ALL THE ANSWERS (AND MORE)
- What are we going to learn this year?
th Grade is a pivotal year. You will need to be organized, attentive, hard-working, and ready to have a great time learning. Above all else, you will need to take on more RESPONSIBILITY. Responsible to make sure you have everything you need to complete your jobs, responsible to take things home/bring things back to school, get your work done, follow expectations, and live up to high expectations. You will need to learn to work as a member of the class team, as well as a member of a learning group....that means you can't be in charge of everything, you can't sit back and let others do the work, and you can't spend time tattling about what people are doing or not doing. For the rest of your life you will need to work with others and it is a skill that you need to have for future success. In addition, you have to be responsible for turning in high quality work and show your best work. You will leave th Grade feeling good about yourself and ready for your next year of school!
Writing: You will learn to write stories, essays, research projects, and more. You will use the writing process for every assignment during Writers' Workshop. You will learn that the process does not go from rough draft to final draft, but often there will be a second and third draft, as you learn to revise your writing to make it better. You will become a published author, with well-developed traits of strong writers.
Reading: You will read many different genres. You will reach benchmark in fluency, reading 118 words per minute by the end of the year. You will learning reading strategies that all good readers use to understand what they are reading. Your comprehension and vocabulary will grow enormously.
Social Studies: You will learn all about the state that you live in!
Science: You will learn about inventors, the scientific method, about magnetism, electricity, animals, natural environmental changes and events.....and more.
Math: You will be fluent is math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You will have a strong math vocabulary and have amazing problem-solving capabilities, and thinking skills....and much more!!!
Art: You will get to learn about art masters, use different mediums, and create projects that help you learn more about social studies, science, reading, and writing.
Computer Lab: You will learn proper keyboarding skills, do a power point presentation, research, cut and paste, take AR tests, do district-wide testing....and more!
2. What are the consequences for poor choices?
Our classroom rules are: Be good to yourself, be good to others, and be good to you school. If you choose to not follow the expectations, there will be consequences for your choices.
To begin with you will get a warning. Next, you will lose a privilege. After that, you have lost Fun Friday and you also will complete your assignment in another 4th grade room AND write a letter to your family explaining the choices you have been making and what you are going to do differently. If you continue to make poor choices, you will call your parents from the classroom, lose your recesses for the week, and lose Fun Friday. If necessary, I will write a report about your choices to the principal.
Of course, we will have a conversation about what expectation you are not following, what need you think you are fulfilling with the choices you are making, how your choices are affecting you and your team, how to take responsibility for your own actions, and what you will do differently.
3. What are the rewards for good choices?
There are MANY HAPPY CONSEQUENCES FOR GOOD CHOICES!!!!
Each of you has a sticker book, when I see you doing the right thing, you might get a sticker, when you receive 15 stickers, you get to go to the prize box!
Your learning group can earn table points for on task behavior and good listening. The table with the most points will get three additional stickers at the end of the day.
Everyone will receive a sticker if the class team receives a compliment from another adult in the school.
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You can also get a PAT ON THE BACK anywhere you are in the school for good choices and displaying the positive character traits (such as good citizenship, caring, etc). Once you get a Pat On the Back, your name will be put in the 4th grade envelope in the office and you are eligible to win a drawing for a prize from the principal.
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You can earn STAR BEADS when someone on our team sees you do something super cool and kind. Your teammate will fill out the STAR SLIP and place it in the container. At the end of the day, I will take 2 or 3 slips out and award beads to those students being recognized for showing good character traits.
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When everyone in the class has read 10 books and takes an AR test on each book AND gets an 80% or better on the test.....WE WILL HAVE PIZZA and PLAY GAMES.
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The team can earn a RAD day (Read all day)....you get to wear pajamas, bring blankies, pillows, a good book, snacks, and reading games. It is a celebration of reading and reaching your individual reading goals.
You will also get a smile, a kind word, a compliment, a sense of pride, earn recess, earn Fun Friday, and feel excellent when you make good choices ( and these are the best consequences of all!)
4.What will the homework be like? When is it due?
Homework will be made up of a spelling/vocabulary list. You are responsible for being able to spell each word and define each word. You must read for at least 20 minutes each evening. Then you have a choice menu if you choose to go the extra mile. The choice menu will have a variety of learning opportunities from different areas that we are studying. There will be times when you are assigned a project to complete at home with a special due date. If you have unfinished work you will need to take it home and bring it back the following day.
Homework is always due on Friday. I will not take away your recess, but I will average this missing work into your grades!
5.What days do we have PE so that I can make sure I am wearing sneakers?
We have PE on Mondays and Tuesdays so make sure to wear those cozy sneakers!
6.Do we have snack time?
Due to the fact that we don't eat lunch until 12:40 we do have snack daily. We work during this time, but need a pick-me-up. Remember to tell your parents that we are desperate for snacks for the snack bin. Almost all of you eat snack from the team bin, so unless there are special circumstances (like we have talked about) it would be fantastic if all families try to contribute a healthy snack once a month.
7.How will my parents know how I am doing in class?
Remember that we talked about how much your parents would love to hear about your day! They want to know what you learned, what you are excited about, what you are struggling with, who your friends are............well, they love to know it all. Please take time to talk to your parents about your school day.
Also, PROGRESS REPORTS will be done every Friday. It is your job to make sure your parents get your report. If you get any 2s on your report, it must be signed and returned to me on Monday.
In addition, I will be sending home happy and not-so-happy notes when I see the need.
The work you bring home shows your family how you are doing! Make sure it gets home and you take it out of your backpack!
Of course, your report card will show how you are doing in class. Sometimes you are much more capable/smart/bright than what your grades show....put that brain on paper!!!