1. CURRICULUM NIGHT 2015-2016 Mrs. Pendergraft & Mr. Bresnan

2. DAILY SCHEDULE 8:00-8:30 Morning Meeting/ Calendar 8:30-9:30 Math 9:30-10:15 Reading 10:15-10:45 Specials 10:55-11:25 Lunch 11:25-12:00 Language Arts 12:00-12:15 Recess 12:15-1:15 Social Segment/Snack 1:15-2:00 Science/ Social Studies

3. COMMUNICATION FOLDERS  Check folders nightly for important info.  Empty the “Keep at Home” side of the folder.  Check for papers to sign on the “Return” side.  Read your child’s daily report, sign it, and return.  You have all been doing a wonderful job with this! Thank you!

4. CONFERENCES & REPORT CARDS Parent/Teacher Conferences  We can schedule a general conference at any time.  We can have these over the phone or set up a time to meet after school.  If the meeting pertains to your student’s IEP, we can set up a time for your student’s IEP committee to meet.

5. GRADES Class Requirements  Expose students assessed on the GAA to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards at “an entry or perquisite level”  Address Students’ IEP goals which continue to define critical and necessary skills related to students’ present levels of performance. All instruction will embed the mastery of IEP goals and objectives “so that skills are not developed in isolation, but within the context of the course content.” (GADOE) Access/GAA courses provide exposure to the content outlined by Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. This exposure to content can occur through classroom lessons, community based instruction and independent living activities. Progress Reports and Report Cards  Students will receive a numeric grade for all core content classes required to earn the units needed to pass 3 rd, 4 th, and 5 th grade.  Grades will be sent on the same schedule as general education students with additional IEP progress reports coming home every 9 weeks.  Please sign and return report cards/progress reports to school.

6. HOMEWORK  Homework will begin next week.  Homework bags will go home on Monday and be expected back on Friday.  The bag will contain a calendar of the month’s assignments with the materials (books, flashcards, worksheets, etc) needed for that week. Home Tasks  This year to make the homework bags more well rounded I would like to include some home tasks.  I will be sending home a questionnaire to see what types of home tasks (dressing, cleaning, helping out around the house) you would like us to work on as a team.  This way I can help to provide you with visuals and tools that may make it easier.  This can help the students to take more responsibility at home and generalize skills that we are working on here at school.

7. GENERAL INFO.  Label anything that your child brings to school.  Please keep all phone numbers and addresses up to date.  Remember to send in an excuse when your child is absent.  Please use envelopes for any money coming to school…remember to write your child’s name on it.  Please write your student’s ID number on checks for lunch money.

8. INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING  All students in our classroom have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  Teaching strategies/techniques and curriculum used for our students are based on the individualized educational needs of the student.  Curriculums used in our classroom:  Common Core State Standards  Unique Learning System  ABLLS-R  TeachTown  Edmark

9. UNIQUE LEARNING SYSTEM Unique Learning System is designed specifically for students with special learning needs. While the foundation of Unique is the academic content standards (Reading, Writing, Math, Science and SS), the lessons are modified to ensure that all children have a way to participate and learn. These lessons include stories, chapter books, comprehension activities, writing activities, Math lessons for time, money, counting and problems solving. There are also lessons that let the children experience recipes, craft projects, and Science experiments.

10. TEACHTOWN TeachTown combines computer lessons with offline activities for students. It tracks data automatically so that we can see how students are doing. The program addresses early learning standards and IEP goals. The program can be individualized to work on each student’s specific goals and needs. It is research-based and kids are highly motivated because it's fun.

11. COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM Why are visuals important in our classroom?  Visuals help students relate visual pictures with their environment to express their wants and needs.  Visuals also help facilitate the learning of expressive (communicating or speaking) and receptive (listening and understanding) language.

12. FRIENDS CLUB We have a Friend’s Club of selected General Education peers who are trained to encourage and support our students to be an active member of the Boston community. The “friends” visit our classrooms for Social Skills help and other interactions with our students.

13. QUESTIONS Thank you all for coming to Curriculum Night! Please let me know if you have any questions. I will be happy to answer them for you!