3 rd Grade. Communicating Zena Yamamoto [email protected] I try to respond within 24 hours via email I will phone if the issue is best handled in.

Welcome to Back to School Night

3rd Grade

Communicating Zena Yamamoto

[email protected] I try to respond within 24 hours via email

I will phone if the issue is best handled in a more personal manner

I update my Teacher Pages weekly (spelling list is posted and photos are regularly

updated) Extension 253

Teacher Intern: Raquel Contreras

MathSingapore Math approach: Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract

Text book: Math in Focus

Math ConceptsPlace value to 10,000Addition and subtraction with and

without regroupingMultiplicationDivisionGeometryFractions and DecimalsMad Minutes – 3 minutes until

mastery

Ways to support math learning at home:Encourage your child to seek help

from teachers.Help with directions and have child

read problem aloud.Lots of real world practice, including

math talks.Support different ways of practicing

facts for quick recall.

Spelling:Lists are compiled from Words Their Way

spelling program.Types of practice as homework: picture and

word sorts according to patterns, 5 sentences, spelling edits

Tests on Friday; returned on Monday; please sign.

Bonus words—all are welcome to attempt

Language Arts:Reading, Writing, Grammar usually intertwined.

Writer’s Workshop Approach to Writing:

Pre-writing (brainstorming, graphic organizers)

DraftingRevisingConferencingEditingPublishingGoal: Well-developed paragraphs (8-

11 sentences), with interesting topic sentences.

English/Grammar: Workbook- Grammar Workshop

Parts of Speech, including nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

Applied in writing all year.

Reading:We teach reading strategies that good

readers use, including: predicting, asking questions, making connections, summarizing, visualizing, and making inferences

Guided reading groups: small and largeNovel studiesHoughton Mifflin text book Rewards

This Year’s Novels:GBuilfBB

Building fluencyEngaging in literary analysis through discussion and written journal responsesEnhancing vocabulary through contextIncorporating dramaDeveloping a love of quality literature!

Goals:

Supporting your reader at home:

Continue to read aloud to your child to model oral expression and fluency. Help to foster discussion about literature.

Ideally, your child should be reading at least 15 -20 minutes a day at home, using a text that is at his/her reading level.

Try non-fiction for reluctant readersShare reading: Child reads, then parent

reads.

Social Studies: New Textbook:

4 Main units of study:Names and locations of 50 states Landforms – mountains, rivers, prairies, oceans, deserts.

Cooperative groups do research, project, and presentation in class.

Native Americans – Focus on 3 tribes from different regions. Research, writing, and presentation. News broadcast.

Westward Movement – Learn about migration westStudents research and report on a significant historical

figure from this era.Although all work is done in class, students will be asked to

bring in books and/or articles and photos.STEAM learning is incorporated in this area.

Book Reports:

Six book reports throughout the year.Students will be given a date and a month to

read a book.Report will be done in class—most of the time.Reports can be a creative display, oral report,

or written.We supply the format and provide instruction.Chapter book; teacher approvedAssessment rubric will be provided to student

for each report.

Class Meetings

Discussions, games, activities, and MindUp Curriculum

Used to foster community, peace, virtues, and happiness.

Cursive

Goal: 2 letters per weekThen, work on connectingOnce they have mastered, we have them write final written products in cursive.

Taught by Mrs. Raquel Contreras, who taught many of them to print!

Homework:Sent home Monday through ThursdayStudents write HW in plannerStudents file nightly HW in Homework

section of binder.Homework is generally math and

spelling, plus another subject or subjects learned in class that day.

Please let me know if child is struggling.Completed work is filed in various

subject tabs.

Grading

Based on class work, participation, and assessments

Assessments sometimes given unannounced to check for mastery before moving on

Assessments are assigned a percentageFormal writing assignments are graded

according to a rubric provided to student

Report card grades are still a 1,2, or 3—not letter grades

Pearls of Wisdom

Students are encouragedand rewarded as individualsand as a group for wise thinking, stellar

behavior, academic risk-taking, and even mistakes that enhance the classroom learning environment. Pearls of wisdom are dropped into a jar; once 200 are earned, students vote on a celebration!

Miscellaneous:

Birthdays – no outside treats; student celebrated in class, plus free dress for birthday child!

Summer birthdays are celebrated on ½ birthday

Binders – need to be brought to school EVERY day.

Absences -- Please keep a sick child home. For trips, please ask for school work at least a week in advance.

Water bottles – 90 degrees and up; always encouraged at recesses, snack, and lunch times.

Thank you for sending such lovely children to Saint Marks!General ways to support learning:Sleep: 10 – 11 hours a night. Some children need an

hour or two more!Breakfast: Yes! Protein is a necessity. If your child

doesn’t like typical breakfast foods, try a sandwich that contains his/her favorite protein.

Digital Devices: My bias– never before school. Try to limit screen time during school week in favor of exercise, chores, free time that includes building, art, and other sensory activities. Socializing with siblings, friends, and parents is fabulous. Reading is a recommendation, of course.

Encourage eye contact and proper way to greet teachers and other adults.

Food for thought: http://m.2machines.com/articles/181304.html

It might look like concentration, but it isn’t — at least not in the way we think of it. According to Christopher Lucas, associate professor of child psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, Josh’s focus on video games and television isn’t the same form of attention he’ll need to thrive in school and life.

“It’s not sustained attention in the absence of rewards,” he told the New York Times. “It’s sustained attention with frequent intermittent rewards.”

When kids play games, they rack up points, move to higher levels and unlock characters and goodies, and their brains are rewarded by one thing: dopamine, a neurochemical that’s released every time they “win.” That sensation of pleasure is often the reason they love electronics, and some experts even believe they seek out gadgets because they have problems with their natural dopamine systems.

Happy 3rd grade year!

Thank you for your support and involvement!

We otter be in pictures!