Welcome to Curriculum Night

1. Welcome to Curriculum Night Grade 4 Room 147 Kerri-Lynn O’Neill Please find your child’s seat and write him/her a note. *Please remember to sign up for your child’s November conference if you have not already done so.

2. About Me • Raised in Newington, CT now live in Wethersfield, CT with my husband Tom and 14mth old daughter Paige • BS in Elementary Education • MS in Elementary Education • 6th Year Degree in Educational Leadership • 21’st year in teaching (14 in West Hartford) • Taught grades K, 1,2,4 and 5 • District Wide Curriculum Specialist • Principal Reggio Magnet School of the Arts

3. Behavior Management • Student created rules based several picture book read alouds and class discussions • Logical consequences • Respect, Responsibility, Ready to Learn • PBIS- Positive Behavior Instructional Supports (School Wide Behavior Plan) • Tickets

4. SRBI, RTI, and Your Child • SRBI-Scientifically Research-Based Intervention is CT’s version of RTI-Response to Intervention • Use universal screenings (AIMSweb) to identify children in need of additional classroom support • Parents will receive copes of AIMSweb information this year • 4-6 weeks, consistent re-evaluation • Student may require assistance from outside tutors (fluency lab, reading comprehension, Math Garden)

5. What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? K-12 national academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy adopted by CT State Board of Education in 2010 • Establish what Connecticut students should know, be able to do and understand as they progress through grades K-12 • Will be fully implemented in grades K-5 over the next two years

6. How will the Common Core impact our work at each grade level?

7. How will the Common Core Standards impact what your child is learning this year? Our revised curriculum provides: • Balance of literature and literary non-fiction • More time reading increasingly complex text • Opportunities for discussion/academic discourse • Wide range of writing tasks appropriate to purpose and audience • Writing to inform or argue using text evidence • Literacy as part of science and social studies/history with increased focus on academic vocabulary

8. Will your child take the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT)? • Students in Grades 3-5 will take the CMT in spring 2013 and 2014 • National assessments based on Common Core Standards are in design/pilot stage for implementation in 2014-2015

9. Read Aloud • Students can comprehend more sophisticated texts when read out loud to them • Introduced to different types of reading materials (Nutmeg Books) • Provide opportunities for student discourse

10. Reading Block • Picture books to practice reading comprehension strategies and response questions • Time for Kids and National Geographic to teach non-fiction reading skills • Whole group, guided reading, and independent activities • Story Town Reading Program used as a tool to address the Common Core • Independent Reader Response

11. Independent Reading • Independent reading is at your child’s “just right” reading level • Books used for Reader Response and other response activities in the classroom • Provides independent practice of reading comprehension skills and strategies

12. Math • Whole group, small group, center activities • Pre and post test each unit to drive instruction and provide individualized attention • Math Trailblazers and West Hartford Objectives— aligned with State curriculum standards and CMT's • Basic fact practice

13. Homework • 30 minutes of nightly reading • 40-60 minutes of homework each day • Individualized math fact practice-15 minutes • Spelling words • Vocabulary Practice • Specifically chosen to meet individual student needs and abilities • Drives instructional decisions in the classroom

14. Homework Help • Provide a quiet, consistent place for homework to be done • Expect that homework be done independently and nightly • Check homework for completion at student’s best ability14

15. Homework Expectations • Competed nightly/weekly at home • Ready to be checked and corrected on Fridays • Neat and clean • Best effort and work

16. Writer’s Workshop • Direct, guided lessons to teach new skill • Students given time to practice and apply skill in their own writing • Peer and teacher conferencing to check up on skill use • Process writing • Share with classmates • Writing prompt practice-timed writing skills, variety of genre

17. Handwriting and Grammar • Handwriting-ZanerBloser Cursive • Grammar-Story Town Reading Program • Focused on basics of grammar instruction, sentence structure, parts of speech, mechanics, etc.

18. Science and Social Studies • Switch back and forth throughout the year • Social Studies: US geography, map skills, explorers, biographies • Religious Holiday- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur • Science: water cycle, ecosystems, light and sound, rocks and minerals • Supported with content area literature at students independent reading levels

19. Technology • Classroom computers • Use of Computer Lab every other Friday • Type to Learn and SuccessMaker • SmartBoard

20. Projects • Teach time management • Foster creativity and unique approaches to learning • In school and at home components • Book Cover • State Poster • Explorers PowerPoint • Biography Living Museum • Artifact Boxes

21. Wolcott Reminders • Seasonally appropriate clothing • Healthy snacks • Transportation changes

22. Field Trips • Ecoventure Trips • Westmoor Park-Freshwater ecosystems • Westmoor Park-Marine Ecology Trip • Westmoor Park- Field to Forest Trip • Hammonasset State Beach-Salt marshes

23. Questions?