Room 20 Handbook

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Welcome to Mrs. Miller’s Third grade Class!

We have a lot of great things happening in our classroom throughout the year so I thought I’d communicate this information to you:

WEBPAGE—Our class webpage is located at http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/miller20  

Soon, it will be updated with information, a calendar, and pictures of your children (but only those who yes to internet on the photo release). I will not put any names with the student’s photos.

MY EMAIL ADDRESS: is st_dmiller@smfcsd.org --I check it several times a day and I tend to get messages quicker on my email than through my voicemail.

SUPPLIES- Please check with your child regularly for replenishing school supplies. Your child will need colored pencils, crayons, glue and pencils/erasers on a regular basis. It really helps if supplies are labeled with a permanent marker.

BIRTHDAYS- Please refrain from sending in class treats for your child’s birthday. There are other options which are healthier…you may consider donating a book to the school library in your child’s name or passing out fun erasers, pencils, etc. to each classmate.

CURRICULUM

READING/LANGUAGE ARTS:

The Daily 5

The Daily Five is a way of structuring the reading block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and write. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.

When it is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in the Daily Five, which are comprised of:

• Read to Self
• Work on Writing
• Read to Someone
• Listen to Reading
• Word Work

There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 component.  We will spend our first weeks working intensely on building our reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5 and fostering our classroom community.  I will also spend time learning about your child’s strengths and greatest needs as a reader in order to best plan for each student’s instruction.

One thing you’ll notice that may be a change for you is a direct decrease in the number of worksheets your child brings home.  While worksheets keep students busy, they don’t really result in the high level of learning I want for your child.  Instead, your child will be taught to select “Good Fit Books” or books they can read, understand and are interested in, which they will read during Daily 5.  They will be spending most of their time actually reading, which research supports as the number one way to improve reading.  I anticipate the motivation and enjoyment of reading will skyrocket when this gift of choosing their own books is accompanied by extended practice and specific reading instruction for each individual child.

Harcourt Reading Series:  As part of the Daily 5, your child will be reading various types of real, authentic literature in the student sourcebooks.

Literature Circles:  Several times throughout the year, we will be participating in “literature circles” reading and doing activities with chapter books and tradebooks. *After each of the six units in our Reading/Language Arts program, the students will be taking a "Common Assessment Test" that is set up similar to the Ohio Achievement Test.

VOCABULARY WORDS: Each week words with definitions will be introduced with our new story and sent home for extra practice for the quiz on Friday. Your child does not need to learn the spelling of the word but does need to recognize the definition. I will be giving sentences in which the students will need to write the correct word. Please practice these words throughout the week for about 5 minutes a session.

PHONICS:  We will be incorporating a multi-sensory approach into our phonemic awareness lessons.

SPELLING- Weekly words will be in the newsletter for the next week. They will also be listed on my webpage. Tests will be on Fridays.  We will have 10 words a week to study using a specific spelling pattern.  Students will also be given 5 “surprise” words to check for understanding of the week’s spelling pattern. 

WRITING- We will be doing various types of writing this year along with four CBE writing samples which will be recorded on the report card.

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MATH- Our Math series is called Investigations. The students became familiar with the program in first and second grade. We have various units (listed on the report card) that the students will be learning. Our math curriculum is tied closely to the State Standards.  Students will be expected to explain their processes in words, pictures and or numbers.  We will be communicating our “math” thoughts regularly.

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SCIENCE- Our units of study are Animals, Nutrition, Rocks and Minerals, and Force and Motion

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HEALTH- Units of study are the Skeletal, Muscular and Digestive Systems and Nutrition. 

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GRADES

Class work, assessments and some homework will be graded using the report card system for third grade. 93-100=A, 86-92=B, 71-83=C, 60-68=D.  Writing, Math and some other subject area pieces will be marked with a rubric score of 1, 2, 3 or 4 to reflect proficiency. Other papers will be marked with a star – great work, or a check – okay/needs improvement. Assignments bearing a failing grade will be sent home for correction and a request for a parent’s signature. Students may correct these assignments at home to change a failing grade to a ‘C’. Rubrics for grading are attached. Please keep them as a reference and use for discussion with your child about his or her work and levels of effort and understanding. Rubrics are referred to often in the classroom.

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ACHIEVEMENT TEST/PRACTICE: The Third Grade Reading Achievement will be given  in October and again the end of April. The Math Achievement Test will be given the end of April. We will continue to practice and discuss test questions, the various formats and what correct answers should look like throughout the school year.

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COMMUNICATION FOLDERS- Folders will be coming home every day and NEED to be returned the following day. In the communication folder you will find the daily reading sheet, study buddy page and daily papers.  There are two pockets inside the folder: Return to School pocket and Keep At Home. The “Keep at Home” papers are yours to keep.

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Guidelines for Behavior

Please remember to show

1.    Respect                                                     

2.    Responsibility

3.    Trustworthiness

4.    Caring

5.    Fairness

6.    Good Citizenship                              ……….The traits of good character!

Negative Consequences for Behavior

1.    Warning #1 = Name in behavior book.

2.    Warning #2 = Name in behavior book with a check. Lose half of recess.

3.    Warning #3 = Name in behavior book with two checks. Morning detention in office scheduled, school discipline referral sent home for parent signature.

A teacher, staff member or the principal may issue behavior referrals.

***Each day is a new day!  Warnings in the behavior book may occur daily, but will not carry over to the next class day.

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CLASSROOM RULES-

1. Be Respectful - Say or do nothing that will hurt or offend another person. Use appropriate language at all times. Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself.

2. Be Responsible - Have all books, materials and assignments here at school, completed on time. Be where you are supposed to be, when you are supposed to be there.

3. Listen and Follow Directions the first time they are given . Be Curious - Ask questions when you don't understand something! Participation is not an option. It is an expectation.

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STUDY BUDDY- We try to complete this almost every day so you are able to get an overview of what we accomplished that day. Use this as a springboard for daily discussion with your child about school.

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FOLDERS- Papers will be coming home in the orange communication folder everyday.

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TECHNOLOGY:   iBOOKS- Our class is considered a “Model ibook Classroom” which means we have a cart of 15 ibook laptops.  We use these computers regularly to research on the internet, make PowerPoint presentations, imovies, etc. We are a very technological classroom! We also have an ELMO presentation system, digital camera, digital movie camera and various other technology tools.

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SNACKS- We will be partaking in snacktime every day around 10:00. If your child would like to have a snack at that time, he/she will need to bring one in. There are restrictions: They will be eating snack during worktime and the snacks need to be NUTRITIOUS. Chips, cookies, candy, anything liquid or needing a spoon will not be permitted. (Basically, a nutritious finger food)

WATER- Your child is permitted to bring a water bottle, especially during the hot, humid days. Please send in a coaster or a tube sock to eliminate puddles on the desks!

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VOLUNTEERS in the classroom- I utilize volunteers to help practice math facts, math games, reading aloud, helping students who may be having trouble, etc.  Due to our schedule this year, I will be scheduling volunteers in the morning only.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping and a morning that will work for you.

 HOMEWORK- I would like your child to read at least 15 minutes everyday. In the blue take home folder, there is a Home Reading Log where your child will be able to write the title of the book he/she read and write a short summary or reflection. He/she also needs to write how long he/she read and have a parent initial it. Other homework includes practicing math facts, practice spelling and vocabulary words, or specific homework pages in Math. These pages are a review or extension of what we covered in class. I will send home more specific information for Math units of study periodically to assist you in understanding the new program. Look for that information on gold paper. We will also be doing a few long-term projects in Science and Social Studies throughout the year.

Parental Role:

What role should a parent play in helping their children with homework? A publication from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI, 1996) suggests four ways form parents to help a child with homework: 1. Show that you think homework is important by providing a consistent time and place for it. Help your student to concentrate by turning off the television, banning personal phone calls, and setting a good example by reading and writing yourself. Make sure our student has any needed supplies and access to reference materials. 2. Check over the work your child is doing, offering help or monitoring when needed. Know what the teacher expects and monitor more closely if your child is having problems completing the work. 3. Provide guidance and encouragement. Your job is not to do the work but to help in ways your child needs. Talking about an assignment may help the student work through it. Teach ways for a child to divide a large assignment into manageable parts. Look for work that you can praise. 4. Discuss your child’s homework difficulties with the teacher. Work together with the teacher to resolve problems and work out a plan to improve homework completion. Check to see if the plan is helping. ***Please remember homework is an extension or review of a lesson to be completed outside of school fro reinforcement of that day or week’s learning. Homework will not consist of “new” concepts. Homework is the responsibility of the student. Encouraging a positive attitude and atmosphere for homework completion is essential in helping your child bridge the learning that takes place in school to home. It is very important that students realize that learning takes place all of the time in all different places- not just in “school.”

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