Syllabus

Miss Timothy's Contact Information

Email:  taralyn.timothy@jordandistrict.org

Phone Number: (801)446-0778, ext 1813

Class Blog:  http://eastlaketimothy.blogspot.com

Ms. Zhang's Contact Information

Email:  jiatong.zhang@jordandistrict.org
Phone Number: (801)446-0778, ext 1819

Dual Immersion: Students will spend half the day in English instruction for literacy and half the day in Chinese instruction for math, science, and social studies.  To balance optimal instruction time for both groups, students will alternate their homerooms each day.  On Monday and Tuesday, the red group will start in English and the blue group will start in Chinese.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the red group will begin in Chinese and blue group will begin in English.  They will end the day in the opposite class. Fridays will be used for online learning and catching up on activities for the week.

Blogs and emails:  Most communication will be done through our class blogs and email whenever possible to eliminated paper waste.  Please check the class blog (eastlaketimothy.blogspot.com) every week for weekly homework assignments and other important information.

School Hours:  School begins at 9:00 and ends at 3:35. Friday is early-out day; school ends at 1:55. Children should not arrive on campus before 8:00. Children should stay outside on the playground until the first bell rings at 8:55. Your child is tardy if he/she comes to school after 9:00. When your child is tardy, he/she must go to the office and check in. If you need to check your child out from school early, you should go to the office and sign out your child. The office will call the classroom. If you know you will be checking out early, please write me a note. If I know your child is leaving early, I can gather necessary items for them.

Lunch:  Lunch money can be paid online using Skyward or you can send a check or cash to school in an envelope with your child’s name, lunch number,  and teacher’s name. Lunchtime is at 11:30. If you plan on eating lunch with your child, you must first go to the office and get a visitor’s pass and meet us in the cafeteria. Adult lunches cost $3.00. 

Reading Program:  Every week, we will read a different book.  Many of the other activities we do through out the day will stem from these books. We will practice reading various phonics patterns using these books and other activities.  Students will also experience reading in books at their individual level in small groups and participate in various learning centers.

Writing Program:  We will do a variety of writing activities.  Students will have opportunities to create informative, narrative, and opinion writing pieces.  I encourage students to sound spell as they write if they don’t know how to spell a word until they learn how to spell commonly used words and common spelling patterns.

Homework Folder:   We will send home a folder every Monday.  It will usually contain a reading page, a spelling sort, a word wall list, and reading log. This folder must be brought to school every day for communication purposes, but your child has the whole week to complete the assignments. I will check the homework on Friday.  There may also be a Chinese and/or math assignment during the week to be completed online.

Home Reading:  Students are required to read 20 minutes every day.  Mark the planner sheet in the homework to show time spent on reading at home. This reading time can include time spent listening to someone else read, reading take home readers, and reading worksheets in homework folder. The 20 minutes can be broken up in to smaller chunks through out the day when needed. 

Spelling Sorts:  We will be doing a program called Words Their Way.  This is a developmental spelling program.  Students will be assessed to find out what spelling patterns they are already using and what patterns they need practice with.  Each week students will be assigned a sort at the appropriate level to practice. They will do activities at home and at school to practice the patterns.  On Friday, students will take a spelling test on the practiced pattern.  The test will include eight of the words studied at home plus two others with the same patterns.

Sight Word Spelling:  Each week students will learn five new sight words.  You will find the words for the week on the planner page of the homework folder.  These words will be added to the word wall.  Students need to practice both recognition of the words and spelling.  They will be tested on both on Friday.  Every fourth week we will review the last three weeks’ words.

Lexia:  Students will have a weekly goal to complete on the online Lexia reading program.  Time will be given in class to try to meet this goal, but some students may need to spend a little additional time at home to meet their individualized goals.

Take Home Readers:  Students will bring home an English book to practice reading fluently every Tuesday and Thursday.  These books will be at the student’s independent reading level.  Students should read the book multiple times to build fluency.  Books must be returned Tuesday or Thursday to receive a new book.  Time spent reading this can count toward the 20 minutes required reading time.

Rotations:  Each day from 9:15-9:55, students will participate in a specials rotation.  These rotations will include computers, library, art, PE, STEM, and character ed.  The specific day for each rotation will change from week to week. For this reason, library books will need to remain at school and read in the classroom.

Volunteers:   Volunteers are a vital part of the dual immersion program.  You will have multiple opportunities to help in the classroom.  You can go to SignUp.com. to sign up for volunteering.  Please try to sign up for a regular time to volunteer.  It may be helpful for parents to work out babysitting pools to help each other volunteer as much as possible.  All volunteers and visitors to the school must check-in through the office before entering the school. 

Birthdays:    If we are in school on a student’s birthday, that student will be recognized with a special birthday chair.  Students may donate a birthday book to the library.  Due to many student allergies, first grade will be adopting a NO FOOD policy for birthday treats.  We are asking for all birthday treats to be non-food items such as pencils, erasers, and other inexpensive small toys.  If we are not in school on a student’s birthday, we will celebrate the birthday the first week back to school. 

Book Orders:  I will send home a book order at the beginning of each month.  These are a wonderful way to build a library at home.  The books are inexpensive and there are many levels to choose from.  Also, every dollar you spend earns bonus points, which go toward buying books for the classroom.  The best way to order is by going online.  If you order online, you can pay with a card.  If you send in your order, please make all checks payable to Scholastic (No cash please).  Book orders are optional

Shoes:  I do not tie shoes.  I have arthritis in my hips and knees, which makes it extremely difficult to bend to tie shoes.  If your child is unable to tie his/her shoes, please work on this at home. Thanks.