1. Miss Dickens

2.  I love being a teacher!!!! I have the best job in the world  I taught bilingual second grade for one year and first grade for two years at the Wahluke School District.  I am currently working on my Masters Degree in English as a Second Language.  When I am not at school, I love to spend time with my friends and family, ‘shop till I drop’, eat chocolate, read, travel and run with my child, Lucy.

3.  E-mail ~ jndickens@seattleschools.org@seattleschools.org  Classroom Phone~ (206)252-2512  In person ~ schedule a time with me, I am always here  Website ~ This will be my #1 form of communication.  Orange Folders~ I will try my best to save paper and update information on the website, however, sometimes things will be sent home as needed!

4. What is the ideal graduate? During the presentation we brainstormed words that described our “ideal graduate.” In both sessions parents came up with words like; independent, compassionate, driven, responsible, etc. When we did this as teachers, we came up with similar traits. It is interesting to see that no one said, mathematician, writer, reader, etc. In 2 nd grade, social/emotional learning and 21 st century skills are just as important as learning content.

5. 2nd Grade Building Blocks that will lead to the ideal graduate…  Social/Emotional Learning:Positive Discipline  Project Based Learning  Common Core Standards  21 st Century skills  A classroom community full of love and compassion.  Whole Brain Teaching

6.  Learning should be fun and exciting.  Our most important priority is to instill a love of learning in our students.  Second grade is a place for social/emotional learning AND academic learning. Choice time is JUST as important as math time!  Family involvement is a VERY important part of student learning!

7. 9:25 Morning Meeting- MMM on Mondays 9:30 Word Study 9:50 Reading Workshop (Daily Five)/Global Read Aloud 10:40 Snack/Brain Pop Jr./Brain Break 10:50 Writing Workshop 11:45 Class Meeting 12:10Recess 12:35 Lunch 1:05 P.E./Art/Tech 1:35 Math 2:10Recess 2:25Math Centers 2:40Science/PBL 3:35Clean Up/Dismissal *Every other Thursday: We will have library from 2:30-3:00 *Every Friday we have reading buddies with Mrs. Marks Kindergarten class from 2:30-3:00

8.  http://qaedickens.weebly.com  Blog Feed  password protection: explorers  student pages coming soon!

9. Beginning of year Math Goals:  Understanding Place Value to 1,000.  Fluently adding and subtracting within 20.  Skip counting to 1,000. (5’s, 10’s, 100’s)  Solving problems and explaining our thinking. Beginning of year LITERACY goals:  Building a Reading Life: Students are learning that reading is a balance of fluency and comprehension, what their current strengths are, and how they can strengthen themselves as readers.  Reading Strategies: Learning the tools skilled readers use, watching them be modeled, guided practice, and using independently.  Building writing stamina, developing writing routines and processes and setting goals.  Narrative Story Writing: Small Moments

10.  PBL is a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning important knowledge and 21 st century skills.  PBL provides in depth inquiry- Dive Deep!  Students have a VOICE and CHOICE.  Opportunities for revision and reflection.  Provides complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and learning tasks.  Community involvement

11.  Nov/Dec – Global Water Issues  Driving Question: Why doesn’t everyone in the world have safe water?  Spring – Literacy/Technology Integration

12.  Designed to help children become responsible, respectful and resourceful members of community.  Research tells us that children who feel a sense of ‘connectedness’ to community are less likely to misbehave. FIVE CRITERIA FOR POSITIVE DISCIPLINE 1. Helps children feel a sense of connection. (Belonging & significance) 2. Is mutually respectful and encouraging. (Both kind & firm) 3. Is effective long - term. (Considers what the child is thinking, feeling, learning, and deciding about himself and his world – and what to do in the future to survive or to thrive.) 4. Teaches important social and life skills. (Respect, concern for others, problem solving, and cooperation as well as the skills to contribute to the home, school or larger community.) 5. Invites children to discover how capable they are. (Encourages the constructive use of personal power and autonomy.

13.  Classroom Meetings  Brain in Hand (self-regulation) ~ calm body spot in classroom  Encouragement vs. Praise  Kelso’s Choice  Solving problems on our own (BIG problem vs. small problem)

14.  Chris Biffle  www.wholebrainteaching.com www.wholebrainteaching.com  Fun and engaging.  Provides higher order thinking skills. A few basic whole brain strategies:  Class! Yes!  Mirrors  Teach! Ok!  Scoreboard  College Talk

15. Parent Volunteers o Volunteer Spot (Thank you Monica Zentler) o Time Slots: o Literacy 9:30-10:40 (1) M-F o Math 1:35-2:40 (1) M-F o PBL Volunteers o Technology Volunteers (Student Blogging/Websites) o Field Trip Volunteers\ o Class party volunteers o Help Miss Dickens volunteers A big thanks to our class coordinator this year, Kelly DeBruyne If you are not receiving her weekly e-mails, please let her know! kellydebruyne@live.com Another big thanks to Liz Heron for taking such wonderful pictures of our class

16. Dreambox and Raz Kids Reading! 20 minutes per night, 100 minutes per week. Reading logs are due on MONDAYS. http://www.edudemic.com/skipping-your-reading-homework/ http://www.devstu.org/research-individualized-daily-reading Please remind your student to bring their BOOK ENVELOPE back to school everyday and choose a ‘just right book’ to bring home each night. Dreambox and Raz kids Blogging- Look at our website and respond together once we have student sites up and running and student blogs. Homework Suggestions: Handwriting Practice Keyboarding Math Homework Resources:  http://mathforlove.com/classes/ http://mathforlove.com/classes/

17.  Please don’t forget to sign up for conferences!  Thanks so much for coming and supporting your child