Ms.

Stevens Helpful Third Grade Handbook

2013-2014

Table of Contents
!el"o#e to 3rd Grade$ letter to parents %un %a"ts about Ms. Stevens &urri"ulu# o Third Grade 'vervie( o Ho#e(ork )*pe"tations o Make-up (ork+Ho#e(ork o Sta, &onne"ted o -ttendan"e .ehavioral )*pe"tations o /ules o &lassroo# Mana0e#ent o !eekl, &o##unit, &ir"le 1ail, o o o o o Spe"ifi"s Spe"ials S"hedule Sna"k .irthda,s Student of the !eek 2olunteer 'pportunities

)*tra3 )*tra4 o 2olunteer Si0n-up

1ear 5arents3

!el"o#e to 3rd Grade4 M, na#e is Sta"e, Stevens. This is #, third ,ear at South -rbor. 6ast ,ear (as absolutel, a#a7in0 and 8 kno( this ,ear (ill be 9ust as 0reat4 8 0raduated fro# Grand 2alle, State :niversit,3 stud,in0 )le#entar, )du"ation and #ore spe"ifi"all, 8nte0rated S"ien"e about three ,ears a0o. .efore #, first ,ear tea"hin0 in a traditional "lassroo#3 8 spent #, ti#e as a tea"her travelin0 around the "ountr, tea"hin0 leadership skills. 8 (as also in a #ana0e#ent position and ;ui"kl, reali7ed that 8 (ould rather be in the "lassroo# and "ouldnt be happier (ith #, de"ision4 8 believe that effe"tive "o##uni"ation bet(een the tea"her and the parents is e*tre#el, i#portant. /esear"h sho(s that "hildren have hi0her 0rades3 #ore positive behavior3 and #ore positive attitudes (hen their parents are involved in their edu"ation. <our "hild and 8 need ,our support in order for this ,ear to be su""essful. There (ill be a (eekl, ne(sletter posted ever, Monda, and ea"h da, ,our student (ill have a Take Ho#e folder and 5lanner that the, brin0 ho#e (ith the#. 5lease re#e#ber to "he"k this folder and planner dail, for ho#e(ork3 returned papers3 and an, "o##uni"ations. &o##uni"ation bet(een the tea"her and the parents is definitel, 0oin0 to pla, a hu0e role in ,our students su""ess. -lon0 (ith "o##uni"ation 8 en"oura0e ,ou to be as a"tive as ,our s"hedule allo(s. There (ill be a 2olunteer pa0e at the end of this pa"ket. 5lease feel free to "hoose so#ethin0 that ,ou feel "o#fortable doin0 (hether it is in the "lassroo#3 lun"hroo#3 out on field trips3 or tasks at ho#e. Thank ,ou so #u"h ahead of ti#e4 8 look for(ard to 0ettin0 to kno( ,ou and (orkin0 (ith ,ou and ,our "hild this ,ear. 8f ,ou have an, ;uestions or "on"erns3 please do not hesitate to "all or e#ail =1>.sstevens?herita0ea"ade#ies."o#@. 8n turn3 8 (ill also be "onta"tin0 ,ou fro# ti#e to ti#e. 8 a# e*tre#el, e*"ited to 0et this ,ear started out ri0ht4 5lease let #e kno( if there is an,thin0 else 8 "an do to ease this transition into 3rd 0rade for ,ou and ,our "hild. Thank ,ou for ,our ti#e. Sin"erel,3

Sta"e, Stevens

Fun Facts & More About Ms. Stevens

-s tea"hin0 is #, nu#ber one passion in life3 travelin0 (ould "o#e in as a "lose se"ond4 8 have had the (onderful opportunit, to tea"h leadership skills throu0h the lens of -#eri"an Histor,3 to #iddle s"hool students all a"ross the "ountr,. 8 have (orked in #an, #a9or "ities in"ludin0A .oston3 Be( <ork3 -ustin3 1.&.3 and 6os -n0eles to na#e a fe(4 -lso3 this past su##er 8 (ent on an edu"ational trip to Tan7ania3 -fri"a throu0h a s"holarship that 8 (on4 8t (as #ost definitel, the #ost a#a7in0 e*perien"e of #, life4 8 "ant (ait to share all the details and 8 definitel, plan on brin0in0 in all of #, (onderful e*perien"es into the "lassroo#4 M, life outside =and inside@ of tea"hin0 is definitel, a bus, one. 8 a# the t,pe of person (ho loves to sta, bus,4 Ho(ever3 in #, spare ti#e3 8 en9o, sin0in03 dan"in03 volle,ball3 softball3 visitin0 (ith #, fa#il,3 or "urlin0 up (ith a 0ood book. 8 love ka,akin0 and travelin0 :p Borth to #, fa#il,s "abin to en9o, the fresh air and open skies. 8 also love to spend ti#e (ith #, lovel, =and ver, lar0e@ "at 6ind,4 'ver the "ourse of these ne*t fe( (eeks 8 intend on 0ettin0 to kno( all of #, students and their interests as (ell. 8 a# so e*"ited to be here and to have this (onderful opportunit, to tea"h the future of -#eri"a4

Third Grade Overview Writing: Using pictures the students have drawn or brought from home, we will personalize our Writers Notebooks in order to emphasize individual ownership of its contents. This notebook will become an expression of your childs memories, ideas, questions and growing skills as a writer. Writing development will be supported by daily mini-lessons during which I will teach the writing skills chosen to reflect the needs of the majority of the class. We will start with strategies for choosing meaningful topics for our stories and move on to other skills such as the following: *Describing moments in time *Developing seed ideas *Adding details *Using descriptive language *Capitalization and punctuation *Appropriate grammar *Using descriptive language *Writing great beginnings and wow endings *Writing a variety of genre styles *Focusing on spelling strategies *Using paragraphs

This of course is just a sample of the types of writing skills we will explore. As students try the new strategies in the Writers notebook, they will be taken through the writing process. After choosing an entry and writing it as a complete draft, we will develop our skills in revising and editing. While students are involved in their independent writing, I will use this time to meet with individual writers or groups of writers. This format allows me to re-teach skills, provide feedback, and help the writer discover new ways of thinking or simply move them along to the next step in writing development. On many occasions our writing lessons will also focus on the following Traits of good writing: *Voice-the personal tone of the authors message *Idea-the heart of the message *Conventions-the mechanical correctness *Word Choice-the vocab a writer chooses *Sentence Fluency-the rhythm & flow of language *Organization-the internal structure

Reading: In reading workshop your child will be engaged in a variety of reading opportunities as we work on creating meaning from the text being read. Students will experience a Read-Aloud (I read to them and model my reading strategies), Shared Reading (studying text as a class), Guided Reading (small groups of students focusing on developing and practicing specific reading strategies), and Independent Reading (studentselected reading and responding). Workshop groups will be responsible for demonstrating their knowledge and use of the comprehension strategies, literary elements

and other reading skills taught in previous mini lessons. Although decoding and reading with fluency will be a priority, students must also demonstrate an ability to think deeply about the text they are reading. Comprehension strategies include: *making connections: text to self, text to text, text to world *questioning: I wonder, I am curious about, how does, why did, Im not sure why *visualizing: I could hear, I could picture, a mental image I had was, I visualized *inferring: I am guessing that, I predict, I think, it could be, maybe, perhaps *synthesizing: now I understand that, this makes me think of, I learned that Genre of the month: Each month will feature a different genre for our read alouds in class. This allows me the opportunity to expose your child to various reading styles. Your child is encouraged to explore reading material from a variety of genres throughout the school year. This does not mean that your child can only read books from the genre of the month for I.N.R. Below are the different genres we will be studying throughout the year and some information about each of them. Month Genre Description
September October Realistic Fiction Fantasy powers. Ring series) Historical Fiction past. Mystery the end. Bio and Autobiography person. Diary of Anne Frank) Informational books based on facts Favorites Poetry reader. Traditional Literature *A story using made up characters but could happen in real life. (Judy Moody, Stink, Amber Brown and Ramona series) *A story including elements that are impossible, such as magical (Narnia series, Harry Potter series, Lord of the *Made up characters in a story that takes place in a real time from the ( American Girl series, Little House on the Prairie) *A suspenseful story about a puzzling event thats not solved until (A-Z and Nancy Drew series) *A story of a real persons life that is written by the person or another (Picture Book Biography series by David Adler, *Texts that provide facts about a variety of topics. (Zoo Books, National Geographic World, Magazines, Any *stories from any of the genres. March is reading Month! *Verse written to create a response of thought and feeling from the (Poetry books by Jack Prelutsky, Douglas Florian, Shel Silverstein) *A made up story about a historical figure or everyday people that was passed along by word of mouth. (any folktales, fairy tales, fables, tall tales. Famous authors Jan Brett, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Anderson) *A story that blends futuristic technology with scientific fact and (Star Wars series, A Wrinkle in Time, Among

November December January

February

March April

May

June Science Fiction fiction. the Hidden series)

Mathematics: South Arbor has adopted the Think Math program for K-4 grades. Below are the units of study for this year. *Chapter 1 Building Operations *Chapter 2 Multiplication Situations *Chapter 3 Using Addition and Subtraction *Chapter 4 Grouping, Regrouping and Place Value *Chapter 5 Understanding Addition and Subtraction Algorithms *Chapter 6 Rules and Patterns *Chapter 7 Fractions *Chapter 8 Charts and Graphs *Chapter 9 Exploring Multiplication Chapter 10 Length, Area and Volume Chapter 11 Geometry Chapter 12 Multiplication Strategies Chapter 13 Time, Temperature, Weight and Capacity Chapter 14 Addition and Subtraction in Depth Chapter 15 Multiplication and Division

Science/Social Studies: The following are our science and social study units throughout the year. Unit in Science
Scientific Method Earth in Space Changing Surface of the Earth Rocks and Minerals Motion and Forces Sound and Light Classification

Unit in Social Studies

Geography of Michigan Economy of Michigan Early History of Michigan Growth of Michigan Government of Michigan Public Issues facing Michigan Citizens

Homework: <our "hild (ill re"eive ho#e(ork Monda, throu0h Thursda,. The onl, ti#e that ho#e(ork is 0iven over the (eekend (ould be to help (ith a resear"h pro9e"t or book report. There are #an, benefits of

ho#e(ork. 8t allo(s students to develop responsibilit,3 as (ell as 0ood #aintain stud, habits (hile reinfor"in0 "lassroo# learnin0. 8t is 0ood for all parties involved to establish a routine so there are no surprises. 8 understand that (e all have bus, s"hedules so #, 0oal is to #ake the routine of a""o#plishin0 ea"h ho#e(ork assi0n#ent and turnin0 the# in as sea#less as possible for ever,one. 8ndependent Bi0htl, /eadin0 =8B/@3 Totall, Ten =spellin0 pra"ti"e@3 and #ath pra"ti"e pa0es alon0 (ith fa"t pra"ti"e3 (ill be the e*pe"ted ho#e(ork 0iven ea"h (eek. 8B/ of 30 #inutes (ill be an e*pe"ted ho#e(ork assi0n#ent ea"h ni0ht Monda, throu0h Thursda,. - readin0 lo0 book#ark (ill 0o ho#e on Monda, and #, e*pe"tation is that it (ill be filled out =a 0oal of 120-1C0 #inutes+(eek@ and turned in on the follo(in0 %rida,. 8B/ #aterials "an in"lude books3 #a0a7ines3 ne(spaper arti"les3 et". !eekends are en"oura0ed3 ,et not #andator,. 'ur spellin0 ho#e(ork (ill "onsist of Totall, Ten. 8t is a (orksheet that allo(s for different a"tivities to be a""o#plished in order to pra"ti"e their spellin0 (ords. There are points assi0ned to ea"h a"tivit, and the students #ust rea"h a 0iven a#ount of points b, Thursda,3 b, "hoosin0 to do spe"ifi" a"tivities that add up to the 0iven a#ount. 'ur #ath pra"ti"e pa0e (ill be based upon our unit of stud, and (ill be due the follo(in0 da,. Man, ti#es 8 (ill in"lude fa"t pra"ti"e on the ba"k of our dail, assi0n#ent3 so #ake sure to "he"k for double sided #ath pa0es -ll students ho#e(ork (ill no( "ount to(ards their Moral %o"us 0rade. 8t (ill be 0raded on a "o#plete or in"o#plete basis.

Make-up work/Homework: 8f ,our "hild is absent for an, reason3 the #ake-up (ork (ill be on his+her desk. -""ordin0 to South -rbor poli",3 students have one additional da, for ea"h da, absent. 'ther arran0e#ents (ill be #ade for test that #issed due to absen"es. 8f ,ou (ould like to pi"k up ,our "hilds (ork fro# his or her absen"e3 please indi"ate this (hen ,ou "all the offi"e in the #ornin0. <ou #a, pi"k then pi"k up assi0n#ents b, 3D1C p.#. on the re;uested date =in the offi"e@.

Stay Connecte : <our student (ill have a Take Ho#e %older$ to take ho#e dail,. These (ill be the #ain sour"e of "o##uni"ation bet(een ho#e and s"hool. 'n one side

there (ill be a H'M)$ se"tion and the other a .-&E T' S&H''6$ se"tion. -ll ho#e(ork3 notes3 and si0ned papers need to be "arried to and fro# s"hool in this folder dail,. -lso ,our student (ill have a planner and ea"h da, it is e*pe"ted that the, (ill fill it out (ith the infor#ation provided to the# on the board. 8 (ill be postin0 a Ms. Stevens Monda, Messen0er$ =our "lass ne(sletter@3 ever, Monda, as (ell.

Behavioral Expectations !ules: .e /espe"tful3 .e /esponsible3 .e Safe4 8f the students are not #eetin0 these rules3 the first step is to ask the s"hool (ide standard set of ;uestions. 8f behavior "ontinues3 please see belo( for a #ore detailed approa"h to "lassroo# #ana0e#ent. Classroom Mana"ementD Throu0hout this s"hool ,ear it (ill be"o#e evident that 8 believe F"onsisten", is ke,. -lon0 (ith the rest of the s"hool3 8 (ill be usin0 a "olor s,ste# to keep tra"k of behavior. There are four different "olored plates =0reen3 ,ello(3 blue3 and red@ in our roo#. )a"h student has a "lothespin (ith their na#e on it. )ver, sin0le #ornin0 and after lun"h3 students (ill start out on 0reen. The 0oal for ea"h student is to sta, on 0reen throu0hout the da,. Green #eans that ,our "hild has had e*"eptional behavior all da,4 %ro# there ea"h student (ill be 0iven a free (arnin0 for #isbehavior. 8f the #isbehavior "ontinues after the first (arnin03 and the standard set of ;uestions are asked3 the student (ill be asked to #ove their "lothespin to ,ello(. 8f a student is on ,ello( it #eans the behavior has been repeated to the point of a distra"tion to other students. -t this point 8 (ill dis"uss (ith the student the issue and (hat the e*pe"ted behavior is at that ti#e. %ro# there if the behavior "ontinues3 the, (ill be asked to #ove to blue. 8f a student is on blue3 8 #a, or #a, not #ake the parent a(are of the situation =dependin0 on severit,@ and (ill hold a student-tea"her "onferen"e about the situation. -lso3 the student (ill lose C #inutes fro# re"ess. 8 (ill also lo0 this "olor "han0e into our -t S"hool pro0ra# online. 8t the behavior still "ontinues ,our "hild (ill be asked to #ove to red. 8f a student rea"hes red3 8 (ill be "onta"tin0 ,ou via phone or a #eetin0 #a, be s"heduled. There (ill also be a .ehavioral /eferral filled out and their entire re"ess (ill be taken a(a,. %ro# there3 if behavior still "ontinues our s"hools -d#inistration Tea# (ill be involved. There (ill be a #eetin0 to fill out a .ehavior &orre"tive -"tion 5lan that involves the parents3 tea"hers3 student3 and ad#inistration tea#. 8n severe instan"es there are further steps to be taken. 'n a positive note3 students that sta, on 0reen (ill re"eive positive affir#ations3 as (ell as a""ess to other in"entives in "lass. /e(ards possible throu0hout the s"hool ,ear are as follo(sD house points3 re(ard 9ar3 spe"ial

note or phone "all ho#e to parent. 8n addition the entire "lass (ill have the "han"e to (ork to(ards a spe"ial re(ard if all students are on 0reen at the end of the da,. This (ill be voted upon b, the "lass as a (hole. Community Circle 'ur "lass (ill attend3 as (hole3 &o##unit, &ir"le on ever, %rida, of ea"h (eek. -0endas (ill be "reated for ea"h of these #eetin0s. The #eetin0s (ill "over various topi"s that are i#portant to our "lassroo#. - se"tion for su00estions (ill also be "overed as (ell as an, up"o#in0 announ"e#ents. There (ill be a su00estion bo* a""essible to students dail, to allo( the# to provide an, su00estions the, #a, have. This (ill be a ti#e that 8 (ill en"oura0e a positive dis"ussion and a supportive at#osphere. &lass #eetin0s (ill allo( ea"h student to arti"ulate (hatever their issues #a, be3 in an open and safe environ#ent. 83 the tea"her3 (ill have the po(er to veto if ne"essar,. Throu0h "lass #eetin0s (e (ill foster a sense of "o##unit, (ithin our "lassroo#3 (here ever, student (ill kno( their voi"e is heard. Daily Specifics Spec#als Sc$e ule: Spe"ials ea"h (eek are ever, da, fro# 10D30-11D1C. The spe"ials ea"h da, are as follo(sD Monda,- 5) Tuesda,- &o#puters !ednesda,- Musi" Thursda,- -rt %rida,- Spanish Snack an %unc$:

The students (ill en9o, a s#all sna"k in the #ornin0 fro# 10D1C-10D30 a.#. and lun"h fro# 11D4C-12D1C p.#. dail,. <our "hild (ill be responsible for brin0in0 in a s#all health, sna"k dail, as (ell as a pa"ked lun"h or si0n up for hot lun"h. 5lease re#e#ber that our "lassroo# is a tree nut+peanut free "lassroo#. !e (ill eat sna"k in our "lassroo# so please let #e kno( of an, aller0ies as soon as possible3 if not other(ise dis"ussed. 6un"h (ill be eaten in the 0,#nasiu#.

&#rt$ ays Celebrat#ons: 1ue to "ertain #edi"al "onditions in our "lassroo#3 (e do have a stri"t treat list to "hoose fro#. 8 (ill send ho#e a separate list (ith further e*planation3 as (ell as the list (ith possible options. 8f ,our "hild "annot find a treat the, en9o, on the list3 please re#e#ber ,ou "an al(a,s brin0 in a non-food ite#. Thank ,ou ahead of ti#e for ,our understandin0. 8f ,oud like to send in a treat3 please let #e kno( ahead of ti#e3 so 8 "an plan ti#e for its distribution =and a little son0@. !e (ill "elebrate su##er birthda,s durin0 the #onth of Gune.

Star Stu ent of t$e 'eek: )ver, student (ill have an opportunit, to be a star student of the (eek in our "lassroo#. Students (ill be sele"ted at rando# ea"h (eek and (ill then re"eive their Student of the !eek$ pa"ket (ith further instru"tions. (olunteer )pportun#t#es: !e "ant do it (ithout ,ou4 8 (ill be sendin0 ho#e a for# to fill out (ith ti#es and preferen"es for volunteerin0 inside and outside of the "lassroo#. 5lease return that as soon as possible3 and (e "an start ri0ht a(a,4

Thank ,ou for sharin0 ,our "hild (ith #e. 8 do not have an, "hildren of #, o(n3 ,et (ith bein0 e*tre#el, "lose to #, parents3 8 "an 9ust be0in to understand 9ust ho( i#portant ,our "hild is to ,ou. 8 kno( that ,ou (ant the# to learn as #u"h as the, possibl, "an. 8 kno( ,ou (ant ea"h da, to be a spe"ial and #e#orable one. -nd3 8 kno( ,ou (ant to #ake sure the, are in a safe and nurturin0 environ#ent ever, sin0le da,. 8 pro#ise to provide these thin0s to ,our "hild ever,da, of his+her Third Grade ,ear3 9ust as one da, 8 (ould hope to be pro#ised to #, o(n "hildren4 Thank ,ou for all ,ou do. 8 a# lookin0 for(ard to a spe"ta"ular ,ear4

Sta"e, Stevens 1>.sstevens?herita0ea"ade#ies."o# H34.C2I.2I21