Welcome to Fifth Grade in Room 9 !

Welcome to Fifth Grade in Room 9! Your kids are awesome! Thanks for sharing them with me!

Agenda for Tonight I. Introduction • Meet Ms. Evenhuis • My Teaching Philosophy • Learning Environment • Teacher Expectations • Goals for Your Child II. Room 9 Overview and General Information • Room 9 Tour • Organization • Communication Between School and Home • Daily Schedule • Birthday Celebrations

Reward Systems • Homework • Field Trips and Presentations III. Curriculum Overview IV. Volunteering/Parent Involvement • Meet our wonderful room parents! V. Conclusion • Thank You for being here tonight!

Additional Questions? No Worries! Since we have a great deal to cover, I have provided paper for any questions you may have. If I don’t answer your specific question, just jot it down, and I’ll get back to you right away with an answer.

Meet Ms. Evenhuis Born and raised in Palo Alto Two children in college. Also Penny (dog), and Skrilly (Bearded Dragon) BA in Speech Communication, Teaching Credential from USF, Administrative Credential, Masters Degree in Applied School Leadership My 15th year teaching (2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ) School Site Council, Writing/Six Traits Committee Lead, District LA/Writing Committee Member. Student Council Advisor, Admin Designee, SST Facilitator, Curriculum Council

My Teaching Philosophy Get to know your child Every child is unique with special passion Instill a love of learning and exploring Provide opportunities for students to connect with their personal interests and explore them Explain why what they are learning is important

Learning Environment Provide opportunities to investigate and explore, especially in group settings Build a safe and welcoming community to encourage risk-taking and new ideas OK not to know – How do I need to explain it differently? How can you figure it out on your own? Can we try it in another way? Teach them perseverance and taking responsibility for their actions

Teacher Expectations Student comes ready to learn, ask questions and explore Student demonstrates respect at all times Student is responsible Work is neat and complete Student participates and cooperates during group projects Assignments and homework are turned in on time Student makes good choices Student gives best effort on a daily basis

My Goals for Your Child To gain independence, perseverance, and learn to accept responsibility To learn organization strategies To participate in positive cooperative learning projects and become supportive classmates for each other To develop a love of learning and quest for knowledge To be creative and open to looking at the world around them in a new way To have fun!

Organization Organization is a huge part of our day. We have routines which help to keep the class organized. This is VERY important! Students have a folder/journals for everything. Teaches organizational strategies and responsibility.

Communication • E-mail in the best and fastest way to reach me! • E-mail address: cjevenhuis@lasdschools.org • Classroom Web Page: • teacherweb.com/CA/GardnerBullis/Evenhuis I POST IMPORTANT DEADLINE AND EVENT INFORMATION THERE AS WELL! • Student Work Packets will be sent home for parent on Thursdays. Often I include work to be signed and returned. • Use Yahoo or Google group as much as possible this year! I send out important notices and summaries in lieu of newsletters. • Parent/Teacher Conferences will be scheduled in mid-October. Since the focus is goal-setting, your child will be invited to attend.

Sample of a Daily Schedule Sample of a Daily Schedule 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Math 9:30-10:10 a.m. Language Arts 10:10 10:30 a.m. Recess 10:30 – 12:00 p.m. Language Arts 12:00 12:45 p.m. Lunch 12:45 – 1:15 p.m. Social Studies/Science Content Literacy 1:15 – 2:30 p.m. Science/Social Studies/Projects 2:30 2:45 p.m. Clean Up and Homework Assigned 2:45 p.m. Dismissal

Birthday Celebrations No food items, please Non-food items are welcome but certainly not necessary. Those students with summer birthdays are welcome to celebrate a half birthday with the class if you chose.

Behavior Rewards Marble Jar Raffle Tickets (Bi-weekly drawing or save up for items) Patrick – Keep Clean, Please!

Homework Most are using a RED folder! Nightly Monday-Thursday Students write homework down in planner Completed and returned on the due date Returned only if there is an issue Assignments posted on the class web page If your child is spending more than 40 minutes, let me know. Homework requests when student is sick

Field Trips We are in the process of finalizing the schedule for the year. A letter will go home as soon as we have all the details for you.

Curriculum Overview

Language Arts The Daily 4 in my classroom. (This is an amended version of The Daily 5 targeted for upper grades.) Core Literature Sets Literature Circles One book project is due each trimester.

Writing The Common Core Standards for fifth grade writing are: 5.1- Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. 5.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. 5.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. 5.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.) 5.5 - With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 5.6 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting. 5.7 - Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. 5.8 - Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. 5.9 - Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 5.10 - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Social Studies The main focus of the curriculum will be the formulation of the United States of America. Some key topics are: - Geography - Native People - Exploration - 13 Colonies - The Constitution and Declaration of Independence - The Industrial Revolution - Expanding West - Slavery and heading towards The Civil War - The Foundations of Democracy

Science • The subjects to be covered this year are: • - Mixtures and Solutions (Elements) • - Living Systems (Cells) • - Earth, The Water Planet (Weather and Water Cycle) The Scientific Process/Investigation

Math My focus will be on challenging the students to develop strategies for solving math problems instead of just rote memorization. Each lesson is taught to the class and students have the opportunities to participate in and discuss the process. They practice the skills during class time and then have the opportunity to move on to challenge activities if appropriate or be provided with any extra assistance necessary. Kahn Academy will be used as a reteach and supplement. Math homework is a review and practice of what was taught in class.

Music Wednesdays and Fridays

Technology • Students will explore: • Word processing (Word) • Google Docs • Internet research and projects • PowerPoint • Video editing • Plus STEM!

P.E. P.E. will be Wednesdays and Fridays Wear appropriate shoes to school for P.E.!!!

Meet Our Room Parents! Aloma Avery and Jan Aherns Thank you for taking on this important job!

Opportunities to Help This Year Library – Tuesdays at 1:20 Garden lessons Art Docent lessons Field Trip Chaperones Special Projects

Thank You! Thanks to the PTA and LAEF for all they do. We couldn’t do this without your support! I appreciate you being here tonight and working with me to provide the best fifth grade experience possible for your child!

Welcome to Fifth Grade in Room 9 !