Mr. Underwood’s First- Grade Class Welcome, parents and caregivers!

Welcome to our classroom!  I will introduce you to our first grade classroom.  Feel free to ask questions at any time.

All About Me  My background  I was born in Indiana and grew up in Colorado.  I attended the University of Denver, University of Colorado, and Metropolitan State College of Denver.  I am a Highly Qualified teacher and I have Bachelor and Masters Degree in Education.  My experience  I’ve been teaching for 10 years.  This is my 9th year at Kaunakakai Elementary.  I have also taught sixth grade, third grade, and high school band.

My Family  My wife  Vicki  My children  sons, Kris and Jeff

Contact Information  Home:  Cell:  School:  . notes.k12.hi.us

My Goals  To give your child the academic and social skills they need to progress to second grade.  Teach standards aligned lessons.  To provide a supportive, safe, and fun classroom environment.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001  NCLB goal: 100% of all students in America will be proficient in reading and math by 2014  weighted student formula- Hawaii legislature’s funding plan for NCLB  Kaunakakai Elementary School did not meet annual yearly progress  Provider: Edison

Common Core State Standards  Language Arts  Math  Students in non-testing grades K, 1, 2, and 11 and 12 will receive instruction in aligned with the CCSS starting  Curriculum is ramped up, students are expected to meet proficiency in lessons that are more rigorous. 

Class Subjects  The subjects we cover during first grade are:  Language Arts  Math  Science  Social Studies  PE, Art, Hawaiian Studies and Music

Reading  Core reading curriculum: Houghton-Mifflin  Accelerated Reader books  Fluency Folders (in-class and home)  Sight Words

Writing  Writer’s Workshop (writing is a process)  Kamehameha Schools  Constructed Response (word problems)

Math  Core math curriculum: Every Day Mathematics  Supplemental curriculum as required by quarterly standards

Science  Mrs. Sakamoto teaches this class.  Core science curriculum: Harcourt

Social Studies  Mr. Underwood teaches this class.  Core social studies curriculum: Harcourt

PE, Art, Computers, and Music  Mrs. Sakamoto will teach Art  Mrs. Kalani will teach PE  Mrs. Arakaki will teach computers  Music: vocal and instrumental

Online Resources-In School Only  Renaissance Place- STAR Tests  River Deep (math and reading)  Type to Learn using the mobile lab.

Online Resources- At School and at Home  Renaissance Place- Accelerated Reader Tests  KidBiz 3000  Tumblebooks  Discovery Education  School and class website

Assessment- Formative  In-class observation  DIBELS ( Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)  Progress Monitoring (Fluency Folder)  Accelerated Reader  Houghton-Mifflin  Independent reading (Accelerated Reader Library Books)

Assessment- Summative  Benchmark Tracker Quarterly Tests  STAR early Literacy, Math and Reading  Houghton-Mifflin Theme Skills and Integrated Theme Skills Test  Every Day Mathematics Unit test

Standards Based Report Card  Common Core Standards  GLO (general learner outcomes)  Report Card  Standards Report Card

Standards Based Grade Book  Your child’s grades will be based on this grade book.

Homework  I will assign about minutes of homework every night. This includes 15 minutes of reading.  Homework is assigned Monday-Thursday  Students are responsible for making up any missing work.  Parents check the planner each night.

Homework Help  Many 21 st Century grant after school programs currently at Kaunakakai Elementary  Homework help  Achieve 3000  Ace Reading (begins 2 nd quarter)  Many enrichment opportunities  Youth center

Classroom Community  Our classroom is a community. In our community, we have rules to help us get along with each other.  Our school values are:  Kuleana  Laulima  Ho’ihi

Parent/teacher partnership  Volunteers are always welcome!  FACT (families and classroom teachers)  FACT workshops

Book Trust  For qualifying students, Book Trust will pay $7 each month to Scholastic Books  Checks preferred! Payable to Scholastic Books  How it works:  Students order books and pay the balance over $7. For example, a student orders $10 worth of books and pays $10. If a student orders $7 worth of books, she or he pays nothing.

Ukus  How are head lice spread?  How do you treat a home or school for head lice?  Do pets get head lice?  Points of contact in classroom?  Headphones  Rug  Sharing clothing  Person to person

Question and Answer

Let’s Have a Great Year!