Blazing the Trail

(Put team picture here)

3rd Grade

Our TeamCherish MimsLanguage Artscmim@nisdtx.org817-698-3816

Jessica CoxMath/Sciencejcrittenden@nisdtx.org817-698-3824

Debi King Language Artsdking@nisdtx.org817-698-3817

Brooke BrownMath/Sciencebbrown02@nisdtx.org817-698-3823

Holly LortonAll Subjectshlorton@nisdtx.org817-698-3815

Tonight, we will…

• experience a snapshot of a day in the life of a trailblazer

• learn ways that you can be involved with your child’s classroom and school

• Develop understanding of the expectations of Third graders at JC Thompson

• Have a question and answer session with any time remaining.

Vision of JCTEmpowered to learn, motivated to lead!

Mission of JCTJ.C. Thompson Elementary, together with families

and community, will engage students in a premier education, preparing them for success in an ever-changing world.

Attendance • We want your child to have every

opportunity to learn. Doors open at 7:20 and school starts promptly at 7:45. We encourage and recognize perfect attendance each six weeks.

• Whenever your child must be absent, please call the front office at 817-698-3800 to report the absence. When your child returns, please send a note or doctor’s excuse to explain your child’s absence.

• Attendance is taken each day at 9:30.

Daily ScheduleTime Activity

7:20 – 7:45 Morning Work7:45 – 8:00 Morning Meeting8:00 – 11:00 Class11:00 – 11:30 Lunch11:30 – 11:50 Recess11:50 – 12:00 Restroom Break12:00 – 1:35 Class1:35 – 2:30 AMP (Art, Music, PE)2:30 – 2:45 Wrap Up/Clean Up/Pack Up

More specific schedules available on teacher’s websites

Volunteers• Volunteers are welcome at Thompson

Elementary and in our classroom!!

• You may volunteer services, time, or supplies.

• You may volunteer here at school or in the comfort of your own home.

• Watch D.O.G.S.-Dads, Uncles, Grandpas (Kick-Off will be in September)

• Background check (You must have one from this year to go on Field Trips!)

Student Birthdays• Birthday celebrations may take place

the last part of the day on the playground or in the classroom only. Please provide individual servings for the celebrations (cupcakes, cookies, napkins, etc.) and must be STORE BOUGHT

• The treat should be dropped off in the office and office staff will deliver at the end of the day.

• The district specifies that birthday invitations may not be passed out during the day; however, the child can pass them out as students leave for the day outside the classroom door.

Communication • Trail Guide Planners and Take Home

Folder• Class DOJO • Tuesday Newsday (school news,

newsletters, graded papers) • Email Blasts• Call blasts• Progress reports are available online

the 3rd Monday of each six weeks. If your child is failing in a content area, a progress report will be printed and sent home to be signed and returned.

• Report Cards sent out electronically the Thursday following the end of each six weeks.

AT JCT, we will…

Take care of ourselves,

Take care of each other,

Take care of this place!

Behavior• Class DOJO –you can check your child’s daily behavior and receive emails

and reminders from the teachers. • Students are awarded points for good choices and behavior that aligns with

our TRAIL guide expectations. They may also have points taken away for poor choices.

• Each Friday students who meet the minimum point value for the week will participate in PAT (Preferred Activity) time.

• In addition we will have a grade level “store” that will be open for shopping at the end of each six weeks.

• Behavior Concerns will be noted in Trail Guide Planners. It will be student’s responsibility to get parent signature if there is a note from a teacher. A ‘blank’ square means there were no concerns and a signature is not required.

• Please look at planners regularly for homework, subjects being taught, and behavior concerns. You do NOT have to initial nightly. If your child receives a note from a teacher, it is that student’s responsibility to ask the parent to initial to note the communication was received.

Getting to Know the

Curriculum

What do we want your children to know?

Reader’s Workshop

Third Graders will read both independently and in small groups

EVERYDAY!

More Text and Fewer PicturesIncrease Fluency (80 WPM-100 WPM)

Independent Reading Stamina (20 minutes or longer)Determine Setting, Characters, Figurative Language &

SymbolismVariety of GenresComprehension

Reading Reflection and Reading LogIntegration of Social Studies

What do we want your children to know?

Writer’s Workshop

Third Graders will write independently EVERYDAY!

Personal ExperiencesRespond to learning in Math, Science and Social Studies

Write with a PurposeProofread what they Write

Use Correct Conventions (Punctuation, Grammar and Spelling)

Increase Sentence Fluency

SKILLS BLOCK• Spelling – sight words, spelling

patterns, weekly spelling tests

• Grammar – parts of speech, tense, punctuation, capitalization

• Cursive – learn the strokes to form each letter, how to connect letters to form words, and how to read cursive writing

How will we know what your children know?

• Read Aloud• Guided Reading• Feedback• Goal Setting and Monitoring• Reader’s Workshop• Writing Workshop• Reading Reflection Notebook• Writer’s Notebook• Author Studies • Journey’s (Reading Series)• Book Clubs• Student/Teacher Conferences• Before/After School Tutoring

What do we want your children to know?Math

• Understand the overlying concepts of math. Learn that they can be mathematical thinkers. Math is not just skill and practice.

• Focus on computational fluency. “Is that the most efficient way to solve that problem?”• Provide lots of experience in geometry, measurement,

data and early algebra. Provide connections between all parts of math.

• Students know a variety of strategies to solve a wide range of problems.

• Emphasize reasoning of mathematical ideas.• Engage the range of learners in understanding math.

5E Lesson Design Template - Directions1. Engagement: (the “catch”)

♦ Describe how the teacher will capture students’ interest. ♦What kind of questions should the students ask themselves after the engagement?

2. Exploration: (the “do”) ♦ Describe what hands-on/minds-on activities students will be doing. ♦ List at least 2 questions the teacher may use to encourage and/or focus students’ exploration.

3. Explanation: (the “lesson”) ♦ List at least 2 higher order thinking questions which teachers may use to solicit STUDENT

explanations and help them to justify their explanations ♦ Student explanations should precede introduction of scientific terms or explanations by the

teacher. What questions or techniques will the teacher use to help students connect their exploration to the scientific concept under examination?

4. Elaboration: (“the enrich”) ♦ Describe how students will develop a more sophisticated understanding of the concept. ♦What scientific terminology will be introduced and how will it connect to students’ observations? ♦ How is this knowledge applied in science or in our daily lives?

5. Evaluation: (the “evaluation”) ♦ How will students demonstrate that they have achieved the lesson objective? ♦ This may be done throughout the lesson as well as at the end of the lesson.

Science Inquiry

What do we want your children to know?

Science

• Asking questions• Using science tools

Physical Science• Force is a push or a pull• Matter has physical properties

Earth Science• Nature can cause change• Patterns of change in weather, metamorphosis and objects in

sky• Cycles and simple systems

Life Science• Habitats of animals• Needs of living creatures• Environmental changes• How living creatures adapt and change environment

STAARState of Texas Assessment of Academic ReadinessGiven in grades 3-5Given in early MayTest is now timed - 4 hoursMore difficult than previous test because it will

require higher level thinking and multiple step problems.

Builds on previously learned knowledge.

3rd Grade will take both Reading and Math

Conferences

• We will have a parent/teacher conferences this year in the fall. Please contact us if you have concerns at other points.

• Our Fall conferences will be at the beginning of October.

• Please look for a note home in the next couple of weeks.

Grades and HomeworkEvery night your child should be reading at least 20 minutes and logging finished books in his/her Reading Log in school. Here are some tips to help your child become a better reader!

Homework is not the way it used to be! Any homework will be purposeful and meaningful for each child and will be used as a tool to help support the learning done in class. There may be weeks when no additional homework is sent home. Please check the weekly email blasts for updates.

A lot of grades taken will be directly from their notebooks in class. Therefore you may not see an abundance of graded papers coming home. You can check the status of your child’s grades on line and at any time, if you have questions, contact your child’s teacher.

The Importance of Reading Nightly!

Questions

What 3rd Grade questions do you have for us?

If you have a question that you feel pertains to your child only, please

write it down and we will contact you individually.