First Grade Curriculum & Open House September 22, 2015

Classroom & School Rules *Be Safe *Be Respectful *Be Responsible *Try your best. *Be kind and nice to everyone. *Have good manners.

Behavior Management & Consequences Less Serious or First Time: Gentle reminder Firm reminder Practice doing it right More Serious: Lose a privilege Time Out? Minor or Major

Cl assroom Incentive’s #1—Like all the other classrooms at Cherry Park, students can earn Charger Coins toward classroom celebrations. If we do well in the hallway, cafeteria, Assembly or in the bathroom, we earn a coin. Our celebrations include free choice, bubble gum party, Music while we work or extra recess. #2—I also offer Bear Hugs to students. When they have earned 20 hugs they can get into my Treasure Chest. The surprise in this program is you can earn hugs for making good responsible choices. The opposite is true too. You can lose a hug when you continue to make irresponsible choices, especially after being reminded many times during the day. It’s a bummer for the student and myself. Yet, a lesson was learned. #3—Our Hero award! Each day I pick one boy and one girl as my hero of the day. These students were the best example of our school rules of being safe, being respectful, being responsible an demonstrating good manners. The hero is announced at the end of our day. I tell the class what attributes made them the hero. That student gets to have the trophy at their table spot and gets to be the line leader the following day.

Our class mascot is a brave Lion Everyday, I want my students to be brave to trying new things. I also want them to be the best student they can be! I also promote the importance of getting smarter every day.

? Common Core Standards Common Core Standards are… *More challenging than previous standards! *Nationwide *Focused on skills students need to learn in order to progress *Report Card Aligned What if my child doesn’t know how to… We’ll work on it! What if my child already knows how to… We’ll do some challenge work!

? Curriculum in David Douglas * It’s called Forward! *It is aligned with the rigorous standards of the Common Core *In some ways similar to past curriculums with traditional lessons *It also has online animations, digital readers in addition to real books, and links to other opportunities for learning

Daily Schedule 8:45-9:05 Check in, Morning Work, Calendar 9:05-9:35 Intervention for some. Health, Dailey Oral Language and Comprehension practice 9:35-11:05 90 Minute Reading Block 11:10-11:55 Lunch and Recess 12:00-1:00 Math 1:00-1:45 Writing 1:50-2:30 Specials (Music, P.E., Library & Computer) 2:30-3:00 ELD (Oral Language Lessons) 3:00-3:15 End of Day Routines 3:15 Dismiss

1:50-2:30 Specials *Rotating Schedule (A day, B day, C day) *A Day = P.E. with Mr. Muldoon Shoes for running and playing *B Day = Media (Library and Computer Lab) Bring your library books on this day *C Day = Music with Ms. Wray

Arrival Time 8:30 Breakfast (no earlier please) 8:45 Come down to class when the bell rings (if you are earlier than 8:45, you must wait in cafeteria or front office lobby… yes, even if you have a parent with you… unless you have an appointment with a teacher) *Bus riders will go to breakfast when the buses arrive, then come down to class. *Tardy bell rings at 9:00. All students should be in the classroom and ready to learn on time. When kids come to class tardy, they often miss the beginning of the day directions or first lesson of the day. Please make sure your child is on time.

Dismissal Time  We begin to get ready for dismissal around 3:05.  If something comes up and your student needs to go home in a different way please send a note in the morning. Or call the office before 3:00, so I can get the message.  The phone, is not a good way to let me know that you are changing your student’s dismissal plan during the day. I am not allowed to answer the phone when students are in the classroom.  The bottom line is let me know if the dismissal routine is changing. This helps me make sure your child gets to the right place!

Parental Involvement is a vital part of a smooth running classroom. School safety is a priority at Cherry Park. Adults in the School: (Safety Protocol) *Adults must go to office first and sign in, get visitor badge *Parents who are volunteering are required to fill out a new background check form EACH year before being able to volunteer at school. Fill out now, even if you aren’t planning to volunteer until later… (this is also required if you want to chaperone a field trip later in the year).

BIRTHDAY’S Celebrating your child’s birthday is important. Each student will get a birthday card, birthday pencil and a birthday sticker from me. Also, during the day each student will be given a few moments to feel honored with both a birthday song and words of affirmation from his/her peers. Birthday treats are not allowed. As a first grade team we have grave concerns about student with food allergies. To keep a safe environment we have decided to declare us as a no treat zone.

Homework Expectations Family participation is needed in homework routines in first grade. Reading practice is my only homework in first grade. An adult will need to listen to your child read for 15 minutes Monday through Sunday. Then write what he/she read on his/her reading log. Homework goes home each Monday and is returned the following Monday. Homework starts on September, 28 th. Please support your child's reading habits by providing opportunities for your child to read nightly.

SPELLING PROGRAM Spelling is not longer on our district report card. All three First Grade teachers continue to teach spelling in our classrooms. I believe there is a direct correlation between spelling, reading and writing. Therefore, I continuing to teach it. Every Monday in the Orange Homework Folder, you will find that week’s words. Please practice with your student at home. During the week we will spend about 10 minutes each day practicing in the classroom. At the end of the week, I will give a quiz. I do score the quizzes and record the data in my grade book. Students which are not academically ready, such as a newcomer to English or a student that struggles academically will be exempt from this program.

Contacting Your Teacher I read s before school and during my lunch break. Note: Send it with your child to me Phone: x5197