Class Dojo

Dear Parents,

This week I have implemented "Class Dojo" into the classroom.  Class Dojo is an incentive based program wherein your child's behavior can be monitored.  You can also get an emailed report of how they are doing.  I have included a link to answer some of your questions on the Class Dojo official site here:  All About Class Dojo.  This is something new for me as well and the kids are very excited about it.  The students can earn "Dojo" Points and use these points on different rewards such as: "Lunch with Mr. Dowd and 2 Friends"; "Homework Passes"; etc.  Students can also have points taken off their tally for behaviors such as: off-task behavior, dispect, talking out of turn, etc.  I really feel this is a great way to end the school year on a positive note!!! 

This afternoon I sent home two papers that I would like signed and returned at your earliest convenience:  The first is a paper that has the secret code your child can use on the Class Dojo website.  Once your child logs in they can customize their avatar (the kids love this) and also a parent code so you can monitor their progress regularly.  On this form if you could cut the bottom half off, sign and return I would greatly appreciate it. 

The second sheet I sent home is a request for you to provide me with your current email address.  Once I receive it, I can setup Class Dojo to email you a report every Friday so you can see how your child has been doing.  I think this is an excellent tool for parents and a way to reward and discipline your child at your discretion accordingly.  I also told the kids if they bring these two forms back signed they will receive (2) Dojo Points!  It's such a great tool and hope you will buy into it!

Please email me with any questions:  dowd@fultonschools.org

Thanks for reading!

Best Regards,

Mr. Dowd

Reading Logs

Greetings Parents and Students...

As we approach the later part of the school year I start introducing Homework Reading Logs.  These logs are designed to keep students accountable for their reading.  I will now require each student in my reading classes to read (30) minutes nightly and fill out the log and have a parent sign it nightly.  I will be checking logs on Fridays along with the spelling choice boards.  Also, please note that I am now requiring all students complete (4) spelling boards from their choice board.  Choice Boards are due Friday and I deduct 10 points for each day late.

Thanks for your cooperation.  

 Best,

Mr. Dowd

Week of February 10th

Greetings everyone!

I hope each of you had a nice weekend.  A few announcements first...

We will be having a brief Valentines/Friendship Day Card exchange this Thursday prior to dismissal.  This opportunity promotes friendships which students have created in class. Students will briefly enjoy treats and exchange valentines cards before dismal. Also, to make valentine distribution easier….please don’t address each valentine for the students, this way your child can easily walk from table to table handing out valentines without having to match names. A simple paper valentine is perfect. We have 21 students.

If you would like to donate any items such as sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, treat bags, etc., please feel free to sign up at To view your sign up page, go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B0F49AAA722A31-friendship

Any contributions will be greatly appreciated.

I have also asked Ms. Alicia Smith to send out a signup form for classroom supplies.  Here is the link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0F49AAA722A31-classroom   Absolutely no pressure and please know that these supplies will go a long way towards the remainder of our school year together!   Thanks in advance for any generous donations!

Here is what we will be learning this week.  Please keep in mind that school will be closed on Friday, February 14th and Monday, February 17th. 

Reading:
We will be introducing new stations this week for our review of Main Idea within a story.  The students will also be identifying main idea within sentence grab bags and working in small groups.  I will also be finalizing the reading assessments for students to help me identify their reading level.  I continue to encourage reading at home for up to 30 minutes if possible and working on comprehension.

Social Studies:
We will continue our Civil Rights Unit this week and begin gearing up for our Unit Test.  Jackie Robinson and MLK will continue to be our focus.  We will be sending home a study guide for the students to review over the long weekend.  The test is tenatively scheduled for Tuesday, February 18th when we return from the long weekend.

Writing:
The students have been working with planning persuasive/opinion writing and we will continue this genre.  They have done a great job with their persuasive letters to adults.  We will also be reviewing irregular verbs and how to infuse this into their writing.

**I hope everyone has a great week!

Best,

Mr. Dowd

Week of February 3, 2014

Greetings all,

I hope everyone is recovering from the Snow last week.  What a whirlwind! 

Here's what we are working on this week:

Reading
Reviewing Nonfiction text features.  Students were quizzed on these features: Caption, Heading, Diagram, etc.

Comparing Characters in the story.  We are reading the book: Stellaluna and comparing characters.

Writing:
We reviewed Irregular Verbs and practiced writing persuasive letters to adults (Mr. Dowd, Mom and Dad, and Mrs. Gamble for example)

Social Studies:
We have started our focus on Jackie Robinson and continuing studying Civil Rights.  The students will create Jackie Robinson decorative baseball cards and researched facts.

***Parents, if at all possible...We are in need of sanitatary wipes,pencils, and note for the classroom.  Any generous souls please feel free to send them in! 

Week of 1/27/14

Hello Parents and Students,

Here is an update of what we are working on this week...

Reading:
This week we will be reviewing Non-Fiction Text Features.  These include:  Table of Contents, Headings, Captions, etc.  The kids will be doing Non-Fiction Scavenger Hunts in their stations as well.

Social Studies:
We will continue our MLK Jr. unit this week and the students will be finishing up their timelines.

Writing:
Students will be writing persuasive letters this week to an adult of their choice (Teacher, Principal, Parent/Guardian)  I am eager to see what they will try to persuade us to do!

***If any parents are willing to donate pencils, notebook paper, copy paper, or sanitation wipes I would greatly appreciate it. 

Have a great week!

Mr. Dowd

Busy Busy Busy

Whew!  What a busy week we had last week, I apologize for not getting my Blog posted last week.  Since coming back we had the inclement weather and we've been trying to get back into the swing of things.  I am very proud of the students for coming back with so much enthusiasm.  Here is a breakdown of what we've been working on and what's upcoming!  Thanks for your patience!!

Reading:

Our first week back we reviewed Sequence in a Story and the phonics skill long -y.  We incorporated some new stations in Literacy Centers and the kids have been doing a great job.

For the week of January 21st we will review Character Traits in a story and our phonics skill are words ending in -ar.  Below are our weekly spelling words for On-Level and Challenge.  I do give the Pre-Test at the beginning of each week and depending on your child's score they will be placed in either on-level or challenge words.  Just a reminder, the Spelling Homework Choice Boards are given out at the beginning of the week and due on Fridays.  If your child misplaces his/hers, I have extra copies in the magnetic folder on my main board (the kids know where these are located)

Words for Week of January 21st:
On-Level:  car, party, dark, hard, arm, farm, star, start, park, part, yard, spark

Challenge: commutative, associative, identity, inverse, chemical, physical, reaction, international,
                   properties, mysterious

Writing/Language Arts:
In writing we will continue our persuasive essays as the students will be finalizing their book/movie reviews and writing about their favorite restaurants.  We will also be creating posters with persuasive elements about their favorite restaruants.  Should be lots of fun!  Our grammar skill for this week will be: verbs review.

Social Studies:
In Social Studies this week, we will continue working on our Martin Luther King, Jr. unit.  This is especially timely given we were out Monday for the MLK holiday.  The students will be creating an interactive timeline in class all week.  The students are really enjoying this unit!

As always please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions:  dowd@fultonschools.org

Also, please note that I do reserve Fridays for all Spelling tests and comprehension quizzes, it is crucial that your child is reading a minimum of 20 minutes nightly and I'd appreciate it if you could continuously quesiton them about what their reading.  Comprehension is so important, especially as we are preparing your child in 2nd grade for 3rd grade!  Thanks for all that you do!

Best,

Mr. Dowd

Happy New Year

Greetings Parents and Students!

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful break.  I would like to give a quick breakdown of what we are doing this week.  Being that is such a short week, I am sending the kids home with Reading Logs to complete the next two nights and there is no spelling this week. 
Your child should read for at least 30 minutes nightly and complete the questions and include the book title and date on the form.  Reading logs are due this Friday and should only be completed for the two nights required (tonight and tomorrow night)

Here is what we are learning this short week...

Reading
We are reviewing Story Structure (Characters, Setting, Events, Problem, and Solution)  The students will be working in pairs to practice re-telling a story that I read to them. 

Social Studies
We are introducing our Unit on Martin Luther King this week and this is a great unit as we will celebrate MLK day on January 20th.  We are doing KWL charts and reading from our Georgia Heroes Big Book all week on Dr. King.

Writing
We are beginning our persuasive unit in writing and I will have lots of fun activities planned, including having the students write their very own commerical.

I hope everyone has a great week and I know we are all eager to get back into the swing of things.  Please rememeber I am only an email away:  dowd@fultonschools.org