2010-2011 Syllabus for Grade 3    Term 1

Teacher: Jennifer Vincent

 English

Objectives: This is a general overview of what the teacher will teach and what the student is expected to master.

 The student will express, communicate, or evaluate ideas effectively.

The student will use an appropriate composing process (e.g., planning, drafting, revising,

editing and publishing/sharing) to compose or edit. . [Note: Editing will be tested under

competency four.]

      Planning • Use a variety of graphic organizers (e.g., Venn diagrams, bubble maps, story

        maps, simple outlines, etc.) to generate and organize ideas.

     Drafting • Transfer thoughts from graphic organizers and simple outlines into paragraphs.

     Revising • Revise paragraphs for organization, to add details, and to clarify ideas. 

     Editing • Edit paragraphs using a general rubric (e.g., grammar usage, punctuation, and

        sentence structure).

     Edit for correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling and word usage.

     Publishing/Sharing • Publish writing formally and informally using a variety of media.

 The student will compose narrative text with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

 The student will compose informational text and at least three supporting details.

       Letters, thank you notes, invitations

 The student will use Standard English to communicate.

 The student will use Standard English grammar to compose or edit.

     Nouns (e.g., singular, plural [including irregular forms], common, proper)

     Verbs, helping verbs and irregular verbs

     Prepositions

 The student will use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.

 End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation mark, comma)

 Periods in common abbreviations

         (e.g., titles of address, days of the week, months of the year)

 Commas (e.g., dates, addresses, greetings, closings)

 Colons (in notation of time)

 Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of the week, months of

     the year, holidays, titles, initials, the pronoun “I”)

 Spell words commonly found in third grade level text.

 The student will use correct and varied sentence structures.

 Analyze sentences to determine purpose (e.g., declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative).

 Compose simple sentences with compound subjects and/or compound predicates.

 Avoid sentence fragments.

Assessments: Test will be given weekly.  Spelling words are in the agenda planner or on Family Times page for nightly study. If a student is absent they will have 10 days to make up the test.  The final grade will include the following: English-40%, Spelling-30%, Writing-20%, and Common Term test-10%.

Homework/Assignments/Projects: Homework will be given nightly and will be due upon arrival the following day.

Course Requirements: Students are expected to participate in class and complete all class and homework assignments.

Reteaching and Retesting:  Re-teaching and Retesting:

PROCEDURE WHEN A STUDENT FAILS A TEST

A student who fails a test will be offered an opportunity for re-teaching and retesting within 10 days by the classroom teacher.  In that instance the teacher will send home a written notice.  Communication will take place between the teacher and the parent as to the re-teaching times and the date of the retest.  The student must attend the re-teaching sessions to be eligible to retest.  The higher grade of the two tests will be placed in the grading program in the computer.

PROCEDURE WHEN A STUDENT DOES NOT FAIL A TEST BUT THE PARENT/STUDENT WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST A RETEST

In accordance with our BPS District Re-teach/Re-test policy, a parent and/or student may initiate a request to the teacher for any test to be retaken (failing or not failing).  The parent should write a note to the teacher, preferably in the student planner or a note attached to the student planner requesting that the specific test be given again to the student.  The teacher will then notify the parent of the re-teaching assignment to be completed AT HOME by the student under the direction and assistance of the parent, the date the assignment is due to the teacher, and the date of the retest.  The assignment will be reviewed by the teacher prior to administering the retest to the student.

Re-testing requests must be made within 10 days of receiving the test grade. In addition, Activity Grades are not eligible for retesting under the current District policy.  Report card grades are final grades for the nine week term.  Those grades are not eligible for a retest as they are not within the 10 day time frame.

Additional Comments: Please review DOL and notes in Language section of binder for tests on Friday.

Reading

Objectives: This is a general overview of what the teacher will teach and what the student is expected to master.

The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning) skills to communicate.

 Continue to use knowledge of r-controlled letter-sound correspondences to decode unknown words.

 Read 300 to 400 high frequency and/or irregularly spelled words in connected text. (A third grader

 should read between 100 and 115 words correctly per minute in connected text by the end of

  third grade.)

 The student will use syllabication types (e.g., open, closed, r-controlled) to decode words.

 The student will manipulate and analyze root words and affixes (e.g., un-, re-, mis-, pre-, - s, - es, -ed,

 -ing) to analyze words.

 The student will identify and use antonyms.

 The student will use context to determine the meanings of unfamiliar or multiple meaning words.

 The student will use reference materials to determine the meaning or pronunciation of

 unknown words (e.g., elementary dictionary, glossary, thesaurus, electronic dictionary, teacher or peer   as a resource).

 The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of

 texts of increasing length, difficulty, and complexity.

 The student will use text features, parts of a book, text structures, and genres to analyze text.

 Text features – titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts, diagrams, etc.

  Parts of a book – title page, table of contents, glossary, index, etc.

 Text structures – sequential order, description, simple cause and effect.

 The student will analyze texts in order to identify, understand, infer, or synthesize information.

 Answer and generate questions about purposes for reading.

 Answer literal and inferential questions about main characters, setting, plot, and theme.

 Identify the stated main idea of a narrative text or the topic of an informational text.

 Arrange in sequential order a listing of events found in narrative and/or informational text.

Assessments: Test will be given weekly. The test will include questions from the story or passage, vocabulary definitions, and a weekly reading skill. If a student is absent they will have 10 days to make up the test.The final grade will include the following: Major tests – 90% and Common Term test-10% 

Homework/Assignments/Projects: A weekly FamilyTimes Worksheet will be sent home at the beginning of each week.  This sheet will include vocabulary words, the weekly skill, and the main idea of the story to assist with homework assignments.  The students will have a project approximately every 5 weeks.  A grade will be given for the project.  Dates and guideline information will be sent home in the planner.  In addition, students will complete a reading fair project for a grade.  The final grade will include the following:Major tests count  90% and Content by Term test-10%

Course Requirements: Students will have a new reading story weekly. Students are expected to participate in class and complete all class and homework assignments.

Reteaching and Retesting:  same as above

Additional Comments: Please read  with your child daily.

Math

Objectives: This is a general overview of what the teacher will teach and what the student is expected to master.

Understand and represent number relationships among numbers and the four basic operations.

Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates.

Compose and decompose four-digit whole numbers with representations in words, physical models, and expanded and standard forms.

Compare and order four-digit numbers using <, >, and =, and justify reasoning.

Recall multiplication facts (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Round numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand.

Explain, analyze, and generate patterns, relationships, and functions using algebraic symbols.

Create, describe, and extend growing and repeating patterns with physical materials and symbols including numbers (addition/subtraction).

Use real number properties to develop multiple algorithms and to solve problems.

 Associative property of addition (3+4)+7= 3+(4+7)

 Commutative property of addition 3+4=4+3

 Identity property of addition 3+0=3

 Model and identify the inverse relationships of addition/subtraction. 7-3=4   inverse  4+3=7

Assessments: Major tests will be given at the end of each mastered objective and will total 90% of the final grade. The Content by Term test will be given at the end of the term and will count for 10% of the grade. If a student is absent they will have 10 days to make up the test.If a student is absent they will have 10 days to make up the test.    

Homework/Assignments/Projects: Homework will be given nightly and will be due upon arrival the following day. 

Course Requirements: Students are expected to participate in class and complete all class and homework assignments.

Reteaching and Retesting:  same as above

Additional Comments:      

Science

Objectives: This is a general overview of what the teacher will teach and what the student is expected to master.

 Apply concepts involved in a scientific investigation.

 Identify questions and predict outcomes that can be examined through scientific investigations.

 Describe familiar objects and events using the senses to collect qualitative (e.g., color, size, shape)       information.

 Select and use simple tools (e.g., rulers, thermometers, scales, hand lenses, microscopes, calculators,   balances, clocks) to gather information.

 Length, to the nearest half of an inch, foot, yard, centimeter, and meter

 Capacity and weight/mass, in English and metric systems

 Time, to the nearest minute

Temperature, to the nearest degree

Draw conclusions and communicate the results of an investigation.

 Communicate data by creating diagrams, charts, tables, and graphs.

 Ask questions and seek answers to explain why different results sometimes occur in repeated investigations.

Explain concepts related to objects and materials, position and motion of objects, and properties of magnetism.

 Investigate to conclude that the weight of an object is always the sum of its parts,

regardless of how it is assembled, (e.g., Lego creation/separate blocks, bucket/cups of

sand, roll/stacks of pennies, bag/individual potatoes, etc.)

 Explore and identify physical changes of matter, including melting, freezing, boiling,

evaporation, and condensation,

 Investigate and describe forces affecting motion in simple machines (lever, wheel and axle, block and tackle, inclined plane, screw.)

 Differentiate between potential and kinetic energy and recognize their conversions.

 Potential to kinetic (e.g., winding a clock/clock begins ticking)

 Kinetic to potential (e.g., roller coaster moving downward/upward to the top of the hill)

Cite evidence to explain why heating or cooling may change the properties of materials

(e.g., boiling an egg, evaporating water, chilling gelatin, making ice cream, etc.)

Assessments: Major tests will be given on the objectives when mastered.  If a student  is absent they will have 10 days to make up the test.  Tests count 60 % Activities 40%.

Homework/Assignments/Projects: Homework will be noted in agenda planner and is due upon arrival to class the following day.Guidelines for projects will be noted in planner.

Course Requirements: Students are expected to participate in class and complete all class and homework assignments.

Reteaching and Retesting:  same as above

Additional Comments:      

Social Studies

Objectives: This is a general overview of what the teacher will teach and what the student is expected to master.

Develop an understanding of community/local governmentin relationship to the expanding horizon theme.

Assessments: Major tests will be given on the objectives when mastered. Tests count for 60 % and Activities Count 40 % of the grade. If a student is absent they will have 10 days to make up the test.

Homework/Assignments/Projects: Homework will be noted in agenda planner and is due upon arrival to class the following day. Projects will be noted in planner with due dates.

Course Requirements: Students are expected to participate in class and complete all class and homework assignments.

Reteaching and Retesting:  same as above

Additional Comments: