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Queen Creek Elementary School |
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Mrs. Rader |
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Welcome to 3rd Grade! |
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Happy new school year! My name is Mrs. Cari Rader. My husband and I moved here from California in 2005. I have two little boys. Jackson is 5 years old and Cash is 2. We also have a dog named Tatum. This is my fifth year here at Queen Creek Elementary and my tenth year teaching. I think this will be the best year yet. Below is an overview of our curriculum for the upcoming year. Language Arts: Reading, writing, spelling and grammar are integrated in the language arts curriculum. Reading skills will be developed using the Houghton-Mifflin series and a variety of core literature books. The students will have a list of 20 spelling words per week. Spelling homework will be given as a weekly contract with a test on Friday. Students will participate in daily Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) and will be read to daily. To further develop the writing process and the six traits of writing we will write several reports, stories, narratives, letters and poems. Accelerated Reader is still a key component. Math: Students will be using the Scott Foresman Addison Wesley Mathematics text to address critical thinking, problem solving, and advanced computation. Manipulatives will be utilized in areas to facilitate learning. We will also be using Accelerated Math and Mountain Math. Timed math facts are very important. Please study nightly! Social Studies: Various projects and reports will be assigned throughout the year while we work on timelines, exploration and colonization. We will also be learning about the background behind national monuments and holidays. Science: Units for science include life cycles of various animals, basic states of matter, cloud types and the overall components of science. Students will participate in experiments and activities to develop an understanding of scientific principles. Homework: Homework is assigned Monday through Thursday. Our homework will consist of 20 minutes of AR reading, some Language Arts and Math. I do give time in class to get started on any of these assignments. Your help in developing and encouraging good study habits at home is appreciated. If a student is absent, completion of missed work is required. Students will have one week to turn in missing work. After that it will be marked an incomplete. Communication: I will send home graded papers each Monday. Please contact me at (480) 987-5920 or email me here at crader@qcusd.org should you have any questions or concerns. Communication between home and school is most important to our success. I look forward to a successful and enjoyable year working with your child. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAJOR GOALS: Develop responsible attitudes for the student’s own education. Working and learning to the student’s full potential. Growth in self-esteem through academic and social accomplishments and the knowledge that the student has tried his/her best. Grades Grades will be determined by daily class work and participation, homework, quizzes, tests, projects and student effort. Students are given the chance to redo work for a better grade. I believe we all learn from our mistakes and I want students to use this opportunity. I will average both the before and after grades. Students will have one full day to redo the assignment and correct their mistakes. I will average both the before and after grades. The Grading Scale is as follows: 98-100% A+ 93-97 A 90-92 A- 88-89 B+ 83-87 B 80-82 B- 78-79 C+ 72-77 C 70-71 C- 68-69 D+ 62-67 D 60-61 D- Below 60 F SnapGrades Online Access for Parents SnapGrades is an online grading program that was implemented here last year with great success. This grading program provides 24 hour access to information through internet connection. Access is gained to SnapGrades through the internet. Most internet browsers are supported by the SnapGrades program. Login is possible anytime an internet connection is available. Information is secure. Personal information remains private. Accessing SnapGrades provides a view of the student's current progress in a class. Communication between school and home is essential for student success and SnapGrades offers a convenient method of keeping parents/guardians informed. Please commit to logging on at least twice a month. It is important for you to keep an eye on your child’s grade. I allow redo on many assignments. However I am not responsible for providing extra copies of lost or missing assignments. I have a work basket with extra assignments and copies for these situations. Access is gained to SnapGrades through the internet. Most internet browsers are supported by the SnapGrades program. Login is possible anytime an internet connection is available. Information is secure. Personal information remains private. Please familiarize yourself with SnapGrades and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. http://snapgrades.net/ Make-Up Work A student will have as many days as they are absent to return make-up work. For example, if a student misses two days of school. They will have two days to turn in the work they missed. If a student is absent on a Friday the work will be due on that coming Tuesday. DAILY SCHEDULE 8:15-8:30 Opening Routine 8:30-9:00 Writing 9:00-10:00 Math 10:00-11:15 Reading Groups 11:15-11:45 Language Arts 11:45-12:25 Lunch 12:25-12:45 Literature Circles 12:45-1:15 AR (Title 1 time slot) 1:15- 1:45 Specials /Social Studies/Science/Centers 1:45-2:15 Specials /Social Studies/Science/Centers 2:15-2:45 Specials /Social Studies/Science/Centers SPECIALS M– Computers T– Music W– Library Th– Music/PE (YOU MUST WEAR TENNIS SHOES) F-Library/PE (YOU MUST WEAR TENNIS SHOES)
There are a few things you should know about how my classroom is run:HOMEWORK IS ESSENTIAL in my classroom. A summary of our weekly story will be sent home along with the vocabulary words. Help your child practice these words and read the summary together. The only way to become a better reader is to read, read, read ! Students need to read a minimum of 20 minutes each night from their AR books. If your child is coming home with more than 30 minutes of work each night they are not using their school time wisely. We have plenty of time in class to get our work done. Some students even get a head start on their homework. Talk with your child about setting aside a certain time and place for doing homework. Encourage your child to complete the assignment independently. If your child has difficulty with homework, let them ask for your help. I would rather them try it first before you intervene. Help your child be better organized by designating a place where he/she can put things that need to be taken to school. A box, basket, or dishpan works well for this. REMEMBER: Homework is your child’s responsibility. Have your child show you his completed assignments so you are aware if the kind of work your child is doing. SPECIALS M– Computers T– Music W– Library Th– Music/PE (YOU MUST WEAR TENNIS SHOES) F-Library/PE (YOU MUST WEAR TENNIS SHOES) |
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A WORD ABOUT BOOK ORDERS Books are very enjoyable part our classroom! Almost everything we do centers around reading wonderful literature! There's no better way to build up both our classroom and your home libraries than with school book clubs! During the year we will use the Scholastic Book Clubs, which offer wonderful, current literature AS WELL AS a large selection of books which are priced rather nicely, but are also very appropriate for the third grade reader! If you do choose to participate in ordering, please keep in mind that all payments can made in the form of a CHECK made payable to Lucky Books or Scholastic - OR cash will be accepted. In addition, be sure to include your child's name on the order form and send it in by the specified date. |