Back To School Night information and Packet
We believe becoming a third grader is an exciting experience for all of our students. It is our sincere hope that your child will have a productive and enjoyable year. Working together as a team (parent, teacher, and student), your child’s third grade year will be memorable. Although Mrs. Hammer, Mrs. Trent and I work closely as a team to plan and design lessons, students will have a variety of experiences and opportunities across each of the classes. During this transitional year our goals include; increasing independence through thinking routines, promoting responsibility, and using self-reflection to enhance academic success.
This third grade information packet will give you more detailed information about your child’s classroom and the school year. It is designed to give you an overview of our classroom expectations, home learning procedures and classroom curriculum. If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please contact us, and we will be happy to discuss them with you.
Sincerely,
The third grade team
This third grade information packet will give you more detailed information about your child’s classroom and the school year. It is designed to give you an overview of our classroom expectations, home learning procedures and classroom curriculum. If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please contact us, and we will be happy to discuss them with you.
Sincerely,
The third grade team
MONTECITO UNION SCHOOL
THIRD GRADE INFORMATION PACKET
CURRICULUM OUTLINE and GENERAL INFORMATION
THIRD GRADE TEAM:
Jacki Hammer, Lisa Monson, Kathy Trent
General Philosophy
What do we honor and believe in Third Grade?
Making Thinking Visible
Our primary goal is to help equip third grade students with a solid foundation for their future years of schooling. We focus on teaching students HOW to think in depth from various points of view, and pushing them to support their thinking with explanations and evidence. Through the use of thinking routines, structured lessons with a clear focus on thinking tools, and Habits of Mind, we will integrate the development of students’ thinking with content learning across the subject areas. The goal is to cultivate students’ thinking and dispositions (or successful habits and strategies for thinking) and deepen content learning. This research-based method comes from our work with Harvard (Project Zero), the work with Ron Ritchhart as well as our studies from Columbia University and the Reading and Writing Workshop. We are thoughtful when planning and structuring our lessons so that we provide these opportunities for students to develop successful thinking strategies.
Habits of Mind (the dispositions of thinking, successful strategies)
Along with using the Habits of Mind to help teach students successful strategies for thinking, we integrate these terms to help students identify different thinking moves throughout their learning.
Art Costa, director of the Institute for Intelligent Behavior in Berkeley, California notes, “Intelligent behavior is performed in response to questions and problems, the answers to which are not immediately known. The critical attribute of intelligent human beings is not only having information, but knowing how to act on it.”
In his research, Costa asked, “What behaviors are indicative of efficient, effective problem solvers?” After considerable research, he formulated a list of behaviors that have been observed in successful people. These are clearly posted in each classroom. As we work with students this year, we will highlight specific strategies and help students identify these Habits of Mind. Not only will this help students identify which behaviors they already have command of and which ones they need to work on, but it will help students begin to see that they are really in charge of their learning and becoming independent with finding ways to be successful and meet individual goals.
Some of the Habits that we focus on include: persistence, managing impulsivity, listening with understanding and empathy, working for accuracy and precision, meta-cognition (thinking about your thinking), and finding humor. You will find more information about all the Habits of Mind in the Montecito Union School Student Handbook.
Classroom Expectations
Success often depends on self-discipline and a sense of responsibility. A classroom behavior plan affords every student the opportunity to manage his or her own behavior so the classroom can have a viable educational climate. Each student is responsible for his or her own behavior. As a school, we have agreed to follow the expectations outlined in the school handbook.
In addition, each classroom in the process of developing specific rules or “norms” for their classrooms. Students are working together to articulate their needs for a positive classroom environment. For specifics regarding our Behavior Guidelines please see the online Montecito Union Student Handbook.
Home Learning
Reading nightly is a top priority for us as it is proven to be a key component of reading development. We expect 30 minutes of focused reading. On occasion, other assignments will go home that are relevant to in class projects. We have done research as a staff and determined that for our age students, traditional homework (ie worksheets) does not actually improve achievement. However, what does improve achievement is a lot of time on task reading.
Please help your child develop a routine of reading and recording their pages on the nightly reading log that will be returned each Friday for homework credit.
THIRD GRADE CURRICULUM
LANGUAGE ARTS
The third grade components of balanced literacy include: Reading Workshop, Writing Workshop, the study of conventions of written language, word study and the study of spelling patterns, read alouds, and shared reading (or oral reading) opportunities.
Core Literature Program
Teachers will read aloud a number of the books that have been selected as excellent examples of literature at the 3rd grade level. We will study these books in class and learn various reading strategies when analyzing setting, characters, plot, and theme. In addition, students will study the author’s writing style, practice making predictions, inferences, and connections.
Reading Workshop
Reading Workshop provides opportunities to participate in reading as “real readers” do. It also allows us the opportunity to tailor instruction more individually and appropriately for each student in the class. In this way, more time is available for children to read. Research suggests that the amount of independent reading that children do in school is related to the gains in reading achievement. Independent reading is also a major source of vocabulary growth and reading fluency.
However, we do not mean to suggest that students are left on their own to, “just read.” A balanced reading program with quality instruction involves many elements. In the Reading Workshop, students have the opportunity to:
A Reading Workshop gives students an opportunity to communicate with their teacher as well as with other students –both orally and in writing. In support of building independence and engagement, students have opportunities to make choices about what they are interested in reading. They are also provided guidance in choosing from various types of literature-realistic fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc. All of these experiences incorporate our new Common Core Standards.
We believe that the ultimate goal in reading is personal understanding and enjoyment. Within our Reading Workshop, we watch our students display these characteristics everyday. They are truly motivated to read, and read well.
We appreciate your continued involvement in your child’s reading!
Writing Workshop
The Writing Workshop, similar to the Reading Workshop, is a method of teaching writing using a workshop model. Students are given opportunities to write in a variety of genres (narrative, informational, and opinion) and help foster a love of writing. The Writing Workshop allows teachers to meet the needs of their students by differentiating their instruction and gearing instruction based on information gathered throughout the workshop.
MATHEMATICS
Our math program, Bridges, focuses on developing students’ deep understanding of mathematical concepts, proficiency with key skills, and ability to solve complex and novel problems. Bridges blends direct instruction, structured investigation, and open exploration. It taps into the intelligence and strengths of all students by presenting material that is as linguistically, visually, ,and kinesthetically rich as it is mathematically powerful. Additionally, we supplement this curriculum with Contexts for Learning and “Number Talks.”
We will be offering before school intervention, as well as enrichment. These groups are flexible and students will be moving in and out of these as the need arises. Our ultimate goal is to meet every child where they are, and push their thinking.
California Common Core State Standards
The Mathematical Practices
Context for Learning
Contexts for Learning Mathematics are series of units on the topics of number, operation, and algebra, K–6. Children work on problems using a variety of strategies. In whole-class discussions, they are asked to justify and explain their thinking to their peers. The emphasis is on conceptual understanding, not just procedures and the practice of them.
Number Talks
A Number Talk is a short, ongoing daily routine that provides students with meaningful ongoing practice with computation. A Number Talk is a powerful tool for helping students develop computational fluency because the expectation is that they will use number relationships and the structures of numbers to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Children develop computational fluency while thinking and reasoning like mathematicians. Children are asked to make connections and look for relationships and thus are engaged in "doing mathematics." When they share their strategies with others, they learn to clarify and express their thinking, thereby developing mathematical language.
SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:
The following social studies and science topics are studied in depth and integrated into our reading and writing programs.
Science:
Social Studies:
TECHNOLOGY
We are incredibly fortunate to have a personal laptop assigned for classroom use for each student. We will use laptops as a tool to support thinking and learning with various programs. Additionally, students will be working to develop typing skills throughout the year to build fluency.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Tennis shoes and appropriate clothing are expected to be worn on PE days.
Monson - Wednesday & Thursdays along with every other Tuesday in the Nature Lab
Trent - Tuesdays and Wednesdays, along with every other Thursday in the Nature Lab
Hammer- Tuesdays & Thursdays with Wednesday class PE/Nature Lab
ART
Your child has art for ninety minutes every other week for an hour and a half, it's helpful if you make sure your child is present for their scheduled art lesson.
Monson - Every other Tuesday 1:30-3:00
Hammer- other Wednesday 1:30-3:00
Trent - Every other Thursday 1:30-3:00
SPANISH
Students have Spanish class twice a week with Señora Kalin. The primary focus is to reinforce concepts and vocabulary. You can expect your child to have Spanish homework on the night of the first Spanish class each week. The home assignments are to reinforce concepts and promote the practice of the language at home. If you have any questions about Spanish class, please contact: [email protected].
STRINGS
Mr. Zecher is working with the students once a week to develop skills in violin, viola, and cello. Instruments will be going home mid September. They will need to be brought to school weekly on their strings day. Thank you for helping remind your child to bring the instrument to Mr. Zecher’s room on the day of strings, not to their classroom.
Monson- Instruments need to be there on Wednesdays
Hammer- Instruments need to be there on Thursdays
Trent- Instruments need to be there on Fridays
MUSIC
Mrs. Herzog will teach our music program this year. In third grade, students receive general music instruction once a week.Singing, playing a variety of instruments to accompany the songs, movement, and a unit of study on instruments of the orchestra will be a few areas of focus this year. The Santa Barbara Symphony's Music Van will also be a special third grade experience, taking place in October.
LIBRARY
Mrs. Allison is a valuable resource for our students to help them continue to foster a love for reading. At MUS, all grades K -5 are implementing Reading Workshop, embracing and encouraging a culture of reading for our students. With the help of Mrs. Allison students are presented with a variety of lessons that encourage and promote the use of literature to help extend their thinking. We encourage you to help foster this “culture of reading” at home. Visiting the MUS library before school, 8:00-8:25, to check out books is a wonderful way to actively promote this love for reading with your child.
OTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION
School Day Begins
When arriving at school, students are asked to drop off backpacks at the hooks by the classrooms, and head up to the playground. When the warning bell rings at 8:25, students are expected to make their way to their classes, so they are in their seats and ready to start the day at 8:30. Since teachers are often attending before school meetings, and there is not supervision in the courtyard, students need to go to the supervised areas before school. Thank you for helping them remember this routine.
Communication Between Teacher and Parents
Email is the quickest and most efficient form of communication. Almost all parent communication from the third grade team and your child’s teacher will be via email. You will find school-wide information in the Friday Folder. The folder should be returned on Monday, but contents do not need to be returned unless specified.
Absences
Health and Wellness Policy
Per the Wellness Policy at MUS, please do not send candy to school. Healthy, nutritious meals are much more beneficial for the growth and development of your children. Please do not bring any treats to share with the class. The room parent will organize any class or grade level celebrations for the year.
Additionally, Mr. Ranii will keep you up to date with Covid protocols. If your child has cold symptoms, please keep them home from school.
Birthdays
Birthdays are acknowledged, but not celebrated in class. Please do not bring treats or party invitations to school. The student directory is a great place to find contact information for other families.
THIRD GRADE INFORMATION PACKET
CURRICULUM OUTLINE and GENERAL INFORMATION
THIRD GRADE TEAM:
Jacki Hammer, Lisa Monson, Kathy Trent
General Philosophy
What do we honor and believe in Third Grade?
- Learning is a product of thinking
- Be a positive role model
- Challenge is an opportunity for growth
- Believe in yourself and others
Making Thinking Visible
Our primary goal is to help equip third grade students with a solid foundation for their future years of schooling. We focus on teaching students HOW to think in depth from various points of view, and pushing them to support their thinking with explanations and evidence. Through the use of thinking routines, structured lessons with a clear focus on thinking tools, and Habits of Mind, we will integrate the development of students’ thinking with content learning across the subject areas. The goal is to cultivate students’ thinking and dispositions (or successful habits and strategies for thinking) and deepen content learning. This research-based method comes from our work with Harvard (Project Zero), the work with Ron Ritchhart as well as our studies from Columbia University and the Reading and Writing Workshop. We are thoughtful when planning and structuring our lessons so that we provide these opportunities for students to develop successful thinking strategies.
Habits of Mind (the dispositions of thinking, successful strategies)
Along with using the Habits of Mind to help teach students successful strategies for thinking, we integrate these terms to help students identify different thinking moves throughout their learning.
Art Costa, director of the Institute for Intelligent Behavior in Berkeley, California notes, “Intelligent behavior is performed in response to questions and problems, the answers to which are not immediately known. The critical attribute of intelligent human beings is not only having information, but knowing how to act on it.”
In his research, Costa asked, “What behaviors are indicative of efficient, effective problem solvers?” After considerable research, he formulated a list of behaviors that have been observed in successful people. These are clearly posted in each classroom. As we work with students this year, we will highlight specific strategies and help students identify these Habits of Mind. Not only will this help students identify which behaviors they already have command of and which ones they need to work on, but it will help students begin to see that they are really in charge of their learning and becoming independent with finding ways to be successful and meet individual goals.
Some of the Habits that we focus on include: persistence, managing impulsivity, listening with understanding and empathy, working for accuracy and precision, meta-cognition (thinking about your thinking), and finding humor. You will find more information about all the Habits of Mind in the Montecito Union School Student Handbook.
Classroom Expectations
Success often depends on self-discipline and a sense of responsibility. A classroom behavior plan affords every student the opportunity to manage his or her own behavior so the classroom can have a viable educational climate. Each student is responsible for his or her own behavior. As a school, we have agreed to follow the expectations outlined in the school handbook.
In addition, each classroom in the process of developing specific rules or “norms” for their classrooms. Students are working together to articulate their needs for a positive classroom environment. For specifics regarding our Behavior Guidelines please see the online Montecito Union Student Handbook.
Home Learning
Reading nightly is a top priority for us as it is proven to be a key component of reading development. We expect 30 minutes of focused reading. On occasion, other assignments will go home that are relevant to in class projects. We have done research as a staff and determined that for our age students, traditional homework (ie worksheets) does not actually improve achievement. However, what does improve achievement is a lot of time on task reading.
Please help your child develop a routine of reading and recording their pages on the nightly reading log that will be returned each Friday for homework credit.
THIRD GRADE CURRICULUM
LANGUAGE ARTS
The third grade components of balanced literacy include: Reading Workshop, Writing Workshop, the study of conventions of written language, word study and the study of spelling patterns, read alouds, and shared reading (or oral reading) opportunities.
Core Literature Program
Teachers will read aloud a number of the books that have been selected as excellent examples of literature at the 3rd grade level. We will study these books in class and learn various reading strategies when analyzing setting, characters, plot, and theme. In addition, students will study the author’s writing style, practice making predictions, inferences, and connections.
Reading Workshop
Reading Workshop provides opportunities to participate in reading as “real readers” do. It also allows us the opportunity to tailor instruction more individually and appropriately for each student in the class. In this way, more time is available for children to read. Research suggests that the amount of independent reading that children do in school is related to the gains in reading achievement. Independent reading is also a major source of vocabulary growth and reading fluency.
However, we do not mean to suggest that students are left on their own to, “just read.” A balanced reading program with quality instruction involves many elements. In the Reading Workshop, students have the opportunity to:
- Listen and thoughtfully respond to good literature
- Participate in individual and small group reading instruction, and read individually and/or with other children
- Select materials at an appropriate level independently
- Have lessons on phonics and word study skills
- Participate in lessons to utilize many reading and thinking strategies
- Focus on comprehension
- Integrate reading and writing strategies
A Reading Workshop gives students an opportunity to communicate with their teacher as well as with other students –both orally and in writing. In support of building independence and engagement, students have opportunities to make choices about what they are interested in reading. They are also provided guidance in choosing from various types of literature-realistic fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc. All of these experiences incorporate our new Common Core Standards.
We believe that the ultimate goal in reading is personal understanding and enjoyment. Within our Reading Workshop, we watch our students display these characteristics everyday. They are truly motivated to read, and read well.
We appreciate your continued involvement in your child’s reading!
- Maintaining Reading Logs: Daily “at home” reading logs are used to record the number of minutes a child spends reading. This information is exceptionally helpful for us in assessing the appropriate levels and helps to guide our individual student conferences in which we are providing reading strategies and individualized focus for your child.
- Your help establishing this nightly habit of recording the reading minutes is greatly appreciated.
Writing Workshop
The Writing Workshop, similar to the Reading Workshop, is a method of teaching writing using a workshop model. Students are given opportunities to write in a variety of genres (narrative, informational, and opinion) and help foster a love of writing. The Writing Workshop allows teachers to meet the needs of their students by differentiating their instruction and gearing instruction based on information gathered throughout the workshop.
MATHEMATICS
Our math program, Bridges, focuses on developing students’ deep understanding of mathematical concepts, proficiency with key skills, and ability to solve complex and novel problems. Bridges blends direct instruction, structured investigation, and open exploration. It taps into the intelligence and strengths of all students by presenting material that is as linguistically, visually, ,and kinesthetically rich as it is mathematically powerful. Additionally, we supplement this curriculum with Contexts for Learning and “Number Talks.”
We will be offering before school intervention, as well as enrichment. These groups are flexible and students will be moving in and out of these as the need arises. Our ultimate goal is to meet every child where they are, and push their thinking.
California Common Core State Standards
The Mathematical Practices
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
- Model with mathematics
- Use appropriate tools strategically
- Attend to precision
- Look for and make use of structure
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
Context for Learning
Contexts for Learning Mathematics are series of units on the topics of number, operation, and algebra, K–6. Children work on problems using a variety of strategies. In whole-class discussions, they are asked to justify and explain their thinking to their peers. The emphasis is on conceptual understanding, not just procedures and the practice of them.
Number Talks
A Number Talk is a short, ongoing daily routine that provides students with meaningful ongoing practice with computation. A Number Talk is a powerful tool for helping students develop computational fluency because the expectation is that they will use number relationships and the structures of numbers to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Children develop computational fluency while thinking and reasoning like mathematicians. Children are asked to make connections and look for relationships and thus are engaged in "doing mathematics." When they share their strategies with others, they learn to clarify and express their thinking, thereby developing mathematical language.
SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:
The following social studies and science topics are studied in depth and integrated into our reading and writing programs.
Science:
- Weather and Climate
- Forces and Interactions
- Animal Adaptations with a focus on life cycles, traits, and relationship to the ecosystem
Social Studies:
- Learning about Communities
- First Communities (Chumash)
- Types of Communities and Community Government
TECHNOLOGY
We are incredibly fortunate to have a personal laptop assigned for classroom use for each student. We will use laptops as a tool to support thinking and learning with various programs. Additionally, students will be working to develop typing skills throughout the year to build fluency.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Tennis shoes and appropriate clothing are expected to be worn on PE days.
Monson - Wednesday & Thursdays along with every other Tuesday in the Nature Lab
Trent - Tuesdays and Wednesdays, along with every other Thursday in the Nature Lab
Hammer- Tuesdays & Thursdays with Wednesday class PE/Nature Lab
ART
Your child has art for ninety minutes every other week for an hour and a half, it's helpful if you make sure your child is present for their scheduled art lesson.
Monson - Every other Tuesday 1:30-3:00
Hammer- other Wednesday 1:30-3:00
Trent - Every other Thursday 1:30-3:00
SPANISH
Students have Spanish class twice a week with Señora Kalin. The primary focus is to reinforce concepts and vocabulary. You can expect your child to have Spanish homework on the night of the first Spanish class each week. The home assignments are to reinforce concepts and promote the practice of the language at home. If you have any questions about Spanish class, please contact: [email protected].
STRINGS
Mr. Zecher is working with the students once a week to develop skills in violin, viola, and cello. Instruments will be going home mid September. They will need to be brought to school weekly on their strings day. Thank you for helping remind your child to bring the instrument to Mr. Zecher’s room on the day of strings, not to their classroom.
Monson- Instruments need to be there on Wednesdays
Hammer- Instruments need to be there on Thursdays
Trent- Instruments need to be there on Fridays
MUSIC
Mrs. Herzog will teach our music program this year. In third grade, students receive general music instruction once a week.Singing, playing a variety of instruments to accompany the songs, movement, and a unit of study on instruments of the orchestra will be a few areas of focus this year. The Santa Barbara Symphony's Music Van will also be a special third grade experience, taking place in October.
LIBRARY
Mrs. Allison is a valuable resource for our students to help them continue to foster a love for reading. At MUS, all grades K -5 are implementing Reading Workshop, embracing and encouraging a culture of reading for our students. With the help of Mrs. Allison students are presented with a variety of lessons that encourage and promote the use of literature to help extend their thinking. We encourage you to help foster this “culture of reading” at home. Visiting the MUS library before school, 8:00-8:25, to check out books is a wonderful way to actively promote this love for reading with your child.
OTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION
School Day Begins
When arriving at school, students are asked to drop off backpacks at the hooks by the classrooms, and head up to the playground. When the warning bell rings at 8:25, students are expected to make their way to their classes, so they are in their seats and ready to start the day at 8:30. Since teachers are often attending before school meetings, and there is not supervision in the courtyard, students need to go to the supervised areas before school. Thank you for helping them remember this routine.
Communication Between Teacher and Parents
Email is the quickest and most efficient form of communication. Almost all parent communication from the third grade team and your child’s teacher will be via email. You will find school-wide information in the Friday Folder. The folder should be returned on Monday, but contents do not need to be returned unless specified.
Absences
- Planned: Email the attendance website: [email protected]
- Unplanned (illness): Make sure to email regarding attendance by 8:30 am. If your child is ill, his/her homework is to rest and get well. If they have energy they can read, practice math, or write. Please be sure they feel above 97% before they return to school and any fever has not been present for 24 hours. That way we all stay healthier.
- Same day absence/tardy: Dentist or doctor appointment – please let the office know ahead of time, and make sure to check your child in and out at the office.
- Missed schoolwork because of a family trip
- IMPORTANT: You must sign your child out, in the office, before you come to get him/her. Valerie or Med must give you a note to give to the teacher before your child can leave with you. If the teacher is not in the classroom, please refer to the classroom schedule posted on the board to see if he/she might be at a specialists’ class.
Health and Wellness Policy
Per the Wellness Policy at MUS, please do not send candy to school. Healthy, nutritious meals are much more beneficial for the growth and development of your children. Please do not bring any treats to share with the class. The room parent will organize any class or grade level celebrations for the year.
Additionally, Mr. Ranii will keep you up to date with Covid protocols. If your child has cold symptoms, please keep them home from school.
Birthdays
Birthdays are acknowledged, but not celebrated in class. Please do not bring treats or party invitations to school. The student directory is a great place to find contact information for other families.