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Charlemagne Elementary School

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  1. CLASS INFORMATION
  2. 3rd Grade

3rd Grade

Teachers

Grade 3 Curriculum

Ongoing Curriculum: Literacy skills, daily French and English language review, reading comprehension and fluency, writing process, poetry, spelling, math fact drills, mathematical probability, mathematical problem solving, penmanship, key boarding.

Monthly Overview

September: Introduction to proofreader’s marks, statements and questions, capitalization and punctuation, commands and exclamations, characters, setting, plot, spelling: short vowels and CVCe words, graphing, how to use a French/English and English dictionary, how to ask French questions and use complete sentences, electricity, Second Step: safety and empathy. Finding places on a map, and we’ll study communities.

October: Subject and predicates, complete sentences, fragments, run-on sentences, compound sentences, electricity, two-dimensional geometry, problem solving, addition & subtraction math fact drills, looking at masculine/feminine and proper nouns, Second Step: continuing with empathy, the parts of our bodies and their functions, line and shape in art, and reading about famous places in the United States.

November: Common and proper nouns, singular and plural nouns, possessive nouns, commands and exclamations, continue geometry, and look at parts of a set, metric system, rounding numbers, look at noun articles, fact and opinion. Second Step: impulse control, and continue with line and shape in art. Exploring features of land and water

December: Sentence combining with nouns, keeping my body fit, multiplication, review French plural nouns, Second Step: impulse control. Community: diversity and different cultures.

January: Action verbs present-tense verbs, commas in dates and places, subject-verb agreement, rocks and minerals science unit, multiplication and division, estimation of prices, Second Step: anger management, study color, learn about immigrant migration to the United States.

February: Mardi Gras, finish rocks and minerals, multiplication and division, weight, estimation. Homophones, verb tense (English), Second Step: complete anger management, study color, learn about map keys and draw simple maps. Famous people who helped the community.

March: Verbs, division, write negative sentences in French, area model of fractions, medicines and other drugs, life in other countries.

April: State benchmark testing in reading and math, plant growth and development, possessives, figurative language, descriptive writing, poetry in French, conjugating the verb être (to be) in French, measurement, perimeter and area, learning about scale. What an economy is and how it works.

May: Pronouns, contractions, state benchmark testing in reading and math, continue plant growth and development, finish fractions, conjugating the verb avoir (to have) in French, writing paragraphs in French, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, orient oneself using simple maps, space and form 3-D paper sculpture, global trade and the effects on our community.

June: Sentence combining with adjectives and adverbs, comma usage, words with suffixes, probability, conjugating the verb faire (to do, make), Greek root words, writing a magazine article, health in the community, creating various maps, public services in our community and how they work.

Weekly Letter

A classroom newsletter will be available on the first school day of each week. It includes weekly curriculum activities, upcoming events, and general information. A paper copy is sent home with your student upon request. Please let us know immediately if you are not receiving this information.

Home Folders and Agendas

Students have a home folder to transfer important papers to and from school. Folders should always come to class and go home each day. Items in the pockets are for your review and sometimes require a signature. Remove papers daily to help your child stay organized and allow them to begin homework as soon as it is received.

Specialist Schedules & Recess

Physical Education takes place on Mondays and Tuesdays. Be sure that children wear appropriate footwear on these days. Recesses are typically at 10:00 a.m., 11:20, and 1:00 or 1:30 p.m. Lunch begins at 11:40 a.m.

Homework & Expectations

Homework is given on the last school day of the week and is due at the end of the following week. An exception is the Weekly Reading Chart. If there is no school on Friday, the chart is due the first day of the following week.

Each week your child should bring home a weekly reading chart (try to read 20 minutes per day) and math assignment. French spelling words are sent home every other week. At times there will be additional homework that goes along with a unit of study. Later in the year, students may also receive writing homework. These additional assignments will follow the same schedule as above and will be mentioned in the weekly newsletter. You can also check the top of assignments for due dates.

Late work is discouraged. We ask that students turn in their work by the due date. Please help create good habits by encouraging your child to get work in on time. Also, timely work makes our lives simpler—we do not need to track down missing assignments, make additional copies, etc. If directions are unclear on any assignment, give us a call or send an email.

Students will feel less stress if they are encouraged to complete a portion of their homework each evening to commit the concepts to memory. Waiting until the last minute usually causes frustration and tears, and difficulty remembering the concept later.

Star of the Week

Each child is scheduled to be the “Star of the Week” at some point throughout the year. A child can share anything about his or her life with words and pictures. Each student will fill out a “Star of the Week” poster and return it to school the Monday they are scheduled to present. Students can mention their favorite book, color, vacation, etc. The “Star of the Week” students for the upcoming week are posted on our website under the link “Star of the Week” with the date they are expected to present their poster.

Mystery Reader

Mystery Reading is a way that instills a life long love of learning and reading into each of our students’ lives. If you wish to be a “Mystery Reader” in our class please sign up for a date on the sign up sheet in Mme. King’s room. We will invite “Mystery Readers” into our room on select Fridays throughout the year at 9:40. The “Mystery Reader” for the week will e-mail Mme. King 5 clues about themselves to be revealed to the students throughout the week. On the final day the “Mystery Reader” will appear and read a story to the whole class. There are select dates available for both the red and blue classes throughout the year.

Absences

If you know your child will be absent, please let the office know. We do our best to relay your messages, but the office is responsible for excusing absences. If your child has a long-term illness or injury, please contact us.

Birthdays

To avoid hurt feelings, we do not allow birthday presents or invitations to be passed out to children during school hours. This includes passing items out in the breezeway before and after school. Thank you for your support of this policy.

If you would like to recognize your child’s birthday at school, please let us know 24 hours in advance. We can reserve five minutes at the end of the school day. No food, including candy, is to be distributed.

Donations

We give out small prizes to children for the reading and math incentive programs and are always willing to take donations to use as rewards. Remember, one person’s junk is another third grader’s prize. We also love chapter books from 2nd to 5th grade levels (French books too). The school secretary will be happy to give you a tax receipt for any items of value.
Field Trips

During field trips students will be transported in school buses. We encourage you to chaperone, but regulations stipulate that siblings may not accompany us.

Subjects

  • This year we are using the art curriculum, Art Connections. This series provides instruction in the use of:

    • Line
    • Shape
    • Color
    • Texture

    And encourages:

    • Exploration
    • Creativity
    • Self-expression

    You are invited to our hallway gallery to see our masterpieces.

  • We will use a variety of materials to cover French language arts. Students use a program called Arrimage—a comprehensive curriculum that contains:

    • Reading in French
    • Writing in French
    • Speaking French
    • Singing in French 

    The children will complete worksheets, learn poems, and have many opportunities to play with the language in order to master pronunciation.

    The program also emphasizes:

    • Communication and self-expression in French
    • Acquisition and usage of vocabulary
    • Idioms
    • Everyday French expressions

    Children will be required to speak only French in the classroom beginning in December or January.

    Students will enhance their French language arts program by using iPods to give them more opportunities to hear French at home by recording stories, songs, and vocabulary. The iPods must be returned at the end of the school year.

  • The third grade health text focuses on:

    • Safety
    • Nutrition
    • Fitness
    • Germs
    • White blood cells, as mandated by the state of Oregon for AIDS prevention education

  • Students will use a variety of French textbook this year to be sure their education is closely aligned with the new Oregon state math benchmarks. We will also occasionally use activities from a book called Mathland which program compliments the French text very nicely, but the students do not have a book from which to work. However, Mathland does an excellent job of introducing concepts through exploratory work, and the French texts provide students with the opportunity to apply what they know and practice for mastery. The French books also helps students with their French skills, because they will have to read story problems and answer them in French.

    Students are expected to use selected French textbooks in combination with activities drawn from a variety of other sources, depending on the instruction. These are designed to:

    • Compliment the core French textbooks
    • Introduce content through exploratory work
    • Apply their knowledge through the class textbook(s)
    • Hone their mathematical skills to achieve a mastery of third grade concepts
    • Read, and find the answers to, a variety of story problems

    Students will be tested at the beginning of each unit to determine if they are already at a third grade mastery level. If a student is found to be proficient they will be provided with additional enrichment opportunities, so they may continue to grow without boredom or isolation.

  • Math problem solving will be addressed in French class. Students will:

    • Have problem solving homework assignments written in English
    • Recieve systematic instruction on how to solve mathematical story problems
    • How to clearly explain thinking and reasoning

    The curriculum was developed by Oregon educators to meet the needs of students taking the Oregon Statewide Problem Solving Assessment.

  • Student assignments are to be neatly written in manuscript penmanship. Writing is a form of communication, and sloppy work may make it difficult to understand what message is being communicated. We ask that you please encourage the development of your student’s penmanship in the home, as well as in the classroom.

    Students will:

    • Be introduced to D’Nealian cursive penmanship (a continuation of the K-2 D’Nealian manuscript writing)
    • Learn how to write similarly shaped letters
    • Practice appropriate writing posture
    • Begin to break negative handwriting habits
    • Learn appropriate pencil manipulation

  • Reading is a vital life skill that students will engage in during a significant portion of the English section of the day. Our adopted language arts program that all grade levels are using is called Treasures. A few of its many components include:

    • Furthering vocabulary knowledge
    • Improvement in grammar
    • Developing fluency
    • Proficiency in third grade writing
    • Group activities to demonstrate and introduce a variety of skills
    • Group practice and discussion
    • Practicing in groups, or “centers”

  • Students will receive a word list to study from in French every other week. This list is provided with the goal of giving students the opportunity for additional practice. Students’ lists may include vocabulary and high-frequency words that are used consistently within the classroom.

    English spelling lists differ in that it is catered to the needs of individual students. The lists will consist of words that those students may struggle with the most. Most word study will occur in the classroom during our group time and morning work.

  • We will study science through our various themes, as well as three important units. These units were developed by the National Science Resources Center and include:

    • Plant Growth and Development
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Electricity

    Students will develop skills in:

    • Observing, measuring and identifying properties
    • Seeking evidence
    • Recognizing patterns and cycles

    Each unit includes many hands-on activities, and they have been an exciting addition to our science curriculum.

  • Third grade social studies learning will focus on an understanding of what it means to be a citizen, and a variety of basic government processes. These may include:

    • A study of local government, particularly of Lane Country and Eugene’s history
    • The basic elements of the federal government
    • What the three branches of the government are for
    • What citizenship really means
    • What it means to be a citizen
    • What civic duties really are

  • In third grade, we use the Process Approach to Writing. This approach consists of a series of five basic steps, including:

    1. Planning and prewriting
    2. Preparing a rough draft 
    3. Revisions
    4. Editing
    5. Publishing or sharing

    All of these steps will be completed with the use of our classroom’s “Writing Workshop” center. We believe it is important for students to understand that a well-written story, letter, etc., requires more than a single attempt. The final product is a sum of a process in which the ending is often unknown to even its author.

    Sometimes creative ideas will be more important than punctuation. Because of this, there will be occasions when students are only required to complete some or none of the above steps.

    Please be aware that we do not correct all writing errors. We prefer to focus on the particular skills students have learned, and how they can be improved. As a result of this, expectations may increase as we move through the year. At the beginning of the year the focus is on:

    • Ideas
    • Writing between the margins
    • Neatness
    • When to capitalize a word
    • Punctuation’s place in a sentence

    Forming a paragraph and writing supporting details will become the focus later in the year

  • This year students will learn how to touch–type or keyboard. We use the typing program All the Right Type to learn:

    • Home-row position
    • Correct posture
    • Efficient keystrokes

    If you are interested in having your child type at home the BBC has a fun, free, and silly keyboarding program on their website which students have enjoyed in years past. The program is called Dance Mat Typing and it can be found here