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WELCOME! Before you leave tonight, please
respond to your child’s letter. :-)
A Little About Me…
• I grew up in New Hampshire, USA. I earned my BA in Psychology from Bates College and my K-‐6 teacher
certification at the University of New Hampshire.
• I have taught children in 2nd through 5th grades in the US and 5 other international schools. This is my first year
teaching at SAS and my 22nd year as a teacher. • My husband, David, also works at SAS as a Theater teacher
in the HS, and my daughter, Isabel, is in 3rd grade.
Introductions: Please share your name, the name of your Second Grader and how many years you’ve been in Shanghai.
My Role • to know my students and to honor their emotional, social and
academic strengths and challenges
• to celebrate and build on the strengths and to use their challenges to identify goals
• to encourage students to constructively reflect on their choices and how those choices effect themselves and the classroom community, to guide them to greater independence and responsibility
• to build a classroom culture of joy, of shared trust and respect,
of striving to be our best • to foster a strong home-‐school connection
Daily Schedule
Curriculum
Numeracy • Everyday Math – concrete manipulatives, problem solving and
explaining thinking / strategy; not just computation; spiraling
• Integration into our units of Inquiry to show how numeracy is part of
our real world.
Home Connections: 1. Use strategies! 2. Manipulatives 3. Ask questions (see Math bookmark) 4. Math games (online, flash cards, board games) 5. Engage in “real world” math – time, cooking, shopping
Curriculum
Reading • Reading Workshop and Conferencing -‐ mini lesson, whole class/ small
group / individual reading practice, teacher conferencing
• Individualized to each child’s personal reading level and comprehension.
• Reading stamina
Home Connections: 1. RAH: Read to and with your child
2. Monday through Thursday – RAH Log
3. See handouts for strategies and support
Curriculum
Word Study • We are learning how to spell, not memorizing lists of random words
• High frequency word lists and common spelling patterns
• Individualized
Home Connections: 1. Kids should TRY spelling a word on their own
2. Encourage thinking about sounds
3. Guess and go! Don’t get stuck at a spelling stop sign!
4. Use resources
Curriculum Writing:
• Writer’s Workshop – mini lesson, whole class/ small group / individual
writing practice, teacher conferencing
• Study narrative, informational, persuasive and poetry writing
Home Connections:
1. Use paper and pencil
2. Spaces between words
3. Capitals, end marks, varied sentences
4. Does your writing make sense?
5. Focus on ideas – not handwriting and perfect spelling
Expectations We are a learning community working together to do our best. In order to do that we each need to:
• Tidy up after ourselves • Speak nicely to others • Be kind to others • Try my best • Bring a great attitude
Home Connections: 1. Communication 2. Follow directions 3. Problem Solving
Home Learning Purposes: • To make a home-‐school learning connection • To provide extra practice with skills and concepts, including time management
Home Learning assignments are generally given on Friday, due the next Friday.
Homework generally (but not always) will be project based.
Home Connections: 1. Have a routine. 2. Read the directions together. 3. Help your child if needed. 4. Review together when finished. 5. Communication
Nuts and Bolts
• Home Connection Folders
• Healthy Snacks – nut free
• Water Bottles -‐ labeled and every day please
Please Don’t Forget…. • to leave a note for your child to read in the morning
• to take the handouts with you
• to fill out an index card if there are any questions or topics you’d like
me to address personally or on the blog
Please be in touch!
Deb Whitney
[email protected] Class blog http://sites.saschina.org/dwhitney/
J
