Welcome to Mrs. Luallen's
Site
Here we are at the beginning of the second quarter with the winter holidays right around the corner. They say that time flies when you are having fun, and I am enjoying this school year. The children are a delight to teach.
I would like to keep an open line of communication between home and school. If at anytime you wish to get a message to me, you can write it in the agenda book or call the school to schedule an appointment. I would be happy to meet with you upon request. Please use the email link above sparingly.
Third graders will be expected to:
-always do their best.
-write in cursive.
-write neatly.
-write in complete sentences when answering questions.
-correctly use capitalization and punctuation.
-spell words correctly.
What is our schedule???
8:45 - 9:15 Children arrive, sharpen pencils, get set for the day
9:15 Announcements and Attendance
9:25 Math
10:45 Specials
Day 1 -3 - 5 Physical Education
Day 2 Music
Day 4 Technology Lab
Day 6 Art
11:20 Social Studies or Science (alternating schedule)
11:57 - 12:22 Lunch
12:22 Reading and Language Arts
1:30 Accelerated Reader
2:30 Read to or Physical Activity
3:00 Prepare for home
Accelerated Reader
and
Reading Skills
The children are given one hour of AR time in the classroom on a daily basis. They are expected to read an additional 30 minutes at home everyday, including weekends. Children who wish to attend the January AR Celebration must reach their point goal and have an average comprehension score of 85% or higher. You will continue to recieve a weekly progress report, however you will now have daily access to your child's AR progress by using the website, PIN, and password that will be sent home in a letter which will be in the envelop with your child's report card.
Reading skills covered in class include making predictions, purpose for reading, supporting details, Inference, chronological order, compare and contrast characters and settings, comprehension, sequence of events, cause and effect, main idea, details, and vocabulary (Wordly Wise).
AR Levels
Independent: Earn 10 points from books that you have earned an 85% or higher score.
Super Reader: The points for this level are on books you have read after achieving the Independent Reader level. Read 3 books at level 2.0 or higher, worth at least 1 point each, and score 85% or higher on them. Earn a total of 5 points.
Super Reader 2: Same requirements as Super Reader but also read books from each of the following genres: Animals, Humor, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Real People, Sports, Realistic Fiction, and Poetry.
Super Reader 3: Same requirements as Super Reader but also read books from each of the following genres: Biography, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, and Poetry.
Advanced Reader: The points for this level are on books you have read independently after achieving Super Reader 3. Read 3 books at level 3.0 or higher, worth at least 2 points each, and score 85% or higher on them. Earn a total of 6 points.
Advanced Reader 2: Same requirements of Advanced Reader but also read books from each of the following genres: Biography, Fairy Tale, Folk Tale, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Sports, and Poetry.
Advanced Reader 3: Same requirements as Advanced Reader but also read books from each of the following genres: Biography, Fantasy, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Legend, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Tall Tale, and Poetry
Science
This quarter we will complete our study of "Processes that Shape the Earth" and "Earth and Space."
Language Arts
We will work on writing in cursive, writing expository essays, and writing narrative essays. We will make a pre-writing plan, discuss word choices, use adjectives, and work on noun-verb agreement. Sentence structures will be more complex and varied. Daily Bites, an editing program, will be used to improve editing skills, and Drops in the Bucket worksheet will help with other language areas.
Narrative and expository essays will be graded on a scale from 1 - 6. The following rubric will be used to assess third grade narrative and expository writings:
*6 Points
The writing is focused, purposeful, and reflects insight into the writing situation. The paper conveys a sense of completeness and wholeness with adherence to the main idea, and its organizational pattern provides for a logical progression of ideas. The support is substantial, specific, relevant, concrete, and/or illustrative. The paper demonstrates a commitment to and an involvement with the subject, clarity in presentation of ideas, and may use creative writing strategies appropriate to the purpose of the paper. The writing demonstrates a mature command of language (word choice) with freshness of expression. Sentence structure is varied, and sentences are complete except when fragments are used purposefully. Few, if any, convention errors occur in mechanics, usage, and punctuation.
Social Studies
We will be studying about communities, citizenship and government this quarter. We will be learning what it was like to be a Pilgrim as we simulate life on the Mayflower and at Plymouth Colony.
Geography Olympics will be assigned four times per quarter and is intended as a tool for gaining knowledge not only in geography but in research skills. Geography Olympics worksheets are given out on Mondays and are due on Thursday morning of that week. The children are not competing with other students for points, but will be rewarded each time they accummulate a multiple of 40 points on a quarterly basis. Geography Olympics will be scored and the points recorded weekly. The students are expected to complete this homework assignment which counts toward their Social Studies grade. If a child completes all of the worksheets to the best of their ability, even if they miss some answers, they will recieve a 100% for a grade in this area.
Math
Parents...thank you for working with your children to help them learn the multiplication facts. All of the students that began the school year in our class have successfully passed their timed tests through 10. Most have completed the facts through 12 and are working on increasing their rapid recall by working on large 100 fact sheets at ever increasing speeds. This quarter we will work on measurement, problem solving, multiplication, and division.
