All About Third grade!

Have a great summer!  

Fourth graders: Don't forget to read
The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming


Incoming third graders:

Don't forget to read My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles this summer. 

We will discuss the book the first few weeks of school. 

All about third grade

 *Westward Expansion - Students study Lewis & Clark, The Oregon Trail, and The Pony Express.  We celebrate with Oregon Trail Days where the students dress as pioneers and complete pioneer activities.  We finish with a pioneer lunch!

*The Rainforest - Each student becomes an expert on a chosen animal.  Some of the things the  unit covers: writing a research report, graphing, a poetry unit, learning about ecosystems, and a big celebration.

*Math - Some of the third grade objectives:  place value, multiplication, division, fractions, etc.  We use a lot of hands-on manipulatives and the laptops.

 * Science - The main units we study are: planets, plants, human body, simple machines, sound, and scientific methods.  We love to do experiments. and monthly STEM activities.

* Reading - Some of the novels we read: 100 Dresses, Lewis & Clark, The Whipping Boy, George's Marvelous Medicine, Charlotte's Web.  We work on comprehension, vocabulary, inferring, and other important reading skills. 

*Language - We study all parts of speech throughout third grade.  We complete writing assignments on: explanatory writing, poetry, historical fiction, research report, personal narrative, comparing and contrasting, and many many more. 

*Handwriting - We learn cursive in third grade!

St. Paul's third graders love being the older buddy to a toddler, salad bar at lunch, not having quiet time at lunch, Mrs. Everly as the music teacher, planners, and much much more!

Summer Requirements: Please see the information from Mrs. Jones as it relates to incoming 3rd and 4th graders.

Dear parents of lower school students,

Summer will be here soon. We've enjoyed spending this year with your child and watching him/her grow as a person and as a student. We hope this summer will bring lots of opportunities for your child to relax, unwind, spend quality time with friends and family, and to take in the great outdoors. We are also asking for your help in making sure your child spends a small amount of time practicing all the reading and math skills he or she learned this past year.

The teachers and I strongly believe that continued exposure and practice with these critical skills can help each student retain what he or she learned over the previous year and help prevent academic backslide. These summer homework suggestions/assignments also help teach students the importance of being responsible and managing their time. This year we are modifying the required third through fifth grade summer reading assignments that have historically been assigned and are asking students to use half of that time to practice math via the online accounts we have provided them. We ask all lower school students to participate in the summer and math practice assignments, but incoming first and second grade students will not receive grades for their practice. Our goal is to have students spend eleven hours this summer on academic tasks with the hope that half of the time will be utilized for math practice and half for reading; this could be broken down into an hour weekly or done in chunks of time that are more conducive to other summer activities. The majority of the grade for third though fifth grade students will focus on completion/participation, and, overall, the grade will be weighted in a manner that it will not have a significant impact on a child's first quarter grade.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at 816-268-6571 or at ljones@speds.org. I will be on maternity leave during June and July, but you can also contact your child's teacher from the previous year or either teacher in the grade your child is entering if you have any questions.

Below are the specific requests per grade level.

Second graders entering third grade (Required)

* The school has paid for an extension account to DreamBox so these incoming third grade students have access to this great resource over the summer, and we want them to take full advantage of it. We are asking students to spend five hours total on DreamBox over the course of the summer. The teachers will print the reports that document the length of time students spent using the program each week as well as the lessons they completed, and this data will be used to determine each child's first grade for third grade math. Students can access DreamBox at https://play.dreambox.com/login/39hq/stpeds on a computer or by downloading the DreamBox App on an Apple device and using St. Paul's access code 39hq/stpeds.

* We are also asking students to do 30 minutes of reading a week. As in year's past, we ask all students entering third grade and up to read an assigned book. Incoming third graders will receive a copy of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Garnnett to read over the summer. They will take a quiz over the book in August and will do other activities related to the book. A summer reading calendar has been provided so students can record how long they read and what they read.

Third graders entering fourth grade (Required)

* Students should take advantage of their extended access to Reflex learning and complete any of the multiplication and division math fact practice and games they have not completed throughout the school year. Teachers will print reports documenting the students practice and will use this information as each child's first grade for fourth grade math. If your child completed the Reflex program he or she now has access to a DreamBox account. During the last two weeks of school, Ms. Beilharz will be working with students who have these accounts to familiarize them with the system so they can fully utilize it over the summer.

* Like in years passed, students are asked to read, The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary. They should read the novel over the summer and be ready to take a quiz over the novel in August. They will also participate in class discussions and projects related to the book. Students should also complete their summer reading calendar and return this to their fourth grade teacher in August. Students should read for at least 30 minutes a week.

Below is the link to the summer reading calendar: