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

A Little About Mrs. Haberkern Masters of Education Graduate of Penn State University! ROAR! 18 years teaching Mother of Gregory, 10, and Ryan, 2 1/2!

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.

Morning Procedures Mrs. Haberkern During homeroom the students engage in the following activities: Read “Morning Message” on PowerPoint presentation for daily reminders and morning work 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

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 Birthday celebrations are welcome

Afternoon Procedures/Homeroom Period At the end of each day… Students are provided with an opportunity to work on class assignments as well as homework. Additionally, it is a time for teachers to meet with students for a variety of needs. Assignments are reviewed and copied into agenda books Children stay in seats until they are dismissed

Fifth Grade Highlights Projects: Science Festival Poetry Portfolio Social Studies mini-projects Field Trips: Readington Museum Readington Middle School Orientation Liberty Science Center

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 Website- for additional information *Homework Room is mandatory if assignments are not satisfactorily completed.

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

Homework 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. 3. The student will serve a morning or an afternoon detention (teacher discretion) upon not completing a fourth assignment during one marking period. *The students are assigned to the Homework Room for an entire recess period.

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.

Report Card/Grading Report Cards will be computerize New grading system A – 90-100 B – 80-89 C – 70-79 D – 60-69 F – less than 59 Effort Grades: O-Outstanding S-Satisfactory I-Inconsistent U-Unsatisfactory

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

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

Social Studies Special Features Biographies Leveled Readers by unit Primary Sources Time Links Internet resources such as: www.harcourtschool.com/ss1 Meet ECO!!! Readers’ Theater: Every Student Is a Star

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.

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: Harcourt Trophies Picture Books Authentic Literature Word Study Spelling/Vocabulary

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

CAFE C- Comprehension A- Accuracy F- Fluency E- Expanding Vocabulary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIiRNkt1DDw C- Comprehension A- Accuracy F- Fluency E- Expanding Vocabulary

Program: FOSS and Delta Science Program: FOSS and Delta - Hands-on activities Modules/Themes Environments Mixtures & Solutions Oceans