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- Can you explain your homework policy, please?
- How many minutes per evening should my child be doing homework?
- For how long should my child read each night?
- Why do you use rubrics to grade (larger) projects?
- Can you explain your behavior policy, please?
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Can you explain your homework policy, please?
Children are expected to accurately record assignments in their planners and
to complete assignments in a timely manner. While I understand that
sometimes extenuating circumstances may prevent a child from doing his or her
homework, missed assignments must be made up. Doing homework consistently
and thoroughly reinforces what we do in the classroom, and helps children to
retain information; not doing homework in such a manner impacts learning and
grading negatively.
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How many minutes per evening should my child be doing homework?
Homework should take approximately 25-35 minutes each night. (This does not
include reading; for more on that, see below.) Of course, this may differ
from child to child. If you notice that your child is completing homework
very quickly or finds it too simple, let me know; I can provide you with
special work to give your child a bit more of a challenge. On the other
hand, if you notice that your child is taking a much longer time to complete
homework or is struggling with certain concepts, please inform me so that I
can review things and provide you with special rework to boost reteaching.
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For how long should my child read each night?
In first grade, children should be reading for about fifteen minutes every
night (including weekends, ideally). Needless to say, if a child wishes to
read for a longer time, that is just fine! Many students may like to take a
book to bed and read before going to sleep; I myself do this all the time,
and it has become a wonderful part of my nightly routine. Of course, you can
make this an interactive event, in which your child can read to you.
Finally, I should duly note that any time your child chooses to read is a
good time!
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Why do you use rubrics to grade (larger) projects?
Rubrics are among the most fair and comprehensive ways to grade projects or
more extensive writing assignments. They break down an assignment so that
the criteria are the same for everyone, and since the rubric is shared with
the students before the assignment is given, they know exactly what is
expected of them and also have a chance to discuss the assignment in advance
to define their understanding. Moreover, each project will have a rubric
designed especially for that assignment, so that work and outcomes are
closely aligned. Finally, since rubrics break down the criteria, and do so
by using a scoring system of points, a teacher is able to give a concrete
grade to a student’s work by simply adding the points. Sometimes creating
rubrics can be more challenging than the assignment itself, but I am
committed to using such an objective and diversified grading method, albeit a
relatively simpler one given the grade level.
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Can you explain your behavior policy, please?
Respect for oneself, for others in the school (both children and adults), for
the community at large, and for the school building and grounds themselves,
is of paramount importance. I have high expectations for my students as far
as this is concerned, and hold myself to the same standard. Accepting
responsibility for one’s actions is admirable, and helps one to grow
emotionally and socially.
Students who show a great level of respect will be justly rewarded; students
who do not will be gently corrected.
We follow a simple and visible color-coded card system to ensure that all
members of our classroom community are respectful and responsible for their
actions. Students move between colors/levels according to how well they
follow our classroom rules (which are clearly posted), with green indicating
that a child is at his or her best.
Children are always given an opportunity to redeem themselves and “get back
to green” by improving their behavior or doing good deeds.
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