Welcome to 1st Grade Open House!

1
Welcome to 1st Grade Open House!
1
2
Miss Albaneses Background

• 8th year at Southgate teaching 1st grade
• Teach Post-K during the summer
• Grew up in Guilderland currently live in Latham
• Bachelors Degree in Inclusive Elementary and
  Special Education from Syracuse University
• (May 2005)
• Masters Degree as a Reading Specialist from
  Columbia University (December 2006)

3
Mrs. DennisBackground

• Twenty years teaching in the district
• Bachelors Degree from Russell Sage.
• Masters Degree in Literacy from SUNY Albany
• Previously taught kindergarten and fourth grade
• Personal information
• Married for thirty two years.
• Two children Kim - who is 30 years old
• Matt - who is 27 years old.
• Currently live in Clifton Park.

4
Contact Informationalso in student planner

• Southgate Elementary 785-6607
• Best way to reach me us is via email
  salbanese_at_ncolonie.org
• jdennis_at_ncolonie.org
• We will check this during the school day as well
  as after school and weekends
• Please dont hesitate to contact us with any
  questions or concerns ?

5
Home-School Communication

• Weekly Newsletter
• Email/phone/notes
• Please check your childs planner daily
• ?Your child will be responsible for copying down
  their homework daily.
• Please check and empty your childs Take Home
  Folder daily
• ?Homework and time sensitive materials will be on
  the RIGHT BACK TO SCHOOL side
• ?Completed class work and notes for parents will
  be on the LEFT AT HOME side

6
Goals

• To develop independent, responsible, learners
• To incorporate a variety of learning experiences
  in order to build student interest and engagement
• To provide appropriate scaffolding and guided
  practice so that students will be able to apply
  what they are learning
• To help shape conscientious and
• respectful students

7
Daily Routine

• We start right at 805, please be punctual!
• Students unpack/Planners/Take Home Folder Emptied
• Read and Relax
• Instruction begins at 815 promptly
• -To maximize support and collaboration, a master
  schedule for building
• -6 day cycle week A and week B

8
Behavior Management System

• Positive reinforcement
• Verbal praise
• Stickers
• Extra time for an activity of choice
• Caught Being Good! or Praise Notes
• Marble System
• Encourages students to work together as a class
  to demonstrate exemplary behavior in order to
  earn compliments
• Clear expectations and routines
• Regular communication with families
• Working together for the childs success!

9
Behavior Management System

• Stoplight Card System Based on School Rules and
  Classroom Expectations (Our Class Constitution)
• 1st time Verbal reminder
• 2nd time Verbal warning (still on green)
• 3rd time Pull a green card
• When the student is on yellow they are visually
  made aware that they need to slow down and be
  more attentive to their actions.
• 4th time Pull a yellow card
• When the student is on red they are visually made
  aware that they need to stop. Red note is sent
  home and students may lose a class privilege.

10
Language Arts

• Reading Developing life long readers!
• We use a balanced literacy program that uses a
  variety of instruction including whole group
  lessons which focus on reading strategies, small
  groups for guided reading to more specifically
  meet student needs, and immersion in quality
  literature.
• Introduce purpose and procedure for Bookworm and
  Book in a Bag

11
Some Reading Lingo to Get You Started started

• Take a picture walk
• Use your picture clues
• Get your mouth ready
• Look for little words or chunks you know
• Talk about the story
• What happened first? Next? Last?
• Who were the characters?
• Where was the story taking place?
• What was your favorite part?
• What did this story remind you of?
  
• (Connections)

12
Language Arts continued

• Writing
• Journals, graphic organizers, Writers Workshop,
  formal and informal
• Mini-lessons for direct instruction in structure,
  grammar, and mechanics
• Incorporated across subject areas
• Goal For students to develop a logical,
  sequential order (beginning, middle, and end),
  while also having the opportunity to experience
  different types of writing.
• Look for Students ability to read back their
  work, complete sentences, application of first
  grade words, capitals in the beginning and
  punctuation at the end.

13
Language Arts continued

• Listening Developing a purpose, following
  directions, listening for information
• Speaking Building appropriate communication
  skills and using appropriate voice
• Intro K-2 language program

14
Spelling and Handwriting

• Handwriting Zaner-Bloser program focusing on
  correct letter formation and spacing (neatness
  counts!)
• Spelling/Word Work Formal spelling instruction
  begins in mid October
• Focus on manipulating words and developing
  effective strategies
• Program is more individualized based on Oct.
  assessment
• The goal is for students to carry over their
  knowledge of word families and sight words in to
  their writing. Moving away from memorization!
• Invented spelling or sound spelling is
  absolutely expected and accepted at this point.

15
Parent Communication

• Core words and word patterns will be communicated
  to parents in student planners and our weekly
  newsletter. Core Words are words that are
  expected to be written correctly. They are
  different than our sight words which are expected
  to be read automatically.
• Focus Words come from student writing and word
  family instruction.
• Parents will receive a word study dictation
  highlighted with words your child has not yet
  mastered. These words will continue to be
  practiced. This is a great way to monitor student
  progress and application.

15
16
Effective word study activities
-Tic-tac-toe with word family words -Fun
materials white boards, sidewalk chalk, crayons,
paint, stamps, magnets -Word hunts looking for
words you know in different place -Fill in
missing vowels -Word Sorts/Picture sorts (group
by similar sounds or patterns) -Make A Word
(magnets, letter tiles, letter cards.) -Word
Family Go Fish -Memory Game with index
cards -Writing stories using word family
words -Mind Reader -Give clues for a word you
are thinking of We will be happy to give you
materials to use at home if you would
like!
17
Ineffective approaches

• Memorization (drill and kill)
• Write 3 times
• Put in ABC order
• Use word in a sentence

17
18
Math

• Daily routines i.e. calendar math, weather,
  marble jar, and problem of the day
• Use of manipulatives, smartboard activities, and
  student textbook, along with Math Talk
• Focus on developing problem solving skills
• Assessment Chapter tests, problem solving
  independently, participation, and daily work

19
Math Newly aligned series with Common Core
Standards

• BIG IDEAS covered in first grade
• Addition concepts
• Subtraction concepts
• Comparing numbers
• Problem solving and explaining how you got your
  answer? higher level thinking
• Measurement
• Graphing
• Time to the hour and half hour
• Coin recognition

20
Science and Health

• Science units are usually integrated into themes,
  i.e. Penguins in the Winter
• Some major units of study properties, animal
  homes and adaptations, life cycles of
  plants/animals, weather
• Activities focus on questioning and exploration
• Mrs. Bonanno and Mrs. Winters-Bono come to teach
  us about mental and physical health

21
Social Studies

• Social Studies in first grade focuses on a
  variety of activities to increase student
  awareness about the world around them ( our
  school community, holidays, different families,
  Now and Long Ago, map skills)
• Students learn more about themselves, as well as
  others
• Social Studies is also heavily integrated
  with Language Arts

22
Character Education

• We work hard as a school community to build
  awareness and practice important character ideals
• Examples For Word of the Month
• Citizenship
• Respect
• Cooperation
• Perseverance
• Sportsmanship
• Responsibility Compassion

23
Reporting

• Report cards go out three times per year
  (Trimester change)
• December, March, June
• Progress reports in October, January, May
• Phone calls/notes at least once per trimester
  (Not always a bad thing!)
• Individual parent- teacher conferences are in
  NOVEMBER
• Dont forget to sign up tonight! Let us know if
  you need another time or day.
• We welcome additional conferences throughout the
  year as you find necessary!

24
Homework

• Given nightly (appx. 15 minutes)
• Improves organization and builds study skills
• Homework is expected back the next day, but
  should be easy!
• Dont feel the need to correct homework before it
  is turned in, it provides excellent feedback for
  us as is!
• Please try to read with your child for 15 min.
  each night.

25
ODDS and ENDS

• Snack We do have snack daily, so please send in
• a quick, NUT FREE, snack for your child
• School News Notifier (SNN)
• Recess/Lunch Sending in money/prepaid accounts
• Birthdays If you would like, feel free to send
  in a birthday snack (NUT FREE) with your child
  on, or near, their special day. We celebrate
  during snack time. Please no cakes, goody bags,
  etc.
• Please do not send invitations to school (use
  PTA directory)
• Bus notes and absences
• Field trip to Elms Farm in the fall
• Volunteers Mainly through PTA, a few classroom
  opportunities throughout the year.

26
WE NEED YOU!

• READ, READ, READ every night!
• Practice addition and subtraction facts
• Help your child get plenty of rest and eat a
  healthy breakfast
• Increase your childs independence and
  responsibility at home (chores, homework, etc.)
• Look through and empty take home folder every
  night.
• Prepare backpack the night before to build
  organization
• Talk about daily routines at home to help ease
  anxiety
• Homework routine
• Practice sight words and word family words
• Model reading and writing at home

27
Wrapping Up

• Any Questions?!!!
• If you would like to speak to us about your
  individual student please feel free to send in a
  note and we will be glad to schedule a conference
• Feel free to write your student a note on their
  desk!
• Dont forget to sign the sign in sheet and sign
  up to be a volunteer if you would like.
• Take a walk around the classroom and check things
  out. ?

28

• Thank you for sharing your children with us!
• We look forward to a wonderful year. ?