Please remember that the children will be going out for recess after lunch when the temperature is above 32F degrees. Also the children walk to the buses in the afternoon.Please be sure your child is dressed for the cooler  and sometimes wet weather. Children do not go out for recess when it is wet, but they do walk outside to the buses!! Thank-you!

Mrs. Mitchell

Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed the summer. I am excited to begin the school year and to get to know you and your child. This year will be a very productive and rewarding year as we lay the foundation for important skills in reading, writing, and math which your child will use throughout his or her future.

Third grade builds on the knowledge your child has acquired to date, as we incorporate skills from language arts, math, science, and social studies to help your child meet (or exceed) the New York State standards for third grade curriculum. This year we will also focus on note taking, test taking, and problem solving skills to help your child become a successful student throughout his or her educational career. Below you will find information and highlights of the coming year.

“Year at a Glance” and Curriculum Overview

Language Arts: The language arts program is a comprehensive program designed to meet New York State Standards while incorporating reading and decoding skills, phonics work, and reading comprehension strategies along with the writing process, to help your child master the third-grade requirements.

Reading – Third grade expands on the fundamentals of reading so that your child is able to use reading as a tool to obtain, comprehend, and utilize information. We will focus on reading fluency, expression, and accuracy this year.

We will review vowel sounds and phonics tools to help your child build his or her vocabulary as they decode new words. They will also work with antonyms, synonyms, and homophones along with compound words to build background on word development.

Spelling- Spelling will be integrated in word study. Children will work with a specific list of words each week. A test will be given on this list of words each Friday. A bonus word, which will be taken from something we have discussed during the week, will also be included.

Reading comprehension- We will introduce strategies to help your child understand literal and inferential information as he or she becomes more familiar with context clues which help us draw conclusions and make inferences from the information we read.

The Word Wall – We will have a Word of the Week which will be located on the front bulletin board of our classroom to enrich vocabulary throughout the year. We will also have a Word Wall on the classroom side bulletin board to reinforce high frequency words and difficult sight words. The wall may be used as a tool to help children spell sight words correctly in their writing each day.

Writing - We will incorporate writing in journals so that each child may become comfortable expressing his or her ideas in written form. This also allows opportunities to practice correct letter formation, grammar, and punctuation skills. We will emphasize nouns, verbs, and adjectives along with adverbs and correct sentence structure as we progress through the year. We will create a classroom thesaurus together to help the children add interest to their writing. Children will explore the writing process, as well, as they write a draft, revise, edit, and finally publish their written work.

Reading with your Child - I ask your support in helping your child read for 15-20 minutes each night. You may read to your child, have your child read to you, or read in combination. Grandparents or other care givers may also read with your child. When you read with your child you reinforce the message that reading is an essential skill.

Reading at home helps your child expand his or her sight word vocabulary while building fluency. Once children are fluent readers, reading is no longer a chore; it becomes their most valuable tool! This reading may be recorded on the required Third Grade Reading Log.

Reading Logs - Stokes School requires each third grade student to read 25 books and record the book title, how it was read and with whom it was read in a Reading Log. I will send home blank Reading Logs, which should be completed and returned to class at the beginning of June 2012. These reading logs will be included in each child’s Early Literacy Folder. Children usually enjoy this project and often request additional Reading Logs so that may continue to record the books they read beyond 25!

Book reports will be assigned to monitor reading. Books read to complete the book report assignments may be included as part of your child’s reading log!

Math – We will explore 3 and 4 digit numbers using addition and subtraction (with regrouping). We will also explore the commutative and associative properties. We will estimate to solve problems in our head and we will work with place value and the value of coins and bills. We will also investigate capacity and measurement using rulers and yard sticks as well.

Key new skills this year include multiplication and division of 2-digit numbers without remainders. We will begin by using hands-on math manipulatives to create sets visually and enhance understanding. Quizzes and tests will include work with multiplication tables up to and including 12x12.