3rd Grade

About
Curriculum
Specials
Rules
Newsletter

Welcome to 3rd grade!

We offer an integrated curriculum, which motivates students to understand the connection between the classroom lessons and their personal call to faith and service.

Our teachers nurture each and every child building on confidence and self-image through hands on opportunities like special science projects and biography report presentations.  Service field trips and academic rigor give our students the basis they need for success and preparation for the coming years.

Science: Concepts that we will be covering throughout the year will be Investigating and Questioning, The Engineering Process, Plants and Animals, Ecosystems and Interactions, Changes to Earth’s Surface, People and Resources, Water and Weather, Earth and It’s Moon, Matter, and finally we will learn about Simple and Compound Machines.

In the spring we obtain fertile eggs, incubate them, and then watch them hatch and start to grow up. Students learn all about eggs, embryo development, the incubation process and chickens during this fun unit of study and experiments. Keep your fingers crossed that we are able to have the incubation part of this activity. We will be doing MANY of the activities that are involved in hatching chick even if we are not able to have the chicks in our room.

Religion: Our series “WE BELIEVE” has us learning about these FOUR main concepts: Jesus Gives Us the Church, We are Members of the Church, that The Church Leads Us in Worship, and We are Called to Discipleship.

Second Steps: Second Steps is a series that helps students develop empathetically towards other people’s feelings. They will also learn strategies to control their tempers and impulses.

Math: The GoMath series this year begins with the students reviewing how to round up and down. We also used compatible numbers as well as reading and creating graphs. We will move on to learn about multiplication, Division, fractions facts and strategies. Finally we will explore time, length, liquid volume, mass and two dimensional shapes.

Simple Solutions Math: The students will continue with the next level (Grade 3) in Simple Solutions Math. Each week they will be assigned four lessons to complete by Friday of that same week. These lessons will be graded and books will be returned on Monday. Please encourage your child to show their work in the boxes provided in the book. The students will also take weekly quizzes in Simple Solutions that have problems similar to the lessons completed each week.

Language Art: The ReadyGen reading series will have us looking at fiction and nonfiction selections and practicing different writing styles. Along with Ready Gen we use Modern Curriculum Press Phonics Series to help strengthen our knowledge about long and short vowels, initial and ending blend, compounds, syllables, diagraphs, r – controlled vowels, contractions, plurals, suffixes, dipthongs, diagraphs, prefixes, base words, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, homographs and lastly dictionary skills. Rounding out our language arts curriculum is our spelling series called Spelling Connection. Word lists are introduced and sent home on Monday to study at home. The students will take weekly assessments. The spelling words are used in analogies, to solve riddles, sort into syllables and many other activities. We have spelling homework on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Please be sure that your child completes the work NEATLY and returns it on time.

Other special projects that are included in our Language Arts

  • Dress- up biography presentations done in a Wax Museum Setting … parents are invited to attend.
  • President mobiles
  • Changes in time posters
  • Monthly memorized Poetry starting in September
  • Monthly Memorized Poetry starting in September.
  • Monthly book reports Starting in September

With the many changes that have been made throughout the school and due to COVID our specials will be on set days of the week rather than a rotating schedule as they had been in the past.

  • Monday: Spanish and Gym
  • Tuesday: Art
  • Wednesday: Gym
  • Thursday: Spanish
  • Friday: TLC

Our classroom rules are put in place to help everyone have a happy and successful school year.

1. Listen Carefully
2. Raise your hand and wait to be called on before speaking.
3. Follow all directions promptly.
4. Work QUIETLY!!
5. Respect yourself, others and property
6. Keep Social Distance
7. Wear a mask at all times

Homework:
Daily classwork that is not completed will automatically become homework and is due back the next day. Each day please spend at least 15 minutes listening to your child read out loud. Daily homework should take about 30 minutes. PLEASE be sure your child turns in their homework when it is due. Also be sure that their first and last names appear on the pages. These two items are GREAT habits to start in the younger grades and keep practicing throughout their lives.

Study, Homework and Organization
One of the biggest responsibilities your child will have this year is developing good study skills. Filling in the assignment notebook, first thing in the morning is a big part of developing these skills. As the day progresses homework assignments and special messages will be added at the end of the day. I will be checking everyone’s books and sending them home. Please be sure to sign the day’s page so that I know you have seen the entry your child has made.

As your child is doing their homework PLEASE encourage them to use their BEST handwriting and do their work NEATLY!!! PLEASE also be sure to read the directions with your child to be sure they understand what they need to do on the assignment. PLEASE be sure they complete all directions on the page.

Friday’s Folder
Tests, quizzes and many worksheets will be sent home in your child’s Friday folder. If any pages are marked “PLEASE CORRECT, FINISH and RETURN, please see that your child completes and returns them quickly. Be sure to sign the sheet that says you saw the graded work that your child brings home

Books and Learning Activities:
The Third Graders will be very busy leaners this year. Along with the regular curriculum will read numerous books, participate in STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Art and Math.) activities. Students will use chrome books to enhance all areas of the Third Grade learning environment.

Fieldtrips
This year the third grade will be doing field trips virtually. These trips have yet to be determined.

Tales From the Third Grade Classroom December 9th to 13th

Hello Everyone!  I hope you have had a great Weekend                                                Our PBIS Winner this week was Joaquin Cabezas.  Congratulations Joaquin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                         ...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom December 2nd to 6th

Hello Everyone!  I hope you have had a great Thanksgiving Break. In the classroom the students can earn PBIS tickets as they memorize the multiplication facts 0 – 12.  As each student memorizes these facts, they can ask me to drill them with flashcards.  Once they have done so without a mistake, they earn a...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom November 18th to 22nd

Hello Everyone!  I hope you have had a great weekend. We had have had three more classmates earn their way into the iReady 100% club (click the link to see our new members) so far this month:  CONGRATULATIONS: Eva Totonchi, Olivia Rios and Frankie Navarrete!!  Keep going.  We have MANY more friends that are so...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom October 21st to 25th

Hello Everyone!  I hope you have had a great weekend. I have started a reward system to encourage the students to focus in and work hard on their iReady paths:  As a whole the class is working towards fun prizes:  The first whole class goal in READING is to score 80% or higher on lessons. ...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom October 7th to 11th

  Here’s what we will be doing in class this week: Religion:  The class will talk about the ways Jesus told us how much God Loves us.  We will also talk about the ways we learn about the Kingdom of God. Math:   We will begin Module 3 about learning to solve multiplication problems that have one...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom September 30th to October 4th

  Fun things to remember for the week: Thursday October 3rd:  Picture Day Here’s what we will be doing in class this week: Religion:  As a class we will talk about ways our understanding of how to live as Jesus’ disciples has strengthened.  We will look at ways we have heard about how Jesus tells us of...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom September 23rd to 27th

Hello Everyone, Fun things to remember for the week: Monday September 23rd:  Poem Presentations Today!!   Wednesday September 25th:  D4D at Antonino’s in La Grange.  I’ll be sending a flyer home.  Flag football at 4:30 Friday September 27th:  No School Teacher In- service Here’s what we will be doing in class this week: Religion:  We start every week...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom September 16th to 20th

Hello Everyone, We will continue our iReady Diagnostics this week starting at 9:30 on Monday September 16th.  Testing will continue on Friday September 20th.  PLEASE be sure your child has had a great night’s sleep and has eaten a good breakfast on these days.  Please also be sure to send a healthy snack and water...
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Tales From the Third Grade Classroom September 9th to 13th

Hello Everyone, Hope you all enjoy the long weekend!  It was GREAT to see so many of you FALL FEST.  We will continue spending time this week hearing presentations of the Summer Book Report projects we have 10 more to go. We will begin our iReady Diagnostics this week starting at 10:10 on Tuesday September...
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