1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

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

7. 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

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

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

10. 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

11. It is important that we keep an open line of communication!
Ext. 2028
Assignment books

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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.

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

16. 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!!!

17. My Family

20. 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

21. Social Studies Special Features
Discovery Education Unit Streaming
Biographies
Leveled Readers by unit
Primary Sources
Time Links
Internet resources such as:
Meet ECO!!!

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

23. 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.

24. Language Arts
Reading
Writing
Word Study- Word Journeys

25. 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)

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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).

29. Reading Log
Biblionasium (see website) will be used for recording nightly reading.
Students should record title of book, number of pages read, and time spent reading.
Students should attempt to read 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).

30. Google Classroom
Classes have been created which all students have joined. Class assignments and links will be added often.
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!!!

31. 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.

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

33. 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

34. 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

35. Technology Google Classroom Biblionasium Edmodo
Biblionasium
Edmodo

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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 ( ) 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