Third Grade Class Handbook Mrs. Augspurger 2010-2011 1
Welcome To Third Grade Third grade is an exciting year as your child will grow as a learner and become more independent. I am looking forward to our year ahead. I am here for you and your child and I look forward to working with you through the school year. I hope that you find that third grade is a positive experience for your child as they develop as a student. The following pages are an overview of my classroom management plan and my expectations throughout the school year. If you should have any questions, concerns, or suggestions on how we can improve your child s progress, I invite you to contact me. I am generally available most mornings by 7:30 am. After school appointments can be scheduled but are more difficult due to after school commitments. I can be reached by calling Mohawk Trails Elementary (571-4073 ext. 2034) or through e-mail. My e-mail address is saugspur@ccs.k12.in.us As your child s classroom teacher, I believe that parent communication is very important. I will be communicating with you often about my classroom plan, your child s progress, school events, and other activities through your child s assignment notebook, our classroom web page, a weekly newsletter which will be posted bi-weekly on Fridays on my class webpage. I am very hopeful and enthusiastic that we will all have a great year! Thank you, Mrs. Stephanie Augspurger 3 rd Grade Teacher Mohawk Trails Elementary 2
Curriculum The educational plan for 3 rd grade is as follows: Literacy: Spelling/Vocabulary Handwriting Grammar/English o Sentences o Nouns o Verbs o Adjectives and Adverbs o Capitalization and Punctuation o Pronouns Writer s Workshop o Focus/Ideas o Organization/Paragraphs o Voice o Word Choice o Sentence Fluency o Conventions o Presentation Reading o Rigby Guided Reading Shared Reading Interactive Reading o Novels o Independent or Self-Selected Reading Social Studies: Hamilton County History Communities Cultures/Folk Festival Economics Geography Government 3
Science: Germs Moon Nutrition Environment Water Math: Third Grade Unit 1 Routines and Review Unit 2 Adding and Subtracting Whole Numbers Unit 3 Linear Measures and Area Unit 4 Multiplication and Division Unit 5 Place Value in Whole Numbers and Decimals Unit 6 Geometry Unit 7 Multiplication and Division Unit 8 Fractions Unit 9 Multiplication and Division Unit 10 Measurement and Data Unit 11 Probability Fourth Grade Unit 1 Naming and Constructing Geometric Figures Unit 2 Numbers and Organizing Data Unit 3 Multiplication and Division; Number Sentences and Algebra Unit 4 Decimals and Their Uses Unit 5 Big Numbers, Estimation, and Computation Unit 6 Division; Map References Frames; Measures of Angles Unit 7 Fractions and Their Uses; Chances and Probability Unit 8 Perimeter and Area Unit 9 Percents Unit 10 Reflections and Symmetry Unit 11 3-D Shapes, Weight, Volume, and Capacity Unit 12 Rates 4
Daily Schedule 8:05-8:25 Bell ring- Morning Procedures (unpack bag, move lunch stick, fill out assignment notebook, start morning work), Morning Announcements 8:25-9:30 Math 9:30-9:45 Community Circle 9:45-11:00 Literacy (Reading, Writing, Handwriting, Spelling) 11:00-11:30 Lunch 11:30-11:55 Recess/Restrooms 11:55-12:45 Specials 12:45-1:00 Read Aloud/Restrooms 1:00-1:40 Literacy (Reading, Writing, Handwriting, Spelling) 1:40-2:25 Social Studies/Science 2:25-2:35 Get Ready to Go Home 2:35 Bell ring- Dismissal Specials 11:55-12:45 Monday - P.E. Tuesday - Music Wednesday - Art Thursday - Computer Lab/Media Friday (Project Based Learning) - P.E.(1 st 9 weeks), Music (2 nd 9 weeks), Art (3 rd 9 weeks), Computer Lab (4 th 9 weeks) Morning Routine Students are to be in the classroom at 8:05 a.m. each morning. The tardy bell will ring at 8:10 a.m. and the morning announcements will begin shortly after the tardy bell. When your child enters the classroom, they will need to go directly to their cubby area and hang up their coat and bag. This is not a time for them to hang out and talk with their friends. Once they come into the classroom, they will need to follow the directions on the board; these include: moving lunch stick, unpack bag, fill out assignment notebook correctly, and then begin morning work, which will be an activity or to read silently until the announcements begin. After announcements, we will start the day with math. 5
Community Circle Agenda Greeting: Wishing everyone a good morning! Class rules: I will Respect Myself I will Respect Others I will Respect My School Current Events/News and Announcements Share Person of the Week Your child will receive a poster on the Friday before his/her week. Your child is encouraged to use stickers, markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint, pictures, magazines, etc. to help them decorate their poster. Have your child bring in their poster to place on the Person of the Week bulletin board on Monday. The bulletin board will stay up for the week. This is a great way to learn about each other! Discuss the day s agenda Recess Third graders get one recess per day, which is after lunch from 11:30-11:50. Everyone is to go out to recess everyday; unless the weather is too bad or someone is asked to stay in by a teacher. Children need to make sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather outside. If any child needs to stay in for any health reasons, please send in a note and have your child give it to me in the morning. I am not allowed to keep students in during recess to finish unfinished or missing work due to our wellness policy. If it is raining or too cold and we have indoor recess, we will let the class know when we pick them up from lunch. For indoor recess, children need to be in a classroom playing quietly. Changes in Going Home When your child needs do something different at the end of the day (e.g. be picked up or ride a different bus), I always need a parent note telling me about those changes. Please remember to write a note every time your child s plans change after school. This includes all after school programs, going home with someone else, and being picked up in car pool, etc. 6
Afternoon Routine Every afternoon at 2:25 p.m., we will start getting ready to go home. We will go over the day s homework assignment and notes. Your child will make sure those are recorded in your assignment notebook. Once everyone at your child s table has everything from their desk they are taking home and when they are talking quietly, I will dismiss their group to get mail, coats, and bags. Homework and Assignment Notebook Homework will be given on a regular basis and may include work not finished at school as well as work that is to be completed outside of class. Please set aside about 30-40 minutes each night. Approximately ten to fifteen minutes of that time should be spent reading. I suggest that your family sets a special place and time for daily homework. It will be very helpful for your child if you would check the first few problems before your child completes the entire assignment to ensure his/her understanding. All assignments are due the next day unless told otherwise. Students who do not turn in their homework will lose five points off their homework grade for that particular subject. The students will also be filling out a Missing Assignment Slip for the parents to sign, and the students should return it to school along with the completed assignment the next day. The student is required to take responsibility in the use of their assignment notebook by filling it out properly and bringing it home and back to school daily. Once homework assignments are completed, a parent must sign the assignment notebook. I will be checking the assignment notebook in the morning to see if it was filled out correctly and if it was signed by a parent the night before. The assignment notebook is a daily communication between home and school. It should be kept in the front pocket of your child s binder at all times. Your child s binder will be used to help students organize their materials. The first pocket divider will be labeled Take Home. All graded papers, announcements, and information coming from the office will be placed in the front pocket of this folder each day. This folder should be emptied every day. The back pocket of this folder will be for homework assignments. The remaining four folders will be used for different subjects. You may look through your student s binder but please do not take out any material because we are still using these items. These folders will hold papers that go along with current units and may need to be studied during the week. These papers should be returned to the folder each night. PLEASE let your child be responsible for managing the binder at home. 7
Tests/Quizzes With any test in Science, Social Studies, or Math, I try and send home a study guide/review a few days before the test. For English and Reading, I try to send home a practice test/review to review skills a day or two before the test. After any test or quiz, I will stamp Please Sign and Return on the test. Please sign and return the test the next day. I save all tests, quizzes and important work in each student s classroom folder until the end of the grading period. At the end of the grading period I will send home these graded papers with your child s report card. Absences and Make-Up Work It is VERY important that your child is here everyday possible. If your misses a day of school, they are missing everything that we learned in class and all the work that we have done. If your child is sick, a parent needs to call the office. When your child gets back to school, they will get a sheet that lists all of the make-up work. It is YOUR CHILD S responsibility to get that work in. They will get two days/nights for every day they are gone to get the make-up work turned in. If you want to pick up homework so that your child may begin working, please call or email me. I will make every attempt to get the work together that day. I can send it with a neighboring student, a sibling, or have it at the office for you to pick up at the end of the day. If you know in advance that you will be out of town and will be missing school, you need to let me know with a phone call, note, or email. I cannot guarantee that I can pull together the work that you will miss. Otherwise, your child will receive the missed work when they return. Class Rules, Rewards, and Consequences In order to guarantee that all students in our class get the educational environment that is best, a discipline plan has been established and will be in effect at all times - even when we are not in the classroom (for example, walking down the hallway, in specials, assemblies, lunchroom, etc). During the first few days of school, the students and I will discuss our class rules that follow our school expectations guided by the motto Mohawk Trails students are: Respectful, Responsible, and Safe. These rules will also coincide with our work habits for respect and responsibility expectations. Examples of these expectations are: 8
Completes homework assignments, Completes classroom assignments, Uses time wisely, Listens attentively, Follows directions, Prepared for class, Organizes self and materials. This form will be filled out when your child chooses not to follow our classroom or school expectations that are outlined in your child s assignment notebook. An example of this form is on page 10 of this handbook. Check marks/tallies indicate expectations that need improvement. Within each day, the first check mark is a warning. The second mark will result in a time-out with a heart-to-heart talk. A third mark on their form will cause the child to be removed from their current situation. This form will be sent home and is expected to be returned the next day. If the form is not returned, a phone call will be made. Your child conduct grade and work habits comments on their report card are directly connected to any forms that are sent home. Your child will lose one percentage point for each check mark/tally. For example, if a child has two tally marks for the first week he/she will earn a 98%. If the child has three tally marks the following week he/she will have a 95% (98% - 3), as the scores are cumulative. I will keep track and give an updated grade at the end of the nine weeks. The reward for good behavior and following our classroom rules is a good conduct grade on your report card at the end of each nine weeks. In addition, anyone who receives an A or A- as their conduct grade for the nine weeks will be able to eat lunch with me in our classroom. The class will work together to earn Preferred Activity Time (PAT). This is time that the class will earn for special projects, computers, learning games, etc. The students will start the year out with 0 minutes. Each time the students do something well, I will add PAT time to the class total. However, if students take too long to complete a routine task or do not follow directions, the students will lose time. When the students want to cash in their PAT time, the class will agree on a way to spend their PAT time. I hope through positive praise and practice that our class will develop strong work habits and become respectful citizens at Mohawk Trails. 9
Work Habit Slip RESPONSIBILITY Name Date Teacher Checkmarks indicate expectations that need immediate improvement Completes homework assignments Completes classroom assignments Uses time wisely Listens attentively Follows directions Prepared for class Organizes self and materials Comments: Parent Signature Work Habit Slip RESPECT Name Date Teacher Checkmarks indicate expectations that need immediate improvement Respect Yourself: Age appropriate behavior Respect Others (peers/adults): Courteous in speech and action Talking at appropriate times Respect Property: Classroom and/or desk Restroom Comments: In seat at appropriate times Keeping hands to self Hallway Cafeteria Parent Signature 10