Welcome to Back to School Night Ms. Learned Fabulous Room 14 September 7 th, 2011

THANK YOU PTA!!  P.E.  Computer Lab  Music  Art in Action  Library Time  Accelerated Reader  Supplies  Assemblies  Study trips  Reading Specialist  Upper Grade Teacher  Garden

About Ms. Learned  This is my 15 th year of teaching, with 9 years in 1 st and 2 nd grade, and 4 (starting 5) in 5 th grade.  I grew up in the mid-west and come from a family of teachers.  I taught both swimming and skiing to kids when I was a teenager and young adult.  My husband Michi grew up in Japan, but immigrated to the United States in 1997 to learn lutherie. Sometimes I travel with him to attend guitar shows.  In my free time, I cook, play taiko, trail run, swim, participate in boot-camp, and belong to a book club.

Michi, is a luthier (a guitar maker).

Michi and I just got married this summer.

Goma-chan, our one and only pet, is the best cat in the world!

Meet Michelle McKeever

What’s New at Highlands?  Accelerated Reader  Multi-media technology  School supplies purchased by PTA  Our lunch hour is from 12-1:00, with lunch being from 12:40-1:00  New P.E. teacher Natalie Bensky  New tech teacher Shannon Schadler  Integration specialist Michelle Mc Keever  New RSP teachers Betty Tran and Judith Modlen

What’s New in 5 th Grade?  Community Service  Instrumental Music  Persuasive Essay  Social Studies Alive  Science Fair projects  Preparing for middle school  Family Life  Promotion

5 th Grade Language Arts Writing Workshop  Follows the Writing Process (ex: Immersion, Collect, Draft, Revise, Edit, Publish, Reflect, Celebrate)  Kid/teacher models  Units by genre (ex: Responses to Literature, Persuasive Essays, Personal Narratives, and Feature Article) Reading Workshop  Reading to learn and learning to read  Explicit reading strategy instruction through book clubs and content area reading  Accelerated Reader- Extended reading at students’ levels (school and home)  Spelling and vocabulary instruction around content areas

5 th Grade Math  Every Day Mathematics website is It has games and the Student Reference Book.  Family letters  Smaller class size  Emphasis of a solid understanding of fractions, decimals and percent and a fluency between the three  Math games that develop fluency  Mars and Problem of the Month  Comfort with math facts=math power

History and Science Curriculum  Project based within cooperative learning groups  Social Studies Alive! -A hands-on, interactive approach to teaching Social Studies -Covers United States History from Native Americans to Industrialization. Industrialization. -Has an interactive notebook that children make their own -Has an interactive notebook that children make their own  Foss Science - Water Planet for Earth Science - Mixtures and Solutions for Physical Science - Living Systems for Biology and Life Sciences -Emphasis on the scientific method and investigation

Homework Should take fifty minutes to an hour Ask questions, send s if homework needs to be modified Some is practice, some is to connect families to the classroom, and some is working on and finishing up important classwork and projects Should be completed by student with some parent support Lunch time study hall if homework is missing or incomplete two days in a row Parents will receive a phone call if there are problems

 Computer lab Assistant  Art in Action assistants  Gardening club support  Accelerated Reader –labeling of class library  Copying  Yearbook photo shooting  Scholastic book ordering  Project support and preparation  Recycling club support  Room Parents  Promotion Committee  Thursday envelope stuffer Volunteer Opportunities

Some Important 5 th Grade Dates  September 30 CSM Planetarium  October TBD Native American Assembly  November 1-10 Conferences  December 14 Science Fair  January 30 Colonial Williamsburg Day  February 23 SJ Tech Museum Chemistry Lab  March TBD Dissections  April 12 and 13 Angel Island  May TBD Borel Theater Performance  June 11 Pool Party

Class Website (Will be up on Monday, September 12 th ) /  Newsletters  Back to School Night presentation  Homework—posted every night  Helpful links  Projects-monthly projects  Study trip schedule  Parent and teacher collaboration

Questions or Concerns? Leave me a note on and index card tonight – Phone –

My philosophy summed up well…. Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of the leaders are those when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say, “We have done it ourselves.” Lao Tsu, 604 B.C.E