Content that your child will learn...
![Picture](/uploads/5/3/1/8/53184143/editor/girl-with-butterfly.jpg?1498361246)
My first graders will busy as little honeybees but instead of gathering nectar, they will be gathering knowledge. Keeping the children engaged in learning will make our time together each day most productive and successful for your son or daughter. As they buzz around the classroom, investigating, reading, writing, using math manipulatives, and making things, we will remember how much they are growing in first grade!
This is our focus this year:
Reading and Writing
Your child will continue to learn reading strategies, decoding strategies, high frequency words,
blends, digraphs, clusters, and long vowels. We will read more complex texts to further the
child's reading ability as well as examine text features, story elements, and begin pulling all
available information from a text.
Listening and Speaking
Your son or daughter shall continue to perfect being an active listener, paying attention to details, and following directions. Speaking skills will be practiced through answering questions using complete sentences and public speaking opportunities in presentations.
Math
All students will expand their counting abilities to 120, practice addition and subtraction with strategies, explore word problems with problem solving strategies, and learn more about characteristics of shapes. Measurement, money, and telling time will be new content and exploring the basic ideas behind algebra will also seem new.
Science
The difference between day and night, our solar system, plants versus animals, living versus non living, life cycles, magnetism, properties of liquids/solids/gasses, and many other ideas will foster a love of experiments using the scientific method. In fact, our class will collaborate in a Science Fair Experiment to solve a valid question they have developed in their learning!
Social Studies
Gaining a sense of civic responsibility and rights, community, cultures, where they live, an understanding of needs and wants as well as producers versus consumers are topics that will be covered this year.
Specials (Art, Music, Media, Culture and Language, and Physical Education)
The students will be encouraged to develop skills and understanding of the concepts behind each of these topics. I wish to refer you to those teachers' webpages for specifics regarding those classes.
Social Skills and Work Habits
Your son or daughter will be graded on their use of social skills (to be determined by their behavioral choices) and their work habits (to be determined by the completion of classwork and homework not by the grade of the assignment). If your child is making behavioral choices that do not reflect the expecations of the classroom, their social skills grade may not be proficient. Additionally, if a child does not complete classwork or homework, their work habits score may also be below proficient. Through social development and engagement during the year, these scores will hopefully improve or remain consistent at a profiicent score.
This is our focus this year:
Reading and Writing
Your child will continue to learn reading strategies, decoding strategies, high frequency words,
blends, digraphs, clusters, and long vowels. We will read more complex texts to further the
child's reading ability as well as examine text features, story elements, and begin pulling all
available information from a text.
Listening and Speaking
Your son or daughter shall continue to perfect being an active listener, paying attention to details, and following directions. Speaking skills will be practiced through answering questions using complete sentences and public speaking opportunities in presentations.
Math
All students will expand their counting abilities to 120, practice addition and subtraction with strategies, explore word problems with problem solving strategies, and learn more about characteristics of shapes. Measurement, money, and telling time will be new content and exploring the basic ideas behind algebra will also seem new.
Science
The difference between day and night, our solar system, plants versus animals, living versus non living, life cycles, magnetism, properties of liquids/solids/gasses, and many other ideas will foster a love of experiments using the scientific method. In fact, our class will collaborate in a Science Fair Experiment to solve a valid question they have developed in their learning!
Social Studies
Gaining a sense of civic responsibility and rights, community, cultures, where they live, an understanding of needs and wants as well as producers versus consumers are topics that will be covered this year.
Specials (Art, Music, Media, Culture and Language, and Physical Education)
The students will be encouraged to develop skills and understanding of the concepts behind each of these topics. I wish to refer you to those teachers' webpages for specifics regarding those classes.
Social Skills and Work Habits
Your son or daughter will be graded on their use of social skills (to be determined by their behavioral choices) and their work habits (to be determined by the completion of classwork and homework not by the grade of the assignment). If your child is making behavioral choices that do not reflect the expecations of the classroom, their social skills grade may not be proficient. Additionally, if a child does not complete classwork or homework, their work habits score may also be below proficient. Through social development and engagement during the year, these scores will hopefully improve or remain consistent at a profiicent score.
Grading Policy
![Picture](/uploads/5/3/1/8/53184143/published/student-work.jpg?1498365872)
The grading policy is determined by the school system and cannot be changed by classroom teachers. Grades in the content areas of Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies are entered in the following areas (Social Skills and Work Habits are week-long grades are entered as classwork grades):
Classwork=55% of the grade
Any graded work completed within the school day will contribute to this portion of the day. These assignments will be graded for accuracy and meeting criteria.
Homework=5% of the grade
Any work assigned to be completed at home counts in this portion of the grade. Homework is graded for completion.
Assessments=40% of the grade
Assessments, including quizzes, tests, and projects count toward this portion of the grade. These are graded for accuracy or according to criteria detailed in a rubric.
ABSENCES-Students who are absent and do not bring in an excuse note shall receive a zero for any of the above assignments according to school district policy. Students who are absent and bring in valid excuse notes have the opportunity to complete the work in a timely fashion for a grade without deductions for untimely submissions. However, if the student supplies a valid excuse note and does not complete the work in a timely fashion, they may receive a zero for any of the assignments above. Communication with the teacher is important regarding excuses and extensions of time for the completion of assignments.
Source: Prince George's County Public Schools. (2016, August 15). Administrative Procedure 5121.1. Retrieved from http://www.pgcps.org/generalcounsel/index.aspx?id=179107
Classwork=55% of the grade
Any graded work completed within the school day will contribute to this portion of the day. These assignments will be graded for accuracy and meeting criteria.
Homework=5% of the grade
Any work assigned to be completed at home counts in this portion of the grade. Homework is graded for completion.
Assessments=40% of the grade
Assessments, including quizzes, tests, and projects count toward this portion of the grade. These are graded for accuracy or according to criteria detailed in a rubric.
ABSENCES-Students who are absent and do not bring in an excuse note shall receive a zero for any of the above assignments according to school district policy. Students who are absent and bring in valid excuse notes have the opportunity to complete the work in a timely fashion for a grade without deductions for untimely submissions. However, if the student supplies a valid excuse note and does not complete the work in a timely fashion, they may receive a zero for any of the assignments above. Communication with the teacher is important regarding excuses and extensions of time for the completion of assignments.
Source: Prince George's County Public Schools. (2016, August 15). Administrative Procedure 5121.1. Retrieved from http://www.pgcps.org/generalcounsel/index.aspx?id=179107
Grades
![Picture](/uploads/5/3/1/8/53184143/editor/report-card.jpeg?1498365586)
All assignments and report cards will not have the traditional alphabet letter grades that we were accustomed to as high schoolers. Instead, the grades are represented by two letters indicating the level at which the child is able to operate independently. Please look for notes or comments related to the grade, especially if it is surprising or concerning. Please feel free to contact me (using the information on the "About Me" or "Parent Info" pages regarding grades.
PR=Proficient (with a smiley face on assignments)
Students receiving this grade are demonstrating mastery independently and scoring within the 90% to 100% range.
IP=In Process (with a smiley face on assignments)
Students earning this grade are making progress but still require additional work and practice for mastery independently. This score represents a score in the 80% to 89% range.
EM=Emerging (with a straight face on assignments)
This score indicates the student's need for assistance to demonstrate the proficiency and requires much more work to demonstrate the skill independently. This score represents a range of scores from 70% to 79%.
ND=Needs Development (with a frowny face on assignments)
Students earning this score do not demostrate any proficiency in the skill or content. Further development is necessary. The range of scores for this grade are 50% to 69%.
Source: Prince George's County Public Schools. (2016, August 15). Administrative Procedure 5121.1. Retrieved from http://www.pgcps.org/generalcounsel/index.aspx?id=179107
PR=Proficient (with a smiley face on assignments)
Students receiving this grade are demonstrating mastery independently and scoring within the 90% to 100% range.
IP=In Process (with a smiley face on assignments)
Students earning this grade are making progress but still require additional work and practice for mastery independently. This score represents a score in the 80% to 89% range.
EM=Emerging (with a straight face on assignments)
This score indicates the student's need for assistance to demonstrate the proficiency and requires much more work to demonstrate the skill independently. This score represents a range of scores from 70% to 79%.
ND=Needs Development (with a frowny face on assignments)
Students earning this score do not demostrate any proficiency in the skill or content. Further development is necessary. The range of scores for this grade are 50% to 69%.
Source: Prince George's County Public Schools. (2016, August 15). Administrative Procedure 5121.1. Retrieved from http://www.pgcps.org/generalcounsel/index.aspx?id=179107