3rd Grade Basics
Information for Parents of Third Graders at Alaiedon Elementary School
Dear Parents of a Third Grade Explorer,
I am very excited to have your child in my third grade class! I feel third grade is an important foundation building year in a child’s education. I plan to do everything I can to make this a positive learning experience for your child. In order to accomplish this I feel that we need to maintain two-way communication. I will try to keep you informed by means of emails, conferences, and report cards. In return, I am asking that you contact me when you have a question, a concern, or information regarding your child that you feel would be helpful for me to know. I can be reached by sending a note with your child, email, or a phone call to school.
Email: plaxtona@masonk12.net
Phone: (517) 676-6499
Class Website: www.PlaxtonGrade3.weebly.com
This booklet has been prepared to provide you with a variety of information. Including: Classroom Management Plan, Third Grade Basics, Reading with your Child, and Homework Policy during Vacations.
Looking forward to Exploring Third Grade with you!
Mrs. Andrea Plaxton
Mrs. Plaxton’s Discipline Procedures
This year will be an excellent learning experience for each child! During the first week of school we will come up with the classroom rules together. Our classroom rules will align with Alaiedon’s Student School Pledge promising to S.O.A.R. which stands for:
Be Safe
Respect Others
Have a Positive Attitude
Be Responsible
By giving the students an active role in making the rules for the classroom, they will gain an understanding as to why each rule is valuable to our community. After the rules are made there will be high expectations for each student; however, we will practice together what is expected during each routine and transition.
Each student will have his/her name on our classroom behavior chart. The chart provides a visual way for children to keep track of how they are doing throughout the day based on our color code. Our goal is to help foster their independence by helping them practice monitoring their own behavior by changing their clip if needed. If a problematic behavior persists, I will contact you and let you know what we are working on and, if necessary, we can come up with an additional behavior plan.
Positive Rewards
The children start each day on green, meaning they are on Ready to Learn! To reward positive behavior students move to Excellent Effort Blue, then to Way to Go Pink, and finally Super Student Purple.
- Verbal praise
- SOAR ticket
- Note home
- Whole Class Rewards: extra recess, video, hat day, comfy clothes day
Progressive Plan
The children start each day on green, meaning they are on Ready to Learn! If misbehavior occurs students are given non-verbal reminders, gentle verbal reminders, and often asked to redo a task correctly. If a problem persists, students will change their clip to Make Better Choices Yellow. If the problem continues they will move their clip to Teacher’s Choice Orange. If a child is on Teacher’s Choice Orange, they might conference with the teacher, owe time at recess, have time out of an activity, or make restitution. If the misbehavior continues, students will clip to Parent Contact. At this time the child may complete a “Think Sheet” and the parents will be contacted.
A Basic Key for the Color Chart:
Purple = Super Student
Pink = Way to Go!
Blue = Excellent Effort
Green = Ready to Learn
Yellow = Make Better Choices
Orange = Teacher’s Choice
Red = Parent Contact
Economy System
At the end of each day I will “pay” students based on their behavior for the day. Students are paid with plastic chips that they will keep in a container. Students are responsible for keeping track of their chips. One day a week students can buy things from the prize bin or buy reward coupons with their chips.
A Basic Key for the Number of Chips Earned Based on Behavior Chart Color:
Purple = 2 chips
Green, Blue, Pink = 1 chip
Yellow, Orange = nothing
Red = Owe 1 chip to teacher
THIRD GRADE EXPLORER BASICS
Recess
Please send your child dressed appropriately for outdoor recess daily. Writing your child’s name or initials on outdoor apparel really helps cut back on lost and found items. When there is snow, the school requires children to have boots and snow pants in order to play on the equipment, otherwise they must play on the blacktop only.
Friday Folders
Your child will bring home a “Friday Folder” each Friday, or the last day of the week. Please empty out and review any papers brought home and send the folder back to school on Monday. Any notes to the teacher or school should be placed inside the folder to ensure that we receive them. The children will be responsible for emptying the folder and placing papers and notes in the correct locations to be checked.
Homework
Homework is designed to reinforce what we are learning in the classroom. It is a great way for families to see what their child is learning and how they are growing academically. My hope is that students will become independent and responsible for their homework folder, finishing the work, and returning it each week. Homework is due on Thursdays.
Schedule/Transportation Changes
If your child is doing anything different from his or her typical dismissal routine, you must send a note to school with your child. Children who just tell us verbally that their family is picking them up, or riding a different bus, will have to follow their usual routine at dismissal. I am not always able to check my email during school hours, so if there is a sudden change with the end of the day, please contact the office 676-6499.
Birthday Celebrations
We love to celebrate birthdays in Third Grade and we make sure they are a big deal! Please contact me near your child’s birthday if you would like to send in a treat. Treats should be individual servings (ex. cookies, rice crispy treat, etc.). Due to time constraints and storage availability, ice cream, sheet cakes, and pizzas are not permitted. Please be sure to send in any necessary plates/napkins/utensils with the treat. For students whose birthdays are in the summer we can celebrate his/her half birthday with all of the trimmings! Please remember to keep birthday treats free from peanut products.
Sending balloon/flower bouquets is strongly discouraged. These become a distraction and can make other children feel sad if they do not receive one on their birthday. For the same reason, birthday party invitations are not to be handed out at school. Please mail or hand deliver any invitations and/or thank-you cards outside of school to avoid hurt feelings. Another option is to use our classroom website (www.plaxtongrade3.weebly.com) . Click on Class Directory to find parent emails.
As an alternative to sending in Birthday Treats, students may donate books to our classroom. We will celebrate the student’s birthday in our typical way and then read a part (or the back cover) of the book!
Things You Can Do AT Home To Help Your Child Be Successful in Third Grade
- Read to or with your child every day!
- Encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes a day!
- Encourage your child to practice multiplication and division facts to 10.
- Encourage your child to skip count!
- Encourage your child to write in a journal. He/she can choose to write about his/her own activities, family activities, family members, pets, trips, feelings, or special events. He/she can also be creative and use his/her imagination to create stories!
- Provide opportunities for your child to write shopping lists and messages.
- Take advantage of everyday opportunities for your child to tell time and count change.
Reading At Home With Your Child
Like most parents, you’re probably looking for ways to encourage your child to read more. You know that reading for fun is a wonderful activity that contributes to overall reading ability and to success in school. Here are some ideas for increasing your child’s reading ability.
- Read aloud to your child. Stop at several points in the story and ask your child what he/she thinks will happen next.
- Get your child his own library card. Take him/her to the public library at least once a month.
- Start a family newsletter for the immediate and extended family. Include special news or events that have happened to the family. (“Jackie and her class went on a trip to the museum last week!” After dinner or at another convenient time, have your child read the newsletter aloud.
- Establish a family reading time where everyone, including mom and dad, spend 15-30 minutes reading.
- Ask family members to listen to your child read aloud while they are cooking, cleaning, driving, or relaxing.
- The car is a good place for you to practice reading skills with your children. Have them read signs, billboards, and other words around them. On car trips, play word games such as rhyming and spelling.
- Read with your child. Alternate listening to your child read a page or paragraph with you and then reading a page or paragraph to your child.
- Have a reading party and invite children from the neighborhood. Ask each guest to dress as a character from his/her favorite book.
Dear Parents,
It is the policy of Mason Public Schools staff not to give specific homework assignments during vacations students take while school is in session. Please realize that there is no way you can duplicate the school experience on your family vacation. However, if parents wish the children to be involved with homework, here are some general kinds of activities I suggest:
Writing
- Encourage your child to keep a journal of his/her trip.
- Encourage your child to write a summary report the trip.
- Encourage your child to write a description of something, which he/she has seen.
- Encourage your child to write a postcard and send it to his/her class at our school address.
Math
- Encourage your child to figure the mileage per day and for the vacation.
- Encourage your child to keep track of what the trip or vacation costs are for the child per day or for the whole trip.
- Have some math games available, which can be played as the family travels or in the hotel room.
- Encourage your child to keep track of expenses and count money or change as appropriate.
Reading
- Encourage your child to read books about the area in which the family is visiting.
- Encourage your child to read books or articles by an author in the area where the family is visiting
- Encourage your child to read at least one fiction or non-fiction book.
- Encourage your child to read or draw a map of the area being visited.
- Encourage your child to use a map to trace your route and locate large cities. Observe changes in the environment and climate as you move from one location to another. Pay special attention to the rocks and soil, plants and animals, as well as forms of water.
Science
- Encourage your child to chart the temperature for each day.
- Encourage your child to do a likeness and difference chart, showing how the physical world is alike/different at home vs. new place.
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