Performance Plan

Words from teacher. We will have a busy year.

I want to start by saying thank you for your email. I appreciate you informing me of Sarah's accomplishments. Also let me add that it was very nice meeting you also. Please accept my apology for not responding to you sooner but I wanted to gather information regarding Sarah so I could make the best decisions for her. I looked through Sarah's records and spoke to many teachers that have worked with Sarah. Everyone shared positive comments.

After looking at Sarah's records, we will be placing Sarah in a math group that will be taught third grade objectives. We will assess her knowledge on the second grade concepts as well. We want to make sure Sarah has a firm foundation on which to build more complex and abstract math skills. You asked how you could support Sarah at home. I would suggest that Sarah do several things at home. You can pick and choose these concepts. If you believe Sarah has mastered a particular concept, you may want to just review that strategy every few weeks. These are the concepts I would suggest: telling time, elapsed time, counting money and making change, basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills, adding and subtracting numbers up to three digits and with and without regrouping. In addition, I would suggest work on measuring items, talking about attributes of shapes both plane and 3-D, and solving word problems. Make sure Sarah can explain how she solved a problem both orally and in written form. This is just a start of the concepts and can share more as the year progresses. Also, the books that you are speaking of, I believe are the basic books that you find in educational stores. While these are certainly great practice tools, the skills covered in those books are not necessarily as rigorous as MCPS' curriculum. MCPS also requires students to be able to explain their thinking in both oral and written form.

This week, I will begin my Class reading testing. This will allow me to assess Sarah's reading level as well as her comprehension level. This is a test that is mandated by the county and requires both oral and written comprehension skills. Once I have determined Sarah's reading level, I will begin to plan my instruction so I can best serve Sarah's needs. If Sarah needs third grade reading materials, I will be using their texts. At home you can support Sarah by having her read at least 20 minutes a day. The text needs to be on her instructional level in order to best serve her needs. The way to determine this level is to look at texts that she does not know all the words but is not struggling with most of the words. In order for students to practice their reading skills, they need to actively engage in using these strategies. If she reads all the words without using reading strategies, then she is not engaging in text that is challenging enough for her level. Sarah must also be able to demonstrate comprehension in oral and written form. Be sure to ask her about the text and have her elaborate on the text. Again, the practice books aren't hurting Sarah's skills but I am not sure they are challenging her in the way that MCPS requires students to do so.

Ms. Liu, it was great to meet you at Back to School Night and I thank you for your active participation in Sarah's education. I hope I answered all of your questions and if I did not, please do not hesitate to email me again. I look forward to corresponding with you in the future regarding Sarah and her accomplishments.