Curriculum
RELIGION: We use the text Voyages-Exploring God’s World – Concordia Publishing House for our religion class. This class consists of daily discussion and workbook activities, and tests. We not only learn about all of amazing people in the Bible and how God touched their lives, but we also stress Christ and His love for us in all that we do in our classroom. We have daily devotions and prayer time in addition to our religion class time.
MEMORY: I will assign memory work each week. It will be assigned on Friday and will be due on the following Friday. The memory work assigned will include various Bible verses, the Ten Commandments with meanings, the books of the Bible (Old and New Testament), and the Apostles Creed and its meanings.
READING: We use the Houghton-Mifflin reading program. This program includes:
Vocabulary/comprehension skills/reading strategies/decoding words/grammar/writing/mechanics/listening/information and study skills/poetry/folk takes/literature/biographies/historical fiction/realistic fiction/fantasy
In addition to using the reading series with the students in guided reading and practice, I insert quality and popular literature in with a program called Cooperative Reading. In Cooperative Reading, students choose out of a group of books and are put in groups according to their book choice, rather than their reading level. This mixed-ability grouping allows the students to peer-teach and to develop their teamwork skills. Students must make reading and team behavior goals during CR time, and are given more autonomy in their reading.
My reading program also includes read aloud time, where I read to the students, and independent reading time, where the students silently read to themselves. One third of their reading grade is dependent on their progress in the Accelerated Reader (AR) program. This program involves the student independently reading books and taking quizzes in order to test their comprehension. They are required to reach a set goal each quarter.
SPELLING: Students will have weekly pretests on Monday and will take a graded posttest on Friday of each week. If a score of 100% is achieved on Monday than a Friday test will not be necessary. These words will be taken from our reading, science, and social studies units.
MATH: We use the Saxon Math text for our math program.
Third grade skills:
Whole numbers/decimals/fractions/mixed numbers/place value/money/addition/subtraction/multiplication/division/fact families/estimation/geometric patterns and concepts/problem solving/measurement/data interpretation/probability
Fourth grade skills:
Whole number/decimals/fractions/mixed numbers/mental math strategies/multiplication/division/estimation/ratios/percentages/geometric patterns and concepts/measurement/data interpretation/probability
ENGLISH: Our text is the Houghton Mifflin series. We will focus on grammar units as well as writing units. We will be learning all the many parts of speech, and we will also focus on the writing process. This subject will also include a research project later in the school year.
HANDWRITING: The students will continue to work on cursive handwriting this year. They will not be required to write in cursive on assignments unless I direct them to do so on specific assignments. I also stress the importance of neatness on all work that the students do. If I cannot read an assignment that was turned in I will return it to be redone neatly. Please help me encourage your child to take pride in all that they do including their handwriting.
SCIENCE: Our text is Discovery Works by Silver Burdett Ginn Science. This year we will be working out of the third grade book and studying the following topics:
Weather and climate/electricity/water and the water cycle/life cycles
SOCIAL STUDIES: Our principal, Mr. Fritsch, will be teaching this subject. He will include the following topics:
Communities/maps/globes/natural resources/government and citizenship/cities yesterday and today-New York City/San Francisco/Communities around the world – Nairobi/Moscow/Tokyo/Mexico City/Regions of the United States/The U.S. and the world-islands of the Caribbean Sea/Pacific/Trade/Farming around the world/Japan
ART: Art class will be taught by a teacher from the Warren Woods School District. We will have art class on Thursdays. Many of the art projects will be stored at school and displayed during different events throughout the school year including an Art Fair at the end of the year.
MUSIC: Music class will be taught by our music teacher Mrs. Sienkiewicz. She will be teaching music appreciation, composers, and recorders later in the year.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION (P.E.): I will be teaching P.E. this year. We will be having class on Monday afternoons. Students are required to bring appropriate clothes to change into. They will be graded on whether or not they brought their clothes and participation.
COMPUTERS: Mrs. Pauling teaches our computer class. She focuses on teaching computer and keyboarding skills.
Other Information
DAILY FOLDERS AND AGENDAS: Your child will be bringing home graded homework assignments and their agendas every night. Please review this homework, as well as, the assignments they have completed at home, and sign the agenda. This is a great way to stay continually updated on the progress of your child. Please note that by signing the agenda you are stating that you have reviewed your child’s work, and you understand the progress they are making.
BIRTHDAYS: I love to celebrate the students’ birthdays in the classroom. Your child is welcome to bring in a treat on or around their birthday. Please also include any necessary utensils, napkins, plates, etc., along with the treat.
FRIDAY FOLDERS: Your child will bring home a folder that I have supplied every Friday. It will hold all test papers from the week and their Weekly Reports. The Weekly Reports show you how your child was behavior wise in the classroom that week. The reports need to be signed and returned in the folder on Monday morning.
HOMEWORK: Your child will be assigned all work during the school day and will be given time to work on these assignments. There will be many days that your child will bring unfinished homework home, and this is ok. If your child has an extreme amount of homework each night please let me know and we will get together to discuss why that may be. I also request that your child be reading every night. This will help them reach their AR goal and it will continue to improve their reading skills and fluency.
MONDAY NEWSLETTER: Every Monday you will receive a classroom newsletter explaining what we are accomplishing that week and any upcoming important events. Please read this letter over each Monday and feel free to contact me with any questions.
Classroom Rules
The three main rules in my classroom are to Listen, Learn & Respect. All I ask of my students is that they try their best at everything they do, they learn all that they can and that they show the teacher and each other the respect that each of us deserves.
As part of an ongoing effort to encourage healthy eating habits, I would like the students to try to bring healthy snacks for snack time. No candy or pop is allowed in school.
Please allow your child to bring in a water bottle for use in the classroom. Their bottles should have a lid of some sort and be able to close. These are to be used for clear water only, no flavored powders are allowed.
Students are to be in the classroom, pencils sharpened, homework turned in, and ready for the start of the school day by 8:30 a.m. The students will be responsible for getting themselves ready each day. I am asking that parents please allow students to enter the classroom alone, unless there is a specific situation that requires your help.
No chewing gum will be allowed in the classroom.
No trading cards or toys of any kind are allowed in the classroom. This includes stuffed animals, Pokemon or baseball cards, and Nintendo DS’s, etc. If anything is brought in it will be confiscated and returned to the parent at the end of each grading period.