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Parent InformationSeptember Letter to ParentsSeptember 2010 Dear Parents and Guardians of Room 17, Welcome to Third Grade! As your child begins to settle into the classroom, I would like to offer the following information for your reference. Expectations for Third Grade In order for Third Grade to be a successful experience, your child will be required to: - Complete homework assignments on time - Complete classroom assignments - Complete any make-up classroom work and unfinished assignments at home - Read at home for an assigned time Monday through Thursday - Participate in class discussions, small groups, and be able to work independently - Listen politely when someone is speaking or reading aloud - Do his or her best and take pride in his or her achievements Team Support Teamwork begins with team support! A sense of team instills a solid foundation for community building in our classroom. Basically, I have had much success with the following Team Point system: When we begin the year, the class is divided into teams, and each team is assigned a different color: Red, Blue, Green, Purple, or Yellow. Each team works together to complete an assignment, whether it is a cooperative or independent task. Points are given to each team based upon effort, productivity, and problem solving. When independent (quiet) work is assigned, teams will earn points for respecting each member's need for concentration. On Friday, the team that has earned the most points wins a visit to the "Treasure Chest," which has an assortment of school-related prizes. To allow each student the opportunity to work with everyone in the class, the teams generally are reorganized every other Friday, or as the need present itself. Team names are later integrated with Science or Social Studies concepts. Students will periodically brainstorm specific categories to elect names for their teams. For example, team names may be "Scorpions" or "Geckos" when we study animals of the desert ecosystem. Supplies If possible, it is helpful to provide your child with the following throughout the year if the need arises (These items are generally provided by me to begin the school year.): - An ink pen to correct work (blue, black, or green) - Pencils with eraser heads (as needed) - A hand held eraser - A hand held sharpener that collects pencil shavings - One 12-inch inches/metric ruler - One box of crayons (no more than 24 is necessary) - A box of thin colored markers (no more than 10 is necessary) - A box of thick colored markers (no more than 10 is necessary) - A box of colored pencils - One highlighter, preferably yellow - A packet of square "Post-its" - A folder to carry homework and notices to and from school Home Folder and Weekly Assignment Sheet Your child should bring a Homework Folder home every night of the week. The homework folder should contain school notices that were distributed that day. A weekly assignment sheet will be sent home on Mondays to let you know what the homework assignments are for that week. It will also keep you informed of the specials (Gym, Art, Music, Computer Lab, Assemblies) that are planned for the week. This year we will use the following rotating schedule: A Day 10:08-10:38 Gym B Day 11:47-12:17 Music C Day 9:35-10:05 Gym 2:26 D Day 10:30-11:30 Computer Lab Strings will be announced E Day 11:14-11:44 Music F Day 9:35-10:35 Art 1:30-2:00 Library Recess/Lunch is from 12:30 to 1:00 P.M during the second wave. Students are given 10 minutes extra recess everyday prior to the lunch shift. (Please note: the decision to have recess before lunch is a district mandate.) To eliminate the confusion of these letter days, the weekly planner sheet will tell you which days we will have which specials. Please have your child wear sneakers on Gym days. Since it is important to show your child that you are involved in his or her learning experience, kindly "initial" the space provided at the bottom of the weekly planner sheet. This is just below the appropriate day following your child's completion of the day's assignments. On Friday, your child will return this sheet to me. A Homework Hurrah Award and team points will be awarded when all homework assignments are completed. This would include all classroom assignments since they are to be completed as homework if not finished in class. Homework Homework is important to your child's academic experience because it reinforces skills and allows your child to practice what has been taught in class. Homework also prepares your child for upcoming lessons, and helps her or him develop self-discipline, responsibility, and organizational skills. Generally, your child will have 3 assignments for homework each night, Monday through Thursday: - 1 Spelling or Language Arts assignment - 1 Math assignment (skill practice) - Independent Reading - In the near future, I will also assign a written response in a Reading Journal following Independent Reading on Thursday nights. (This will begin when students appear settled in their new homework routine.) Special Projects may also be assigned with due dates and detailed instructions sent home in the Homework Folder. Generally these assignments are given 3 - 4 weeks in advance of the due date. Social Studies/Science In Third Grade, we will learn the geography of The United States. Map skills will be ongoing throughout the year. We will also complete units on Native Americans (Ojibwa, Hopi, Cheyenne), Life Science (Communities of Living Things), Landforms (Forest, Desert, Grasslands), Matter (Solids, Liquids, Gases), the Water Cycle, Rocks, Minerals and Fossils, Natural Resources, and the geography, history, and government of the city of Norwalk. To provide your child with knowledge of current events, we will share Scholastic News, and the Norwalk Hour's 'Partners in Education' program. Field trips will be planned to support concepts in Social Studies and Science. Junior Achievement provides an excellent program about city planning that supports our study of Norwalk. Reading in the Classroom The goal in reading is to progress from a guided reader to an independent reader. This includes moving towards self-selecting books that are just right for each student at his/her reading level. Simply said, students are guided to become independent. Typically, I read aloud to the class everyday to model a reading strategy. Students should understand that good readers make use of reading strategies before, during, and after reading. Before reading strategies include thinking about the title, noting text structure (headings, bold print, italicized words, illustrations and other visual presentations), and questioning the author's purpose for writing the selection. This is when students also set their own purpose for reading. (I think this book is nonfiction because it has real photographs and gives real information. There is also an index and lists topics as subtitles in bold print.) During reading strategies focus on problem-solving skills readers use to monitor their understanding of what they read. These strategies include building word attack skills and vocabulary, visualizing or creating a mental picture, and rereading for clarification. (I don't know what that word means, but if I read around it, I can figure out its meaning.) After reading strategies help readers respond to what they read by making connections and evaluating what they read. (I'd like the character for a friend because he seems quiet and shy like me.) Next, students practice a reading strategy, either through guided or independent reading, using a book at their individual reading level. Guided reading generally includes sharing text together using the overhead, a reading series, or in a small group in which readers have the same print available at their reading level. There may also be times when students choose similar books to share with a partner. Following reading, students respond by discussing or writing in their reading journals using prompts such as: I noticed in my reading that… and I wonder if… to share their books with a partner, small group, or whole class. Upon completion of the book, they may create a response project to share with the class, such as a story quilt, story map, or a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Please note that with regard to independent reading, your child may wish to bring a book from home or borrow one from the classroom library. This book may be read for independent reading both at home and in school. The goal is to complete the book and then complete a book response sheet. A photocopy of the book's jacket will be displayed with the response sheet and posted on the classroom wall. My own goal is to completely cover the walls of our classroom with book jackets and reading response sheets! Independent Reading At Home I would like to enlist your support in providing a quiet place and time every night when your child can read ideally for 20 minutes, preferably before bedtime. Of course, if your child LOVES to read and will read over the assigned time, by all means - encourage it! Students are expected to read 25 "Just Right" (not too easy, not too challenging) books independently by the end of the school year. Last year, my 3 top readers won gift cards to Borders for reading over 40 books and submitting book reports for each. Your child will keep a log of books and complete response sheets following the completion of each book. Again, these books may be read independently either in school and/or at home. For your reference, it is helpful to note that if your child completes a "bigger" book (such as one of the Harry Potter series), every 100 pages counts as one book. You may also find that your child prefers a specific series or a specific author. Not to worry - these are typical reading behaviors of good readers! In third grade, we will seek to expand our reading horizons as we check our own interests and needs. Please note that it may be typical for your child to juggle more than one book at a time. Some readers may prefer to alternate between a fiction (story) and a nonfiction (informational) book. This is perfectly permissible, as long as your child is reading! However, it would be helpful to remind your child of the end of the year goal to complete 25 "just right" books she/she perseveres to complete a book, along with the corresponding report. To achieve its end, independent reading should be a pleasant task. If your child thinks reading is boring or tedious, he/she may not have found a book that interests him/her. You may find that your child prefers nonfiction over fiction or vice-versa. If possible, visit the local Library. Buy books together. Children generally love to pick up a book with an exciting jacket cover. Writing Your child will develop writing skills using the workshop model. Writing will be taught as a process in which editing and revision is required to create a finished piece. The goal is to make writing a comfortable and enjoyable task. Our class will learn how to respond to a timed CMT narrative prompt, as well as how to write formal letters, stories, poems, reports, and summaries of articles and books, and paragraphs based on one main idea with supporting details. Cursive writing will also be taught in Grade 3. Students should make the shift and write in cursive by April. I tell my students, however, that printing is acceptable during a spelling test and that we are allowed to print a rough draft when we are taking that piece through the writing process. After editing grammar and spelling mistakes, work will be presented in either a formal cursive or typewritten format. Oral Language My goal is to develop speaking and presentation skills in all my students. To reinforce this as a lifelong skill, speaking aloud must be a positive experience. I feel that opportunities for speaking should be provided in small increments. Students will respond when they are ready and comfortable with speaking in front of the group. Your child will be given many opportunities to present ideas individually or as a member of group. Spelling To build encoding skills, your child will use the a specialized spelling program - Words Their Way - to reinforce spelling rules according to each student's specific spelling level. This program addresses the need to differentiate spelling according to different abilities. It is important to note that spelling programs seek to build spelling skills rather than build vocabulary. This is why a spelling list sometimes might appear to have "easy words" for third grade. This is simply because the word list reinforces a specific spelling rule. By learning the rule, your child will have a greater understanding of how to apply it when reading unfamiliar words. Your child will also learn to use spelling strategies to check the spelling in his/her own written work. As stated above, Language Arts homework will be sent home every night, Monday through Thursday. Generally, on Monday, a new list of spelling words will be assigned for the week. Your child will be pretested on those words in class and will circle the misspelled words. Unless otherwise specified, the following 'Spelling' homework will be the same for each night of the week: Monday - write misspelled words on pretest 3x each and complete a spelling rule activity sheet Tuesday - choose 8 words and use them in meaningful sentences The goal is to write a sentence that provides meaning for the specific word. Ask your child that if the spelling word he/she used in a sentence were to be substituted with a blank, would someone be able to correctly guess the missing spelling word? Wednesday - create a story (or writing piece according to monthly writing genre) using one spelling word as a springboard for an idea. The goal here is to encourage writing skills, not use as many spelling words as possible in a story. Thursday - study for Friday's spelling test Please note that there will be off-weeks when we will have a spelling review and the homework will be Language Skill or Reading comprehension worksheets. Again, the weekly assignment sheet will help keep you informed of spelling or language skill assignments. Mathematics We will continue to use the Growing With Mathematics program as a primary resource this year. Math homework is generally given every night Monday through Thursday. Math will be closely aligned to skills addressed in the Connecticut Mastery test. Opportunities for graphing, problem solving, and estimation will also be integrated in our mainstream learning activities. Computer Skills Our class has a website which tends to grow over the course of the year. I will be taking many photos of our class during activities that deserve to be shared with you at home. As a safety precaution, please understand that last names are never mentioned, nor are photos ever attached to names of students. In order for me to publish a photo that shows your child during a classroom activity, the office must have your permission for media release. This is found on the back of the school's white emergency card that was sent home the first day of school. Our class will generally visit the Computer Lab once a week. We will learn keyboarding skills (Type to Learn), build and assess important grade level skills in Reading, Math, and Writing (StudyIsland.com, Harcourtschool.com), and use the Internet for basic research. We will also be working with Microsoft Word to publish our writing. Presently, we have four computers that are online in the classroom. Teams rotate daily to use the computer center as soon as they enter the classroom each morning. Students use this time for Internet activities that support the curriculum or to complete a project. Reading partnerships may work on their PowerPoint presentations or conduct assigned research on topics at designated Internet sites. Please note, unless otherwise stated, it is perfectly permissible for your child to type a research report, spelling sentences or a spelling story at home. Notes to School Please send in a note if your child is going home a different way (i.e., to be picked up by car rather than take the usual bus) or if he/she has been absent due to illness. Also, the office requires a note following an absence in order for that absence to be "excused." Snacks Each day, time is provided for a morning snack. A light, nutritious snack is suggested since we eat lunch at 12:30 P.M. (Highly sugared foods are not recommended.) During the hot days of August, September, and late spring, it is permissible for your child to keep a water bottle at his/her desk. Birthdays This year, there is a new schoolwide policy regarding Birthday snacks. It is no longer permissable to send in cupcakes or other baked items to share with your child's classmates. Also, please understand that there is not much time in our academic schedule for parties. However, we will honor the Birthday celebrant with a special Birthday crown, traditional song, and a special place as classroom "leader" for the day. Scholastic Book Club In the near future, I will be sending home monthly Scholastic book club order forms. Scholastic provides you the opportunity to purchase award-winning literature for your child at very reasonable prices. Our classroom receives points for your purchases which allow us to buy books at lower cost. You are not obligated, however, to purchase anything. As a parent, How Can I Help? Glad you asked that question! First and foremost, you can help your child by providing a scheduled time for homework and quiet reading. When your child completes his/her independent reading at home, you can help develop comprehension by asking for a brief RETELL of what was read. ("Tell me a little bit about what happened in the book.") Ask if he/she likes the book. Ask why. Encourage your child to think and talk about books. Most importantly, encourage your child to LOVE books and reading. Make regular visits to the library or local bookstore. Give your child the comics' section of the newspaper. Place the cereal box on the table to read. Make reading a fun thing to do! Another way you can help your child is to provide correct spelling where needed. Please understand that your child is learning to spell and that phonetic attempts are developmentally appropriate. However, it is important for your child to develop a lifelong habit of CHECKING for spelling mistakes and using proper spelling. This means that you, as an editor, may intervene and help your child spell words correctly in his/her written work in a gentle, supportive way. Also, your child will need to know his/her addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts by the end of the year. You can help by reinforcing math facts at home, preferably with flash cards. Another skill that you can help reinforce is linear measurement. Give your child a ruler and ask him/her to measure items around the house using both customary (inches, feet) and metric (cm, meter) units of measure. Check to see that you child begins to measure at the "0" mark - not at the beginning of the ruler itself. Counting coins is yet another skill that can be reinforced at home. Let your child count a handful of change whenever possible. Make counting the family coin jar a weekly event. Another good investment is a pad of MAD LIBS, a party game that asks for parts of speech to fill in missing parts of a short story. This activity helps children - and adults - quickly learn parts of speech (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) and build descriptive writing skills while having a great deal of fun. Mad Libs are usually found at book and toy stores. Donations Our class can always use the following items: - Kids' magazines and age-appropriate books in need of recycling - Tissues for sniffles - Paper towels for general clean up time and snack spills - Disinfectant wipes (bleach-free) for desks and gentler wipes for hands - USED tennis balls (new ones are expensive!) for the bottom of our chair and desk legs for easy and quiet mobility. These can be collected from tennis and racquet clubs. - Oversized throw or bolster pillows for reading time - Hula Hoops for Recess time - Soccer Balls, basketballs, and footballs for Recess time - Large jump ropes for Recess time Please feel free to suggest any ideas you may have to help us out! Field Trips There will be a need for chaperones for field Trips throughout the year. Room parents will be contacting parents for assistance as needed. Our first trip will be to the Audubon Center in Fairfield to learn about Algonquin Native American life. We will also be visiting Norwalk City Hall, Lockwood Mathews Mansion, and the Mill Hill Historical Museum in Norwalk. I generally send a letter to all parents to ensure that everyone has the chance to number their preference in accompanying us on a trip. Class Website As you see, our Third Grade class has a website which you can access by going to the Wolfpit homepage, and then clicking Mrs. Hempstead's name when you go to Wolfpit Staff. The website will post the weekly planner, which students will bring home on Monday. This will provide information about assignments and scheduling for the week. Also, there is a blurb about our goals and objectives for each week. Your child's photo may be posted as long as you have granted media access on the white emergency card that went home the first day of school. Please note that last names will never be posted on the website, and that names will not be posted with photos. In closing, I would like to say that I am looking forward to a very exciting and productive year with your child. Please feel free to call me at Wolfpit School, 203-899-2980 Ext. 117, or send in a note if you have ANY questions or concerns. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. You may also email me for your convenience at hempsteadd@norwalkps.org. Thank you kindly for your support! Sincerely, (Mrs.) Donna B. Hempstead September Letter to ParentsSeptember 2010 Dear Parents and Guardians of Room 17, Welcome to Third Grade! As your child begins to settle into the classroom, I would like to offer the following information for your reference. * Expectations for Third Grade In order for Third Grade to be a successful experience, your child will be required to: - Complete homework assignments on time - Complete classroom assignments - Complete any make-up classroom work and unfinished assignments at home - Read at home for an assigned time Monday through Thursday - Participate in class discussions, small groups, and be able to work independently - Listen politely when someone is speaking or reading aloud - Do his or her best and take pride in his or her achievements * Team Support Teamwork begins with team support! A sense of team instills a solid foundation for community building in our classroom. Basically, I have had much success with the following Team Point system: When we begin the year, the class is divided into teams, and each team is assigned a different color: Red, Blue, Green, Purple, or Yellow. Each team works together to complete an assignment, whether it is a cooperative or independent task. Points are given to each team based upon effort, productivity, and problem solving. When independent (quiet) work is assigned, teams will earn points for respecting each member's need for concentration. On Friday, the team that has earned the most points wins a visit to the "Treasure Chest," which has an assortment of school-related prizes. To allow each student the opportunity to work with everyone in the class, the teams generally are reorganized every other Friday, or as the need present itself. Team names are later integrated with Science or Social Studies concepts. Students will periodically brainstorm specific categories to elect names for their teams. For example, team names may be "Scorpions" or "Geckos" when we study animals of the desert ecosystem. * Supplies If possible, it is helpful to provide your child with the following throughout the year if the need arises (These items are generally provided by me to begin the school year.): - An ink pen to correct work (blue, black, or green) - Pencils with eraser heads (as needed) - A hand held eraser - A hand held sharpener that collects pencil shavings - One 12-inch inches/metric ruler - One box of crayons (no more than 24 is necessary) - A box of thin colored markers (no more than 10 is necessary) - A box of thick colored markers (no more than 10 is necessary) - A box of colored pencils - One highlighter, preferably yellow - A packet of square "Post-its" - A folder to carry homework and notices to and from school * Home Folder and Weekly Assignment Sheet Your child should bring a Homework Folder home every night of the week. The homework folder should contain school notices that were distributed that day. A weekly assignment sheet will be sent home on Mondays to let you know what the homework assignments are for that week. It will also keep you informed of the specials (Gym, Art, Music, Computer Lab, Assemblies) that are planned for the week. This year we will use the following rotating schedule: A Day 10:08-10:38 Gym B Day 11:47-12:17 Music C Day 9:35-10:05 Gym 2:26 D Day 10:30-11:30 Computer Lab (Strings will be announced) E Day 11:14-11:44 Music F Day 9:35-10:35 Art and 1:30-2:00 Library Recess/Lunch is from 12:30 to 1:00 P.M during the second wave. Students are given 10 minutes extra recess everyday prior to the lunch shift. (Please note: the decision to have recess before lunch is a district mandate.) To eliminate the confusion of these letter days, the weekly planner sheet will tell you which days we will have which specials. Please have your child wear sneakers on Gym days. Since it is important to show your child that you are involved in his or her learning experience, kindly "initial" the space provided at the bottom of the weekly planner sheet. This is just below the appropriate day following your child's completion of the day's assignments. On Friday, your child will return this sheet to me. A Homework Hurrah Award and team points will be awarded when all homework assignments are completed. This would include all classroom assignments since they are to be completed as homework if not finished in class. * Homework Homework is important to your child's academic experience because it reinforces skills and allows your child to practice what has been taught in class. Homework also prepares your child for upcoming lessons, and helps her or him develop self-discipline, responsibility, and organizational skills. Generally, your child will have 3 assignments for homework each night, Monday through Thursday: - 1 Spelling or Language Arts assignment - 1 Math assignment (skill practice) - Independent Reading - In the near future, I will also assign a written response in a Reading Journal following Independent Reading on Thursday nights. (This will begin when students appear settled in their new homework routine.) Special Projects may also be assigned with due dates and detailed instructions sent home in the Homework Folder. Generally these assignments are given 3 - 4 weeks in advance of the due date. * Social Studies/Science In Third Grade, we will learn the geography of our world, the United States, and specifically, our city of Norwalk. We will also focus on Norwalk's history, government, and economics. In addition, we will complete integrated units on Native Americans (Ojibwa, Hopi, Cheyenne) with their specific environments to compare resources and landforms of the Forest, Desert, and Grasslands. Other Science topics are Matter (Solids, Liquids, Gases), the Water Cycle, Rocks, Minerals and Fossils, and the Earth's Natural Resources. To provide your child with knowledge of current events, we subscribe to Scholastic News. Field trips will be planned to support concepts in Social Studies and Science. In Third Grade, we also make use of partnerships with the Connecticut Audubon for science and Native American concepts, and well as Junior Achievement, which provides excellent hands-on activities about city planning to support our study of Norwalk. * Reading in the Classroom The goal in reading is to progress from a guided reader to an independent reader. This includes moving towards self-selecting books that are just right for each student at his/her reading level. Simply said, students are guided to become independent. Typically, I read aloud to the class everyday to model a reading strategy. Students should understand that good readers make use of reading strategies before, during, and after reading. Before reading strategies include thinking about the title, noting text structure (headings, bold print, italicized words, illustrations and other visual presentations), and questioning the author's purpose for writing the selection. This is when students also set their own purpose for reading. (I think this book is nonfiction because it has real photographs and gives real information. There is also an index and lists topics as subtitles in bold print.) During reading strategies focus on problem-solving skills readers use to monitor their understanding of what they read. These strategies include building word attack skills and vocabulary, visualizing or creating a mental picture, and rereading for clarification. (I don't know what that word means, but if I read around it, I can figure out its meaning.) After reading strategies help readers respond to what they read by making connections and evaluating what they read. (I'd like the character for a friend because he seems quiet and shy like me.) Next, students practice a reading strategy, either through guided or independent reading, using a book at their individual reading level. Guided reading generally includes sharing text together using the overhead, a reading series, or in a small group in which readers have the same print available at their reading level. There may also be times when students choose similar books to share with a partner. Following reading, students respond by discussing or writing in their reading journals using prompts such as: I noticed in my reading that… and I wonder if… to share their books with a partner, small group, or whole class. Upon completion of the book, they may create a response project to share with the class, such as a story quilt, story map, or a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Please note that with regard to independent reading, your child may wish to bring a book from home or borrow one from the classroom library. This book may be read for independent reading both at home and in school. The goal is to complete the book and then complete a book response sheet. A photocopy of the book's jacket will be displayed with the response sheet and posted on the classroom wall. My own goal is to completely cover the walls of our classroom with book jackets and reading response sheets! * Independent Reading At Home I would like to enlist your support in providing a quiet place and time every night when your child can read ideally for 20 minutes, preferably before bedtime. Of course, if your child LOVES to read and will read over the assigned time, by all means - encourage it! Students are expected to read 25 "Just Right" (not too easy, not too challenging) books independently by the end of the school year. Last year, my 3 top readers won gift cards to Borders for reading over 40 books and submitting book reports for each. Your child will keep a log of books and complete response sheets following the completion of each book. Again, these books may be read independently either in school and/or at home. For your reference, it is helpful to note that if your child completes a "bigger" book (such as one of the Harry Potter series), every 100 pages counts as one book. You may also find that your child prefers a specific series or a specific author. Not to worry - these are typical reading behaviors of good readers! In third grade, we will seek to expand our reading horizons as we check our own interests and needs. Please note that it may be typical for your child to juggle more than one book at a time. Some readers may prefer to alternate between a fiction (story) and a nonfiction (informational) book. This is perfectly permissible, as long as your child is reading! However, it would be helpful to remind your child of the end of the year goal to complete 25 "just right" books she/she perseveres to complete a book, along with the corresponding report. To achieve its end, independent reading should be a pleasant task. If your child thinks reading is boring or tedious, he/she may not have found a book that interests him/her. You may find that your child prefers nonfiction over fiction or vice-versa. If possible, visit the local Library. Buy books together. Children generally love to pick up a book with an exciting jacket cover. * Writing Your child will develop writing skills using the workshop model. Writing will be taught as a process in which editing and revision is required to create a finished piece. The goal is to make writing a comfortable and enjoyable task. Our class will learn how to respond to a timed CMT narrative prompt, as well as how to write formal letters, stories, poems, reports, and summaries of articles and books, and paragraphs based on one main idea with supporting details. Cursive writing will also be taught in Grade 3. Students should make the shift and write in cursive by April. I tell my students, however, that printing is acceptable during a spelling test and that we are allowed to print a rough draft when we are taking that piece through the writing process. After editing grammar and spelling mistakes, work will be presented in either a formal cursive or typewritten format. * Oral Language My goal is to develop speaking and presentation skills in all my students. To reinforce this as a lifelong skill, speaking aloud must be a positive experience. I feel that opportunities for speaking should be provided in small increments. Students will respond when they are ready and comfortable with speaking in front of the group. Your child will be given many opportunities to present ideas individually or as a member of group. * Spelling To build encoding skills, your child will use the a specialized spelling program - Words Their Way - to reinforce spelling rules according to each student's specific spelling level. This program addresses the need to differentiate spelling according to different abilities. It is important to note that spelling programs seek to build spelling skills rather than build vocabulary. This is why a spelling list sometimes might appear to have "easy words" for third grade. This is simply because the word list reinforces a specific spelling rule. By learning the rule, your child will have a greater understanding of how to apply it when reading unfamiliar words. Your child will also learn to use spelling strategies to check the spelling in his/her own written work. As stated above, Language Arts homework will be sent home every night, Monday through Thursday. Generally, on Monday, a new list of spelling words will be assigned for the week. Your child will be pretested on those words in class and will circle the misspelled words. Unless otherwise specified, the following 'Spelling' homework will be the same for each night of the week: Monday - write misspelled words on pretest 3x each and complete a spelling rule activity sheet Tuesday - choose 8 words and use them in meaningful sentences The goal is to write a sentence that provides meaning for the specific word. Ask your child that if the spelling word he/she used in a sentence were to be substituted with a blank, would someone be able to correctly guess the missing spelling word? Wednesday - create a story (or writing piece according to monthly writing genre) using one spelling word as a springboard for an idea. The goal here is to encourage writing skills, not use as many spelling words as possible in a story. Thursday - study for Friday's spelling test Please note that there will be off-weeks when we will have a spelling review and the homework will be Language Skill or Reading comprehension worksheets. Again, the weekly assignment sheet will help keep you informed of spelling or language skill assignments. * Mathematics We will continue to use the Growing With Mathematics program as a primary resource this year. Math homework is generally given every night Monday through Thursday. Math will be closely aligned to skills addressed in the Connecticut Mastery test. Opportunities for graphing, problem solving, and estimation will also be integrated in our mainstream learning activities. * Computer Skills Our class has a website which tends to grow over the course of the year. I will be taking many photos of our class during activities that deserve to be shared with you at home. As a safety precaution, please understand that last names are never mentioned, nor are photos ever attached to names of students. In order for me to publish a photo that shows your child during a classroom activity, the office must have your permission for media release. This is found on the back of the school's white emergency card that was sent home the first day of school. Our class will generally visit the Computer Lab once a week. We will learn keyboarding skills (Type to Learn), build and assess important grade level skills in Reading, Math, and Writing (StudyIsland.com, Harcourtschool.com), and use the Internet for basic research. We will also be working with Microsoft Word to publish our writing. Presently, we have four computers that are online in the classroom. Teams rotate daily to use the computer center as soon as they enter the classroom each morning. Students use this time for Internet activities that support the curriculum or to complete a project. Reading partnerships may work on their PowerPoint presentations or conduct assigned research on topics at designated Internet sites. Please note, unless otherwise stated, it is perfectly permissible for your child to type a research report, spelling sentences or a spelling story at home. * Notes to School Please send in a note if your child is going home a different way (i.e., to be picked up by car rather than take the usual bus) or if he/she has been absent due to illness. Also, the office requires a note following an absence in order for that absence to be "excused." * Snacks Each day, time is provided for a morning snack. A light, nutritious snack is suggested since we eat lunch at 12:30 P.M. (Highly sugared foods are not recommended.) During the hot days of August, September, and late spring, it is permissible for your child to keep a water bottle at his/her desk. *Birthdays This year, there is a new schoolwide policy regarding Birthday snacks. It is no longer permissable to send in cupcakes or other baked items to share with your child's classmates. Also, please understand that there is not much time in our academic schedule for parties. However, we will honor the Birthday celebrant with a special Birthday crown, traditional song, and a special place as classroom "leader" for the day. * Scholastic Book Club In the near future, I will be sending home monthly Scholastic book club order forms. Scholastic provides you the opportunity to purchase award-winning literature for your child at very reasonable prices. Our classroom receives points for your purchases which allow us to buy books at lower cost. You are not obligated, however, to purchase anything. * As a parent, How Can I Help? Glad you asked that question! First and foremost, you can help your child by providing a scheduled time for homework and quiet reading. When your child completes his/her independent reading at home, you can help develop comprehension by asking for a brief RETELL of what was read. ("Tell me a little bit about what happened in the book.") Ask if he/she likes the book. Ask why. Encourage your child to think and talk about books. Most importantly, encourage your child to LOVE books and reading. Make regular visits to the library or local bookstore. Give your child the comics' section of the newspaper. Place the cereal box on the table to read. Make reading a fun thing to do! Another way you can help your child is to provide correct spelling where needed. Please understand that your child is learning to spell and that phonetic attempts are developmentally appropriate. However, it is important for your child to develop a lifelong habit of CHECKING for spelling mistakes and using proper spelling. This means that you, as an editor, may intervene and help your child spell words correctly in his/her written work in a gentle, supportive way. Also, your child will need to know his/her addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts by the end of the year. You can help by reinforcing math facts at home, preferably with flash cards. Another skill that you can help reinforce is linear measurement. Give your child a ruler and ask him/her to measure items around the house using both customary (inches, feet) and metric (cm, meter) units of measure. Check to see that you child begins to measure at the "0" mark - not at the beginning of the ruler itself. Counting coins is yet another skill that can be reinforced at home. Let your child count a handful of change whenever possible. Make counting the family coin jar a weekly event. Another good investment is a pad of MAD LIBS, a party game that asks for parts of speech to fill in missing parts of a short story. This activity helps children - and adults - quickly learn parts of speech (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) and build descriptive writing skills while having a great deal of fun. Mad Libs are usually found at book and toy stores. * Donations Our class can always use the following items: - Kids' magazines and age-appropriate books in need of recycling - Tissues for sniffles - Paper towels for general clean up time and snack spills - Disinfectant wipes (bleach-free) for desks and gentler wipes for hands - USED tennis balls (new ones are expensive!) for the bottom of our chair and desk legs for easy and quiet mobility. These can be collected from tennis and racquet clubs. - Oversized throw or bolster pillows for reading time - Hula Hoops for Recess time - Soccer Balls, basketballs, and footballs for Recess time - Large jump ropes for Recess time Please feel free to suggest any ideas you may have to help us out! *Field Trips There will be a need for chaperones for field Trips throughout the year. Room parents will be contacting parents for assistance as needed. Our first trip will be to the Audubon Center in Fairfield to learn about Algonquin Native American life. We will also be visiting Norwalk City Hall, Lockwood Mathews Mansion, and the Mill Hill Historical Museum in Norwalk. I generally send a letter to all parents to ensure that everyone has the chance to number their preference in accompanying us on a trip. * Class Website As you see, our Third Grade class has a website which you can access by going to the Wolfpit homepage, and then clicking Mrs. Hempstead's name when you go to Wolfpit Staff. The website will post the weekly planner, which students will bring home on Monday. This will provide information about assignments and scheduling for the week. Also, there is a blurb about our goals and objectives for each week. Your child's photo may be posted as long as you have granted media access on the white emergency card that went home the first day of school. Please note that last names will never be posted on the website, and that names will not be posted with photos. In closing, I would like to say that I am looking forward to a very exciting and productive year with your child. Please feel free to call me at Wolfpit School, 203-899-2980 Ext. 117, or send in a note if you have ANY questions or concerns. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. You may also email me for your convenience at hempsteadd@norwalkps.org. Thank you kindly for your support! Sincerely, (Mrs.) Donna B. Hempstead
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