| Dear Third-Grade Parents, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Mrs. Donohue's Language Arts class for the 2009-2010 school year. I am very proud of your hard-working children who are now third-graders and ready and eager to learn!! The purpose of this communication is to inform you of some of the policies which will be implemented in class this school year. I teach first-through third-grade Reading, Phonics, Grammar, and Spelling in a Language Arts block of time (one and one-half hours daily per grade) and fourth-grade Reading. MATERIALS: Each student must have with them at all times two sharpened pencils, a red pencil, a yellow highlighter, and a six-inch ruler. They must have a 3-subject spiral notebook with them everyday as well as their take-home folder. The spiral notebook should be divided into Spelling, Reading, and English sections (in that order), labeled with different-colored index tabs. They must, also, come to class with a library book in hand in the event that they finish their work before others in the class. LANGUAGE ARTS NOTEBOOK: Students will write the vocabulary words for each story in the Reading section of the notebook. The definitions of those words will be glued into the notebook. The children must study their vocabulary words. They will be tested on those words.The children will also participate in various games and activities in which the vocabulary words will be reviewed. The copybook will also be used to list words that have been introduced in the phonics component of the reading program. They should also review these words on which they may be quizzed on a separate occasion. Homework will occasionally be assigned to be completed in the notebook. Also be on the lookout for various "strategy" papers to which the children will be introduced in order to help them with thinking and following directions skills. COMPREHENSION CHECK: At the end of each story in their Reader, the students are required to answer comprehension questions. The answers must be written in complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. They must follow the Completing Story Questions Strategy which can be found pasted in their copybook. This strategy is also useful for other subject areas in which they are required to answer questions. As a matter of fact, I have stressed to the students that whatever they learn in Reading class should be carried over to all of their other subjects. SKILLS PRACTICE SHEETS: These papers serve the purpose of acclimating the students to important test-taking skills including skills required for standardized testing. Skills Practice papers cover topics such as main idea/details, cause and effect, and making inferences, as well as phonics and grammar skills. SPELLING: The Spelling section of the notebook will be used for spelling pretests as well as for homework assignments. The students will be required to write the words in ABC order, 2x each, or use the words in sentences. Spelling posttests will be given weekly. WRITING: Students will have a writing binder (teacher-provided) which will contain their work as they progress through the Writing Process. They will learn how to write Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive, and Compare and Contrast paragraphs. These binders will be kept in the classroom. HOMEWORK: Habitual missed homework will result in a lower effort grade. Four homework slips in a marking period warrant an N in effort on the progress report. ACCELERATED READER AND BOOK REPORTS: All third-grade students will be required to earn a designated amount of Accelerated Reader Points per marking period (first period-3, second period-4, third period-5). It is suggested that students may read one and 1/2 grade levels below and two above, but this may be adjusted for individual students at the discretion of the teacher and the librarian. Students are required to participate in the Book It program, and it is recommended that they choose Accelerated Reader books for their Book It projects whenever possible. By mid-trimester, AR points will be posted on Power Grade. Students will keep track of the books they are reading and the points they are earning on an Accelerated Reader Chart that they will keep in their folder. GRADED WORK: Language Arts assessments are based on daily Skills Practice pages, workbook pages, written answers to “Comprehension Check” questions after each story, Reading unit tests, Accelerated Reader, Spelling unit tests, English quizzes and tests, and creative writing assignments. Students will also be assessed through informal, anecdotal means. LANGUAGE ARTS PACKETS: Once a week, usually on Tuesday, I will send home a packet of papers of the previous week's work. There will be a Parent Signature slip to be sent back to me the next day. Should you have any comments, please feel free to use the back of the paper. I feel that it is very important for me to make sure that the parents are aware of the work that their children have been doing. You might also check to see the work that they have done in their workbooks. Occasionally, a paper may be stamped "Parent Signature--Please Sign and Return." These papers will be placed in the student's portfolio which will contain teacher-chosen as well as student-chosen work. PORTFOLIOS: I will be implementing a portfolio system. A portfolio is an organized and purposefully selected collection of work that shows achievement, effort, and growth in writing. The use of a portfolio system will allow the children to watch their progress and chart their growth in the area of writing. Classwork and some homework assignments will also be kept in the portfolios. TUTORS: If your child is working with a tutor, please let me know. I believe that it is very important for the teacher and tutor to have open communication in an effort to meet that child's needs. I'M HERE TO HELP: I am available at lunch/recess time every day and in the mornings between 8:10 and 8:30 should my students need me. I am aware of the fact that the children need exercise, so recess-time meetings will not occur often. I hope that this communication has made some of my policies clear. Please visit my website (accessed through the school website) for further information. Should you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time by note or e-mail me at mdonohue@stjohnhydes.org. Sincerely, Mrs. Marilyn Donohue ................................................................................................................................................................................. Please sign and return. I have read Mrs. Donohue’s policies for Language Arts class. _________________________________ ____________________________ (Parent signature) (Student – Grade) |