Welcome to Ms. Foster' s 5th Grade Classroom!

All About Our Classroom

• My Educational Background

• Resources

• The Year at a Glance

• State Standards

• Grading Procedures

• Parent Involvement

• Homework Procedures

• Resources

Language Arts Units

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All About Our Classroom

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The Year at a Glance

1.  The 900 Reading Club

The purpose of the 900 Reading Club is to increase reading skills, motivation and appreciation for reading. The class will earn an incentive each quarter that they achieve a class goal in which each student reads at least 900 pages at his/her independent reading level. Students make decisions on the type of incentives they will receive.

Teacher will:

• schedule parental visits and incentives

• supervise students in completing journals for the books read

• read with students

Student will:

• set appropriate goals and read to fulfill the goal

• write a journal response for each book read

• keep track of this reading in the 900 Reading Club log.

 Parents will:

• read with students following current strategies to reinforce learning

• supervise students in completing the journals for the books read

• visit classroom to read with students

• plan/provide incentives for students’ reading goals

2.  WEEKLY MINI-OPEN HOUSE

Parents are invited to visit our classroom on Friday mornings.  The purpose of these visits is to allow students to share with parents what they have learned during the week.  The presentations may be in any subject. One such meeting will be a reading celebration where parents and students share books and enjoy refreshments.

3.  OUR WRITING PROGRAM

I feel it is more important to focus on students during the process of writing which incorporates their independence in planning, writing, revising, thinking and editing their own work than on a finished writing sample. Students will be given many opportunities to read and write in many different genres, for various purposes and audiences.  Such experiences will include producing a monthly class newspaper, creating student websites, PowerPoints, and collaborating with other students. The class newspaper will help you stay up-to-date with our classroom events. All activities will support students in gaining writing and technology skills through practice.

To facilitate this process, students will be encouraged to use many approaches. Some of the approaches include using graphic organizers and programs such as the following:

• Four-Square Plus One will support students in combining ideas to structure paragraphs.

• Lucy Calkins Writing Workshops: Students will learn strategies to support them in becoming better writers.

• Six Good Writer’s Traits (ideas, organization, sentence fluency, conventions, voice, word choice) will allow students to share a common language that will empower them to gain understanding of what it takes to be a successful writer as they take responsibility for their own writing.

• A Scoring Guide/Rubric will support students’ independence in managing the writing process by providing a tool that they can use to help them assess good writing and to set goals for themselves. This guide gives students a framework to understand when their writing is strong.

• Score Charts used in conjunction with the rubric will enable students to begin to take part in self-assessment and self-management to become more accountable for their writing.

4. OUR READING PROGRAM

Good readers use good strategies. Some good reading strategies our students will learn are the following:

• Making Connections

• Predicting

• Inferring

• Questioning

• Summarizing

• Visualizing

• Synthesizing

• Analyzing

Reading Response Logs: Students will use response journals to practice these fundamental reading skills at their independent level.  

5.  OUR MATH PROGRAM

Our math program is "Everyday Mathematics" (The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project).

Please allow your child to practice mathematics at home via this Web site's Mathematics link.  Your child will find activities, games and videos that are aligned with our current classroom topic will provide practice and enrichment.  

6.  OUR SPELLING PROGRAM

Students will use the following resources to build vocabulary and spelling.

• Words Their Way: This program offers students a powerful approach to word study as it teaches students to look closely at words to discover vowel patterns, syllable structures, and spelling meaning connections.

• Wordly Wise 3000: This program will be used to enhance students in vocabulary building.

7. OUR CLASSROOM OFFICERS

To help model good citizenship, leadership and other social skills, our class will select the following classroom officers.

• President: lead classroom meetings and initiate peer decision making.

• Vice-president: assist classroom meetings

• Secretary: will keep records of all meetings/negotiations.

8. OUR MONTHLY NEWSPAPER

Our class will produce a monthly newspaper that will help acquaint families with what happens in our classroom. This newspaper will be student created and student produced.

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State Standards
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Because parents are the child’s most important teacher, I welcome your input throughout the year. Working with your family as a team, we can make a difference. The following are some of the ways in which your assistance is greatly needed.

1. Parents Can Assist with Homework Completion:

• Parents can help in one way by providing quiet time preferably at the same hour  each evening.  This system will enable your child to concentrate adequately and  to establish a routine of studying.  You may check your child’s assignment notebook daily to learn which assignments are currently due and to help your student develop good study habits of turning in assignments on time.

• I will send home periodically games that you can play with your child at home to help reinforce certain skills such as in mathematics.

• I will also send home periodically the reading strategy that our class is        currently studying.  Parents can help by reinforcing this skill at home as you  read with your child.

• Please encourage your child to seek help as needed.  The first twenty minutes of each day will be set aside for students who need specific individual tutoring, or your child may request to come in before or after school for extra help.

2. Parents Can Assist by Forming a Family/Teacher Partnership: A Two-Way Communication

• TRACKING STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS

To help students develop better study and organizational skills and to help their families keep track of assignments, students will be given a student planner.

Teacher will:

Post all daily assignments for each subject on the assignment board in the classroom.

 Student will:

Jot down assignments from the board for each subject in his/her planner each day.

 Parents will:

Make a daily check of this assignments in the student planner.

Check the student's completed work that relates to each assignment.

• SENDING WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORTS

To keep families up-to-date with their student’s academic and social progress, a weekly progress report folder will be sent out each FRIDAY, (you will be notified when/if reports are not sent). Parents are strongly encouraged to respond to these reports so that students are given ultimate opportunities to improve their learning in the most consistent and efficient manner.

Teacher will:

send the weekly report home each Friday or a letter stating why it is not sent.

be ready to discuss and implement an improvement plan with families as needed so that no child is left behind

Students will

give the report to parents each Friday after school

return the parental response form to the teacher on Monday

 Parents will

Make comments each week

Sign and return the response form

Set up for a 3-way conference with child/teacher/parent to discuss an  improvement plan if necessary.

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WHEN IS IT GIVEN?

Homework is assigned on Monday through Thursday evenings.  Weekends are used for make-up work or pursuing other goals and interests. Homework will generally require no more than 45 minutes of time.  Please contact me if your child never brings homework home or is spending too much time on it.

WHY IS IT GIVEN?   

Homework will be assigned when extra practice and/or reinforcement are needed.  Because math and reading require continuous practice in order to progress adequately, most of the homework will encompass these two subjects.

HOW IS IT GIVEN? 

Students should already be familiar with the assignment because homework is always an extension of the daily lesson, never on unfamiliar material.

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Discipline Procedures

Supply List

• 3 subject folders