St. Joseph's School
Third Grade - "The Transition Year"

Third Grade – “The Transition Year”

 Third grade is an exciting year full of many new experiences for your child.  The third grade is commonly called, the transition year, which means children are progressing from being in a primary grade to becoming intermediate students.  Classwork undergoes many visible changes with its style and length.  At this time students are not so much learning to read as they are reading to learn.  Also, students will begin to learn the importance of working cooperatively as well as becoming more independent.  They will need to be more focused on becoming responsible for their own work and the routines of school.  With a much more heightened level of independence children will need to be encouraged on a daily basis through the use of a variety of life skills.  These skills will greatly help ensure your child’s success in the years to come.

 Report Cards

 Grading or student assessments change in the 3^rd grade.  Instead of numbers (1- Needs to develop, 2- Developing the skill, 3-Proficient in skill) letter grades are introduced to measure a student’s progress against the Diocesan/State Learning Standards.  In 3^rd grade the grading scale would be as follows:

    A=90-100%
    B=80-89%   
    C=70-79%
    D=60-69%   
    F=Below 60%

 Curriculum

 Language Arts and Reading

 Third Grade utilizes the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

• Weekly spelling units
• Guided Reading
• Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop
• Vocabulary

 Social Studies

 The focus in Social Studies is on the impact of the individual on communities…state and nation.

• Citizenship and Government
• Geography
• Economics
• Maps

 Math

 A typical day of math challenges each student through Illinois Mathematics by Scott Foresman & Addison Wesley.

• Memorizing Multiplication Facts
• Understanding Time, Data, and Graphs
• Learning Division Concepts and Facts
• Measurement
• Probability and Statistics

 Science

 Science is taught by utilizing a variety of means to meet the needs of all learners.  These are done through inquiry based instruction, hands on lessons, and our textbook.

• Physical Science
• Earth Science
• Life Science

 Homework Policy

 As stated above, third graders should become more independent and personally responsible for their work, and they need support and encouragement from parents and teachers to accomplish this goal.  The homework we assign reflects third graders’ need to take responsibility for their work as well as their continuing need to have help from parents.

 Homework Expectations

 We expect each third grader to spend an average of thirty minutes per night engaged in homework.  The students are also expected to participate in recreational reading, either alone or with a family member for another fifteen to twenty minutes. 

 In addition to the above expectations, we will periodically assign other homework, which will include: 

• Review of concepts taught in class
• Problem solving activities
• Assignments designed to connect classroom skills to real-life experiences
• Unfinished work from the school day (as determined by the teacher)
• Additional enrichment

 A homework checklist will be sent home each night to help you keep track of assignments.  Each day, time will be set aside for the students to write down their homework and other important reminders.  It is a school requirement that these checklists go home each night, and are returned the next day.  Assignments will also be written on the board in the classroom each day.  This will make it easier for the students to copy down their daily assignments.  It should be noted that homework is not corrected for a letter grade.  It will be marked off as “complete” or “incomplete” and then reviewed for concept mastery, by the teacher, before it is returned.  Homework is expected to be reviewed by a parent before they bring it back to school.

 If a homework assignment is not completed satisfactorily or on time, the teacher will determine the consequence, which may include a parent contact, a note home with the expectation that the child will complete the assignment that night, spending recess inside working on the assignment, staying after school to complete the work, or using some other choice time to finish the assignment.

 Mike Shukis

 Principal