Welcome to Mrs. Baumann’s Third grade Class!
We have a lot of great things happening in our classroom throughout the year, so I thought I’d communicate the following information to you.
WEBPAGE—I will keep this webpage up to date with information, a calendar, and possibly pictures of your children (but only those who answered "yes" on the internet photo release). I will not put any names with the student’s photos.
MY EMAIL ADDRESS: is st_rbaumann@smfcsd.org --I check it throughout the 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 crayons, glue sticks, paper/spiral notebooks, 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: Our district is currently implementing a Reading series by Harcourt Brace. This series is full of activities involving reading, grammar, spelling and writing and correlates with the State Standards. Your children will be reading various types of real, authentic literature in the student source books. For every story, there are three levels of “mini” books, which have the same theme and vocabulary from the story. At times, we will be participating in “literature circles” reading and doing activities with chapter books and trade books. We will also be utilizing Practice book pages in which we will be doing activities using vocabulary words, various types of reading skills and strategies, grammar and spelling practice. 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 quizzes in which the students will need to write the correct word, match the correct word with its definition, fill in the blank, etc. using our vocabulary words. Please practice these words throughout the week for about 5 minutes a day.
PHONICS: We will be incorporating a multi-sensory approach into our phonemic awareness lessons.
SPELLING- Weekly words will be listed on my webpage. Tests will be on Fridays. We will usually have 13-18 words a week to study using a specific spelling pattern. In addition to three “red words”, students might be given some “surprise” words to check for understanding of the week’s spelling pattern. Also, there will be five challenge words offered to any student who wishes to be tested on them on Friday. Students' spelling tests will be graded on all words they attempt to spell correctly. I also do review spelling tests about every 6 weeks to make sure students do not forget past spelling patterns and to ensure that they all become better, confident spellers and writers!
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. We will mainly focus on narratives, poetry, plays, letters, summaries, short stories, and some timed writing prompts, all with various audiences and purposes in mind.
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 Common Core State Standards. Students will be expected to explain their processes in words, pictures and/or numbers. We will be communicating our “math thoughts" regularly.
SCIENCE- Our units of study are Animals, Nutrition, Rocks and Minerals, Force and Motion/Simple Machine.
HEALTH- Units of study are the Skeletal, Muscular and Digestive Systems and Nutrition.
SOCIAL STUDIES- Units of study are Citizenship, Geography (Maps), Government with emphasis on our local government, Cultures, Economics, and Stow History.
GRADES
Class work, assessments and some homework will be graded using the report card system for third grade. 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. (Most homework and in-class assignments will be worth 2 points.) Some assignments bearing a failing grade may be sent home for correction and a request for a parent’s signature. Students may correct these assignments at home to earn half credit for corrected answers. Rubrics for grading are included on this website. 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.
100% A+
94-99 A
93 A-
91-92 B+
87-90 B
85-86 B-
83-84 C+
73-82 C
70-72 C-
68-69 D+
63-67 D
61-62 D-
60 or below F
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ACHIEVEMENT TEST/PRACTICE: The Third Grade Reading Achievement will be given ______ and again _____. The Math Achievement Test will be given ______. 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- Orange take-home folders will be coming home every day and NEED to be returned the following day. Along with the communication folder you will find the daily reading sheet, study buddy pages filled out for that day, and daily papers that may or may not neet returned. 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!
Positive Consequences for Behavior
I believe in rewarding students for positive behavior, such as listening and following directions the first time they are given. A form of positive consequence is rewarding the class with extra recess. If the class as a whole works hard to follow directions, the students do their best work, and are supportive and/or helpful to one another, we will occasionally enjoy a few extra minutes of recess. We also have a behavior chart where students will move their sticks up or down, depending on their behavior. (Outstanding, Great Day, Good Day, Ready to Learn, Think About It, Teacher's Choice, Call Parents.) Some students may need incentive charts sent home on a daily basis and need to be returned the next day with a parent's signature.
Negative Consequences for Behavior
Unfortunately, these are sometimes necessary and are as follows:
1. Warning #1 = Verbal warning.
2. Warning #2 = Lose half of recess.
3. Warning #3 = 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 of behavior may occur daily, but will not carry over to the next class day.
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OUR “MAIN” 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.
****AS A CLASS, WE COME UP WITH OUR OWN SET OF CLASSROOM RULES. PLEASE VISIT OUR CLASSROOM TO SEE WHAT WE CAME UP WITH COLLABORATIVELY!***
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STUDY BUDDY- We do these together at the end of EVERY DAY! Students are expected to complete their own study buddies daily so you are able to get an overview of what we accomplished that day and/or what is expected of your child. 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 nearly everyday.
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TECHNOLOGY
NETBOOKS - Our class has a cart of about 15 netbooks that we will share with a partner from time to time in class. These are PC's.
IBOOKS- Our class may also share a cart of 15 ibook laptops with the rest of the school from time to time. We use these computers regularly to research on the internet, make PowerPoint presentations, imovies, etc. We also have an ELMO presentation system, digital camera, digital movie camera and various other technology tools. Throughout the school year, we will take class time to work in our computer lab as well.
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SNACKS- We will have snack time every day around 10:30. 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 work time and the snacks need to be NUTRITIUOS. Chips, cookies, candy, anything liquid or needing a spoon will not be permitted. (Basically, a nutritious finger food is a great choice.)
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. These will only be refilled once during/after lunch recess. We have a water fountain right outside our classroom.
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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 at various times throughout the day. As soon as this schedule is made, I will send a copy home with each student. Thank you in advance for all of your support and help!
HOMEWORK- I would like your child to read at least 20 minutes everyday. In the front cover of the orange 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 possibly write a short summary or reflection. He/she also needs to write how long he/she read and have a parent/guardian initial it. Other homework includes practicing math facts, practicing spelling and vocabulary words, or specific homework pages in Math, Science, or Social Studies. 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. 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 for 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.”