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3rd Grade ISSUE 1 2013 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
Days
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K
Issue 1 2013 September Editor
Laura Ferguson
Contributors Amanda Johnson
Amy Stamper Sally Baker Jessie Barry Allison Davis Kelly
Mitchell
Blog:
http://kidblog.org/MissFergusonsClass2013-201
4/ Class Website:
http://www.mtnbrook.k12.al.us/cms/
Miss+Laura+Ferguson/15697.html
Electronic Mail: [email protected]
s
Picasa Class Album: https://plus.google.com/
photos/104872095580105708174/
albums/5644158172785016433?
banner=pwa&authkey=CNWsrL-tiMmrMQ
All artwork is used under the Fair Use Act and is given
credit when due
3rd Grade Days 2
3rd G
rade
Day
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Featured : 3 Ways to Stay Connected............5 Learning in
Library...........6 Back to School......8 New Look at Math..10
Favorites A Note From Our Reading Coach12 App-tastic....... 15
Calendars September............16 October..............17
3rd Grade Days 3
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10
5
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Teac
hers L
ette
r Issue 1 2013 September
Editor Welcome to the first ever issue of 3rd Grade Days. I am
delighted to be sharing this little digital magazine with you. It
has been a labor of love to get it all together, so I hope you will
be pleased with it too. When I first decided to put 3rd Grade Days
together, I wanted to share my passion for 3rd Grade and had a
vision to create a place where teachers can share their philosophy
and 3rd grade parents can gain a be t t e r unde rs tand ing o f t
he adventures and challenges to be experienced as the year
progresses. In this first issue, we are introducing our 3rd Grade
team, talking about some background regarding the fundamentals, and
sharing some of our 3rd grade favorites. I hope you enjoy this
first issue and find inspiration and helpful information within the
pages.
Love
TH
IS
3rd Grade Days 4
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Each year, parents want to know how they can get involved with
the class. Nothing says I care about you more than showing your
child that you are interested in their work and impressed by their
skills. Not everyone has the time to volunteer in the classroom, so
its no wonder that parents, and grandparents, too, want to find
innovative ways to participate, stay connected and communicate that
school is important to the entire family! There are many ways to
discover and participate in whats happening now in 3rd Grade,
whether its visiting for lunch, helping your child with study
ladder, or adding a comment to our blog. We want you to feel
connected and be a part of our classroom. Here are three fast and
easy ways to get involved in your childs learning.
Ways to Stay
Connected in 3rd Grade
Check Out Our Blog Throughout the year, we will create movies,
artwork, Voice Threads, and many more original works. We post all
of our finished projects to our blog as our final publishing tool.
Our goal is to get our work outside the classroom walls and share
it with people who care. To catch up with our latest projects,
visit our c l a s s b l o g a t h t t p : / / k i d b l o g . o r g
/MissFergusonsClass2013-2014/. We try to add something a few times
each month. Please leave comments on our blog so we know our work
is important and that others can see it. Send the link to
grandparents, aunts, and uncles to show everyone whats going on in
our classroom. We cant wait to share all we are learning with
you!
3rd Grade Days 5
Add to Our Web Album We have a class photo album that is housed
o n l i n e . P a r e n t s c a n download the images, order
prints, and share pictures with grandparents and others. Each
family will be invited to view and contribute to the album and
upload pictures from the first day of school, field trips, or other
school events. We love seeing action shots from our fun days at
school! The web album can be found at https://plus.google.com/p h o
t o s /104872095580105708174/ a l b u m s
/5644158172785016433?banner=pwa&authkey=CNWsrL-tiMmrMQ. If you
need an original file for better print quality, just ask! Only
those with the link can access the album.
Study Ladder Practice Studyladder is a K-6 web based educational
program designed by teachers. The program is curriculum based and
covers Mathematics, Literacy and 8 other subjects. Your child has
been given a username and password which can be used to access
Studyladder. It is not compulsory for your child to use Studyladder
at home; however, regular access will help your child to reinforce
what they have learned in school. It will also help to build their
confidence through practice. Studyladder is designed to prevent
bullying and does not allow student access to social networking.
Your child will NOT be able to chat with anyone via Studyladder. Go
to www.studyladder.com and login using your child's school username
and password. Parents have the option to sign up for a free home
account which can be linked to their child's school account. Those
who register will have access to their child's certificates and
results. Studyladder does not charge for this service and it is
optional to upgrade to premium access.
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L e a r n i n g i n L i b r a r y
Common Sense Mission Statement: Common Sense Media is dedicated
to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the
trustworthy informa
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Rings of Responsibility Students explore what it means to take
on responsibili9es in both their oine and online communi9es as a
way to learn how to be good digital ci9zens.
The Key to Keywords Students learn strategies to increase the
accuracy of their keyword searches. They compare the number and
kinds of sites obtained and make inferences about the eec9veness of
the strategies.
Digital Ci
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Back to School Beth Mooney
Back to school is a busy time of year. H e r e a r e s o m e qu
ick reminders from the 3rd Grade Bulletin that was sent home on
Meet the Teacher Day. Daily Schedule: A r r i v i n g K - 3
students wi l l be supervised in the aud i to r ium f rom 7:20-7:40
a.m. Any student who arrives after the 7:50 bell is
considered tardy and must stop by the office to check in before
going to his/her classroom. Absences: Please c a l l t h e s c h o
o l between 7:20 7:50 a.m. if your child will be absent that day. I
f your ch i ld i s absent for several days, i t is on ly necessary
that you call the first day of t h e a b s e n c e . A l w a y s s
e n d a signed and dated note of explanation for the absence on the
day that your ch i ld re turns to
schoo l ; ema i l [email protected] or the classroom
teacher. Failure to do so will r e s u l t i n a n u n e x c u s e
d absence. Early Check Out: If your child must leave school early f
o r w h a t e v e r reason, he/she must be checked out in writing
in the school office by a parent. Please send the
3rd Grade Days 8
3rd Grade by the Numbers
1 hour: length of special subjects visited each day 2 0 m i n u
t e s : d a i l y al lotment of recess outside of P.E. 3.5-4 hours:
amount of learning time before lunch 17: number of students in the
class 871-8126: CES front office phone number
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teacher a note if you must check out your child early. Important
Information: Your child needs to know his/her full name, address,
telephone number, birthday, parents names, and how to tie shoes.
Please reinforce these skills at home. I l lnesses and Injuries:
When a student becomes ill or hurt during school hours, he/she will
be taken to the Health Room and a parent will be notified of the
illness by school personnel. Parents must come to the school office
and check out the student before removing the student from school
grounds. Lunches: This year, students are allowed to choose extras
to buy for school lunch. We encourage the students to make healthy
c h o i c e s , b u t p a r e n t re inforcement is a lways
helpful. Please, if you plan to let your child buy lunch, discuss
the choices with him/her so that the decision can readily be made
at school. The menu you receive will indicate the selections for
each day. Pa ren t s a re welcome to each lunch with their
children. Medicine: Only prescription m e d i c a t i o n s u c h a
s medication prescribed for ADHD, or medicine requiring more than 3
doses in a 24 h o u r p e r i o d w i l l b e administered at
school. Then, only one dose will be given d u r i n g s c h o o l h
o u r s .
Prescription medicine should be brought to the school office by
the parent. Children with a history of severe allergies or a n a p
h y l a x i s m a y h a v e medication kept at school for
emergencies upon written r e q u e s t o f t h e c h i l d s
physician. Inhalers for children who suffer from asthma or related
problems may be kept in the office for use by the student. Clear
written instruction about the frequency of use and the usual usage
if the student is wheezing are required. Be sure to personally
notify the teacher ASAP if your child has a health problem that
requires extra care. Physical Education: Each child will attend a
daily 30 minute P.E. class with his/her class. Please send your
child to school with rubber-soled shoes, no clogs or sandals
please. Girls should wear shorts under dresses. 3rd Grade students
also have superv ised p lay on the playground with their classes
daily. Please be sure to dress your child for the weather. Reading
Log Folders: Each student is asked to bring the red take-home
folder to school daily. This is a plastic folder that you purchased
with your childs supplies. The teachers will label the folders and
send them home with your child each day. Please be sure to check
your childs folder daily for paper from the teacher. You are asked
to sign your
childs reading log that says your child has read for 20 minutes
each night. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask your
childs teacher. We are all here to help make this transition to Big
School as seamless as possible.
3rd Grade Days 9
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This unit is the rst of three units in Grade 3 that focus on
addi9on, subtrac9on, and the number system. Later this year,
students will solve addi9on and subtrac9on problems with larger
numbers and will work on developing accurate and ecient strategies
for both addi9on and subtrac9on. In our math class, students spend
9me discussing problems in depth and share their reasoning and
solu9ons. It is important that students accurately and eciently
solve math problems in ways that make sense to them. At home,
encourage your child to explain his/her math thinking to you.
Our class is star9ng a new mathema9cs unit about addi9on and
subtrac9on called Trading S9ckers, Combining Coins. During this
unit, students solve addi9on problems with 2-digit and small
3-digit numbers, solve subtrac9on problems involving 2-digit
numbers, and nd combina9ons of numbers that add up to 100. They
work on understanding the place value structure of 3-digit numbers
as they solve problems. Throughout this unit, students will
work toward these goals:
3rd Grade Days 10
Math Investigations Unit 1
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A N
ew W
ay to
Loo
k at M
ath
Most parents I talk to tell me that when it comes to this new
way of looking at math they are totally lost. This can make
understanding and assis9ng your child with what we are learning
somewhat challenging. Here is a quick look at some strategies we
are using in the class now broken down step by step.
How do I prac
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Parents are truly
their childrens first and
most important teachers.
v Reading to your child for 30 minutes per day from infancy
helps prepare a child to learn. A ve-year old who has not been read
to daily will enter kindergarten with far fewer hours of literacy
nutri9on than a child who has been read to daily from infancy. No
teacher, no ma_er how talented, can make up for those lost
hours.
v Parents who value reading are more likely to visit the library
and give books as gias. Access to quality reading material should
con9nue throughout a childs school years. Children with higher
reading scores are more likely to read four types of reading
material in their homes encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, and
at least 25 books.
v Parents cannot assume that schoolwork makes up for too much
TV. Children of all ages watch as much TV in one day as they read
for fun in an en9re week. Overall, children under age 13 spend 90
minutes a day in front of the TV one quarter of their free 9me.
v Adults pass on to children their own expecta9ons about
educa9on and achievement, both posi9ve and nega9ve. Shared
enthusiasm about books and reading between a parent and child can
deepen the childs interest in learning to read. Children who learn
from parents that reading is fun may be more likely to sustain
eorts to learn to read when the going gets tough.
12 3rd Grade Days
A Note From Our Reading Coach
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3rd Grade Days 13
Fun Moments From The First Weeks of 3rd Grade
- Insight Wanted Want to share your opinion or ask a ques
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App-tas9c Our Picks
AppTA
STIC
MathBoard $4.99 MathBoard is a highly configurable math app
appropriate for all school aged ch i l d ren . Beg inn ing i n
kindergarten, with simple addition and subtraction problems,
through elementary school where learning multiplication and
division can be a real challenge. MathBoard will allow you to
configure the app to best match the abilities of your child.
3rd Grade Reading Comprehension $1.99 100 Stories! Help children
master reading comprehension skills while building confidence and
inspiring achievement! This app presents short, concise stories in
an engaging format that leads to success.
Splash Math $9.99 Splash Math is a fun and innovative way to
practice math. With 16 chapters covering over 200 math skills and
an endless supply of problems, it is by far the most comprehensive
math workbook in the app store.
Math Fact Master $0.99 Covers addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division! Per fect for he lp ing to practice
and learn specific facts!
3rd Grade Days 15
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S M T W TH F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CES 101: Info for Parents
Chick-fil-A Spirit Day
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Boosterthon Pep Rally
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Boosterthon Fun Run
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
September
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S M T W TH F S
1 2 3 4 5
Eye Screening
Homecoming Dismiss at
2:00
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Field Trip- Moundville
-Fall Pictures Class
Scholastic Book Fair @8:30
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Professional Learning Day for Teachers
E-Day for Students
End of First Nine Weeks
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Pumpkin
Run
Report Cards Go Home
27 28 29 30 31 Fall Festival
2-4PM
October
Scholastic Book Fair
Red Ribbon Week
Conferences Dismiss at 12PM
3rd Grade Days 17
