1. Curriculum Night 2014 Presented by 1 st Grade/Mrs. Ursitti Christa McAuliffe Elementary

2. What is Accelerated vs. Gifted? BrightGifted Learns with easeAlready knows Answers questionsDiscusses in details, elaborates Grasps the meaningDraws inferences Is pleased with learningIs highly self-critical Good memorizerGood guesser/innate knowledge Is receptiveIs intense

3. The Talented and Gifted Student http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O mx_iLtMjZA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O mx_iLtMjZA

4. Our Accelerated Class How Are We Different? Beyond level lessons in reading and math Faster pace of instruction Cooperative learning Science experiments Author studies and paired literature Creative writing More challenging spelling words Brain Teasers and Critical Thinking Valuable Vocabulary

5. How Can I Support My Gifted/Accelerated Child Allow your child to fail ! Help your child with their need for perfectionism and how that relates to their self - image. Be a good example to them by modeling your own attempts and your acceptance of mistakes. Help your child set realistic standards for themselves and to understand how unfair it is to hold others to their standards. Intellectually stimulate your child by exposing them to libraries, travel, theater, museums, and historical sites. Support their uniqueness. They often learn, act, and socialize differently.

6. Guided Reading Students will participate in a combination of literacy centers and independent activities for one hour each day while I work with small reading groups. Each reading group will meet with me for about 15 minutes to practice reading specific leveled text and to complete extension activities related to the focus skills of the week. Students will bring home Guided Reading books home in their book baggies. After practicing the books at home with your child, please make sure they are returned to school every day.

7. AR Program/ STAR tests Students have the opportunity to take AR tests on certain books in order to earn points. Most books are 0.5 pts. Chapter books are worth more. Each child will be given a specific “ point goal ” that they should try to meet each quarter based on needs & abilities. Every quarter, your child will take the STAR test, which is a computer-based reading assessment. It will indicate your child’s current reading level.

8. How can I check on my child’s progress in AR? Renaissance Home Connect

9. Grading Policy Daily Assignments – weight of 1 Quizzes – weight of 2 Tests – weight of 3 Language Arts – Reading-Vocabulary – Phonics-Phonograms – Grammar-Writing – Spelling

10. Halloween Festivities A parade will take place Friday, October 31at 8:45am Parents will be able to watch the parade from the breezeway area. Each class will need a volunteer to help kids with costume changes after.

11. Thanksgiving Feast Tuesday, November 25th beginning at 11:45. Each class will have a feast in the classroom to celebrate the holiday. Each student will be assigned an item to bring in to class Kids will wear Pilgrim Hats/ Native American headdresses during the feast. We will need 2-3 volunteers per class to help serve food, etc.

12. Winter Celebration Week of December 15 World Religion Centers Thursday, December 18 Muffins and Milk with Santa Classroom Craft Centers with Snacks/Holiday Movie

13. Cinco de Mayo Fiesta ! May, 2015 This a BIG first grade event for students in which they get to experience the culture, food, and celebrations of Mexico. We need to form a committee of interested and motivated parents who will help us with this event. Please sign up to help with this event!

14. Our Classroom Website www.mrsursitti.com Weekly newsletters Parent Resources Kids Resources Links to textbooks

15. GREAT We are going to have a GREAT year! Thanks for coming! Class Directory World’s Finest Chocolates A sign-up sheet will be by the mailboxes for event sign-ups. Last minute odds and ends…..

16. Questions Asked/Answered