3rd Grade Handbook
Spencer Loomis
Wising Up to Third Grade
Spencer Loomis…a partnership where individuals are valued and learning is inspired.
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Third Grade! We have many fun activities and events planned for the school year and can’t wait to get started. This year will be an exciting transition for students from primary to intermediate grades. Students will begin to work more independently, read more challenging texts, and will take the ISAT tests for the first time. This handbook will give you a quick insight of what to expect throughout the year. We look forward to working with you and your child. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Thank You,
Third Grade Team
Expectations
Behavior
Students are expected to be respectful at all times to everyone in our school community.
Students are expected to respect school property and property of those around them.
Students will be held accountable for their actions.
Students will be responsible for following through with the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
Students should be prepared daily with homework, lunch and/or lunch money, and supplies. Please DO NOT run to school with forgotten lunches and materials. (We are trying to encourage responsibility).
Academic
Students will hand in homework on time, neat, and with a genuine effort.
Students will complete work in an honest manner.
Students are expected to complete all tasks to the best of their ability.
Students are encouraged to ask for help when they do not understand something.
Students are encouraged to share their ideas and opinions in class discussions.
Students are expected to work with others in a cooperative environment.
Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of collaborating and compromising in a small group setting.
General Information
The following is a list of information to make the year go smoothly:
Enclose all notes and money in a clearly labeled envelope.
If there is an early dismissal or you need to pick up your child (instead of the bus), please let us know as soon as possible via note or phone call to the office.
Please notify us of any changes at home that could possibly effect your child’s learning, i.e. allergies, medical, emotional, etc.
Please address any questions or concerns you may have immediately with your classroom teacher.
Book orders will be sent home monthly.
Birthday invitations may be sent out only if the entire class (or all of the boys or all of the girls) are receiving one.
The children will be going outside everyday. Please make sure your child has the appropriate outerwear.
Please keep all toys at home.
Snack, Lunches and Birthdays
We are a NUT-FREE school. Please do not send in any snacks, treats, or lunches that contain any tree-nut product.
Healthy, nutritional snacks will be eaten daily before lunch. Fruit, cheese sticks, crackers, etc. are acceptable.
Homework Policy
The benefits of homework are:
Reinforcement of skills and strategies learned in class.
Independent practice leads to mastery of material.
Teaches students responsibility for their work.
Teaches organizational and time management skills.
A Parent’s Role in Homework
Be involved, but don’t complete the homework for your child.
Set a designated place at home for your student to work. Supply paper, pencils, and other material needed.
Help your child establish a schedule.
Encourage your child to do their best.
Ask your child which steps are easy, which are difficult, how to improve, and what information they need help with.
Don’t let your child skip sleep for homework.
Contact the teacher if your child seems to be struggling.
Please initial your child’s assignment notebook each night.
Homework Description
Students will be given an average of 30 minutes of homework daily.
Students will be expected to do 15 minutes of independent reading daily.
Completed homework should be done neatly and answers should be written in complete sentences.
If for any reason a student is unable to complete their homework, a note from the parent must be brought in for the work to be excused. Please do not take advantage of this, notes will be accepted on an occasional matter.
If a student is putting forth effort, and is still struggling, please bring to an end the homework session and send in a note to explain the situation.
Friday Fun and Focus
As part of our discipline system, 3rd graders will participate in Friday Fun and Focus. Those students who have completed all of their assignments (at home and in school) and followed our behavior policy will be treated to a 25-minute Friday Fun session. Students who have missed/incomplete assignments will complete them during Friday Focus. This time will also be used to address behavior issues depending on the severity.
Third Grade Curriculum
Please see the learner objectives posted on the District 95 webpage.
Language Arts
Reading
Comprehension will be a priority in third grade. We will be learning several strategies to help improve reading as well as build on strategies learned in second grade. Strategies that we will be focusing on include:
Making connections
Questioning
Visualizing
Text features
Making predictions
Identifying and comparing different genres
Coding
Introduction to summarizing and making inferences
English
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Types of sentences
Sentence structure
Mechanics (Capitalization, punctuation, etc.)
Spelling
This year the third graders will be learning spelling patterns through the study of syllabic units. The underlying philosophy of this practice is to teach children how to spell, not what to spell. Students will get weekly homework and take a test every Friday.
Writing
Students will continue working with the Six Plus One Traits of Writing. We will be incorporating the qualities great writers use in their writing, which include: ideas, sentence fluency, organization, word choice, voice, conventions, and presentation.
Math
We are continuing with the Otter Creek Math Facts program. We will be developing an understanding of the strands of mathematics through the use of our SRA textbooks.
The following strands will be addressed:
Arithmetic, including counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Algebra, including patterns, functions, and variables.
Geometry
Measurement
Data Collection and Organization, including graphs and tables.
Probability and Statistics
Rational Numbers, including fractions, decimals and percentages.
Number Sense and Place Value
Your student will be given a password to access their textbook online from home. On occasion, they may be given online homework.
Science
Third grade themes this year are animals/habitats, space, and simple machines.
Social Studies
We will be studying U.S. Government leading up to the election, economics, communities and geography (including map reading), and creating and interpreting timelines.