First Grade Syllabus

Mrs. Lynn Riess

2008/2009 School Year

Sonoran Science Academy

Introduction

 I want to welcome everyone to my class this year.  We are going to have a fun year full of learning and exploration.  I believe that everyone can learn and we all learn at different rates.  First grade is a foundation year in education.  My goal for you and your child is to build a strong foundation on which they will build their future in education.  Reading and strong literacy skills provide the tools to learn other subjects so we will work hard on those skills.  Basic math skills are also a base to learn the higher math skills so we will work hard on those also.  I will be making math hands on as much as possible to build the basic skills.  I welcome parent volunteers in the classroom.

Discipline Policy

My classroom discipline policy is very basic.  Our classroom has three basic rules.  I ask students to be safe, respectful and responsible.  We will talk about how those three things look and sound.  Students will have cards beginning with a green card.  If they are following the class rules, they will stay on green.  They will then move to yellow, orange and red.  A yellow card is a warning.  If a student moves to an orange card, they will lose 5 minutes of recess.  Red cards will result in a phone call to parents later that day.  Students, who remain on green for the entire day, will get a sticker on their chart.  When a student receives 10 stickers, they will be able to go to the prize box and choose a prize.  The class will also earn class points toward class rewards such as free choice at the end of the day.  

Homework Policy and Grading Policy

Students will be required to read for a minimum of 20 minutes a day.  This includes parents reading to their child.  Part of the daily homework will be to complete a reading log that will be signed by the parent.  Reading logs will be due each Monday.  We will begin doing simple book reports during the second quarter of the school year.  The Saxon math program that we use at our school will have daily homework except on days that we have a test.  We will do the first side together in class and the back side will be homework.  I will also send home a sheet providing extra practice on a skill that we worked on in class that day in another subject area.  The grading scale will follow the scale in the student handbook.  I will be giving a homework grade of E for homework that is turned in on time.  If it is one day later, it will receive a grade of S and homework not turned in will receive a grade of N.  This will be part of the Citizenship Grade for each student. 

Textbooks

The reading series that we use here is the Treasures series by Macmillan/McGraw Hill.  We will do a unit every 6 weeks.  We use Macmillan/McGraw for our science books also.  Our math program is the Saxon Math series.  This series provides a great deal of practice and review to make sure that students are learning the concepts.  We use the Harcourt A Child’s View for Social Studies. 

Contact Information

 Parents will be able to see what skills the class is working by checking my webpage on the school website.  This will be updated weekly to reinforce those skills at home.  Homework assignments will also be on the webpage.  This will also be updated weekly and major assignments will also be on there.  Once we begin doing weekly spelling words after first quarter, I will post the list of daily spelling assignments on the webpage.  The spelling assignments will not change.  If you have questions or concerns you can contact me here at school or you can email me.  My email address is lriess@sonoranacademy.org.  I will try and return email messages the same day.  I look forward to working with you and your child this year.  Please read and discuss this with your child.  I would like you and your child to sign the back page and return it to me by Wednesday, August 13, 2008.  Thank you for your support and involvement in the education of your child.