September 11, 2012

 

Dear Parents 親愛的家長,

 

Greetings!  One week has passed and our 5^th graders have been busy familiarizing themselves with the classroom rules, daily routine, review of past lessons, and just basically getting to know each other.

 

I would like to communicate with you my expectations on their learning and behavior as well as some of the programs and activities that we will be engaging in this semester.

這學期很快的已過完了一週，孩子們這一個星期都在忙著熟悉新的班級、新的班規、新的課表作息、和新的同學。我希望能藉這個機會和您溝通一下我對於五年黃班的同學們在學習及常規的期許，以及這學期我們會進行的活動和學程。

 

Homework:作業

1. Any homework is due the following day, except when the teacher announces otherwise.

除非有特別註明，所有的作業都是當天要完成，第二天交。

2. A parent or any adult family member should sign all homework. The student is responsible for making sure that the homework is presented to the parent for signature and putting it back into the school bag.

孩子要負責將每一份作業拿給家長簽名後再帶回學校。

3. Missed homework receives a zero (0).  If made up within the day it was due or as directed by the teacher, a deduction of 20% from the grade will be made. 

沒有完成的作業將會登錄為0分，老師會接受遲交的作業但須於當日或老師規定的日期內完成，完成後的分數將扣減二成。

4. Corrections on workbooks are important.  If workbooks are not corrected, the student will not have corrected materials to review for the quizzes and tests. 

作業訂正是很重要的，若沒有確實訂正，考試時就沒有正確的參考資料可複習。

5. Homework is mostly graded for effort.  I deduct 0.5 point only for each mistake on the workbooks as long as they’re corrected right away. Grades suffer a slide when the student leaves pages uncorrected.

我通常給作業的分數會以努力程度為主要的標準，答案不正確我只會扣0.5分，但是若是答錯之後沒有立即訂正，就會扣更多分數。

Class Attentiveness and Participation 上課專心與參與程度

Class attentiveness means being focused on the lesson (evidenced by body language, overt responses to discussions, and being able to answer or repeat an important point when asked) while participation means asking questions, sharing or contributing to the discussion what the student already knows.  

A tally mark of the week’s participation / attentiveness is kept on the blackboard.  For every five tally marks, the student gets a stamp on the communication book.

我很重視孩子上課是否專心，孩子是否會回應課堂內的討論、能否重複或回答當時上課的重點，都可看出孩子的專心度。我更鼓勵孩子上課時積極發問，課堂內與同學分享心得，參與討論。若學生在課堂內的參與、專心度表現良好，我會在黑板上記錄，每五個優良紀錄就會在聯絡簿上得到一個獎勵章印。

 

Programs and activities that aim to promote English language development:

幫助學生英文更進步的活動與措施介紹:

Oral & Listening –  (聽與說)

1. English only days – These will be from 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday;  1:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays.  All classes in Grade 5 will follow this schedule. I can’t wait to witness our 5^th graders interacting with each other in English on our hallway on the 4^th floor during these days!

英文日--所有的五年級班級都將英文日訂在每週二和三的早上7:30到下午1:15，以及每週四的下午1:15到4:30之間。

2. Oral Book Report – the class will have one book report this semester.  Details and date will be announced later.

讀書心得報告—本學期將有一次的讀書心得，細節與日期將於日後宣布。

3. Functional language lessons  – the students will learn vocabulary words that are functional or useful in daily life through a variety of activities.  These lessons will take place during our Enrichment Class on Tuesdays and will be included in the monthly exams.

日常生活用語補充—本學期學生們將經由各種活動，在每週二的晨間英文時間學習日常生活用語，所學內容會包含在月考範圍之內。

In order not to lose out on these instructions, please make sure your child comes on time on Tuesdays.  請孩子務必準時到校。

4.       Reports in other subject areas – Students will be trained in their speaking skills through reporting activities in other subjects such as science, social studies and art.

Our period for English science is actually shared by Social Studies/Study Skills and Science content areas. This semester, cycle 1 will deal with research skills, while cycle 2 and 3 will be science topics on matter and water respectively.

我會經由訓練孩子做其他科目(如自然、社會、美術課)的口頭報告，增進他們的口說技巧。英文的科學課是包括自然與社會科學課。第一次月考前的範圍是社會科學，孩子們會學習研究方法，第二、第三次月考範圍則是自然科學課，孩子們的學習主題將會分別是「物質」與「水」。

5.       Use of print dictionary in class instead of electronic dictionary – The use of print dictionary is preferred over the electronic dictionary while in class for various reasons. These reasons include the development of dictionary skills as well as alphabetizing skills, expensive cost of electronic dictionaries, and often, the language used in most electronic dictionaries is beyond our students’ level. 

我鼓勵孩子使用紙本字典，而非電子字典。藉由使用紙本字典，可以培養查字典的速度與技巧，省下電子辭典的昂貴花費，而且電子辭典裡的詞彙常常過難，超過學生所學的程度。

The school recommends the Oxford Dictionary for Intermediate Learners at the price of NTS680. 

            我們推薦使用牛津進階辭典，價格為680元。

 

Reading – 閱讀

1. Reading Olympics Program – Reading is a very important component of a well-rounded Language Arts program.  It immerses students to the different elements of the language – spelling, vocabulary, usage, grammar, fluency development, comprehension, etc.     For this semester, 5 Yellow students are going to engage in the first part of our reading program called Reading Olympics, with details as follows:

奧林匹克閱讀計畫—閱讀是語言學習中相當重要的一環。它讓孩子可以自然的浸淫在語言的各種元素中:拼字、詞彙、用法、文法、閱讀速度、閱讀理解力……等。這個學期，五黃孩子的第一個閱讀計畫名為「奧林匹克閱讀計畫」，實行計畫如下:

Reading Program Title	READING OLYMPICS Part 1
Participants 參與者	All 5 Yellow students are required to participate as this is a graded activity 五黃全體同學
Duration 區間	September 01-October 01, 2012 (Cycle 1) 九月一日至十月一日
Purpose 目的	To motivate and encourage students to read independently for a minimum of 550 minutes (9 hours and 10 minutes) for the duration of the program. 鼓勵孩子在此期間能獨立閱讀至少550分鐘。 Breakdown of minimum reading minutes per week: Week 1 September 01-10 = 100 minutes 第一週: 100分鐘 Week 2 September 11-17 = 150 minutes 第二週: 150分鐘 Week 3 September 18-24 = 150 minutes 第三週: 150 分鐘 Week 4 September 25- October 01 = 150 minutes (Students must finish their reading early on this week due to the monthly test on October 02) 第四週: 150分鐘 (孩子們必須在10月2日第一次月考前完成計畫中的閱讀時間)
How It Works 施行方法	Students choose a book that they like to read. The teacher must approve the choice of book. 學生選擇欲閱讀的書籍，所選的書須再經老師核可。 Each student must read for a minimum total of 150 minutes per week and write one short reading response (SRR) at the end of the week.  Each reading time should not be less than 20 minutes to be recorded on the Reading Passport (RP). 每位學生在一週內，讀了至少150分鐘之後，在週末寫一篇短心得。登錄在閱讀護照上的每一筆紀錄，閱讀時間不得少於20分鐘。 After each time the student reads, the activity is recorded on the Reading Passport (RP). All the details on the RP must be filled: the length of reading time, title, author and pages of the book read. A parent must sign the entry or the reading will not be counted. 閱讀完後，請在閱讀護照上詳細記錄閱讀時間、書名、作者、閱讀頁數等。家長務請協助簽名。 Parents, it is therefore important that you make sure your child has actually read before you sign. 各位家長: 請務必確認您的孩子確實閱讀了該書籍，再行簽名。 The Reading Passport will be collected for checking every Tuesday morning. The readings done on Tuesday night to Monday night must be recorded on the passport by the time it is collected on Tuesday morning. 我會在每週二的早上結算閱讀護照上的紀錄。 A stamp will be given for every entry. Additional stamps will be given for every 100 minutes read. The stamps received could be used to exchange goodies from the teacher or play the classroom game. 孩子的每一筆閱讀紀錄都可以換一個章。每閱讀100分鐘，可以再多蓋章。得到的章可以跟老師換禮物或玩班級遊戲。 Students that reached the minimum reading requirement of 550 minutes by the last day (October 01) will receive recognition and prizes from the teacher. 在10月1日前達成550分鐘閱讀時間的孩子，老師會給予獎勵。 The teacher will give special awards to students that read over 600 minutes during this period. 老師會給予閱讀時間超過600分鐘的孩子額外的獎賞。 Students who are unable to reach the required reading time by October 01 will read in school at periods designated by the teacher. 無法在10月1日前達成此計畫的孩子，老師會另外安派時間，請孩子在校內閱讀。

 

    2. Reading Report– A written reading report will be prepared prior to the oral reading report.  The student may use any of the books read on the Reading Olympics activity. The teacher will provide the report format.

            閱讀心得報告—在做口頭的閱讀心得報告之前，孩子需要先準備好書面的閱讀心得。孩子可以選用任何在「奧林匹克閱讀計畫」中讀過的書。老師會再提供寫作心得報告的形式。

Writing and Grammar – 文法與寫作練習

1.       A weekly journal – Students will write a journal to develop automaticity in writing high frequency words, sight words, correct sentences, and use new vocabulary words.  This will be given on Fridays and must be returned to Mrs. Chen on Monday of the following week.

週記—每週五會有英文週記的作業讓孩子從寫作中練習應用當期的新單字、常用字、和當期的文法重點。週記需要在每週一前完成交給老師。

 

2. Five Yellow Class Blog at www.yutsaiyellowclass.blogspot.com –  Students’ finalized work will be published on the blog. There will also be links to our lessons, as well as reminders and photos of students’ activities.

五黃的班級部落格如上列連結。學生的最終作品會被放在部落格上。部落格上也可連結到我們的課程、通知、及學生的活動照片。

 

3. Other activities with writing component:  Book Report as described in the oral activities section. 結合閱讀報告以及教學相長等活動的寫作練習。

 

Activities Designed to Keep the Students’ Motivation and Interest in Learning English –激勵學生英文學習的遊戲

1. A class game board – such as Snakes and Ladder may be played in exchange for 5 stamps from the Reading Passport, workbooks, quizzes and tests, positive classroom behavior, projects and other activities. Students answer questions related to our lessons (Math or English) or just claim prizes when they get lucky to land into such a space that guarantees a prize.

我設計了一個班級遊戲板，當學生累積了一定數量的獎章之後便可換取玩這個遊戲的機會。

2. Recognition, awards and small prizes – for good work and behavior. 當學生有優良行為表時會得到適時的獎章、獎狀、或小獎品。
3. A print-rich classroom – Display of lesson materials and reminders in English.

學生隨時可在教室內看到幫助他們英文學習的海報或字卡及圖片。

4. Class Blog – there are practice games that are now available on our class blog for our first unit in math.  Pictures and student work will eventually be published.  There will be riddles and guessing games for students to respond to.

班級部落格—學生上五黃的班級部落格時將會看到很多有趣的英文遊戲，我也會陸續把學生的作品與活動照片放進部落格內。

 

I would like to create a classroom of children who value hard work and accomplishments.  We need to encourage them on every progress they make, however small.  I expect the students to become responsible for the choices they make by ensuring that they know the consequences of their actions. If there’s anything that you need to discuss with me regarding your child, please let me know through my co-teacher, Mr. Pino Wang, or schedule a meeting as necessary.

 

I look forward to working closely with you.

 

我衷心的希望藉由這些特別為五黃的學生設計的內容，能營造出一個快樂學習英文的環境，使孩子們都能珍視努力的價值以及他們每一分的進步。我期待孩子能盡己所能的學習，同時學習為自己的行為負責。只要孩子盡力而為，不論孩子進步的多寡，我們都應給予正面的鼓勵。

 

如果您有任何有關孩子的問題，可透過聯絡簿或王老師讓我知道，我們也可安排時間在學校進一步詳談。  謝謝您的合作與配合。

 

Best regards,

 

Mrs. Lolit Chen