Back-To-School Night:
Mrs. Felix’s Class
“We are continuous learners who are responsible, caring citizens in a
global community.”
Agenda for Our Evening Together
• Brief Introduction
• Philosophy of
Education
– Bee Story
• 5th Grade Policies
• Specific Classroom
Procedures
• 5th Grade Curriculum
Who is Mrs. Felix?
• Come from a family of educators
• Started teaching journey at May
Whitney (student teaching & then oneto-one aide)
• 15th year teaching 5th grade at Seth
Paine
• Masters (+45) in Education
• Love learning, have a passion for inspiring
others, and sharing knowledge
I AM…
•
An average student turned straight A student
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Slower reader turned avid reader & skilled
reading teacher
•
Coach potato turned Ironman Triathlete &
founder/President of triathlon club
•
A painfully shy wallflower turned extrovert
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Disorganized child turned “a-type organizer”
•
A lucky Step-mom of 4th grader (Jane) and 6th
grader (Jacob) & Proud mother of 1 year old
(Everett)
•
2.4 mile swim
Equestrian, outdoorsman, artist, poet, writer,
112 mile bike
comedy-lover, certified, fitness instructor,
26.2 mile run
furniture refinisher
Why I teach what & how I do…
My thoughts on education
Beliefs About Teaching
Teachers…
• are coaches…
• Need to be data-driven, but kid-centered
• Must be willing to advocate for their students- no
matter what
• are just one part of a communication triangle
(“it takes a village”)
• must live what they expect of their students
• should be continuous learners (summer work)
• must provide instruction in various learning
modalities
• should be excited about learning & to inspire
others to love learning
Beliefs About Learners
•
Every child is unique, has value, and deserves to learn and
grow
•
Children are far more _____ than adults often give them
credit for.
•
Must learn that the secret to success = hard work,
effort, & purposeful practice
•
Mistakes are crucial to learning & development ;
students must be encouraged to take risks & not be
afraid of failing
•
Must believe that they “can” (think like bees)
Mistakes are GREAT Learning
Experiences!
Please help your child by teaching them to:
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Recognize when they have made a mistake
Recognize that EVERYONE makes mistakes and that we
remember best those lessons learned through making a
mistake
Take accountability for their mistake “with grace”
Move on by creating a plan to not repeat the mistake
FAMOUS FAILURES
The Bee Story
According to 20th century folklore, the
laws of aerodynamics prove that the
bumblebee should be incapable of flight,
as it does not have the capacity (in
terms of wing size or beat per second)
to achieve flight with the degree of wing
loading necessary.
Thankfully, no one told the bumblebee
that it can’t fly! He doesn’t know that
he “can’t.” And today, he goes about his
business, buzzing happily through the air.
Join me in encouraging your child to
FLY this year!
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Take risks you (and they) never
thought possible!
Work hard for the goals they
desire
Work cooperatively with others
headed the same direction
Discover the power of living like
the bumblebee.
No matter WHAT you set out to
do in life, if you work hard
enough, practice, and believe you
can achieve something- YOU
WILL!!!
Join the swarm- students,
teachers, and parents all have
to work together to make it a
great year!
5th Grade Policies:
Discipline, Homework, &
Grading
Discipline Policy
Designed to allow students to take
accountability for their actions and give them
the chance to make it right before involving
parents.
1. Verbal Warning(s)
2. GREEN SLIP- between teacher & student
3. YELLOW SLIP- between teacher, parent, &
student
4. RED SLIP- between teacher, parent, student, &
principal
Changes That Drive Our In-Class
1.
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Procedures & Methods
Common Core Curriculum
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/common_core/default.htm
common objectives for learning
measuring/comparing growth is more accurate
increases rigor, complexity, & demands higher-level
thinking skills (analyze & synthesize)
• Depth vs. breadth
2. More Challenging & “Higher Stakes” testing
• ISATS to move to PARCC
•
– Complex, lengthier texts, comparing over multiple texts, higher level
thinking skills; explaining how & why
MAP results do impact 6th grade placement
Homework Philosophy
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To be good at anything requires practice.
•
Assess students formally and informally to identify
areas of strengths & areas that need improvement.
•
Our focus for “homework” is: improve skills, improve
target areas, practice for mastery, & push beyond
plateaus
•
1 hour a day; weekends relatively “off” *Teacher
Note
•
NOT intended to negatively impact family time
(create routine & contact teacher when needed.)
Homework & Grading Explained
Please refer to the purple hand out
Assignment Book
– Filled out daily & NOT signed by
teacher or parent (to start) unless
needed
– Last 10-15 minutes every day to
allow for adjustments to be made
– On overhead
– In RED, assignments due tomorrow
– In BLACK, long-term work
– Expected amount of time
– Printable copies for students who
are out of room
Grade Reports
Be “in the know” the whole year through…NO
surprises!
1. Every other week
2. Some assignments take longer to grade & will
be on next print-out
3. Be sure to return it signed, feel free to make
copies
Sample Grade Report
Band & Orchestra
• We VALUE music education
• Band/Orchestra are electives and pull
students from instruction time.
• Rotating schedule
• “We Missed You” sheets
• Student responsibility to:
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ask questions
get clarification
find out what they missed
Complete all missed work (same day for
homework)
Other What to do Ifs…
1. Doesn’t “get it”?
– Review notes from class
– Call homework buddy
– Ask you for help
– Write email/ use purple slilip
2. Has very important family obligations/event?
– Purple slip
3. Takes much longer than 50-60 minutes to complete
assignments?
-CUT THEM OFF & send in purple slip!
– No-distraction environment
– Parent “supervision”
– Set a timer & allow mini-breaks
– LET’S CONFERENCE!
4. Seems to be starting habit of late work?
– NIP IT IN THE “BUD”! Let’s ALL conference immediately
How our classroom functions:
Classroom Logistics
Organization & Homework Turn-in
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Check in Procedure-Checked each morning & recorded., goes BACK
INTO expandable, turned in as we get to each subject.
–
discuss each assignment
–
practice for MSN
–
organizational skills
–
collection process allows for no papers lost (HANDED RIGHT TO
ME.)
Grading/ Feedback on Work- Many things graded together. Others
returned to students right away, but kept in mailboxes to be sent
via Friday Folders. (SOME EXCEPTIONS- practice needed for active
study)
Expandable file- helps keep “working” papers in organized manner
Friday Folder -contents returned to school. Organizational skills
taught on Monday mornings. Portfolios!
Students keep papers- graded or not- until TEST is RETURNED (used
as study aids)
Friday Folders
A great way to touch-base with your child and
assess their progress…
1. All graded work comes home at one time
2. You keep news/flyers; SEND BACK TO SCHOOL ALL
GRADED WORK on Mondays! I will teach your
children how to organize!
3. Sit down with your child to review it- 5-10
minutes is all you need.
4. Print-outs every other week (compare!)
-grade reports
-missing assignment reports
Weekly Email Update
Keep up with what we’ve been up to & upcoming
events
1. Please DO read! (pretty please?!)
2. Expect each Friday
-except for short weeks & rare occasions
-Check your spam settings
3. Do not “reply all”, start a
new thread
What We Teach:
Fifth Grade Curriculum
5th Grade Technology
Passwords to all online books & resources will be
inside front cover of child’s assignment
notebook.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Google Docs, spreadsheets, forms
Webquests, online research,
Online games, practice sites,
Spellingcity.com, Mobymax
Reading
Designed to equip students with the specific
strategies each of them needs to make them
great readers
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NEW CURRICULUM uses readers workshop model
CARS Tests & Individual Assessment
Fountas & Pinnell
Daily Five & C.A.F.E.
Independent Reading
• MobyMax, MAP Reading “target work” ,&
individualized practice
Mathematics
• NEW MATH SERIES THIS YEAR!
– No text book, workbook only
– Spiral curriculum
• YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO KNOW THEIR FACTS!
– Please look through your child’s pretests
• 5th Grade team does flexible grouping within the
classroom and teaches via whole group and
small group instruction. May try other
strategies throughout the year!
• ALL students to work on MAP Math “target
work” (link on website)
Spelling
Designed to help kids spell the most frequently used
words & build new vocabulary
• www.spellingcity.com is a requirement
• Instant Words
– Please look through pretest (in envelope)
• Words expected to be spelled correctly in daily
writing
• Regular spelling lists:
– Root words, prefixes, suffixes
– Vocabulary building
• TEST TUESDAY, NEW WORD WEDNESDAY!
Writing
• The Write Source
• 6+1 Writing
• Narrative, Expository, Persuasive District
Writing Assessments
• Writer’s Workshop
• Online component (games to earn points for
creating avatar)
• C.P.C.S. (Capitals, Punctuation, Complete
Sentences) & other covered skills are expected
in daily writing
– Help your child double-check their
work!
Social Studies
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Revolutionary War
Westward Expansion
Civil War
Online textbook
Simulations & webquests, etc.
Science
• National Geographic
• Online component & hands-on
experiments
• Weather & Earth Science
• Animal Adaptations &TAFT Prep
• Force & Motion
• Human Health & Development
Taft Parent Night as we get closer!
Contact Me
• Email is preferred (easier to get to
throughout the day)
• Call anytime (will get back to you a.s.a.p.)
– Please give a heads-up if leaving a
message
• If there are changes to afterschool
transportation- call OFFICE
• WEBSITE
Before You Leave…
• Please write to your child about something you
learned and are excited for.
• Leave me a sticky note on your child’s desk if
you have a questions.
• Sign Up for Parent-Teacher Conference!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING!!!
THIS IS GOING TO BE AN AWESOME YEAR!