Dear Parents,
I am so pleased to have your child in my 3rd grade classroom. I know we will work together to make sure that each student reaches their highest potential this year. Some suggestions of things to be thinking about as your child enters 3rd grade: Please know that this can be a difficult year for students, as this is what we consider a transitional year where new material is introduced and learned. In kindergarten through 2nd grade students have been "learning how to read"; where as, in 3rd grade they will transition to "reading to learn." This is also the year where they are reading many multi-syllabic words for the first time. A good example of this is in Science and Social Studies they will encounter words such as condensation, transpiration, economy and exportation. Students are asked to infer to find the answers to higher order thinking and comprehension questions. This simply means the answers are not always stated directly, but students must dig deeper to interupt and find the answers. I would encourage you to begin having students read independently for 15-20 minutes each day. Students should also occasionaly read out-loud with an adult. When students read out-loud this lends itself to the opportunities for you to help them with decoding and fluency skills. In Math students will be asked to memorize all multiplication facts, so I encourage you to start on this now. Start by memorizing the 2's, and then just move as quickly as possible on to 3's, 4's, etc. Flash cards are great, and you can make your own. We have adopted a new math series this year, and we dive right into multiplication. We also encounter rounding numbers to the tens and hundreds place, and we teach double digit addition and subtraction. I encourage you to practice regrouping (carrying/borrowing) with both addition and subtraction, as well as working on students understanding place value which is crucial to the aforementioned skill. I hope as we begin the 2023-2024 school year you will start to work on these skills, and I look forward to meeting you as we start this new adventure! Please check our school calendar for school happenings. Please know that I am always available if I can be of help in any way. Feel free to contact me via your child's folder, the school phone number, my school email address (shoemakerc@wcde.org), or our Band app if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to helping your child having a successful third grade year!
Sincerely, Mrs. Carla J. Shoemaker
