Welcome to Back To School Night 2002 Welcome to Back To School Night Please find your child’s desk and read the letter that your child wrote to you. When you are done, you may write a letter back to your child and put it in their desk. Mrs. Tommasina Biase

Morning Procedures Mrs. Haberkern During homeroom the students engage in the following activities: Read “Morning Message” Unpack book bag and copy homework from whiteboard Place all important notes for the office or teacher in homeroom bin Organize homework papers for the day

Our Expectations of Students To develop organizational, listening and notetaking skills To enhance appropriate study habits To inspire independence in thinking and behavior To expand time management skills To inspire appropriate questioning for help when needed To provide firm, fair yet friendly atmosphere which is conducive to learning experience To prepare fifth graders for middle school

Teaming- A Collaborative Effort We believe that teaming will: increase your child’s educational experience. better prepare students for the middle school. allow teachers to further enhance teaching practices. help students become more responsible and organized.

SNACK Students are encouraged to bring a healthy snack. Snack is at 1:00. We have students with allergies to various types of food. Please be conscious of any nut related foods.

Birthday Celebrations Birthday Readers You may send in a non-food related goodie bag or favor

Homework Room & Think About It Room 1. When a student does not have an assignment completed on time, he/she will sign his/her homework log page. 2. Parental contact will be made when a third assignment is not completed on time within one marking period. *The students are assigned to the Homework Room for an entire recess period. Think About It Students are sent here if there was a behavorial issue. They c omplete a reflection shhet

Specials Schedule Monday: Library & Enrichment Tuesday: Art & Spanish Wednesday: PE & Academic Support Thursday: Music & Spanish/Technology Friday: I & D & PE **Schedules given to students**

Fifth Grade Highlights Field Trips: Bouman-Stickney- TBD Readington Middle School Orientation DaVinci Center Other trips also being reviewed

Report Card/Grading Genesis Grading system A – 90-100 B – 80-89 F – less than 59 Effort Grades: O-Outstanding S-Satisfactory I-Inconsistent U-Unsatisfactory

It is important that we keep an open line of communication! Ext. 2028 ahaberkern@readington.k12.nj.us Assignment books

Classroom Practices Notebook checks for neatness and organization Cubbies checked for neatness and organization Computer use throughout day Healthy snack can be brought in daily Website & Genesis Check website for additional information and slide shows Genesis- review for assignments and grades

Behavior Policy Be respectful of their peers and teachers as well as property. Listen attentively and wait for appropriate time to speak (usually by raising hand). Cooperate and work together. When a student repeats misbehaviors or commits a serious infraction, the principal will be notified. Behavior detentions will be given at the discretion of the teacher. These detentions will be held before school or during lunchtime.

Homework Assignments Are… Due upon student arrival to classroom - Students need to come to school with homework completed Required to have proper heading. Checked for accuracy, completion, & effort Given nightly; occasionally on weekends Genesis- parental portal *Homework Room is mandatory if assignments are not satisfactorily completed.

Consistency and Communication are the keys to success! The Winning Formula Consistency and Communication are the keys to success!

A Little About Mrs. Haberkern Masters of Education Graduate of Penn State University! ROAR! 23 years teaching Mother of Gregory, 15, and Ryan, 7 1/2! Eagles & Phillies fan! I love tea, wind chimes, the beach at sunset, roller coasters, and Johnny Depp!!!

My Family

The United States: Making a New Nation Social Studies Program: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: The United States: Making a New Nation Units of Study: Native Americans Exploration/Relations with Native Americans Colonization American Revolution

Social Studies Special Features Discovery Education Unit Streaming www.discoveryeducation.com Biographies Leveled Readers by unit Primary Sources Time Links Internet resources such as: www.harcourtschool.com/ss1 Meet ECO!!!

Projects & Assessment Mini-projects throughout units Lesson study guides & vocabulary Discovery Education Videos throughout units QUESTS- part quiz- part test

What are Primary Sources? They are additional sources to gather information to enliven past people and events such as maps, historical documents, paintings and drawings, speeches, letters and newspaper articles, political cartoons, photographs, and posters.

Language Arts Reading Writing Word Study- Word Journeys

The Writing/Reading Workshop The workshop approach to the teaching of reading and writing is a student centered approach, one where the students are active participants in their learning. Educators implementing the workshop approach hold the belief that students learn to read and write by actively and purposefully engaging in those behaviors. The curriculum is driven by the students’ interests and they have the freedom to choose what it is they wish to read and write (Atwell, 1998; Rief 1992)

Components of the Workshop Time, choice, response. A well organized and highly structured classroom. High expectations for behavior and academic achievement Mini-lessons, conferences, status of the class reports, student independent reading or writing time, and student sharing usually occur daily. Student centered learning with many opportunities for student interaction

The movement of students and teacher around the classroom as is necessary. A desire to foster a life-long love of reading and writing. Teacher modeling and teacher writing with the students. Publication of student work

Reading Response Notebook Student responses to assignments /sessions based on the day’s lesson will be written in this notebook. Assignments/sessions will be taped into notebook which provide the directions for completion (see example). Session assignments will also be posted on Google Classroom (see example). Sessions will be reviewed and graded. Grades will reflect completion of assignment (pass/fail) as well as for the quality of the responses (letter grades).

Reading Log Biblionasium (see website) will be used for recording nightly reading. https://www.biblionasium.com/sign_ins Students should record title of book, number of pages read, and time spent reading. Students should attempt to read 20-30 minutes a night gradually increasing their reading stamina as the year progresses. Please encourage your child to be honest as these are reviewed to help determine appropriate reading levels and choice. (The Reading Police !!!) Logs will be scored as a quiz (check system).

Google Classroom Classes have been created which all students have joined. Class assignments and links will be added often. https://classroom.google.com/h There is a reading class and a writing class. Writing pieces will be drafted directly onto Google Classroom. Student work is easily accessible from home. GREATEST TEACHING TOOL EVER!!!

Welcome to Writer’s Workshop! The idea behind Writer’s Workshop is simple: if we know from experience that a workshop approach to the teaching of writing works well for aspiring professional writers, why shouldn’t we use this approach in our classrooms? As in a professional writer’s workshop, each student in the class is a working author. The teacher is a writing professional and peer coach, guiding authors as they explore their craft. Writer’s Workshop is designed to emphasize the act of writing itself—students spend most of their time putting pencil to paper, not just learning about it. Over time, students learn to choose their own topics and to manage their own development as they work through a wide variety of writing projects in a sustained and self-directed way.

Writing Units Personal Narrative Character Perspective Literary & Comparative Essays Informational Non-fiction writing Researched-based Essay Poetry

Reading Units Teacher’s College Units of Study: Author: Lucy Calkins, The Reading and Writing Project, Teacher’s College, Columbia University Interpretation Book Clubs: Theme Tackling Complexity: Moving Up Levels ofNon-fiction Argument and Advocacy: Researching Debatable Issues Fantasy Book Clubs: The Magic of Themes and Symbols Reading Like A Fan

Reading Units are being piloted in 1 or 2 classrooms across the grades Thinking Deeply about author intent, character development, etc. Taking a narrow but deep approach to reading Presently using Writing Units from Teacher’s College

Technology Google Classroom Biblionasium Edmodo https://classroom.google.com/h Biblionasium https://www.biblionasium.com/sign_ins Edmodo https://www.edmodo.com/home

Reading Workshop Approach Reading Workshop follows a very similar format to writing workshop. First the teacher models a reading strategy during a mini-lesson. Next students engage in a large block of time where they apply their reading strategies. Lastly, the students meet to share what they learned as readers. Supplemental Materials: Mentor texts Picture Books Authentic Literature & Read Alouds Word Study Word Journeys

Back To School Night 2002 Strategic Thinking “True comprehension goes beyond literal understanding and involves the reader’s interaction with text. If students are to become thoughtful, insightful readers, they must extend their thinking beyond a superficial understanding of the text.” Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis This means moving beyond answering questions at the end of a story. Mrs. Tommasina Biase

Back To School Night 2002 Why teach reading strategies? “Once thought of as the natural result of decoding plus oral language, comprehension is now viewed as a much more complex process involving knowledge, experience, thinking and teaching.” (Linda Fielding and P. David Pearson, 1994) Students may be able to decode or read the words in a book but if they don’t have the knowledge of the subject or some experience to connect to what they read, they won’t understand the text. Mrs. Tommasina Biase

Top 10 Reading Strategies Connect to the Text Ask Questions Back To School Night 2002 Top 10 Reading Strategies Connect to the Text Ask Questions Expand Vocabulary Predict & Prove Sense It Decide What’s Important Make Inferences Then Draw Conclusions Summarize and Synthesize Check Your Understanding Build Fluency Here they are --- If you’ve attended any seminars or read any research --- they should look familiar. Mrs. Tommasina Biase

CAUTION! Reading Strategies Back To School Night 2002 Reading Strategies CAUTION! “Although these strategies tend to be introduced independently, readers rarely use these in isolation when reading. These thoughts interact and intersect to help readers make meaning and often occur simultaneously during reading.” Harvey and Goudvis These strategies are not something that can be taught on Monday and tested on Friday. They must be interwoven throughout ALL curricular areas. The strategies are introduced, modeled, and supported - Kindergarten through 12th grade. Mrs. Tommasina Biase

Decide What’s Important Back To School Night Check Understanding 2002 Build Fluency Sense It Ask Questions Reading is Thinking Connect To Text Making Inferences/ Draw Conclusions Decide What’s Important Throughout this school year (2003-2004) we will continue to focus on reading and these reading strategies. We will feature a reading strategy each month. Buildings will receive a new Power point presentation for that strategy. They will be designed to share at staff meetings, department meetings, or grade level meetings. Expand Vocabulary Summarize/ Synthesize Predict and Prove Mrs. Tommasina Biase