Dear Students and Families,
Welcome to third grade. I’m excited about the opportunity to get to know you, and I’m looking forward to a happy and productive school year. Within this letter I will share information about various items. Please feel free to contact me about any question you may have regarding what is shared or other concerns you may have. .
Throughout the year your student will be required to do homework. Each week your child should be studying their spelling words, math facts, and spending at least forty minutes reading aloud. Your child has a calendar in their binder which reflects what needs to be accomplished each evening Please help your student learn how to be responsible for their work. You can do this by creating a time and a place for them to complete their studies and by helping them to remember to bring their binder and homework to school each day.
You will find a list of three hundred spelling words in your child’s binder. Each week 18 of the words will be tested randomly. Many of the words your student will know so it is best to test them at home and find which words they miss. Once the list is narrowed down, you can have your student begin to study the words they do not know. As the year progresses students will be creating a personal dictionary of words they do not know how to spell. These words may be added to their spelling list.
Math homework must be graded at home with your help using the Everyday Math parent letter found in the math section of their binders. Students will be graphing their scores at the start of each day in their data folders. It is alright if students struggle with the math homework. Some of the work is considered “developing” not “secure”. I will have the students write a S for secure or D for developing on the homework to let you know what level the work is. It is also extremely important that you spend time working with multiplication facts throughout the year. I have found it impossible to insure students are proficient in their times tables if they do not practice at home. If you find your student struggling with the facts I would be glad to help come up with various activities to aid in their practice. Thanks in advance for the time taken with your child making sure they will be a success.
Each week the class will help write a letter reviewing briefly, what occurred in class. I encourage you to hold a discussion about the information found within this weekly letter with your child. I will also post this information on our third grade blog.( http://classof2017-classof2017.blogspot.com/ )
Please check the blog throughout the year. I will publish student work, pictures, and other information about our classroom work. In order to publish your students picture on the blog I will need the permission form attached to this letter returned ASAP.
We will be using the Time to Teach discipline plan again this year. I have modified this program in the following manner. A student who fails to follow directions will be prompted and their name will be placed on the board. The student will receive two more prompts before being refocused. Each prompt equals a check. Three prompts equals a refocus. Three refocuses in a week equals an academy held after school on Monday. After each refocus your student will call and speak with you as to why they have received a refocus form. It is important you realize it is somewhat difficult to earn an academy. The majority of students will go through a year without having to attend academy, however some become weekly attendees. If this begins to occur with your child I want to work with you to develop a creative means to help your child become behaviorally successful.
Once again, welcome to third grade. Let’s work together to make this the best year ever!
Sincerely,
