This document provides information from a teacher to parents about the upcoming school year. It introduces the teacher, Deb Whitney, who has over 20 years of experience. It outlines the daily schedule and curriculum, including the focus on numeracy, reading, writing, and word study. It describes the teacher's role and expectations for students. It also provides guidance for parents on how to support their child's learning at home.

1. WELCOME!
Before you leave
tonight, please
respond to your child’s
letter. :-)

2. A Little About Me…
• I
grew
up
in
New
Hampshire,
USA.
I
earned
my
BA
in
Psychology
from
Bates
College
and
my
K-­‐6
teacher
certification
at
the
University
of
New
Hampshire.
• I
have
taught
children
in
2nd
through
5th
grades
in
the
US
and
5
other
international
schools.
This
is
my
first
year
teaching
at
SAS
and
my
22nd
year
as
a
teacher.
• My
husband,
David,
also
works
at
SAS
as
a
Theater
teacher
in
the
HS,
and
my
daughter,
Isabel,
is
in
3rd
grade.

3. Introductions:
Please share your name, the
name of your Second Grader
and how many years you’ve
been in Shanghai.

4. My Role
• to
know
my
students
and
to
honor
their
emotional,
social
and
academic
strengths
and
challenges
• to
celebrate
and
build
on
the
strengths
and
to
use
their
challenges
to
identify
goals
• to
encourage
students
to
constructively
reflect
on
their
choices
and
how
those
choices
effect
themselves
and
the
classroom
community,
to
guide
them
to
greater
independence
and
responsibility
• to
build
a
classroom
culture
of
joy,
of
shared
trust
and
respect,
of
striving
to
be
our
best
• to
foster
a
strong
home-­‐school
connection

5. Daily Schedule

6. Curriculum
Numeracy
• Everyday
Math
–
concrete
manipulatives,
problem
solving
and
explaining
thinking
/
strategy;
not
just
computation;
spiraling
• Integration
into
our
units
of
Inquiry
to
show
how
numeracy
is
part
of
our
real
world.
Home Connections:
1. Use
strategies!
2. Manipulatives
3. Ask
questions
(see
Math
bookmark)
4. Math
games
(online,
flash
cards,
board
games)
5. Engage
in
“real
world”
math
–
time,
cooking,
shopping

7. Curriculum
Reading
• Reading
Workshop
and
Conferencing
-­‐
mini
lesson,
whole
class/
small
group
/
individual
reading
practice,
teacher
conferencing
• Individualized
to
each
child’s
personal
reading
level
and
comprehension.
• Reading
stamina
Home Connections:
1. RAH:
Read
to
and
with
your
child
2. Monday
through
Thursday
–
RAH
Log
3. See
handouts
for
strategies
and
support

8. Curriculum
Word Study
• We
are
learning
how
to
spell,
not
memorizing
lists
of
random
words
• High
frequency
word
lists
and
common
spelling
patterns
• Individualized
Home Connections:
1. Kids
should
TRY
spelling
a
word
on
their
own
2. Encourage
thinking
about
sounds
3. Guess
and
go!
Don’t
get
stuck
at
a
spelling
stop
sign!
4. Use
resources

9. Curriculum
Writing:
• Writer’s
Workshop
–
mini
lesson,
whole
class/
small
group
/
individual
writing
practice,
teacher
conferencing
• Study
narrative,
informational,
persuasive
and
poetry
writing
Home Connections:
1. Use
paper
and
pencil
2. Spaces
between
words
3. Capitals,
end
marks,
varied
sentences
4. Does
your
writing
make
sense?
5. Focus
on
ideas
–
not
handwriting
and
perfect
spelling

10. Expectations
We
are
a
learning
community
working
together
to
do
our
best.
In
order
to
do
that
we
each
need
to:
• Tidy
up
after
ourselves
• Speak
nicely
to
others
• Be
kind
to
others
• Try
my
best
• Bring
a
great
attitude
Home Connections:
1. Communication
2. Follow
directions
3. Problem
Solving

11. Home Learning
Purposes:
• To
make
a
home-­‐school
learning
connection
• To
provide
extra
practice
with
skills
and
concepts,
including
time
management
Home Learning assignments are generally given on Friday, due
the next Friday.
Homework generally (but not always) will be project based.
Home Connections:
1. Have
a
routine.
2. Read
the
directions
together.
3. Help
your
child
if
needed.
4. Review
together
when
finished.
5. Communication

12. Nuts and Bolts
• Home
Connection
Folders
• Healthy
Snacks
–
nut
free
• Water
Bottles
-­‐
labeled
and
every
day
please

13. Please Don’t Forget….
• to
leave
a
note
for
your
child
to
read
in
the
morning
• to
take
the
handouts
with
you
• to
fill
out
an
index
card
if
there
are
any
questions
or
topics
you’d
like
me
to
address
personally
or
on
the
blog
Please be in touch!
Deb Whitney
deborah.whitney@saschina.org
Class blog http://sites.saschina.org/dwhitney/
J