Welcome, Families!

Welcome, Families! Third Grade Parent Orientation Night Lakewood Elementary September 8, 2014

Teacher Introductions Mrs. Jackson (Reading/ELA/Social Studies) Mrs. Mikeska (Math & Science) Ms. Cohagan (Reading/ELA/Social Studies) Mrs. Francis (Math & Science) Mrs. Moore (All Subjects)

Basic Information • Please reference the pamphlet for all basic information pertaining to Third Grade. We’ll happily respond to any questions at the end! 

Third Graders… • Complete work independently • Monitor their own work production • Increase stamina for focused attention, thinking, and reading

Grades • Reflect what a student can do independently • Generally reflect challenging content as the year progresses • Inform teaching • Are available for viewing in Skyward

Attendance & Make-Up Work • Attending class is crucial to develop as learners. • Actual learning takes place in class activities, discussions, games, and experiments that cannot be “sent home” as make-up work. We’ll send home written work whenever possible. • We know illnesses occur and we will certainly accommodate as best we can. However, please make every effort to have your students present each day as they are able.

Reading • Shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” • Focus of reading expands well beyond basic, literal understanding of the text. Students are required to think critically to infer meaning and consider the author’s perspectives and purposes. • Students broaden their knowledge of literature genres and their characteristics.

Writing • Learn to write personal narratives and expository pieces. • Increase length of writing (developmentally: a page a day) • Use correct conventions of writing (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar)

Spelling & Vocabulary • Third Graders have spelling words every other week. • Lists are comprised of 8 words reflecting the week’s spelling pattern and 4 high frequency words. • Students have the opportunity to “test out” of words on Monday and tackle challenging vocabulary words. • Vocabulary words replace spelling every other week. Vocabulary development is an essential part of reading and writing development. ough tion sion

Math • While computation is important, students are expected to apply skills in context. • Reasoning, applying, problem-solving, choosing the correct operation, and seeing whole/part relationships are crucial to excel in Third Grade Math. • Fact fluency is practiced daily and tested monthly as part of our Lakewood Math Initiative. • Students are expected to make progress.

Science & Social Studies • Science: • We just received a new science adoption. We are still receiving training on the science plan. We will continue to teach the curriculum, adding the new adoption as the year progresses. • Major Concepts of Third Grade Social Studies • Citizenship, Comparing Communities, • Government, Maps & Geography, • Timelines & Biographies, Heroic Deeds

Questions ? ? ? ? ?

THANK YOU Lakewood parents are the best! We truly appreciate your support. 

Welcome, Families!