1. Welcome to Back-to-School Night
Mrs. Parkinson-Math/Science/Health
Mrs. Griffin- Language Arts/Social Studies

2. Tonight’s Agenda 1. Introductions ~ who are Mrs. Parkinson and Mrs
Tonight’s Agenda 1. Introductions ~ who are Mrs. Parkinson and Mrs. Griffin? 2. Daily Schedule 3. Homework, Planners, and Folders 4. Grading and Report Card 5. Third Grade Expenses 6. Classroom Rules and Behavior Management 7. A peek at the curriculum areas…science, math, and language arts 8. STAAR 9. Wrap up and Questions!   The mission of Cowan Elementary is to educate every student every day.

3. Back To School Night!!!  3RD Grade
The one thing we hope you learn about us this year is that we LOVE teaching children! We hope you will take comfort in knowing that we will treat the children in our classes as if they were our own. This means a lot of things: showing respect, treating them fairly, praising where it is earned, and holding very high expectations – both behaviorally and academically. Here are some of the things we expect from every child every day!
*We expect them to come to school every day ready to learn! * We expect them to work hard every day! *We expect them to follow all the rules every day! *We expect them to be kind to each other! *We expect them to treat us with respect! *We expect them to become incredible readers, writers, scientists, and mathematicians!
All of these things will happen this year, and much more! We hope that we will ALL work together to help your child be a successful third grader and to work on becoming a life-long learner!

4. Class Website I update our website every Monday.
Make sure to check them weekly for information on what we’re teaching and any important upcoming dates
We also post forms that you might need extra copies of (permission slips, book project information, etc.)

5. Homework, Planners, and Folders
Read 30 minutes each night and record what they
               read in their planner
Go over their language arts graded work packets Have your child make corrections
Initial the packet and return
Math- weekly packet graded work started or done in class
Go over the packet with your child and have them correct or complete, as needed.
Initial the corrected work (you can help them get it corrected) and return to class.
When we start multiplication…drill on facts will be weekly homework.
*We’re counting on you to check over your child’s work and have your child make any necessary corrections before turning homework in the by the end of the week!  

6. Planners and Folders
*LOOK in your child’s folder EVERY night…that is where homework is stored and
Papers coming home from student’s mailboxes to be read and/or signed and returned!
LOOK for reminders and what’s coming from the mailbox!
LOOK for homework assignments!
Look for a weekly goal and this week’s spelling words!!
CHECK your child’s behavior and sign EVERY night!!

7. GRADING! Assessments/Projects 35% Quizzes/Check-ins 30%
Daily Practice 25%
Participation/Homework 10%
100 – 98 A+ 89 – 88 B+ 79 – 78 C+
97 – 94 A 87 – 84 B 77 – 74 C
93 – 90 A- 83 – 80 B- 73 – 70 C-
Below 70 F

8. Report Card

9. Third Grade Expenses
A one time payment of $40.00 is due on October 1st, These fees are collected for:
All field trips and travel arrangements…
Scholastic News weekly magazines
Third grade class t-shirts
End of year celebrations
**We would love to have you join us on most field trips! If you think you might be interested in attending a field trip, please register ASAP at:

10. Classroom Rules/ Management
We have four big school and classroom rules and they pretty much cover EVERYTHING! 
To respect myself.
To respect others.
To respect property.
To respect learning.
If your child has to move to yellow or red, please take it seriously. It means they were given verbal warnings and chose to continue the behavior!

11. Curriculum Sneak Peek (math)
*Math: math makes sense…it’s not just about memorizing (although this is important too)…it’s also about THINKING and understanding different strategies to solve different problems.
Typical Math Block:
~math problem-solving and number work
~mini-lesson – usually in our math journals and includes something to get kiddos thinking and excited about what we will learn today
~small group lessons and centers– small groups work with Mrs. Parkinson based on need while students work in centers that include games, computer work, paper/pencil practice, numerical fluency practice, etc.
~wrap-up – share and discuss learning and strategies from math block

12. Curriculum Sneak Peek (science)
Science in THIRD grade is about asking questions, being curious, and trying things out!
We do lots of hands-on activities, go outside to find real-world examples of what we are learning, conduct research to learn more, and regularly implement the scientific process skills!
Science Fair is in January and is optional.

13. Curriculum Sneak Peak (language arts)
Typical L.A. Block:
Readers Workshop (independent reading)
Read Alouds (pictures books and chapter books)
Literacy Tasks (students work in independently or in partners on various tasks that focus on developing their skills as readers and writers)
Book Clubs/ Guided Reading (while students are working on literacy tasks)
Writer’s Workshop
Research (self-selected and focused on our social studies topic)
SPELLING:  
Kids are groups by Developmental Spelling Stages
They will learn a specific word family or pattern every other week
They will practice this pattern within small groups through word sorts, games, and self-discovery for two weeks with a test at the end
All practice and spelling work will be done in class unless you request otherwise  

14. STAAR TEST
The STAAR test has proven to be extremely rigorous and assesses student skills at a deep level of cognitive complexity. In reading, emphasis is given to critical analysis rather than literal understanding. In math, students are expected to show their understanding of math concepts through multi-step word problems. Students must be fluent in their reading and math skills because there is a four-hour time limit for completing the test. We will be working hard all year to prepare students for success on the STAAR test. You can help at home by listening to your child(ren) read and asking them inferential, comprehension questions, checking their homework and talking about/having them correct mistakes, and by utilizing resources that I make available to you! We need to be on the same page with high expectations and holding students accountable!

16. Questions from the STAAR Math Released Test (2014)

17. Question from the STAAR Reading Released Test (2014):

18. What questions do you have for me??
THANK YOU!!
What questions do you have for me??
Together, as a team, we will work very hard to make this the best year yet and to help your THIRD grader be as successful as he/she can be!!