Back to School Night

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Back to School Night

• Mrs. Kostelac
• Fifth Grade
• Room 203 Cluster Class

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Welcome to Fifth Grade!

• Tonights presentation will cover
• The fifth grade curriculum and enrichment
• Grading and report cards
• Classroom expectations
• Additional important information

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Curriculum

• The content areas or subjects covered in the
  classroom are
• Language Arts
• Writing
• Math
• Social Studies
• Science
• Study Skills and Time Management

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Language Arts

• Pearson Language Arts Program - Celebration Press
  Reading Good Habits, Great Readers is a
  research-based reading curriculum. Perfect for
  schools committed to a comprehensive and
  consistent literacy program, it provides teaching
  and classroom materials to support whole-class
  and small-group reading instruction.

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Balanced Literacy (in minutes per 5 day week)
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• Word Work - Working with words will provide
  learners with the power to decode quickly and
  comprehend as they read. Students also gain the
  ability to spell, use powerful words and express
  their thoughts as they write.
• Interactive Read Aloud - An Interactive Read
  Aloud is a deliberate and explicit method of
  reading instruction. The teacher models for the
  whole class vocabulary development, reading with
  fluency, and comprehension strategies to
  understand text by making his or her thinking
  visible, or transparent.
• Guided Reading - Guided reading is an
  instructional approach that enables the teacher
  to work with a small group of students to help
  them learn effective strategies for processing
  text with understanding. The purpose of guided
  reading is to meet the varying instructional
  needs of all students, enabling them to greatly
  expand their reading powers. While one group is
  working on Guided Reading others are completing
  Literary Centers.
• Shared Reading - Shared reading will provide
  common literary experiences designed to make
  learning accessible and enjoyable for all.

Independent Reading (100 mins per week)
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Writing

• During Writers Workshop, students are given
  daily opportunities to apply what they have
  learned in all content areas through writing.
  Teacher-lead mini-lessons focus on the process
  and craft of writing. Students engage in
  pre-writing, drafting, conferencing, revising,
  editing, and sharing.
• Writers Workshop
• Before Writing Short mini-lesson that addresses
  a specific topic typically no more than 10
  minutes.
• Lessons may include procedural (how the workshop
  works) writers craft (what authors do) writing
  strategies (what writers need in order to make
  sense of the text)
• Mini-lesson focus typically driven by needs of
  students
• Status of the Class- i.e. pocket chart with
  names/pictures, bulletin board with icons,
  magnetic name tags, etc.
• During Writing This is where the writing
  process occurs
• Students are
• working at their own pace in various stages of
  the writing process
• Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Conferencing,
  Editing, Sharing with a buddy, Publishing
• always engaged in writing
• applying concepts taught during mini-lesson
  (revision options)
• Teacher is
• Observing
• Conferencing
• Working with small groups
• Utilizing teachable moments
• After Writing
• Opportunities for sharing with whole group and
  celebrating successes

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Writing

• Six Traits of Writing
• Ideas, Organization, Sentence Fluency, Word
  Choice, Voice, Conventions
• Modes of Writing
• Narrative Descriptive Essay, Personal Narrative,
  Fantasy Short Story
• Informational/Expository Social Studies Report,
  News Story
• Persuasive Persuasive Essay, Nonfiction Book
  Review
• PSSA Practice Prompts in three modes

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Writing - Assessment

• Each published piece of writing is assessed using
  three rubrics
• PSSA Writing Mode Rubric
• Conventions Rubric
• Writing Process Rubric

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Mathematics

• Math Expressions Pilot Program
• Kendall Hunt Project M3
• First In Math
• 24
• Math at Hand

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Mathematics Technology Component

• Study Island
• Technology component to both Language Arts and
  Mathematics used in grades 3 through 5
• Allows students to practice and reinforce
  learning and skills
• First in Math
• Fun and interactive way to solidify math skills
• Differentiated for students of all abilities
• Motivating and engaging

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Social Studies

• Harcourt Brace Americas Story
• Units of study include
• The Ancient Americas
• Explorations and Encounters
• Our Colonial Heritage
• The People of the British Colonies
• The American Revolution
• The New Nation

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Science

• FOSS (Full Option Science System)
• Units of study include

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Grading Scale(Not applicable in any Language
Arts.)

• Letter Percent
• A 93 - 100
• B 86 - 92
• C 76 - 85
• D 70 - 75
• E Below 70

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Report Card Language Arts

• 4 Application of knowledge exceeds grade level
  standard
• 3 Application of knowledge meets grade level
  standards
• 2 Application of knowledge is approaching grade
  level standards
• 1 Application of knowledge is below grade level
  standards

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Classroom Expectations

• ALL students will have a weekly classroom job to
  do.
• Classroom expectations and rules will be created
  by our 203 family with our core theme being BE
  KINDER THAN NECESSARY!
• We will have a class system to promote positive
  behavior and will also give consequences for poor
  decisions.

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Classroom Expectations

• Weekly Class Meetings
• Class meetings assist students in personal
  growth.
• Class meetings help students to resolve conflict.
• Class meetings allow students to make suggestions
  and plan activities.
• Class meetings help improve academics.
• Class meetings unify the class.
• Class meetings serve as a classroom management
  tool.
• Class meetings offer a forum for recognizing and
  celebrating class accomplishments.
• Class meetings provide an occasion for enjoying
  each others company.

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Classroom Expectations

• Weekly Class Meetings Students gain
• Listening skills
• Responding skills
• Public-speaking skills
• Leadership skills
• Organizational skills
• Thinking skills
• Problem-solving skills

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Classroom Expectations

• All students will have a three ring binder with
  their bulldog folder, a folder for each subject,
  and an assignment book. The assignment book
  should be checked daily to ensure homework and
  assignments are being completed and important
  papers are being returned on time. The binder
  will help keep things organized in one location.

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Classroom Expectations

• Personal philosophy student-centered curriculum
• Emphasizes growth and development of students
• Provides students with a lot of choices and
  options a voice and a choice
• Critical thinking
• Seminar discussions

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Classroom Expectations

• Assessment
• While written tests are essential, a variety of
  assessment options such as grading rubrics,
  projects, performance based assessments, oral
  presentations, and observational notes will be
  used to assess student learning and growth.

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Classroom Expectations

• Homework
• The policy of Cumberland Valley School District
  sets the guidelines that students can have 10
  minutes of homework per grade level each weekday
  evening. If your child tells you they have NO
  homework, please just smile and go to my web page
  where you will find a number of activities your
  child can do that evening.
• While daily homework will be assigned many days,
  a lot of homework and projects will be weekly or
  monthly assignments that allow students to meet
  timeline due dates and begin to learn to
  self-manage their time while improving work
  habits and organizational skills.

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CommunicationThe number one factor for a
successful year!

• Teacher website http//www.cvschools.org/webpage
  s/skostelac
• Check regularly for classroom news and documents,
  homework assignments, various other information.
  This is an attempt to make the classroom more
  transparent so families know what is happening in
  our room 203 family classroom.
• Please keep communication lines open. E-mail is
  the most efficient form of contact. My e-mail is
  s.kostelac_at_cvschools.org and I will respond as
  promptly as possible.

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Additional Notes

• Please be aware of district and school policies
  regarding
• Absences and truancy elimination plan
• Educational trips
• Trips during PSSA testing window
• Appropriate clothing and weather
• Birthdays and nutritional guidelines
• Lunch prices, accounts and www.mynutrikids.com

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Additional Notes

• Conferences
• Fall Conferences November 20, 24, and 25.
• You may sign up before leaving tonight.
• Reminders of the date and time will be sent home
  closer to the time of the conference.

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Looking forward to working and learning with the
new initiative Cluster Classroom. We will
strive to hold ourselves to the highest standards!
Please check out any materials or ask individual
questions on your way out. Your attendance
tonight is truly appreciated!