Open House

1
Open House

• Mrs. Browns Third Grade Class

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Goals for Children

• Learn to work together cooperatively and help
  others.
• Organize and take responsibility for themselves,
  their work, and their actions.
• Become problem solvers and critical thinkers.
• Develop a love for reading and writing.

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What to look for each night..

• BINDERS Check binder pocket for any parent
  information each night. Also, please check the
  agenda each night.
• TAKE HOME FOLDER I will send home graded work
  and PTA letters in the Take Home folder on
  Friday. You will also receive your childs weekly
  behavior sheet. Please sign and return it in the
  folder on Monday.
• BLOG The blog is there with games for students
  to practice skills. It also has an updated
  specials calendar.

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Homework!

• Language Arts homework will be sent home each
  Monday. It will review our pattern words and
  offer grammar or reading practice. ?
• Weekly Reading Log Nightly reading is
  imperative to build fluency, vocabulary, increase
  comprehension, as well as increase written
  expression.
• Math homework is assigned most nights, except for
  Fridays.
• Please look for assignments written down in your
  childs agenda. They will have something written
  down each night!!
• Homework should take about 30 minutes. If it is
  taking your child an excessive amount of time,
  please let me know.

5
Classroom Behavior

• Class Meetings We meet most afternoons for a
  Class Meeting. This is where we talk about class
  events, issues, and even offer strategies to
  solve problems.
• Bucket Fillers We will encourage one another by
  being Bucket Fillers. Students will practice
  ways of kindness by filling other students
  imaginary buckets. (Idea from How Full Is Your
  Bucket?)
• Lunch Bunch Students will work together with
  their table members to earn Positive Points for
  the group. This is to encourage cooperation.
  The group with the most points each week will
  come back to the room to eat during lunch on
  Friday.
• Weekly Evaluation Sheets Students are able to
  monitor their behavior over a period of time.
  Consequences for not following our classroom
  rules are in their binder.

6
School Procedures

• Transportation changes MUST be in writing and to
  the front office by 130. Do not e-mail me or
  leave voice messages concerning transportation
  changes. You may call or fax the office, as well.
• Please let me know if you are signing your child
  out early (if possible) so that I can have them
  ready.
• Please make sure you sign in when you are
  visiting the school to volunteer. ?
• All students must be signed in and out from the
  office! Even if you are leaving the classroom
  from a field trip or a class activity, you must
  go upstairs and sign them out. At times, we will
  have a sign out sheet in the room.

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Absences/Tardiness

• If you know your child will be absent, please
  notify me in advance. I also ask that you send a
  note upon their return. On the fifth absence, you
  will receive a notification of 5 absences. (Not
  from me, from Cobb County)
• Tardy students must sign in at the office. Our
  instructional day begins at 750. Having your
  child ride the bus in the morning, ensures that
  they will be on time! ?

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Snacks and Birthdays

• On your childs birthday, you may send in a
  special treat (cupcakes, brownies, cookies, etc.)
  if you wish. Please notify me in advance if you
  plan on sending something in. We will be eating
  the special treat during snack time. We will not
  eat/celebrate at lunch. Please make sure treats
  are pre-cut and ready to serve. Many parents just
  send the snack to school in the morning with the
  child. If you choose to bring it, please drop it
  off in the office and your child can walk up and
  get it.
• Your child should have a healthy snack
  (crackers, fruit, bars, etc.) here at school each
  day. We eat snacks at 900

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Communication with me..

• Best way to contact me is through e-mail. I check
  it throughout the day. Please note that I am
  teaching during the day, so I may not be able to
  get back to you until that afternoon or the next
  day.
• nikki.brown_at_cobbk12.org
• I do check my voicemail, but not daily, so please
  do not leave any time sensitive information as a
  message. ?

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Grading Scale

• 3 Meets Standards
• 2- Working towards meeting the standards
• 1- Limited progress.. Does not meet standard

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Our Schedule

• 800-850 Specials
• 850-1015 Math
• 1015-1103 Readers Workshop
• 1103-1133 Lunch
• 1133-1150 Skills Review/ Word Study
• 1200-1220 Recess
• 1220-110 Writers Workshop
• 110-145 Science/ Social Studies/ Health
• 145-155 Pack Stack
• 155-210 Class Meeting/ Read Aloud
• 210 Dismissal

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Reading Workshop

• Focus Lesson
• We will begin our reading time with a mini-lesson
  to discuss, model, and share the strategies or
  skills we are working on.
• Activity Time/Independent Reading
• Read Independently/Practice skill from
  mini-lesson Students will use sticky notes to
  track their thinking. Many times I tell them
  what thinking I would like them to track/
  share.
• Guided Reading- Small reading groups that are
  differentiated based on readiness and skills.
• Reading JournalsConsistent dialogue between the
  student and teacher about literacy.
• Conferring With Students I will meet with
  individuals or small groups to practice a
  particular reading strategy.
• Students must have their just right book each
  day for Readers Workshop!

13
Word Study

• During word study, we study specific spelling
  patterns.
• Excellent practice can be found at
  www.spellingcity.com. You will find this link as
  well as the directions to access each Word Sort
  on my blog.
• Students will also have a small Spelling
  Notebook that will be kept in the spelling
  section of their binder. This will have 5
  additional weekly spelling words.

14
Writing Workshop

• The Focus Lesson
• The focus-lesson is where I teach a writing
  skill, model a technique, and reinforce a
  strategy. After the focus lesson, students work
  in their Writer's Folder to practice the skill,
  technique, or strategy. During our writing time,
  students will be engaged in writing through
• writing
• peer revision
• peer editing
• conferencing
• publishing pieces, and
• scoring unknown author pieces. 
• Genres we will cover in writing this year
• Narrative Writing
• Opinion Writing
• Informational Writing

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Mathematics

• Mini Lessons I introduce new skills or review
  important skills and strategies.
• Practice Math Rotations (Differentiated to meet
  individual needs) Students spend time applying
  the skills and strategies learned during the
  mini-lesson. Students work with partners, in
  small groups with the teacher, and other times
  independently.
• Closing Students will join back together to
  share or have discussions about struggles they
  experienced, successes, new knowledge gained, or
  any a-ha moments.
• Interactive Math Journals / Problem Solvers
  Journals
• Addition and Subtraction Strategies
• Multiplication and Division
• Geometry
• Fractions
• Measurement
• Elapsed Time
• Data Analysis

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Science and Social Studies Interactive Journals

• Rocks and Minerals (Fossils Soil)
• Heat/Magnets
• Georgia Habitats
• Map Skills
• Greece/Democracy
• Local, State, and National Government
• Economics
• American Heroes
• Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Paul
  Revere, Cesar Chavez, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyndon
  B. Johnson, Mary McLeod Bethune, Thurgood
  Marshall, Franklin D. Roosevelt,

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Upcoming Events!

• CogAT testing October 7-9
• ITBS testing October 10-17
• Conference Week October 20-24
• Tellus Museum November
• 3rd Grade Market Day December 12
• Science Day- February 27
• 3rd Grade Economics Day April 2
• End of Grade (EOG) testing April 15-21

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Thank you for coming

• I have truly enjoyed getting to know your
  children and I look forward working with them
  this year!