Are You Ready for Some Football?

Dear Third Grade Families,

Are you ready for some football? What a wonderfully busy weekend it was between college football games and the new NFL season starting. As we know with athletes, coaches always tell their players that practice makes perfect. However, in the third grade classrooms, we are taking a cue from our new Spanish teacher, Maestra Bustamante, and using her saying,
PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT! 

The third grade brings many new adventures and challenges for our students, as well as their families. The level of rigor increases immensely, as does the homework load and importance of testing. This fosters the ideal of responsibility. We are asking for your partnership over the next few weeks and throughout the school year, as we prepare and take our entering STAR Reading and Math assessments and ITBS assessments. Please know, that both these assessments not only give us an idea of where your child is academically, but it helps us, the teachers, plan lessons for the future. We ask that you do not remove your child from school for any reason during these important times. Once they have arrived at school and have begun their test, they cannot return to it. They must complete it in one sitting. We will be working on practice tests this week to better prepare our students.

• STAR Math Testing - Tuesday, September 9th **POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE PROGRAM STAR.**  
• STAR Reading Testing - Thursday, September 11th 
• ITBS Testing - September 22nd - October 2nd 

Monthly Book Report 
Last week, your child brought home the directions and template for their September Book Report. Please have your child pick from the list of recommended books or another book within the genre of realistic fiction. All book reports are due Tuesday, September 30th.  If a book report is late, points will be deducted.

Accordion Folders 
Parents, please do not empty out your child's accordion folders unless it is in the 'homework' section. We had several students not prepared for class last week due to work being taken out and discarded from their accordion folder. The majority of the time, once we have finished a paper or packet in class, we will tell the students that the paper can go home and stay there. We are asking for your help on this, so that we aren't needing to create extra copies on a regular basis. We are diligently working with the students on the ideal of responsibility and accountability for their personal materials.

ELA (English Language Arts)



Our spelling skill for the week is VCe words. (Vowel-consonant-silent e word patterns)
Our grammar skill for the week is a continuation from last week, capitalization and punctuation.
Our reading skill for the week is on conclusions.

SPELLING WORDS
Parents, please know that each week, your child will have 4 to 5 words written in their agendas. These words are the ones that are considered review words and challenge words, and they will be one hundred percent on the spelling test on Friday. The other 13 to 14 words are subject to change from Monday's pre-test to Friday's test. We do this for two reasons. One, we want our students to not just memorize the spelling words, but to instead, understand the spelling skill. Two, we want them to then practice that skill and to be able to apply it. Each week, your child will work with the words from the pre-test through sorting activities, online games, and flash cards.  The flash cards are sent home on Tuesdays and are a great way for your child to practice and study.

There will be a spelling, reading comprehension and vocabulary assessment on Friday, September 12th. 

Math
The students will complete their studies on data analysis.  
Your children have now completed lessons on the following concepts:

• taking a survey, creating a tally chart on the survey's data, and then creating a bar graph from those results

• bar graphs

• tally charts

• pictographs

• line plots 

Later this week, we will begin our lessons on place value.  Please know, that we will be using the Singapore methodology as we move into our place value lessons and through out the year.  Also know, that the children will consistently  have nightly math homework  to assist them in practicing their math concepts.  Dreambox has been purchased for the school this year!  Beginning this week, every student is expected to practice on Dreambox at least three times per week in fifteen minute sessions.  Completing your Dreambox sessions over the weekends is acceptable. If students do not complete their math homework, it will be documented inside their agendas, points will be adjusted,  and we will have the students forfeit their lunch recess to complete their missing assignment.  It's imperative that your child consistently completes their math homework in order to insure mastery of mathematical concepts and mathematical growth at the end of the school year. 
 Remember, practice makes permanent!


Social Studies

We are moving right along in our Geography unit, and will switch our focus this week to land forms. We will begin our week with watching a short video from brainpopjr.com and taking notes on the variety of land forms. We will make flash cards to assist with the definition and illustration of the different land forms.

Religion

Your children will continue to work through their DWP skill lessons by focusing on skill #2, Following Directions.
Homework

We are A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N-S!

I Can Learn.

I Can be Independent.

I Can Give My Very Best.

I Can Be My Best Self.

I Can Be A Kid For Others!

• Nightly read and log it!
• Grammar review pages (twice a week)
• Math skill sheet
• Visit Dreambox 3 times per week in 15 minute sessions, weekends are acceptable.
• Continue working on monthly book report, due September 30th