Third Grade

Mrs. Coxford & Mrs. McClintic

The first days of school were so much fun, as we got reacquainted with old friends and made new ones.  As the new leaders of Brookview, the third graders are already off to a “True Blue” and “Clean Green” start.  In refining and practicing our school rules and routines, the classes have already touched on some of the New York State Learning Standards related to civics and citizenship.  What a pleasure it has been to see each class becoming a community.  We can compare and contrast our community with others. We will study cultures around the world in our upcoming social studies units. 

            In our opening math unit on graphing, the third graders graphed their birthdays and the number of letters in their first names.  We gathered data, recorded it on data tables and subsequently graphed the information.  The students’ math vocabularies were expanded as they learned new terms such as variable, value and horizontal axis.  We enjoyed analyzing the graphs we created as we solved problems that required us to write number sentences and explain our thinking.  Through our graphing activities we successfully met many of the New York State Standards in mathematics.

            In reading, the third graders began the year by reviewing five reading strategies that good readers use.  They are:  predicting, questioning, summarizing, evaluating and clarifying.  We will continue reinforcing these skills in reading groups as well as incorporate new comprehension strategies throughout the year.  We also began to discuss the “hidden ideas” that authors give us clues for in their books.  Hidden ideas are themes that authors do not share with us directly, such as “change” or “cooperation.”  We need to be detectives to figure out what hidden ideas lay in each new book!  As writers, we have focused on beginning, middle and end, as well as on spicing up our writing with “juicy words.”  Thus, we have already touched upon many of the New York State Standards in ELA.            

            Finally, we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our caterpillars.  We will study the four stages in the life cycle of the butterfly as we observe the transformation from stage to stage in our classrooms.  What fun it will be to see several of the New York State Standards come alive!

            It looks like it will be a fantastic year as the students are already building our community by demonstrating their Brookview’s Best.  We are looking forward to meeting all of you in the near future.              

Reading Tip:

As your child reads, have him/her stop every few pages to summarize the important events that occurred.  Remind him or her that a summary is not a retelling, only the most important details get included!