September Newsletter
Welcome back to school! I am excited for another year and I am very pleased to have your child in my class. This year I have made a few changes in how I am doing things and I would like to explain what a typical day in your child’s school life will be like.
Students will be allowed into the building at 7:40 to go to breakfast and can come down to the rooms at 7:55 or whenever Mr. VanNess releases them. From 7:55 to 8:15 is a time for them to go to the bathroom and then begin to work on the daily “Drops in the Bucket” on the board. Drops in the Bucket is a math paper that we do together every day. The students do it in their notebooks in the morning and we check after lunch. They should have ample time to get it done in the morning while attendance is taken and we do our morning routine. When they are finished they can begin work on our daily 10 point math evaluation of what we are learning in math class. This is not graded and is just a tool for me to check for understanding of the previous day’s lesson. If they finish this then they can begin their journal entry that is listed on the board that can be done at any time during language arts.
First off, this year I am having the students take an imaginary trip around the world with me. I call it “Garfield’s Around the World Treasure Hunt.” The first day of our trip the students received their passports and boarding passes in their locker. After loading up the “plane”, our captain wished us a good flight and off we went. They and a partner will figure out their first clue as to where they will end up on their flight. If they solve the clue they get another piece of the puzzle. All the pieces of the puzzle will eventually go together to make a part of a scene that they will be able to take home at the end of the year. They will each have their own pin and can move it on the map. Hopefully this will add a little adventure to their year and a little learning as well.
At 8:15, we will take attendance, say the pledge of allegiance and we will also say the Bulldog pledge. This time also gives students the opportunity to finish up their work that is projected on the board.
Our first subject of the day will be language arts. We will have a Word of the Day on Monday through Thursday. I will write the definition, part of speech and use the word in a sentence. We do most of it together, and they will write the word and my sentence on a note card. This will not be handed in, but they will have a quiz on Friday over the words. I will always use the words of that week and then 6 from previous weeks to make a 10 point quiz. If they learn them each week it will not be difficult for them to get an A on the quiz. However, as the words start to build up, if they don’t learn them as they go along, they will be struggling by the end of the quarter. All their note cards will go home on Thursday night. Also I give them a Word of the Day crossword that has the sentences that I use on the quiz on Wednesday. After they do this worksheet they are allowed to take this home to study. I USE THE SAME SENTENCES ON THE QUIZ!!! I have told the children this and hopefully they are taking advantage of studying for the quiz with these sentences, which are also the same ones that are on the note cards.
Next we will do DLR or Daily Language Review. We will do Mon.thru Thurs. with a quiz on Friday. The first semester I will check them over each night and allow them to take them home on Thursday. The second semester they will be responsible for checking their own as we do go over the correct answers each day. I am having them mark which ones will be on the quiz this quarter so they can learn to study correctly. I won’t be doing that next quarter.
Comprehension work will begin after the first week. We will read a paragraph or two and answer some fairly easy questions. I will demonstrate some strategies that will help with comprehension.
In our reading book we will do one story a week, unless it is a short week. I will read the story aloud on Monday, go over vocabulary, and discuss the story. I will then give them an open book test that will need to be completed by Friday. I do not allow them to take the test home, but of course they do get to use their book. They are welcome and encouraged to reread the story during the week. That can either be done at school or home. To supplement our series, I meet in differentiated reading groups. The groups change throughout the year depending on the needs of the children. I have a large library in my room and I hope to instill the beginnings of a lifetime love of reading.
Spelling was explained in the information that I sent home. We are trying something a little different and I think it will help give the students a better foundation and supplement nicely with what they did last year in second grade. At this point I am not taking a mid week test, only a final test on Friday. Your child will be on one of two lists. One is what I call the normal spelling list and the other is a challenge list.
In the afternoon we have math. The first thing in the morning that I have them do as they come into the room is Drops in the Bucket. They are to write the answer in their math notebooks. They do five problems a day and these are review concepts that have been taught earlier. We check them later in the afternoon. When all ten of the DIB have been taught and checked we will have a quiz over the exact same page. It could be a couple days later or a week, depending on our schedule.
They will also be assigned a Daily Cumulative Review (DCR) each day. These are graded as one unit for the entire week. I usually give a math assignment each day and most students are able to complete them before they leave. Those are practice sheets so I don’t grade them.
After the last recess we will have social studies and science. This first couple of weeks might not include too much science or social studies as we will be learning how to check out at the end of the day and that takes time. For the two subjects I use Daily Geography and Daily Science. We try to do a lesson a day in Science, which we go over together each day and then on the fifth day we take a quiz.
Daily Geography has ten questions a day. We study and talk about those questions each day and then we quiz on the fourth day. The quiz is the same questions we’ve learned all week. This lets me know if they are listening and focusing in class. They will be graded.
We will begin cursive writing after a few days of review work. I know that the children are excited to learn cursive, but I would appreciate if you wouldn’t let them do cursive until we’ve learned the letters in class. It is very difficult to break bad habits after they have learned them.
Expectations:
Planners: MUST BE SIGNED EVERY NIGHT!!!!! I would greatly appreciate if you would check their planners each night. This is where I communicate everyday items to you. I will also be checking their planners before they go home each night to determine what homework they have. I am going to try to highlight their uncompleted assignments each day so that they get in the habit of marking what isn’t done. By the way, in the inside cover of their planner is a copy of what our grading scale is and what the abbreviations in the planner stand for.
I expect my students to read 20 minutes a night. Now I know that is not always possible with busy schedules, but the students and I will make a goal of reading 8 hours in the first quarter. If they complete their hours they will get to add a stamp to their passport. We keep track here at school and they get a sticker when they have completed one hour. If you would just keep track in the bottom of the planner, then I will know how many minutes they have read and I can award their stamp when they have reached their 8 hours. We will also have a “Reader of the Week” for the student who read the most hours that previous week.
That brings me to our reward system. The students and I are in competition throughout the year to see who can accumulate the most points. They receive points for good behavior, good listening, walking in the hallways quietly, being kind to others, and following the school rules. I get points when they don’t follow these expectations. If they earn more points than me by the end of the year then I will provide a pizza lunch with ice cream for dessert on the last day.
Birthday Treats: Students are allowed to bring treats for their birthdays as long as they are store bought, pre-packaged, and unopened with the ingredients clearly listed. We will also celebrate half birthdays for those who have summer birthdays. We usually hand out the treats after lunch from 12:00 to 12:20.
Service Project: As a service project, our class does recycling in the elementary. Each week the students will collect the recycling from their assigned classroom and then the high school kids pick it up and take care of it from there. The students love being the class responsible for this and it is beneficial for the environment.
I am very excited about this year. I think that we are going to have a great year and we will both learn quite a bit as the year goes on. If you ever have any questions please feel free to email or call me and I will get back to you as quickly as possible. I TRY to look at my emails a few times a day so that if there are any concerns I get to them as soon as possible. I look forward to a great year with your child.
Miss Kennedy