Teacher: Mrs. Pam Martin
pamartin.teacher.390@patdioschools.org


Welcome to Third Grade and home of Flat Stanley!

Third grade will start book reports in September. The third grade activity/project and oral reports follow. Projects and oral reports will also be assigned in Science, S.S., Religion and other classes. Oral reports allow the children to stand in front of their classmates and discuss their projects. Oral presentations are part of the English Language Arts Standards. Projects allow children to use their imagination and creativity.

Additionally, we will read chapter books in reading groups and do activities for the stories we read. Third graders will also be assigned Independent Reading Records for each marking period. Each student will read a predetermined number of books and record what they have read on the reading record forms. The students are allowed to do most of the reading during their free time in class but the recording of the work will be done at home. Saint Michael School follows the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards as well as the Paterson Diocese Curriculum.

Third grade math standards require a lot of practicing and memorization. During math, we will have seat work, cooperative learning groups and math centers. We will begin the year with adding and subtracting larger numbers. (But we will continue adding and subtracting throughout the year!) We will also study in math: place value, rounding, comparing numbers, graphing, multiplication, (third graders will be timed tested on each table), division, division with a remainder, two digit multiplication and division, long division, time on the clock, time before and after the hour, fractions and regions, equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting fractions, changing mixed numbers into whole numbers, adding decimals and more!

During Creative Writing, the third graders will work in cooperative learning groups and learn about a personal narrative, how-to-articles, a description, a personal letter, and persuasive writing. These topics as well as third grade grammar are all part of the English Language Arts Standards.

Our class will be very busy when it comes to third grade Science! We will learn about Parts of the Plant, Vertebrates, Invertebrates, Life Cycles, Animal Habitats, Food Chains, The Water Cycle and The Solar System.

Students should be prepared each week for their “weekly” tests in Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary. Encourage your child to always have a chapter book of their “choice” to read with them during the day. Remember, the more you read, the better your read!

Tests will be sent home on a weekly basis in a “test packet” stapled together. Please look for the packet of papers once a week (unless there is a holiday) to sign and send back to me.

Throughout the year, I use the word “responsibility” a lot on a daily basis. Children need to have responsibility to finish their classwork, homework and projects on time. Students need responsibility to copy their homework down correctly each day and bring home the right books to do their homework and study. Please use the word “responsibility” in your home, as well, with your third grader.

Homework assignments will be written in students homework books daily. Copying from the Smartboard is an important skill to develop.

Our class will be using the Smartboard on a daily basis for different subjects. We use our Smartboard to color-code different subjects to make it easier to learn, play educational games, watch educational DVDs and the internet for educational topics.