Mrs. Hempstead's 3rd Grade Class

Welcome to Third Grade 2010 - Reading Workshop
In early September, we will begin to understand the general format for our Reader's Workshop. The hardest thing to remember is that we must come prepared to Reader's Workshop with a book that we are ready to "stick with." Mrs. H. gives us time for general organization during Independent Study as soon as we begin our day. In third grade, we will think responsibly about how to use resources and address our own needs.

Mrs. H. likes to start by reading a chapter from Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. It's about a crazy, mixed up school with crazy, mixed up people with some very strange happenings. Usually, everyone wants to borrow the book before Mrs. H. is done reading it to us!

After Mrs. H. reads to us, we will talk about something we need to think about to become better readers. Then we think about that while during SQUIRT (Silent quiet uninterrupted independent reading time) when we are timed with our reading. Everyone must have a book and everyone's eyes must be on the text! It may be a little difficult to stay with a book the first week. We may have to work hard at finding a just-right book on our reading level that interests us, too. In September, we will have to choose books besides nonfiction and poetry books. We hope to meet some fabulous new authors and visit some old friends, as well.

We will also learn to choose books from our classroom library and how to respond to them when we are done with a book. Even though it's okay to put a book back if we change our mind about it, we will need to find a "just right" book to stay with so we can respond with a short "book response" sheet. Mrs. H. will scan jacket covers of books that are completed. The jacket cover and response sheet will be mounted on the classroom wall with names and dates written in marker for all to see. It is our responsibility to keep a reading log in our reader's notebook, but it's far better to have a real record of our books on the walls for everyone to see!

It's fun to talk about books as we are reading them. We will use post-its to mark interesting parts in our book to share with the class. We will be writing reading response letters to Mrs. H. and to partners, later on. These will be responded to before we keep these in our reading notebooks as a record of our own work.

Welcome to Third Grade 2010 - Science and Social Studies

In third grade, we will learn about different Native American tribes and how they used the resources of different environments. Here, last year's class does the "Wolf Walk" at Fairfield's Audubon Center as we learn about the Algonquin Natives. In addition to the forest tribe, we will also learn about the Cheyenne of the grasslands and the Hopi of the desert.

In Reading and Writing Workshops, we will integrate Social Studies and Science as we read and write our own Legends.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Club

Come Into Our Classroom

Our classroom will soon become an exciting place to be during Reading Workshop! We like working with partners to read and respond to books. The key, of course, is to make good use of valuable time. In the beginning of the year, we will learn how to do this. We will have lots of meetings. Meetings help us set our own goals and also help us see how other partnerships budget their time to meet their goals. For example, we will learn about the features of nonfiction text, as we integrate reading and writing with a Social Studies/Science theme, such as the Southwest Desert. We may decide to read an informational book on that topic with a partner. After reading, we decide how we will share what we read with a classroom (and teacher) audience.

At the same time we are working with nonfiction text, we will be reading fiction books independently. There will even be opportunities for book clubs. Last year, a group of students decided to create a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" club. Others wanted a "Harry Potter" club, and a "Tinkerbelle" series club. The photograph shows last year's Wimpy Kid Club discussing their books. Our input, feedback, and creative ideas are a big part of Third Grade.

Writing is something we truly enjoy in Third Grade. In October, for example, we will focus on suspense and elaborative detail to write spooky stories for a whole-class celebration: a spooky campfire story share. Of course, it isn't a real campfire. We turn off the lights, close the blinds, and read by flashlight. The stories we share are absolutely awesome! We don't have to always share our stories if we choose not to. Sometimes, we may not feel comfortable. We will have our own filing cabinet for our writing, so we can save our work and choose a piece that we think is our very best if we do decide to share later on.

In Math, we will be adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers with regrouping by October. By November, we will be launching the concept of multiplication. In Third Grade, we like to create our own graphing projects. We may decide to work with partners, choose a topic to research and create a survey for our classroom. Then we can collect and sort data so we can create a graph. Last year's ideas were "Favorite Chips," "Favorite TV Shows," and "Favorite Subjects." Some of us may choose bar graphs, and others may choose pictographs or pie charts.

Desert Project

Why Is Mrs. Hempstead a Teacher?

As a teacher, I rely a lot upon feedback from my students. Feedback is very important because it lets me know how my students are doing and how they feel about school. These letters are generally private, unless the writer wants to share publicly.

September 24, 2009

Dear Mrs. Hempstead,
This week you taught me a lot! I wish you can be my teacher forever. I like the way you teach because you make it so easy! I like math a lot. I want to learn more because I like math alot. Thank you for being my teacher. You're the best teacher in the world.
Sincerely,
Kevin

Dear Kevin,
What can I say? Teachers learn so much from their students. You have taught me a lot about how to make your learning better for you in just a few short weeks. Thank you for that! Thank you also for your very sweet, thoughtful letter. It really helps to have feedback - especially like this!
Sincerely,
Mrs. H.