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DAILY NEWS
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We will be collecting any old children's magazines, paper towel rolls and shoe boxes. If you have any of these items and you are willing to donate them for our Language Arts and Science program, please send them to school with your son or daughter in January. Thank you!
With cold and flu season here we are in need of Kleenex. Please send a box for your child to keep in their desk. It is also recommended that you send a reusable water bottle for them to keep on their desk rather than using the drinking fountain. Thank you!
Tuesday, February 8th, 2012.
Homework - Grade 3 Math worksheet sent home, due tomorrow.
Monday, February 6th, 2012.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Students will be practising the same WW Recall words as last week. Our class earned points for a class party last week so the test was postponed until this Friday.
Reminders - Radical Reader (worksheet on back of page must be completed for a homework check). It was due last Wednesday.
-The new Radical Reader will be sent home next month with an addition to the program, levelled readers. Inside the Radical Reader duo-tang will be a letter detailing this addition to our home reading program. Students will have book bags with levelled readers for them to use for their nightly Reading homework requirement (10 to 20 minutes of independent reading). There will be a tracking sheet for students to fill out, including a section for parents to write notes about their observations/concerns with their child's reading. Remember that students must be able to demonstrate the ability to decode and comprehend the text to progress to the next level in reading. The Radical Reader gives your child and you a specific focus that is an extension of our learning in class. This is a great way to know what is going on in the classroom and
how you can help your child progress to the next reading level. The book bags can be brought back once students have read the books several times, retold the story and used the comprehension strategies learned.
- Students are encouraged to practise telling time on analog clocks at home. If you would like to know what else we are doing in each subject and how they can practise at home, please read the bottom of the "What's happening....?" page. There are also links on the "Links to Learning" page for students to practise their Time telling skills on the computer.
-Remember to read for 10 to 20 minutes a night and complete your Radical Reader.
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Weekly Homework Reminder
What is homework?
Homework is teacher assigned and monitored learning experiences that take place outside the classroom in a variety of settings. Homework is a planned part of the education process designed to enhance student learning, and is directly connected to The Ontario Curriculum Learning Expectations, Learning Skills, and Ministry of Education Reporting Guidelines. The Halton District School Board believes that, at this level, homework is an aid in developing life-long learning skills such as self-discipline, task commitment, time management, responsibility, independence, initiative, and problem solving. Homework is also one means of demonstrating and building the partnership between home and school that leads to more consistent success in all aspects of school life.
What are the types of homework?
•Completion - anything not completed in class
•Practice - review and reinforcement of learning presented in class
•Preparation – home preparation for the next day’s class work
•Extension/Creative – creative applications that integrate and/or expand upon classroom learning
Homework Time Guidelines
Grade Two - 10 to 20 minutes each night
Grade Three - 15 to 30 minutes each night
(Plus Read Aloud or Independent Reading)
Weekly Homework
 Planners are to be signed daily.
 Spelling:
The formal spelling program has been replaced by word study. These activities will take place in the classroom setting. While we will continue to focus on the patterns and rules involved in spelling, we will not have formal spelling lists sent home to memorize. Extension activities will be sent home occasionally for a home connection.
A Strategy to Try
Have your child write about something they have done. After they have completed their thoughts, select 2 or 3 words, and highlight the parts of a word that they are spelling incorrectly, raising a student's awarenss of their unique spelling pattern errors. Please remember only to do a few words, so they don't get overwelmed and only highlight the part of the word that is spelled incorrectly. This is a strategy proven to help with spelling.
 Radical Reader - A Home Reading Program:
Students must read for 5 - 10 minutes and do an oral retell of the story every evening. Parents are to initial that the 10 minutes and the retell have been completed. At the end of the month, students will do an activity (including a picture) that focuses on the reading strategy for that month and must bring their Radical Reader in to school for a homework check. Each month a new reading strategy is selected that corresponds to what is being practised in class.
 Problem of the Week (P.O.W.) - Grade 3's only:The POW will be sent home on Wednesday and is due the following Tuesday.
The Problem of the Week is a practice E.Q.A.O Math question which reinforces the concepts being taught in class. Students are expected to give detailed answers using pictures, numbers and/or words. They are also required to use the GRASS+ Problem Solving Method.
GRASS+ (Problem Solving Method)
**The POW will be marked out of 6 based on this method.**
G -given
What information does the problem give you?
I know that........
R - required
What does the question ask you to find?
I need to find.......
A - action plan
What strategy will you use to find the solution?
I will try by......
S - solution
Show your work.
S - statement
Write the answer in a sentence.
+ - plus
How do you know your answer is correct?
I know because......
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