Hello scholars and parents! I am thrilled to be a part of the Brigantine family where I teach 3rd grade ELA.
Our curriculum is based on Columbia University's Units of Study, by Lucy Calkins.
Reading is a tool that can unlock many doors. I believe in a philosophy of building a "reading life," where children have options and a vast variety of books to choose from. In the Workshop Model, scholars walk in their character's shoes by studying their character's words and actions. My scholars have access to hundreds of leveled books, located in our classroom library. When children have choices of book titles to thumb through and peruse, they are able to find a genre, series, author, or character that they love or relate to. It's the love for reading which puts the keys in your child's hands. This builds a foundation that is stacked upon positive feelings towards books. When the love for reading is fostered in the classroom, success is bound to follow.
Writing is an art that must be exercised frequently. In my classroom, we are dedicated to The Teacher's College, Writing Workshop. Throughout the year, we delve into three genres of writing: Narrative, Opinion, and Informational. In the Narrative genre, my students learn to write focused, entertaining stories with figurative language and attention to detail. In our Informational unit, students become teachers! The scholars get to teach all about a topic in which they're an expert. In our Opinion genre, students get to voice their thoughts on a topic by writing a structured, five paragraph essay. They are given the tools to change the world with words.
For homework, please make sure your child logs into their reading log and reads an on-level book, Monday through Thursday at home, for 20 minutes.
If you need to contact me, you can email, call, or use ClassDojo text messages. I am most responsive to ClassDojo, as I can communicate before or after school hours.
Behavior
My behavior plan revovles around reinforcing positive behavior amongst our scholars. I use a classroom token system called Buccaneer Bucks. Students earn Gold which can be redeemed for prizes every Friday.
I also use points on ClassDojo and reward the top earners of the week.
My only classroom rule is to show respect.
https://www.classdojo.com
609-264-9501 x1208