Welcome to the Crew! AKA Cawson's Crew
I hope you find everything on here useful and beneficial for a smooth year. Your child's success and growth are a priority!
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Who Am I? |
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Click the button above to find out more about me professionally. For just the basics, click below!
Letter to StudentsLetter to FamiliesAt Home Reading ExpectationsAs your child continues to develop as a reader and writer in 5th grade, it becomes increasingly more important for them to read outside of school. While your child is still learning how to read, he/she should be shifting to the more sophisticated “read to learn”phase of their education. As the demands in other academic areas (social studies and science) increase, the role of reading instruction in the classroom changes. Students will be expected to read more and more outside of the time set aside strictly for reading instruction during the school day. To meet these changing demands, it is so important to make sure your child is reading at home every single night!
I expect my students to read a minimum of 20 minutes 5 days a week at home. This vital at-home reading time does not have to be 20 minutes of reading silently, although it can be. It could also be your child reading to you, a sibling, a pet, or a stuffed animal. It can be you and your child taking turns reading aloud. It can be time spent reading from a magazine, newspaper, or book. The goal is to just read…and have fun doing it! One important thing to remember is your child should be reading texts that are “just right” for them. One rule of thumb to remember is the “Five Finger Rule”. If your child cannot read 5 or more words on any one page, it is too difficult. Find something a little easier for now. An “At Home Reading Log” system can be implemented if I feel a student needs a little extra help at bridging the gap in their literacy skills. Again, I expect 5th graders to read a minimum of 20 minutes 5 days a week at home. Whether it is 20 minutes before bed or 20 minutes traveling in a car, if a routine is established, it really does become a habit that most children look forward to each day. Good reading habits don’t usually come quickly for children. They need you to help establish this critical piece to their literacy education. Thank you for your support! Robert Cawson Research Behind At Home ReadingWhy Your Child Should Read for 20 minutes Every Day
"WHY CAN'T I SKIP MY 20 MINUTES OF READING TONIGHT?" LET'S FIGURE IT OUT --- MATHEMATICALLY! Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week; Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all! Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week. Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins./week Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month. Student A reads 400 minutes a month. Student B reads 80 minutes a month. Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year. Student B reads 720 min. in a school year. Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice. By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days. One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. Which student would you expect to read better? Which student would you expect to know more? Which student would you expect to write better? Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary? Which student would you expect to be more successful in school....and in life? It is Student A! Please help your child prepare for success by creating a strong reading “habit”! Make sure he/she is reading each and every night! (Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, America Reads Challenge. (1999) "Start Early, FinishStrong: How to Help Every Child Become a Reader." Washington, D.C.) |
I have a professional Twitter page where I tweet out things going on in education and sometimes things in the classroom or school. Please feel free to follow me there. My handle is @CawsonRBTT
Twitter is unlike the other social media sources out there. This tool can be so educationally powerful and it is also a good way to keep in touch with what is going on in the classroom at times! Assignments and Redo'sClassroom Assignments
As learning takes place in our classroom and assignments are given, some classroom time will be provided to complete most assignments. At the end of the school day, whatever assignments were not fully completed during the day will then become homework. Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due the next day unless. I try to return graded assignments as promptly as possible, and I recommend to parents that they keep a box or file with student's "old" work at home so that you may track your child's progress. Re-do Policy Opportunities to re-do work are given at my discretion but are encouraged. I encourage students to put in their best efforts when an assignment is initially given. However, I know that we don't all learn on the same timeline, and sometimes a student may need additional time, materials, or support to meet grade level standards. If I allow a redo of an assignment or assessment, it will be connected to a conference in which your child and I make a plan for improvement. Such a plan could involve your time and support as well as additional effort from your child and myself. Look for redos and you will then know I gave your child a chance at redoing their work :) It is not a bad thing but rather an opportunity for your child to bridge the gap and academically push themselves forward with our guidance and support. All work to be redone should be signed by a parent or guardian/adult. A Glance at the Year AheadBelow is a sneak peak of the topics we will be exploring this year in the classroom. This is just a generic overview and not exact. However, it gives you a good idea of different topics to be covered throughout the year.
Math Unit 1: Addition/Subtraction with Fractions Unit 2: Addition/Subtraction with Decimals Unit 3: Multiplication/Division with Fractions Unit 4: Multiplication with Whole Numbers and Decimals Unit 5: Division with Whole Numbers and Decimals Unit 6: Operations and Word Problems Unit 7: Algebra, Patterns, and Coordinate Graphs Unit 8: Measurement and Geometry Reading Unit 1: Establishing a Rich Reading Life Unit 2: Using Reading Strategies to Understand Text Unit 3: Identifying the Theme of a Fiction Text Unit 4: Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details of a Non-Fiction Text Unit 5: Identifying the Point of View of the Text Unit 6: Compare/Contrast Characters, Themes, Texts from Same Author, Texts About the Same Topic, etc... Unit 7: Describe the Text Structure of Non-Fiction Text *Even though these are listed as unit topics, they are not necessarily taught in succession. These "big ideas" are woven together and taught continuously and often simultaneously through the art of reading and discussion. Writing Unit 1: Establishing a Rich Writing Life Unit 2: Personal Narratives Unit 3: Opinion and Persuasive Writing Unit 4: Informational Writing Unit 5: Research Social Studies (Early American History) Unit 1: Our Government Unit 2: Three Worlds Meet Unit 3: Colonization and Settlement Unit 4: Life in Colonial America Unit 5: Road to Revolution Unit 6: The American Revolution Unit 7: A New Nation Science •Studying People Scientifically •Body Works •Micro-Life •Our genes, Ourselves •Ecology •Evolution •Tools and ideas |