2. Please fill out one of the Back To School Night Cards located on your desk for the block your child has me.Please fill out one of the Back To School Night Cards located on your desk for the block your child has me. Please tell me one surefire thing to say to your child to get him/her to smile! Anything…!Please tell me one surefire thing to say to your child to get him/her to smile! Anything…! Please drop your card in the basket by the door on your way out.Please drop your card in the basket by the door on your way out. Welcome to Mrs. Owings’ Language Arts Class

3. Welcome to 6th Grade English!!! Agenda : 1.Introduction 2.Course Objectives and Overview 3.Grading 4.Contact Information

4. Educational Philosophy: Student-centered learning fosters greater understanding of content material; school and community are linked; parent involvement is essential to student success.

5. Loudoun County’s 6 th Grade Language Arts POS = Program of Studies = Curriculum Oral Language Reading Workshop Vocabulary Writing Workshop

6. National Study Shows Positive Correlation Between Reading & Standardized Test Scores How many minutes a day does your child read for PLEASURE? Where will they score on Standardized Tests? If they read … they score in the …. and aquire about… ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40.4 min. per day = 90th percentile 2,357,000 words per year 12.9 min. per day = 50th percentile 601,000 words per year 1.6 min per day = 10th percentile 51,000 words per year

7. My Goal My goal for this year is to have your child free read 30 minutes every night! You can help me by ensuring that they have a quiet and comfortable place to read & even by offering your own incentives at home.You can help me by ensuring that they have a quiet and comfortable place to read & even by offering your own incentives at home. Offer your child things to read. Newspapers, magazines even comics that you liked as a child.Offer your child things to read. Newspapers, magazines even comics that you liked as a child.

8. Writing Workshop Mini lessons Independent writing time Individual writing conferences Time for sharing & publishing

9. Reading Workshop Minilessons Independent reading time Individual conferences Reading notebooks Reading record Reading responses 40 book challenge Book talks & read-alouds

10. What Can They Expect in Terms of Homework? 20/30 or more minutes of free-reading a night Structured assignments that the student did not have time to finish in class. Students will be expected to study for tests and quizzes at home. Vocabulary tests and quizzes.

11. Grading Policy Homework is on the board in the classroom. It is also available online. Look for The Thunder calendar page.Homework is on the board in the classroom. It is also available online. Look for The Thunder calendar page. Based on a straight point scale: Points earned/Total pointsBased on a straight point scale: Points earned/Total points

12. Contact Information E-mail: shelly.owings@lcps.orgE-mail: shelly.owings@lcps.org Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about your child’s progress in my class or questions pertaining to school in general.Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about your child’s progress in my class or questions pertaining to school in general.

13. Quick notes 1. The 40 book challenge 2. Reading workshop 3. Writing workshop 4. Tests/ Quizzes 5. Book Reviews

14. Thank you in advance!