Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions.
If you have other questions, feel free to ask!
- How can I sign up to be a parent volunteer?
- What is a typical day like?
- How can I get in contact with you?
- Do you have free choice centers?
- What is Scholastic?
- How are reading groups created?
- What can I say if my child is stuck on a word while reading?
- What are data notebooks?
- What is Baldrige?
- What are Sight Words?
How can I sign up to be a parent volunteer?
You can sign up at Back to School Night. If you aren't able to
attend, feel free to send a note in with your child letting me
know you would like to be avolunteer and which days work best for
you. If you can't come in during the school day to volunteer but
would like to help out at home, please let me know. Volunteers
will start at the beginning of October. This gives me time
to establish a classroom routine and to get to know the
students. Please know that you may or may not be working with
students. Instead of working with students, I may have you
coloring, cutting, pasting, or copying- it depends on my need.
If you are not comfortable working with students, please let me
know via email or a note sent in with your child.
What is a typical day like?
It is important to note that our schedule can change at the last
minute, but usually our schedule is:
8:45-9:00AM- Arrive and unpack
9:00-10:50AM- Reading and Daily 5
10:50-11:30AM- Writer's Workshop
11:30AM-12:30PM- Lunch and Recess
12:35-1:05PM- Specials
1:15-2:15PM- Math
2:15-2:45PM- Science/Social Studies/Free Choice Centers
2:45-3:00PM- Clean up and Pack up
3:05PM- Dismissal
How can I get in contact with you?
The easiest way to get in touch with me is through email. I
check my email several times daily and usually respond within 24
hours. Sending a note in with your child also works out well.
Of course, you can also call me at 301-650-6440. Phone calls are
more difficult to return due to my schedule, but I usually return
a call within 36 hours. If you have a problem or a concern,
please do not hesitate to ask or inquire about it.
Do you have free choice centers?
Yes! At the end of each day, students work in free choice
centers to practice important social skills such as getting along
with others, sharing, working together and many others.
What is Scholastic?
Scholastic is a company that sells books at a very reasonable
cost. Each month I will send home 2-3 book orders with a due
date. Usually, the book orders are due within one week. You can
order books by sending in the book order along with a check in
your child's backpack, or you can order online.
The web address for ordering is:
www.scholastic.com/parentordering. The username is Smakula and
the password is Woodlin. Please remember this is
purely optional. You are under no obligation!
How are reading groups created?
Book Clubs/Reading Groups allows me the opportunity to work with
small groups. With guided reading I can employ flexible grouping
strategies that address needs, reading levels, strengths, and
interest. Guided reading groups are formed and reconfigured to
meet the needs of the individual. So, children do not remain in
fixed groups throughout an entire school year. Students are
placed in groups based on their ability level and continually
assessed formally by county assessments three times a year and
are assessed on a weekly basis during book clubs.
It is important to note that your child may switch classrooms for
guided reading instruction. As we are continually assessing the
students to meet their needs we may change their grouping if
there is another group that will better meet your child's
individual needs.
What can I say if my child is stuck on a word while reading?
Never tell your child a word without letting him/her try it
first! She/he must learn this to become an independent reader.
When he/she is stuck, say these things to help:
"Look at the picture. Are there clues in it?"
"What word would fit in that space? ... Does the word you
said match the
one on the page?"
"Go back to the beginning and try it again."
"Look at the first letter. Get your mouth ready to say that
word."
"Skip that word. Read the rest of the sentence." ...
"Now, what is
missing?"
"Think about the story. What is happening?"
"What are the characters/author talking about?"
What are data notebooks?
Data notebooks empower students to become accountable for their
learning. At the beginning of the year, we will write classroom
goals and students will keep data based on these goals. Some
goals may be written by students to capture short-term gains to
motivate themselves to achieve long-range goals. These notebooks
support students in becoming coproducers of their learning. They
help students organize processes for learning. The notebook
will contain the classroom rules, mission, jobs, goals and the
progress a student is making to achieve these goals.
Data notebooks will be coming home once a month. It is expected,
in lieu of homework, that parents and students sit down to
discuss the progress a student is making. Discussion points and
questions will be sent home in the notebook to aid in the
discussions.
What is Baldrige?
Baldrige is a way of focusing our efforts to help all students
become independent learners, make good decisions, solve problems
and take responsibility for their learning. It requires that we:
involve the school community, including students, staff and
parents have measurable goals and plans for achieving the goals
make sure goals and plans are communicated and understood monitor
our progress and make changes to improve results. For more
information, please go to
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/baldrige/.
What are Sight Words?
Sight Words are words that good readers may instantly recognize
without having to "figure them out." There are two reasons why
sight words are an essential component of good reading: First of
all, many of these words do not sound like their spellings might
suggest, so "sounding them out" would be unproductive. Also, a
good reader really cant afford the time to dwell on too many
words, or he may lose the speed and fluency necessary for
determining the authors message.
