Dear Parent,

          The third grade benchmarks will give information about what is being taught and learned in third grade.  They can be found on the vvsd.org web site.  These are the things I have been focusing on so far this quarter.

Reading:

  Comprehension: how well the student understands the story

  Oral fluency: how many words a student reads per minute (not assessed at

          this time)

  Literary elements: character traits and setting

 Vocabulary: understanding word meaning and use

Mathematics:

  Number sense: understanding the value of numbers

  Operations: addition, subtraction, with and without carrying and borrowing    

  Problem solving: finding the answer to a story problem

  Communication strategies:  extended response story problems where the

          student must tell the strategy, show how the answer was arrived at,

          tell the answer, and explain the steps taken to get to that answer  

  Geometry: not assessed at this time

  Measurement: telling time and counting coins

  Data analysis: read, make, and understand graphs

Writing:

  Clearly expressed ideas: the topic of the story/paragraph is clear

  Grammar, mechanics, application, and conventions: students use complete

          sentences in writing with correct capitals and punctuation.

  Spelling: spelling words are written correctly in all assignments

Science/Health:  students have been working on understanding the PHMPRC

          Model

Social Sciences:  students have been working on map skills and citizenship

                                                                   Sincerely,

                                                                   Mrs. Peterson