Behavioral Expectations and Rules:
The mantra of our school is to be "safe, respectful, and responsible." Every morning when we hear announcements, we as a class will recite this. It is important to understand these rules not just in the classroom, but also around school and off campus.
I expect every student to follow these rules. Classroom rules are also; no running in the classroom, be honest, share, push in chairs, and raising your hand when you want to make a comment or have a question. These are all rules and expectations in which make our classroom a safe and fun classroom for all of us to learn!
Consequences: When the classroom rules are broken, there will be consequences in which I will be very consistent about. Because my lessons are hands on using materials, socializing with friends, and going outside for experiments a main cnosequence will be having to work independently and missing out on all the fun. I will give three warnings; the first warning I will remind you what rule you're breaking and prompt you to get back on track, second warning is switching your seat to a desk closer to me, and third will be independent work study or the principal depending on the behavior. In my classroom, I want to focus on the fun learning experiences that we have and want everyone involved in that!
Reward System:
I will use Class Dojo points to reward my students. If you aren't familiar with this system please check out the website:
https://www.classdojo.com/
This is an easy system where students can visually see throughout the day how many points they have earned from their hardwork and following school/classroom rules. Also, this is an app parents or guadians can download on their phone to communicate with me and track your child's success through the day. When the class has reached a goal of 500 points, we will have a pizza party. If each student has earned 100 points, they earned a movie/lunch hour with me on Friday's. I enjoy these fun rewards because it allows students to have a goal to work towards and creates a fun experience for us all.
Contents of Student Learning:
The first grade is all about building friendships, increasing math and reading skills, as well as building identification of sight words.
1. Developing strategies of subtracting and adding, utilizing materials and tools to find their answers, and identifying number relationships and patterns.
2. Properly print upper and lower case letters with proper punctuation. Students also will learn verbs, pronouns, adjectives and so on.
3. Communicate in social conversations using sight words appropriately.
Grading:
Assessment is key as to grading my students in the first grade. I often will assess students through observation to have an understanding of what they are absorbing from my lessons. If I think they may be falling behind, I will try several strategies to improve their success such as moving their seat, create one on one groups, providing tools or materials for their visual learning, and or slow down my lessons to their pace. Students will be graded on assessments in tests/quizzes, classroom participation, and homework.
These are the letter grades you will see on student progress:
O = Outstanding
S = Satisfactory
N = Needs Improvement
U = Unsatisfactory
I will always allow students to change their answers after discussing the right answer. I think it is important for students to change their work after having an understanding because I want them to know they are improving everyday. New understandings are being made and I want this to always be positive for them.
Student Information:
Regarding; late work, tardiness, extra credit, extra help:
Late work: In the first grade, your child is learning to be more responsible. If their work is late, it will tell me they weren't being very responsible in taking care of their homework. Every Friday we will turn in homework. I know that you, parents, are very busy with work, children, LIFE! So, because of this and that I want your child to have as many opportunities to finish their homework, I have Thursday's assigned as in class homework day.
Tardiness: Our school is cracking down on tardiness this year. Please try your best to get your child to school on time! In the morning the school serves breakfast and allows the children to play with their friends before the morning bell rings. It is an important time of the day to become situated at school before they start their academics in the classroom. Having that free time for themselves is really important! I will reward students on time everyday for a whole month with a prize! I will track this by putting the entire class on the white board and each child that is late their name will be erased. Whoever is left by the last day of the month with earn the secret prize.
Extra Credit: I will always allow my students to earn extrs credit! This is something I will discuss with parents as well to let you know your child worked for extra today. Or, you can always contact me to provde your student with extra credit if your find necessary. Friday's I will provide your child with extra credit worksheets to bring up their grade. This will be an option for them to partake in. This creates responsibilty within the child.
Extra Help: Again, each child is different! I will serve to each child my very best. With that said, your child still might need some extra help. If there is a need not being met, I would like to assign a meeting to discuss this with the parent. It is never a bad thing that a student requires extra support. I want to be able to provide that support for your child. I will begin by discussing strategies with my colleagues, principal, and most of all the parents. Some students required to be pulled out of class to improve reading and writing skills with someone one on one or they might require an assessment to see if they have ADHD. Whatever the need is, I want to find out the cause and improve the success for your child. Please contact me if there are any concerns about this topic.