Syllabus
Mrs. Prescott’s Fifth grade Classroom
What You Can Expect From Your Teacher
· A dedicated, well-planned approach to state and district curriculum standards .
· A commitment to every student and his/her individual needs and strengths.
· High expectations for students and their learning.
· A strong desire to work with parents as partners in your children’s learning.
What Will Be Expected From Home
· A quiet place to do homework and ample time to do it, including nightly reading
· Constructive encouragement! Please look over student work and help as appropriate – but also keep in mind that your student’s work should be a reflection of his/her own abilities! Student performance helps drive classroom teaching or re-teaching and it becomes difficult to assess learning accurately if homework doesn’t reflect independent abilities.
· A well-rested child who has eaten a good breakfast will have the best day in school – please help!
· A quick turn-around of home-school communications, whenever possible.
· Thank you, in advance, for your support.
What Will Be Expected From Students· Acceptance of responsibility and accountability for schoolwork and learning.
· Best efforts on all work – not just the fun stuff!
· Honesty, kindness to other students, and respect for our class and classroom.
Communication
- Planners. Students will write in their planners on a daily basis. In addition to homework, you may receive notes from me in your child’s planner. Please sign your child’s planner each night.
- Seesaw.: it’s a way for students to keep a digital record of their work from the school year. Students can post visuals and videos of their learning on this site. I will also post announcements, information, other work produced by your children, and/or pictures of your children during lessons or specific experiences.
- Email. The best way to contact me is through email. Please allow a 24 hour response time. You can reach me at: [email protected]
- Class website: I will update the website on a regular basis with news, announcements, and homework.
- Ask your child first please! If you have a question about an assignment, grade, or classroom activity, ask your child first. It helps establish the expectation that she/he is responsible. Also, they often know the answer!
In the Classroom
Classroom Rules
In our classroom…
1. Solve problems
2. Make good decisions
3. Show respect
Procedures
We have diligently been working to establish classroom routines and expectations. Knowing that learning occurs best in a calm, predictable, secure environment, I have discussed the consequences of poor, and good, behavior choices with your children. We will continue to discuss, model, and review all aspects of classroom management throughout the year.
Planners/Homework
The students each have a planner that she/he will be responsible for recording homework or upcoming events in on a daily basis. The planner is one tool that I use to communicate with you about what might be happening in the classroom. Please ensure that you sign your child’s planner on a nightly basis.
As per the new Noddin policy, homework will be limited this school year.
Absence
Absences do not excuse a student from required assignments, but a grace period equal to the number of days absent is allowed to complete the work. The grade period does not apply to long-term projects and assignments. It is the student’s responsibility to inquire about missed wok and to get whatever materials are needed to complete missed assignments on time.
Organization and School Supplies
Fifth grade is an important year and emphasis will be on personal responsibility and accountability for school. It will really make a difference if students get their supplies organized as recommended and keep them organized! Expectations on how to correctly write in their planners and maintain their supplies has been given. The students will be given advice on organizational techniques and recommendations for efficient approaches to work, especially projects. I have found these skills to be an ongoing 5th grade learning topic. Please share your own techniques with your child, as it doesn’t seem to come naturally to all children, but it is truly in their best interest for them to become successful in this area.
Regarding school supplies, I begin the year by providing the students with what they need so that we can get into the routines and content as soon as possible. Any supplies that come in will be used to refill materials. If a student prefers to use the material they brought in, they may swap out the material that was given to them.
Birthdays
Birthday celebrations will be optional, limited, and low-key. Since all 5th grade classes have students with food allergies non-food items are encouraged if you would like to bring something to celebrate.
Grading
For this school year, the report cards have been adjusted to support the new Common Core Standards. I’ll be working with students to educate them about rubric scores, the value of various assignments, and how their scores are computed. The content of the report card will be discussed in fall conferences. Students will be graded in various ways. All major assignments will be graded based on the 1-4 rubric provided by the district. In a nutshell, the standings are:
4- More than expected, deep thinking shown
3- Grade level, assignment is complete, student did the expected work
2- Approaching grade level, may be missing a component or concept
1- At risk of not meeting the standard, will need additional support
You might also see stamps on your child’s classwork/corrected homework. Most of these marks indicate that I have seen their assignment and have given them credit for it. In some cases, you will also see the check marks. The check mark indicates:
✓+ Above and beyond, did more than what the assignment asked for (and did it well!)
✓ The assignment is complete J
✓- Something was missing or work was not done properly
Curriculum Overview
Language Arts
ReadingOur reading program will be based on both shared and independent reading. A variety of text materials will be used:
· Literature Adoption: officially Houghton Mifflin Reading
· Literature Circle Books: novels read and discussed in small groups
· Supplemental selections designed to enhance shared reading or writing lessons for any curriculum content: science, literature, history, language, math, etc.
There are three primary areas of reading for students in the fifth grade:
· Independent Reading: Reading done in class and under supervision. A student must be prepared with a book in class, every day. The book should be appropriate for school and support the student’s reading level.
· Shared Reading: Shared reading is done in class, when all students read the same text, or small groups of students read the same book in Literature Circles. Students will be required to respond to the literature selections in writing to demonstrate their learning and analysis.
· Home Reading: Home Reading is required as part of a student’s homework. I will not be checking this daily; instead I will spot check by asking students to provide written responses that directly correlate to what they’re reading at home.
Writing
Writing will be done frequently in many areas of the curriculum, including math, throughout the year. Grammar components will be taught within the context of the stories we read and student writing assignments. Additional language lessons are used for editing, usage practice, and drill.
Writing assignments may include narratives, informational pieces, journals, autobiographical essays, descriptive essays, expository pieces, poetry, and other genres. In Union School District the fifth grade students are given a rubric scored writing assessment in each trimester. Writing pieces are scored using the 4-point District Writing Rubric. Recent research tells us that students need the most support in writing for information or expository writing, just as they need the most support in reading non-fiction. Therefore, you will see many examples of note-taking, outlining, summarizing, and reporting, as students work on developing these skills.
Spelling and VocabularySpelling: Classroom activities during the week will be used to facilitate the learning of words, spelling patterns, and meanings. Spelling is also assessed in writing assignments.
Vocabulary: Students will learn to use base words, root words and origins, prefixes and suffixes, and context clues to help identify unknown words. They should become more comfortable with homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, and words with multiple meanings. A variety of strategies will be used such as charts, games, posters, etc.
Speaking
Students will have many opportunities to practice and refine their speaking abilities. Most class projects include an oral presentation element and other spontaneous occasions or formal group presentations will occur. Students are evaluated based on the presentation, content, and preparation where appropriate.
Math
Eureka Math is our main text; however, other resources may be used to help build skills in different strands of the math standards. For example, materials such as Mountain Math and Math 4 Today are chosen for drill and review. Problem Solvers, or Daily Word Problems may be selected to extend learning in problem solving strategies. ‘Hands-on’ activities such as our Algebra Kits and math games provide another method for teaching new concepts.
Please note that 5th grade level math assumes students are already fluent in basic math skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. If this is not true for your student, please begin regular practice to develop fluency as soon as possible, as the lack of these skills puts them below grade level and will slow down development of all fifth grade level math operations. This is really important for your student’s success.
Science
Union School District has officially adopted the new NGSS standards. We will be utilizing FOSS California, Mystery Science (online curriculum), and the STEAM lab to learn about and explore the new science standards.
Outdoor Science School at Walden West is another wonderful element of our fifth grade science curriculum. This year’s trip is scheduled for the week of March 25-29, 2019.
Social Studies
Fifth Grade social studies content is wonderful. We use a Harcourt text called Reflections and History Alive. Our studies will include Pre-Columbian Native American Studies, early explorations to North America, the European colonization of North America, the development of our government, the growth of the United States, and the migrations westward. In fifth grade the focus is also directed to regional geography and this regional view will be repeated throughout the year’s studies.
States and Capitals
This year, we will be learning our states and capitals. They will get five evenly spaced assignments and each test will cover the new and previously assigned states. By June they are tested on all the states and capitals!
Field Trips
Field Trips are intended to complement the curriculum content as educational opportunities outside the classroom. Outdoor School is the most ambitious undertaking for the 5th grade year, but we are planning other experiences both at school and away from school. The currently scheduled fifth grade field trips are listed below:
· Westward Ho Prescott: November 30th
· Walk Through the American Rev. Tentatively January 29, January 31
· Walden West- Science Camp March 25-29, 2019 (about $350/child)
· Walk to Union Mid-Late May
· Year-end Belwood Swim Party Early June (parents plan)
Outdoor Science Camp and other field trips can be paid for with funds donated by students and their families. Because of the cost of Science Camp, many students participate in fundraising activities. You will be informed about these activities as they are developed by the parent planning group. It may be possible to get additional assistance from funds earned through Home and School Club, but one should not assume that will be the case.
Contact Information
Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or concerns at [email protected]. Another option would be dropping by the classroom before or after school.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Prescott
Room 12
mrsprescottrm12.weebly.com