Students will enter the building and then head to our classroom.  Students will have morning jobs to complete before enjoying recess. Anyone eating breakfast will do so upon arrival (before heading to our classroom) and will go straight to the cafeteria. 

Morning meetings give us a chance to build our community. Meetings will consist of greeting  one another, sharing news with each other, and warming up for the day ahead.

Interactive read-aloud is a whole-group instructional context where students will think about, talk about, and respond to text that has been purposefully selected by the teacher. Both readers and listeners actively process the language, ideas, and meaning of the text. Our classroom will be noisy as students "buzz about books" ... the rich, authentic conversations we will share are powerful. Be sure to ask your child about these experiences throughout the year. 

During Reading Workshop, students will work independently while I call small reading groups to meet with me. Students will build stamina during independent reading time, work on reading response, and a variety of options they can choose from, including enrichment opportunities as well as project-based learning.

During writing workshop, we will utilize mentor texts to study author's craft. Students will explore various writing genres including narrative, informational, and opinion writing. You will hear your child talk about strategies, the writing process, and peer editing throughout the year.  There will be opportunities for publishing writing and hosting celebrations of our work.  During this block of time, we will also focus on word work (spelling). 

Grounded in the science of reading, Fundations is a multimodal, structured literacy approach to reading, spelling, and handwriting. We will use this tool as a Tier 1 support for all 3rd graders. 

Students will wash their hands with soap and water in our classroom prior to going into the cafeteria for lunch.  We will stagger 3rd grade classrooms to enter the cafeteria.  Students will be spaced out at the tables and will receive instructions on procedures from our principal the first few weeks of school.  After lunch, students will be released to go outside to play on our playground. More information will be shared in regard to recess. 

During this time, students will be working on enrichment projects or meeting in small groups to receive support for reteaching of key concepts within math or ELA. 

Most days, our class will go to a fine arts class at either 12:30 PM OR 12: 45 PM. Be sure to wear (or bring) your tennis shoes on Wednesday & Friday for PE class.  Monday is art class and will be in session from 12:30 - 1:10 pm. Tuesday & Thursday we will go to library (yes, we go to library twice this year). We have back-to-back specials on Wednesday and Friday afternoons where students will go to PE/Connections or PE/Music.  

Math will be taught in small groups with me while other students work on completing a checklist of math tasks.  We will engage in "math talk" discussions, whole group warm ups & mini lessons, independent practice time, enrichment projects, and some days we even get started on our homework while at school. 

Science and Social Studies units will "flip flop" about every 2-4 weeks, meaning we will complete an entire unit of study within science before moving on to social studies.  Assessments will take place at the end of unit and prior notice will be given so students can study for these tests ahead of time. I believe in hands-on investigations/explorations and will be eager to bring these units of study to life for my students. 

Stay tuned for more details in regard to dismissal.  We will be dismissing car riders/walkers first at 3:05 pm and then will dismiss our bus routes.