Jackson Elementary School August 22, 2013 5th Grade Orientation Jackson Elementary School August 22, 2013

Introduction You and your student are beginning a new adventure. It will require patience, perseverance and hard work. As parents, you will need to step back and let your student begin to experience independence and begin to take responsibility for their learning. As part of our responsibility, we will be preparing your student for the greater demands of middle school. We will hold your student accountable for their behavior and academics. It is their responsibility to come to class prepared, turn in assignments on time, and behave appropriately for maximum learning.

Curriculum We are following the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) and the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). Students will be expected to apply their existing knowledge while learning new concepts. The curriculum is fast-paced and intense. Your student will have to stay focused. If your student gets behind, it will be very difficult for him/her to catch up.

Math Students will be applying their knowledge of skills they have learned or should have learned prior to coming to 5th grade. We will be applying those skills to real world problems. Our focus will be on order of operations, exponents, multiplication and division of multiple digit numbers. If they are not proficient with their multiplication tables through 12, they need to work on those at night. If they are weak in this area, they will have a very difficult time. Also, students will be expected to take notes so they have examples when they are completing homework assignments.

Reading The curriculum for Reading is intense. Your child will be exploring several genres of reading as well as poetry. Students will be expected to read every night for at least 20 minutes. We participate in the Pizza Hut Book-It program, Six Flags for Reading, and Reading Jedi. Also, we will be reading several novels this year. Our novels will go along with the Social Studies curriculum for the first part of the year. For example, we will begin with a comparison and contrast of the Civil War Era with a focus on dialect and culture.

Reading Fluency in Reading is important and your child will need to practice reading aloud as well as reading silently. Your child should be reading 120 words per minute when they enter 5th grade. By December, they should be at 135 and by May, 153. If you child is not at 120 words per minute, he/she needs to practice at night.

Writing We will be working on all genres of Writing throughout the year. The genres are Narrative, Persuasive(Argument/Opinion) and Informational. We have begun focusing on the Writing Process and Narrative Writing

Writing We plan to have two practice tests as we did this past using Write Score or another similar program. The tests are scored independently of the teachers at JES and will provide us (teachers, parents and students) information that will help make our students better writers.

Writing Students will be working on a paper per week as well as free writing. Students will be graded based on the rubric for the State Writing Test. This rubric is in the students’ writing folder and is posted on my webpage Students’ writings will be sent home as they are graded. They must be returned to put in their portfolio.

Social Studies We have a huge task with Social Studies. We cover from the Civil War all the way to present day. It is fast paced because of the amount of material that has to be taught and learned. It is necessary for your child to study the important facts and people of these time periods. Students will be expected to take notes and participate in class discussions. Students will be expected to study the notes nightly in order to be prepared for the quizzes and tests as they are scheduled.

Science The same expectations will apply to Science as to Social Studies. We will be conducting experiments as well in the Science lab and in the classroom. It is necessary for your child to follow the Lab Procedures when writing their Lab Reports and findings.

Grades Because of the make up of the CCGPS you child will not have as many grades as in the past. It is important for the student and you (as the parent) to understand this so they will not get complacent with their studying. Every grade is important. Your child will receive Quiz grades during the unit and a Unit Test at the end of the unit. Homework is a vital part of your child’s daily routine. It is independent, unsupervised practice that will help us determine where your child needs extra assistance. All grades taken will not be counted in Infinite Campus. Grades are used to determine the needs of the students. If additional instruction is necessary, then a grade may be set aside and the concept re-tested. Unit Tests will not be re-tested.

Grades With that said, it is important for you to know that we will not be taking a class grade on homework. It is practice. Lack of completing homework will be reflected in the Self Development section on the Report Card as an S, N, or U. Grades will be posted regularly in Infinite Campus. Students will have 2-4 grades in each subject area each grading period. You should not expect more than that on the final grading process at progress reports and report cards because we are working toward mastery. Your student will be assessed each week and multiple times in order to attain mastery which is 85%.

Conclusion We are looking forward to working with each of you this coming year. With open communication between the teachers and parents we can insure a successful year. Please keep in mind that the first point of contact should be the teacher. No one knows the situation better than the teacher.

Questions????

Thank you for your continued support!