Evergreen Elementary

CONTENT AREA

• Reading – Understanding the sounds of language, concepts of print, letter knowledge, decode symbols to develop reading skills
• Math – Build concept knowledge such as problem solving, comparison, time, space, and number
• Science – Actively explore, observe, and investigate materials and ideas
• Social Studies – Understanding of themselves in relation to their families, home, school, and community
• Writing – Understanding of how oral language is translated into written symbols, write with correct pencil grip, from top to bottom and left to right, begin to use letters/words to communicate
• Vacation Writing Assignment (Narrative): Pre-K students are to draw three pictures for the beginning, middle, and end of their trip. Then tell an adult about what they drew. The adult will write what they said under the pictures.
• Social Skills – Monthly Social Skills Calendar to be initialed daily by a Parent/Guardian

HOMEWORK

• Reading – Read to/with your child for at least 15 minutes daily. Then sign or initial the Reading Calendar. Practice letter and sound identification. Recite the alphabet daily until mastered.
• Math – Practice number identification 0-10, Shape and color identification, Rote counting (0-30 Pre-K goal), Always challenge your child to count higher!

GRADING

• Grades are based on classroom observation and individualized assessments.

GRADE LEVEL ROUTINE

• Students are expected to become more independent and responsible throughout the year. Please encourage your child to be more self-sufficient with fastening and zipping, packing and unpacking his/her own backpack, etc.

CONTENT AREA

• Reading – Recognize all upper and lowercase letters and produce sounds in order to read independently
  • Master sight words
  • Reading Strategies: Use picture clues, track print, blend and segment
  • Recite the alphabet
  • Identify and produce rhyme
  • Count words in a sentence
• Math – Identify shapes and colors
  • Identify and recite numbers 0-100
  • Write the numbers 0-20
  • Recite the days of the week, months of the year, seasons, and today’s date
• Social Studies – Have an understanding of themselves in relation to their families, home, school, and community
  • Recite the “Pledge of Allegiance”
  • Recite your full name, address and phone number
• Writing – Students will write and use letters and words to communicate while using correct letter formation.
  • Print your name using an uppercase letter in the beginning
  • Vacation Writing – Kindergarten students are to describe in illustrations the beginning, middle and ending of the vacation. With parental help, students will write one sentence describing each picture.
• Social Skills – Monthly Social Skills Calendar is included in the “homework folder” to be initialed weekly by the parent/guardian.

HOMEWORK
MON-THURS;

• Reading – Read to/with your child for 15 minutes nightly. Sign the reading calendar nightly. Practice alphabet chart and sight words nightly!

• Math – Practice number identification 0-30, shape and color identification and counting to 100. Always challenge your child to count higher!

GRADING

• Grades are determined using individualized assessments and curriculum based assessments.

GRADE LEVEL ROUTINE

• Kindergarten students are expected to use the bathroom independently and take care of personal hygiene. Please encourage your child to be independent with buttoning and fastening, tying of shoes, packing and unpacking their own backpack, etc.

CONTENT AREA

• Reading – Reads independently with fluency and accuracy, by using decoding skills and sight words. Students are expected to master and use spelling lists each week. They are also expected to use these words in everyday writing. During the second half of the year the students are expected to be reading more independently.
• Math – Demonstrates number sense. Knows facts families 1-18.
• Science – Students are able to explore their environment through using the science lab, greenhouse and other unique surroundings at EverGreen. Topics covered are Air and Weather, Living and Non-living, Solids and Liquids
• Social Studies – Students will use the Weekly Reader to springboard into topics such as seasons, holidays, and current events etc.
• Writing – (TO INCLUDE VACATION WRITING) –Students are expected to write in informational, argumentative, and narrative modes.  We will be focusing on the formation of manuscript letters. The students each have a handwriting book as well as daily writing samples that are graded each quarter.  Vacation Writing If students go on vacation they will need to write an informational piece that will be graded.
• Spelling – Students will have a test every Friday. The spelling words will come home on Monday. It will be a list of ten words. The first six will focus on the phonics pattern of the week, two words will be review words from the week before, and the last two words will be vocabulary words from the previous weeks story.
• Social Skills – Students will keep a monthly social skills calendar in their homework folder. This is filled out daily.

HOMEWORK
MON-THURS;

• Reading – 15-30 minutes nightly-Please sign the reading log each night that is attached in the homework folder.

CONTENT AREA

• Reading- Students will be able to utilize various skills and strategies in order to read both fiction and nonfiction texts with fluency and comprehension.
• Math- Students will be able to solve addition and subtraction facts with automaticity. Students will also use various strategies and manipulatives to develop a deep understanding of numbers.

• Science- Students will complete units in physical science, ecology, and personal health.
• Social Studies- Students will be exposed to seasonal events and cultural traditions using various forms of fiction and nonfiction texts.
• Writing – Students will practice Narrative, Opinion/Argument, and Informational Writing pieces during daily Writing Workshop. At the conclusion of an educational vacation, students will complete an informational paragraph, for a grade, describing one aspect of their vacation.
• Handwriting – Students will spend the first two quarters reviewing manuscript. In the third and fourth quarters, the basic strokes of cursive handwriting will be introduced.
• Spelling – Second grade students will have 15 spelling words each week. Students will be able to apply explicitly taught phonics patterns to spell the words correctly. Some of the words are sight words which the students should be able to spell accurately.
• Social Skills – All students will be responsible for documenting their daily behavior on the monthly calendar provided in their homework folder.

HOMEWORK
MON-THURS;

• Reading -15-30 minutes nightly with an adult.
• Math – Students will complete two math assignments weekly, as well as, practice addition and subtraction facts daily.
• Reading – In addition to reading for 15 minutes daily, students may be assigned a supplemental practice activity twice weekly.
• Grading – Test grades will be averaged. Curriculum-based assessments and benchmark testing data will be used.

GRADE LEVEL ROUTINE
OR INFORMATION IMPERATIVE TO YOUR GRADE LEVEL

• Reading calendars must be completed and returned for a grade on your child’s report card.
• Children should be dressed appropriately for changing weather conditions.
• Homework folders must be returned daily. Communication between the parents and teacher will be in the homework folder.

CONTENT AREA

Reading – Students are expected to:

• Use a variety of strategies to figure out new words, difficult vocabulary
• Apply language rules correctly and easily
• Self-check for understanding and question what is read for truth and accuracy
• Use information about how text is written, in stories and informational selections, to figure out the order of events and to review and form opinions about a text
• Demonstrate understanding through writing, discussion or other media and interprets stories from different points of view
• Read a greater variety of text about more difficult ideas and topics
• Use text as references; searches for and finds information in texts
• Understand turn of events in stories and humor
• Readers show all of the behaviors stated above as they read difficult texts of all types. There is a shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”. Students move from picture books to chapter books.

• Social Studies – The social studies book is a valuable resource for non-fiction or informational reading. Students are introduced to elements of text structure such as maps, charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations which help students learn and organize social studies content. The third grade book, Our Communities, guides us to explore communities, and learn about their histories, governments and cultures.
• Writing Workshop and Writing Process- Third graders will participate in a daily writer’s workshop in which the writing process will be utilized. They will create pieces of narrative, informational and persuasive writing as well as poetry and letter writing. There is a shift from “learning to write” to “writing to communicate”.

Students are instructed and assessed in five writing traits: FOCUS, CONTENT, ORGANIZATION, STYLE and CONVENTIONS.

• • FOCUS is demonstrated when a student stays on one topic throughout the entire section of writing.
  • CONTENT is demonstrated when a student supports his/her topic with clear and interesting details.
  • ORGANIZATION is demonstrated with a piece that is written smoothly and with ideas in sensible order.
  • STYLE is shown when a piece uses a variety of words and sentences to explain the topic.
  • CONVENTIONS is demonstrated when a student uses correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization in a final piece of writing.

• Your child’s writings are scored using (4, 3, 2, 1) for each trait. An overall score for writing is also calculated and reported using the following system:
  • 20 – 19 = Advanced
  • 18 – 15 = Proficient
  • 14 – 10 = Basic
  • 9 – 0 = Below Basic

• Vacation Writing-Upon vacation approval from the principal, your child will be required to complete a story about your family vacation. Students will write an informative three paragraph essay including the following:
  • Paragraph 1: Where did you go?
  • Paragraph 2: What activities did you experience?
  • Paragraph 3: Would you recommend the trip to others?

  Explain why or why not. Your child will have two weeks to complete the assignment. This grade will be averaged in with the writing grade.

• Spelling- Twenty words are assigned weekly and a spelling test is given on Fridays.
  • Students receive instruction throughout the week, and are expected to study the words they do not know nightly in order to show mastery on the spelling test.
  • Students are expected to correctly spell previous list words in their everyday writing.

Math- Students will be expected to be able to:

• • Round two- and three-digit whole numbers to the nearest ten or hundred.
  • Add and subtract two- and three-digit whole numbers with regrouping.
  • Master addition, subtraction and multiplication facts
  • Order a set of whole numbers from least to greatest or greatest to least.
  • Apply place-value concepts and numeration to counting, ordering, grouping and equivalency.
  • Develop an understanding of fractions.
  • Relate multiplication and division.
  • Solve problems using addition, subtraction and multiplication and division.
  • Analyze the characteristics of shapes.
  • Determine or calculate time and elapsed time.
  • Use the attributes of length, area, volume and weight of objects.
  • Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses using cups, pints, quarts, gallons, milliliters, liters, ounces, pounds, grams, and kilograms.
  • Use a ruler to measure lengths to the nearest quarter inch or centimeter.
  • Compare values of coins.
  • Make change.
  • Round amounts of money to the nearest dollar.
  • Organize, display and answer questions based on data using pictographs, tally charts, bar graphs, tables and line plots.
  • Find area and perimeter.
  • Rocket Math- continues in third grade. Students work toward mastery of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.

Please make sure your child studies the basic Rocket Math facts. Rocket Math performance is recorded on the report card.

Science- The following units are covered:

• Body Systems- Students will examine the structures and functions of the following systems: Nervous System, Skeletal and Muscular Systems, Respiratory System, Circulatory System, Digestive System
• Electricity- Students will investigate concepts of electricity including conductors, insulators, and circuits.
• Solar System- Students will investigate the earth’s place in the solar system, the forces and motions of the sun, moon, earth and planets, and how the sun affects life on earth.
• Water- Students will explore water as a solid, liquid and gas, investigate density, buoyancy, floating and sinking, and estimate and compare volume.
• Sun Protection- Students will investigate properties of skin, study the impact of the sun on skin, compare characteristics of normal and abnormal moles, explore elements of sun protection and discover how SPF relates to skin protection.

• Social Skills- Students are expected to exhibit personal best, truth and trust, active listening, respect and safety throughout the day. If your child receives more than one card change during the day, he or she will spend time during recess discussing the problem behavior, and ways to make better choices in the future. A Social Skills /Homework Room calendar is located in the homework folder. Each day that your child changes a card it is recorded on the calendar. Parents/Guardians are expected to sign it each week.

HOMEWORK
MON-THURS;

• Students will be required to complete a math assignment, a reading practice book page, or read our weekly story aloud the night before the reading test.
• Homework should be completed in pencil.
• Please check the homework calendar in the front of your child’s homework folder each night for assignments.
• If your child does not turn in a homework assignment on the day it is due, he or she will be sent to the Homework Room during recess to complete it.

In addition to these assignments, practice is required in the following subjects:

• Reading 15-30 minutes nightly (fill out reading calendar each night in homework folder)
• Math Facts practice nightly
• Spelling practice words nightly for test on Friday

CONTENT AREA

• Reading
  • Grades are determined by end-of-selection assessments, constructed responses, end-of-theme assessments, and Holistic test scores.
  • Comprehension Skills (fiction and non-fiction)
  • Vocabulary Development
  • Word Recognition Skills/Decoding Skills
  • Fluency
  • Reading for research
• Spelling
  • Grades are determined by weekly spelling lists.
  • Students will be required to write dictated sentences containing their spelling words.
  • Students are expected to have previously learned words spelled correctly in everyday writing.
• Math
  • Grades are determined by chapter assessments, open-ended responses, and homework assignments.
  • Rocket Math – continues in fourth grade. Students work towards mastery of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Please make sure your child studies the basic Rocket Math facts. Rocket Math performance is recorded on the report card.
• Numbers and Operations
  • Addition/Subtraction
  • Multiplication/Division
  • Place Value
  • Fractions
  • Operations and Algebraic Thinking
  • Using operations to solve problems
  • Write and interpret numerical expressions
  • Patterns
  • Writing or describing expressions, equations, and inequalities
  • Measurement
  • Time and elapsed time
  • Estimate measurements
  • Conversions of measurements
  • Measuring angles with a protractor
  • Identify types of angles (acute, right, and obtuse)
  • Geometry
  • Plotting, locating or identifying points in a 2-dimensional coordinate system
  • Classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles
  • Data Analysis – Probability
  • Predicting and calculating mean of data shown in tables, charts, diagrams, and graphs 
  • Chance, probability and outcomes
  • Create line plots to display linear measurements
  • Problem Solving
  • Makes sense of problems and perseveres in solving them
• Science – The following units are covered throughout the school year.
  Science grades are determined by unit assessments, lab work, and written assignments.

• Energy
• Water
• Nutrition
• Tobacco – Alcohol
  • Science PSSA will be administered to all 4th grade students.
  • Fourth graders have the opportunity to participate in an annual Science fair

• Social Studies – Grades are determined by chapter assessments, quizzes, homework assignments, and writing assignments. Pennsylvania History, Geography,Map skills

• Vacation Writing – Upon vacation approval from the principal, your child will be required to complete a story about the family vacation. Students will write an essay describing their trip. The student may choose to write either a narrative or informational essay. Your child will have two weeks to complete the assignment. This grade will be averaged in with the writing grade.
• Writing – (TO INCLUDE VACATION WRITING) By then end of the year students will be able to write clear and focused texts in the narrative, opinion/argumentative and informational writing modes. Writing assessments will be scored in the following domains: focus, content, organization, style and conventions.
• Social Skills -Students are expected to exhibit personal best, truth and trust, active listening, respect and safety throughout the day. If your child receives more than one card change, he or she will spend time during recess discussing the behavior and ways to make better choices in the future. A Social Skills/Homework Room calendar will be given to each student at the beginning of the month. On a daily basis your child will record if they went to Social Skills or the Homework Room. Parents/Guardians are expected to sign the calendar weekly as well as at the end of the month. Please be sure to return it to school in a timely manner.

HOMEWORK

Homework will be assigned each evening, Monday through Thursday.

• Reading- 20 minutes nightly (Please remind your child to log what he/she reads nightly on the monthly calendar)
• Math Facts- Please review multiplication and division facts nightly to be prepared for daily Rocket Math Assessment.
• Assignments will be written in student’s assignment books nightly.
• Homework assignments should reflect the student’s personal best work.

Personal Supplies (Please label the binder with your child’s first and last name.)

• 1- One inch Three-Ring-Binder
• 1- One Backpack large enough to fit a 10 X 12 inch folder
• 1 – Spill-Proof Water Bottle

Community Supplies (Please do not put names on these.)

• 2- EXPO Black Ultra Fine Tip Dry Erase Markers

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.

Personal Supplies (Please label the binder with your child’s first and last name.)

• • Headphones (for school issued iPads)-1 set for your child only!

Community Supplies (Please do not put names on items!)

• • Fine tip EXPO dry erase markers (black only)
  • Elmer’s Glue sticks
  • Cryola Crayons (24 count only)
  • Clorox wipes (throughout the year, please!)

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.

Personal Supplies

• • Headphones

Community Supplies

• • Packages of #2 Ticonderoga pencils
  • Crayola crayons (24 count)
  • Glue sticks
  • Thin-tip EXPO dry erase markers/erasers
  • Pencil-top erasers or wedge erasers
  • Tissues
  • Clorox wipes
  • Ziploc bags (quart and gallon)

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.

Personal Supplies

• • Box of 24 count Crayola crayons
  • Pencil box/pouch

Community Supplies

• • Packages of #2 Ticonderoga pencils (not mechanical)
  • Chisel tip EXPO dry erase markers and erasers
  • Pencil-top erasers
  • White paper
  • Pencil-top erasers or wedge erasers
  • Tissues
  • Clorox wipes

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.

Personal Supplies

• • 2 EXPO * chisel tip dry erase markers
  • 2 SHARPIE * YELLOW highlighters
  • Pencil case (optional)
  • 1 package of lined wide ruled paper
  • Pink rectangular erasers
  • Jumbo XXL Book Cover (2)
  • Personal set of headphones or earbuds

Community Supplies

• • Clorox/Lysol Wipes or equivalent
  • packages of #2 DIXON TICONDEROGA * Pencils
  • package of Pencil-top erasers
  • Extra EXPO dry erase markers and SHARPIE yellow highlighters

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.

Personal Supplies

• • 1 pack crayons or colored pencils
  • 1 yellow highlighter
  • Expo Dry Erase Markers
  • 4 spiral bound notebooks
  • 5 pocket folders with fasteners
  • 2 composition books (wide ruled)

Community Supplies

• • 1 box Ticonderoga #2 pencils
  • Clorox Wipes
  • Kleenex Tissues
  • Ream of copy paper

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.

Personal Supplies

• • #2 Dixon, Ticonderoga or HB brand Pencils
  • Crayons/markers/or colored pencils
  • Dry Erase marker
  • Highlighters – 2
  • 1 pair of small scissors
  • Glue sticks – 2
  • Pocket folders (5)
  • Notebooks (5) or One 5-subject notebook
  • Zipper pouch/Pencil case (for pencils, markers, etc.)
  • Headphones
  • Homework Planner will be provided

Community Supplies

• • Tissues
  • Clorox wipes
  • Hand Soap

If you wish to donate, please purchase the brands listed above. We have found these brands work best in our classrooms. Thank you for your understanding.