CURRICULUM GOALS
RELIGION This series fosters an enthusiasm for living the Catholic faith. Children will participate in liturgies and will learn the appropriate prayers. Our religion book covers four areas:
•Jesus Gives Us His Church
•We live the Way of Jesus in Our Parish •Our Church and Our Parish
•United in Our Catholic Faith.
TEXT Coming to the Church, William H. Sadlier, 1998
READING/ The Harcourt Brace reading series encourages LANGUAGE ARTS children to build lifelong friendships with books and
serves as a focus for developing all of the language arts. The stories are organized with specific themes. Other components to the language arts program include:
Reading Logs
Literature Circles
Book Reports
Accelerated Reading- Computer quizzes on
books read independently.
Grammar Skills- types of sentences, parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization, contractions, dictionary skills
Writing Skills- brainstorming, drafting, revising and
editing Writing modes:
•Narrative: to tell a story
•Expository: to inform or explain
•Persuasive: to construct an argument
•Descriptive: to paint a picture with words
•Imaginative: to create a new way of seeing things
•Letter Writing
Spelling- A new spelling list will be mastered each week. Accurate use of these words is expected throughout the year. We will also review the
following word skills: suffixes, prefixes, vowels, consonants, digraphs, diphthongs, and syllables.
TEXT Wings, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1999
Diamond Cove, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1999
McGraw-Hill Spelling, McGraw-Hill, 1998
Grammar Practice, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1999
Quickword, Handbook for Everyday Writers
Curriculum Associates, 1994
MATH Students will review addition and subtraction of four digit numbers. The concept of trading in addition and subtraction will be emphasized. Students will learn multiplication of a two-digit factor by a one-digit factor and division to find a two-digit quotient. They will be expected to learn multiplication facts through 9x9 and challenged to master facts through 12x12. Other skills to be stressed include problem-solving strategies, rounding, estimating, graphing, measurement and geometry.
Algebra topics will also be covered to strengthen problem-solving skills.
TEXT California HSP Math, Harcourt Publishers 2009
SOCIAL Our focus will be our community. We will be
STUDIES studying the following units:
•Unit 1 Land and Water
•Unit 2 California Indians Past and Present
•Unit 3 Your Community Over Time
•Unit 4 Rules and Law
•Unit 5 Economy of Your Regions
TEXT Our Community,
Pearson-Scott Foresman Co. 2007
SCIENCE A student-centered science program which allows students to get actively involved through inquiry, investigation, problem solving and hands-on exploration.
The six units are:
•Looking at Plants and Animals
•Where Plants and Animals Live
•Our Earth
•Cycles on Earth and in Space
•Forces and Motion
•Looking at Matter and Energy
TEXT Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Science
Macmillian/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co. 2002
HANDWRITING Manuscript skills will be reviewed, but emphasis will be put on teaching cursive.
TEXT D’Nealian Handwriting
Scott, Foresman and Co. 1999
ART Art is integrated across the curriculum with a variety of media. On the fourth Thursday of every month, Mrs. Bonney leads an art appreciation class.
COMPUTER Computer is taught on Thursday mornings.
MUSIC Music is taught on Tuesday afternoon by
Mrs. Gurnett.
P.E. P.E. is taught on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons by Mrs. Cirelli and Mr. Mortensen.
SPANISH Spanish is taught on Monday and Wednesday by Mrs. Scott.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
HOMEWORK There will be an average of 30-45 minutes of homework Monday through Thursday. On Monday, the students will receive a homework sheet. Students are responsible in recording their homework at the end of the day.
If assignments are not completed during class time, they are expected to be completed at home in addition to the daily homework assignment.
Pretests always need a parent’s signature. The signature communicates that you have gone over the pretests with your child and reviewed areas of concern.
WEEKLY
ENVELOPES Each Tuesday an envelope will be sent home
with papers and tests your child has completed during the week. Please take time to review and discuss these papers with your child. Then date and sign the form on your child’s envelope, keep the papers, and return the empty envelope by Wednesdy.
REPORT CARDS Report card grades for the third grade curriculum are based on:
1. Oral and written participation
2. Workbook activities
3. Tests
4. Teacher Observation
5. Neatness/Effort
6. Meeting assignment deadlines
7. Extra Credit
Grading Codes
E Excellent
G Good
S Steady Growth
N Needs Improvement
Indicates specific aspect of subject needing attention
Other Classwork/Homework Grading Codes:
Excellent
Ok
Needs Work
ABSENCES A student who has been absent is required to present a note stating the date of the absence and the reason for his/her absence This can be sent in writing or by email. When your child is absent please notify the school office by 9:00 a.m.
Homework will be placed in the hallway when requested by 9:00 a.m. After 3:00 p.m. assignments may be picked from the table outside the office that day. Your child will have as many days to complete his work as was absent.
For medical absences, a doctor’s note is needed to
excuse the absence.
LATE WORK If a child frequently turns in late assignments and or does not do the assignments, parents will be notified. Late work will receive a lower grade and will eventually affect grades on the report cards.
WRITING Students’ writing will be kept in a folder where
PORTFOLIOS we (student, teacher and parents) will revisit papers to establish student’s personal writing goals and to chart their growth in this area.
FIELD TRIPS Selected field trips are planned throughout the year
to enrich our curriculum. Parents will be notified of dates. School policy does not allow nonregistered children to attend field trips.
BOOK ORDERS Please pay by check made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. NO CASH PLEASE!
LUNCHES Please bring forgotten or late lunches to table outside the office, not to the classroom.
BIRTHDAYS On a monthly basis, students who are celebrating their birthday for that month will have an opportunity to wear free dress. You will be informed on the date through the school monthly calendars. On that date, birthday treats are
welcome, but parents will need to coordinate one birthday treat with other parents whose children share the same birthday month. Please inform Mrs. Millette about the birthday treats.
BEHAVIOR As a class, we brainstorm what rules will keep us
EXPECTATIONS safe and help us learn. The rules and consequences are to help each student to be responsible with their behavior. Throughout the day, students make certain choices and their choices come with certain consequences.
CONSEQUENCES After being warned about a behavior that is affecting the learning or social environment, a student will earn a yellow sticky. If a student earns several yellow stickies for the same behavior, the student will then fill out a worksheet called My Action Plan and it will be sent home to be discussed and signed. My goal is to work with the student to better self-monitor themselves. Some behaviors may require to fill out My Action Plan without a yellow sticky warning.
A conduct referral is given for behavior that does not demonstrate respect for authority and behavior that affects the well-being of other children.The conduct referral is sent home on the day the behavior has taken place and on the referral there are recommended consequences, including detention. For third grade, detention is 30 minutes.
On the work envelopes, it will be noted if the student received a yellow sticky during the week. During the week, if the student does not earn a yellow sticky, My Action Plan worksheet or a conduct referral, then the student will earn a certificate to acknowledge their efforts. The certificate will be placed in the weekly work envelopes.
Please review the discipline plan in the Parent Handbook with your child. I will go over the school discipline plan with the students in class but it is also important for the students to hear it from you.
COMMUNICATION Please do not hesitate to ask questions! You can send a note, call or e-mail me. My e-mail is:
jmillette@csdo.org.
You can always find my e-mail listed on the homework sheet underneath the student’s name.
TEACHER Mrs. Karachewski is the third grade teaching
ASSISTANT assistant.
OUTLINE OF SPANISH CURRICULUM FOR GRADES 1 to 5
ST. MARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
The main goal for primary students is that they communicate effectively. The emphasis will be on what a student can do with the Spanish that he or she knows. For example, the recognition of Spanish nouns is an important curriculum goal for all grades;however, the communicative goal is that students ask or answer questions or form sentences with nouns. Some years the word recognition may be oral recognition, building with reading and writing the following years. Students will build a vocabulary that will enhance their abilities and provide a smooth transition to the curriculum used in the Ya Veras! Gold book that is begun in the sixth grade.
SPANISH CURRICULUM
First Grade Fourth Grade
•Numbers •Adjective agreement
•Colors •Article agreement
•Pets •Reading and writing simple sentences
•Family with emphasis on clothing and •Classroom objects classroom objects
•Recycling of third grade material
Second Grade Fifth Grade
•Days •Culture
•Months •Geography
•Seasons •Country report done in pairs
•Vowels •Ar, Er, and ir verbs
•Recycling of first grade material •Verb structure
•Recycling of fourth grade material
Third Grade
•Parts of the body
•Transportation
•Recycling of second grade material
Curriculum Materials: Props, Flash cards, Games, Worksheets, and Music
Methods: Total Physical Response, Oral Questions and Answers, Reading and Writing
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME.
MATH WEBSITES
Math Flashcards
http://www.mathmastery.com/cyberchallenge/index.cfm?CFID=78835096
www.allmath.com
Basic Math Problems (Student Practice Problems)
http://www.math.com/homeworkhelp/BasicMath.html
www.factmonster.com
www.citycreek.com
Dave’s MathTables www.sisweb.com/math/tables (memorizing facts)
Education for kids www.edu4kids.com (math drills)
mathfactcafe.com
Math Problems
http://www.teachrkids.com/
www.Mathstories.com
Math Puzzles
www.coolmath4kids.com
Brainteaser
www.eduplace.com/math/brain/index/html
Practicing Math Skills
www.mathzapper.com
Ask Dr. Math
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math
Math Manipulates
www.matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/vlibrary
Wide Math Topics
www.figurethis.org/about_ft.htm
