• School wide behavior is tracked for data purposes in effort to promote accountability (consistent throughout school)

– Sept. 20 PTB meeting devoted to this topic.– Please visit the café tonight for additional information

Literacy Storytown Anthology: Researched based reading program that provides explicit phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency instruction

Supplemental materials

Reading Comprehension

• Forming a General Understanding– Which statement BEST tells what the

story or article is about?

• Developing an Interpretation

•What type of person do you think ________ was? Use details from the passage to support your answer.

• Making Reader/ Text Connections– Which part of the story was most

interesting or surprising? Use information from the story to support your answer.

• Examining the Content and Structure

- If the author had added another paragraph to the end of the story, it would most likely have described _________.

What Does Writer’s Workshop Look Like? Mini-Lesson (i. e. grammar, punctuation,

word choice, story structure) Writer’s Notebook Genres (personal narrative, fictional narrative) Independent Writing Conference Time Publishing Sharing

The Writing Process

Prewriting Drafting Revising Editing Publishing

Third Grade Writing Rubric

1

Unorganized, not enough detail, poor vocabulary, confusing

2

Unorganized, sounds like a list, general details, poor vocabulary, confusing

3

Somewhat organized, mostly general and a few specific details, okay vocabulary, order sometimes makes sense

4

Okay organization, general and specific details, average vocabulary, order of story mostly makes sense

5

Good organization, mostly specific details, good vocabulary, order makes sense

6

Great organization, specific details, excellent vocabulary, story flows well and make s sense

Spelling• Individualized weekly test-12 total• Includes West Hartford Core

Words (4), spelling patterns (Storytown) (5), content words (2), and a challenge word (1)

Date: _______________________________________Highlighted Core Words/

Words Missed on Last Week’s Spelling Test1. _________________________________________2. _________________________________________3. _________________________________________4. _________________________________________

Pattern Words5. _________________________________________6. _________________________________________7. _________________________________________8. _________________________________________9. _________________________________________

Content Words10.__________________________________________11.__________________________________________

Challenge Word12. __________________________________________

Second and Third Grade Core Words

Math TrailblazersProblem Solver District Created Pre/Post Assessments Other resources

What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?

K-12 national academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy adopted by CT State Board of Education in 2010Establish what Connecticut students should know, be able to do and understand as they progress through grades K-12Will be fully implemented in grades K-5 over the next two years

The Common Core State Standards:

• Are clear, consistent, and high-level based on research and evidence

• Align with college and career expectations

• Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher order thinking skills

• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards

• Are informed by other top-performing countries so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society

How will the Common Core impact our work at each

grade level?

How will the Common Core Standards impact what your child is

learning this year?

Grades 1, 3, 5: Math•Our revised curriculum provides students with a solid foundation in:

– Whole numbers (grades 1, 3, 5)– Addition/subtraction (grades 1, 3, 5)– Multiplication/division (grades 3 & 5)– Fractions (grade 5)– Decimals (grade 5)

•Focus is placed on understanding and fluency with concepts

•Students have experiences with varied mathematical “ways of thinking” which they apply to more and more complex problems

Will your child take the Connecticut Mastery Test

(CMT)?• Students in Grades 3-5 will take the CMT in

spring 2013 and 2014

• National assessments based on Common Core Standards are in design/pilot stage for implementation in 2014-2015

Where can you find out more about the Common

Core State Standards?Curriculum in an Nutshell documents at

each grade level highlight curriculum revisions

Link via West Hartford Public Schools website www.whps.org (right column)

www.corestandards.org

Math Facts“The goal of the math facts strand in Math Trailblazers is for

students to learn the basic facts efficiently, gain fluency with their use, and retain that fluency over time."  

"a large body of research supports an approach in which students develop strategies for figuring out the facts rather than relying on rote memorization."

 "too much drill before conceptual understanding may interfere with a child's ability to understand concepts at a later date." 

Opportunities include class assignments and relevant homework to reinforce concepts.

There are NO specific benchmarks (i.e. must master 100 facts in 5 minutes),

but the goal is FLUENCY

Problem Solving Strategies

o Act out or use objectso Make a picture or diagramo Use or make a tableo Make an organized listo Guess and checko Use or look for a patterno Work backwardso Use logical reasoning

Steps to Problem Solving

Find OutChoose a Strategy

Solve ItLook Back

Science

• Properties of Matter (Mr. Petronio)

• Life Science: Adaptations (Mrs. Radis)

•Forces and Motion: Pushes and Pulls (Mrs. Maloney)

Switch Groups

Health

Nutrition: food labelingSafe and Unsafe Touch/Substance Abuse: Officer GrantSubstance Abuse PreventionHealthy relationships: Respectful and responsible behaviors

Social StudiesGeographyNative AmericansWest Indies (Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic)Citizenship

Third Grade HomeworkTo review, refine, and reinforce skills presented in class

To promote responsibility and organization of time. Homework should be completed independently.

Homework should take 10-30 minutes per night, not including daily reading for 20-30 minutes.

Weekly Reading Log due Fridays

Monday assignments due Wednesday

Wednesday assignments due Friday

Assessments in Third Grade

• Baseline Assessments Administered in the fall

– AIMSWeb Reading: September 10-14– AIMSWeb Math: 18-28– Reading Comprehension: October 16-18

– Used as a benchmark to help guide our instruction– It is not unusual to hear feedback from students who

are experiencing this for the first time.

AIMSWeb Reading and Math

• Universal assessments given three times (September, January, May)

• R-CBM (Oral Reading Fluency) and the MAZE (Cloze activity)

• Students who perform below or well below average are progress monitored every two weeks

Reading Assessment

• Fiction and non-fiction passages with multiple choice and open-ended questions

Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT)

• Two weeks in March (7 sessions)• Reading • Writing • Math

Field Trips

• Westmoor Park (October 30th)• Native American Museum,

Washington Depot, CT (spring)

Birthday Celebrations

• Birthday celebrations include non-food items.

Green Cleaning Products

CT Public Act 09-81

“No parent, guardian, teacher, or staff member may bring into the school

facility any consumer products which is intended to clean, deodorize, sanitize,

or disinfect.”

•Soap and water are the BEST way to prevent germs•Earth Sense brand cleaners to be used•Dye and fragrance free•NO—bleach, phenols, ammonia that are found in over-the-counter general purpose cleaners (THIS INCLUDES HAND SANITIZERS!)

Communication

• Please send in a note when your child’s dismissal plans for the day change.

• If you forget to send a note, please call the main office at 561-2200

• Please sign up for the school listserv from the school’s main webpage. This will ensure that you will receive the Sunflower newsletter and routine communication from the school.

Overwhelmed??• Thank you for all that you do for your

child!

• Our goal is to help make your child a life-long learner!

• Personally, we think third grade is the best!