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Overview of the Third Grade Curriculum
The “workshop” format will be used for all major curriculum content areas. This includes a mini-lesson to introduce or review a skill or strategy, a work session and a process meeting to discuss and share work done during the session.
LANGUAGE ARTS*
READING WORKSHOP
The students will read in school every day. We will also read aloud to the students daily. Students will keep a Reading Log and Response Journal. Students will be taught to pick “Good Fit” books at their independent reading level. The emphasis for reading instruction will be comprehension strategies, which include:
*Making Connections
*Visualizing
*Inferring
*Synthesizing
*Questioning
*Analyzing
*Critiquing
*Monitoring reading
There will also be a focus on-
*Building stamina and persistence with difficult text
*Book choice
*Supporting thinking with evidence from the text
*Conversations and writing to clarify thinking
We will learn about using a variety of reading strategies when reading different genre that includes:
*Realistic fiction
*Historical fiction
*Fantasy
*Poetry
*Non-fiction
*Text books
*Magazines
*Newspapers
*Web pages
Please refer to www.pta.org for more info. re: Common Core Standards and how you can support your child.
WRITING WORKSHOP
The students will write in school every day using the writing process. They will have a Writer’s Notebook and Writing Folder.
Students will write in a variety of genre including:
*Personal Narrative
*Interpretive Writing
*Poetry
*Imaginative Fiction
*Persuasive Writing
*Non-fiction Reports
*On-Demand Writing (test preparation)
WORD STUDY / SPELLING
Spelling Inventory-
Students will be given a spelling inventory from Words Their Way in order to determine their needs and in planning instruction. Fountas and Pinnell's Word Study Program will be utilized as the primary resource with additional resources used as supplements.
High Frequency Words:
High Frequency Words are those which students are held accountable. They are expected to spell them correctly in all of their everyday writing. They are taken from the list of core words. Below are the groups of words which we hope most children will master by the end of his/her grade level. Please help your child to spell these words correctly in their everyday writing. Not all classes or all children will have the same number of priority words at any given time. Spelling is both a developmental and highly individualized skill so teachers meet the needs of their classes within the framework of the program, as well as employing other strategies.
1. the
16. as
31. but
46. will
2. of
17. with
32. what
47. each
3. and
18. his
33. all
48. about
4. a
19. they
34. were
49. how
5. to
20. at
35. when
50. up
6. in
21. be
36. we
51. out
7. is
22. this
37. there
52. them
8. you
23. from
38. can
53. then
9. that
24. I
39. an
54. she
10. it
25. have
40. your
55. many
11. he
26. or
41. which
56. some
12. for
27. by
42. their
57. so
13. was
28. one
43. said
58. these
14. on
29. had
44. if
59. would
15. are
30. not
45. do
60. other
HANDWRITING
The students will learn to write in cursive throughout the school year and will then be expected to use cursive writing at various times throughout the day.
MATH*
Lenape Elementary School uses a variety of resources in order to meet the National Common Core Educational Standards in Mathematics instruction. Students will engage in problem solving in the following areas (major focus in bold):
*Place Value and Numeration
*Addition and Subtraction
*Multiplication and Division
*Measurement and Data Collection
*Geometry
*Fractions
*Time and Money
*The State of New York administers the third grade tests for Language Arts in early April and the Math test in late April this year. There will be sufficient time set aside in order to familiarize the students with the test format and what to expect. Please help your child to keep a positive attitude, ask questions, get a good night’s rest and eat a healthy breakfast that morning.
Please refer to www.pta.org for more info. re: Common Core Standards and how you can support your child.
SCIENCE
We will be using the NYS Next Generation Standards as our guiding document. http://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/science-learning-standards
The students will study the following topics in third grade:
* Weather and Climate
* Forces and Interactions
* Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits
* Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
SOCIAL STUDIES
The students will study the following topics in third grade:
*Maps / Geography
*United States Culture and Government
*Cultures Around the World
The culture studies will have an emphasis on comparing and contrasting various aspects of other cultures to those of our own.
Family members and/or friends are welcome to share any interest or expertise that they have in any of the science or social studies topics.
HOMEWORK
Your child will be using a Homework journal and folder this year. A Homework Page for the week will be sent home each Monday. They will have homework Mon. – Thurs. and it should take no more than 30 minutes (this includes 15-20 minutes of reading) each day. Please call us immediately if there are any concerns or “power struggles” going on. We work hard to ensure that children have a successful experience with Homework and our attitudes are integral in order to shape that experience for them. We will send periodic communications (the 109/110 News) to keep parents up-to-date on classroom events.
Third Graders will have lunch/recess each day at 11:39 am. For the first half of the year, our class will have Recess first and then Lunch. At the mid-point, it will reverse and we will have lunch first, then recess. Please be sure your child dresses for the weather, as recess will be outside as much as possible.
*Please feel free to contact us at 256-4300 or jlongbotham@newpaltz.k12.ny.us / jchristensen@newpaltz.k12.ny.us if you have any specific questions, comments or concerns. (you can also jot them on the next page attached and send in if you like.) Be sure to e-mail BOTH Jim and Jill as we will both be working with your child this year. Thanks!