Welcome to Curriculum Night

2. Welcome to Curriculum Night Mrs. Rockcliffe Berkley Middle School Room 201 Ms.Urbanek Berkley Middle School Room 221

3. Class Website http: 5U - http://teacherweb.com/MA/BerkleyCommunitySchool/MissUrbanek-4U/index.html 5U / 5R Classroom Website Weekend homework

4. Some Important Rules: • No gum allowed. • No backpacks allowed. • No cell phonesin classroom. (locker only) • Food and drink allowed at AM snack time only. Bottled water allowed in class. Sip moderately so as not to require frequent bathroom breaks.

5. The Bills of Rights Legislative Students of 5R & 5U Executive • Principal/Vice Principal Judicial Mrs. R & Ms. U Classroom Government

6. Grades • Quizzes, Chapter Tests, Unit Tests, Written Responses (averaged together for a letter grade) • Classwork & Participation (count toward effort grade) • Homework (not graded, unless told in advance) • Projects Parent Portal system – track your child’s progress. Students are responsible to return fix, sign, and return assignments. Fix, sign, & return – Anything below a 70 can be fixed, signed, and returned (new grade = 70)

7. Homework procedure: • Homework is given in most subjects. There will be homework every night and most weekends • Write all homework in agenda. Have the teacher sign agenda at the end of the day, if needed. • If student does not turn in homework, they will receive a Pink Slip. Sign/Return. • Follow the fifth grade homework policy. Homework is posted on our Class Homepage each week. (please see note that HW may change)

8. Homework Policy Homework policy is in effect for all fifth grade students. Pink Slips issued on first and second days late. Any work not turned in by the third day will result in a zero. After 3 offenses, student will be issued an before-school/after-school detention. Each student will get 3 chances using our pink slip policy before being issued a detention (per term).

9. Date: _____________ • Name: __________________________________ • Class: ____________ • You’ve Been Pink-Slipped! • Completing your homework is your responsibility as a student. • Missing Assignment: ______________________________________ • I did not have my homework today because: • _____ I did the assigned homework, but did not bring it to class. • _____ I chose not to do my homework. • _____ I did not have the appropriate materials at home. • _____ Other – please explain below. • _______________________________________________________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________________________________________________ • Student Signature: __________________________________ • *Parent/Guardian Signature: _______________________________________ • *All signatures and assignment (completed fully as directed) are needed to get credit. Please attach this form to the • missing assignment. • NOTE: 1 DayLate: minus 10 points 2 Days Late: minus 20 points 3 Days Late: zero points

10. How to complete homework: • Have a quiet place to work at home. • Students should try to start homework on their own, and develop a routine that is followed each time they have homework. • When students get stuck on a problem or question, they can skip it and come back to it. This may help limit frustration and may help to get the majority of work done on their own. Students should show ALL of their work for math • Students may place a question mark next to things that they didn’t understand. *Homework is not graded as it is considered practice. This helps to gauge progress and understanding. Please write a note or initial the areas that your child needed assistance or could not complete. • Students are encouraged to call classmates for help. *Advance notice given if homework is to be graded.

11. Homework continued: • Homework should take about 50 minutes a night. *Homework should not be cause for tears or arguments. • Families can send a note or encourage the student to speak to the teacher if something needs to be reviewed in class.

12. Praise, Incentives, and Rewards • The joy of learning each day. • Daily feedback – on papers or through interaction • Positive Points - earn special events. • Berkley Bucks – when I notice something above or beyond. • Question of the Week (5U) • Estimation Jar (5U) • Current Event (5R) • Positive notes or calls home • Earning free time

13. What to do if student is late: • Obtain a hall pass from main office, teacher of the previous block, or nurse. • Students will not be excused from any work. • Get the assignment from a classmate or copy from the “Homework” list and complete at home.

14. Call by 10:00 Pick up after 2:30 Absence Sheet Ms. Urbanek and Mrs. Rockcliffe

15. Morning Work Monday: ADD slip Tuesday: Cursive strip & paragraph editing Wednesday: ADD slip Thursday: Cursive strip & paragraph editing Friday: Cursive strip Expectations: Students will grab a slip as they enter the room each morning. During announcements, students are expected to work on their morning work and complete it for homework that night.

16. Extra Help • Peer tutoring available soon. • When students are struggling with a concept, the sooner they ask for help the better. They should not wait for a test to ask for help. • Extra help can be arranged on an as needed basis. Families can write, phone, or email concerns. krockcliffe@berkley.k12.ma.us nurbanek@berkley.k12.ma.us or Berkley Middle School 508-884-9434

17. Getting Organized • Keeping workspace neat. • Understanding what the assignment is. • Writing all assignments into the agenda correctly (instructions are given verbally and are written on the “Homework” list in room for students to copy from). • Checking the agenda when loading the backpack before leaving. Making sure all books and materials are packed. • Exchanging phone numbers with a friend as a back-up plan. • Checking our Class Homepage for assignments.

18. Organization & Study Skills • Uniformity • Teaches organization • Easy access for studying • Binder checks • Teacher samples are visible

19. aligned to the Common Core rigorous & challenging online portion (complete assignments and access books) 2 writeable texts interactive whiteboard lessons Math centers and teacher-led small groups

20. More on math: • Implemented for the first time • (learning experience for all of us) • Quiz most Fridays based on the content of that week • Students are required to show all of their math work on classwork & homework • MCAS prep block • Math binder – holds references and class notes. Should go home each night.  • Math packet – assigned each month and due the 1st of the following month

21. FOSS Full Option Science System Special Topics • Environments • Levers and Pulleys • Measurement • Light (EiE) • Water Planet • Landforms Newsletter** FOSS

22. Science folder (purple) • Unit packets (placed in folder at the beginning of the unit and then placed in their locker for reference during the year. • Unit packets contain alphaboxes, word bank, content, and all experiments and response sheets. Great reference for reviewing and studying. challenging THINK Hands-on Discovery Cooperative

24. Big Ideas in S.S & ELA Curriculum • Shift from learning to read to reading to learn. • Long-term projects to encourage time management. • Use of computers for research, study, and presentations(laptop cart), etc. • Combination of oral reports, art, and music to demonstrate understanding.

25. Ela • Reading • Common Core Standards • Storytown series (reading text) • Novels • Spelling (weekly tests) • Tests at the completion of each story (vocabulary, comprehension, skills) • Writer’s Workshop • Grammar Activities/Quizzes • Written and Oral Language Presentations • Grading with the use of rubrics

26. Social Studies • KEY CONCEPTS OF THE TEXT • American Geography • Early America • U.S government • Industrial Revolution • Civil War

27. Animal Project

28. Have a great year! Berkley Eagles Soar!

29. Classroom Tour