Reading:
As a third grader, we will be learning different reading strategies to help us become strategic readers. We will be targeting a different comprehension strategy each month and applying it in small group instruction, independent work and work group discussions. Students will be working in small groups and reading on their appropriate level each day. They will be working in literary centers and responding independently in reading journals.
*It is very important for your child to read every night for at least 20/30 minutes. This is a wonderful time to see how much growth your child is making in third grade.
Math:
In third grade students begin to focus on multiplication and division. We also continue our work with problem solving skills and application of these skills. There are a number of math resources on our school website that have great ideas to help increase computational fluency. Each day we spend at least 15 minutes of fact practice. Any additional practice at home would be greatly beneficial.
Writing/Spelling:
Each day we will be honing in on our writing skills. We will be working through the 5 steps of the writing process and applying very important editing and revising skills. Students will be creating narrative and expository pieces that will be published for our Celebration of Writer’s Week in May. We are also using a new spelling/word skills program design by Rebecca Sitton. This program consists of priority words that students are expected to spelling correctly on a regular basis and core words that enhance students’ word skills and knowledge.
Content Areas:
There are many exciting topics that we will be learning about in both Science and Social Studies this year. Our Science topics include: Rocks and Minerals, Matter, and Motion and Design. Students will also be using the scientific process to explore “Soggy Paper” and The Wonderful World of Recycling! Students will think as scientists as they predict, observe, classified, record and communicate scientifically. In Social Studies we will be studying maps and globes. We will also be learning about the countries Kenya and Japan and comparing them to Harwinton/Burlington.
Steps to Respect:
Once a week we will be using a program called Steps to Respect. This is a social program where students are able work together and talk about conflict resolution to every day challenges. We also have a daily morning meeting where students greet each other with a smile by name and develop a strong sense of community in our classroom.