Welcome to 4 th Grade

1. 2012-2013 Welcome to 4th Grade

2. Student Assignment Planner • Students will need a planner that can be purchased from the school. The cost is $4.48. • The planner is where students will write down assigned homework and test dates. • The planner should go home every day and return to school every morning. • If a planner is lost, the student must purchase a new one.

3. Take-Home Folder • Students will be provided a folder to use as a take-home folder. • This should go home every day and will contain graded papers, information, notes, etc. • This folder should also be used when sending notes or money to school. • All money should be placed in an envelope and marked with the child’s name and what the money is for. PLEASE DO NOT SEND LOOSE MONEY TO SCHOOL!

4. Absences • Students will receive missed work upon returning to school. • It is the child’s responsibility to complete missed work and turn in to the teacher. • Any missed tests must be completed at school.

5. End of Day Pickup • Please try to arrange plans for pick up with your child before school in order to limit classroom interruptions.

6. Mid-Nine Weeks Reports • Mid-Nine Weeks Reports will be sent home during the middle of the nine weeks. • Please sign and return it the next day. • Grades are available on INOW at any time. You will receive a password to access this information.

7. Bathroom Procedures • Students are permitted access to the bathroom as needed. They need only to place the bathroom pass on their desk. If bathroom breaks become noticeably frequent, other arrangements will be made.

8. Discipline Procedures • We have agreed on the following three rules for 4th grade: • Be Respectful • Be Responsible • Be Safe • Each class will have a notebook to record any instances of rules being broken. Students will receive at least one warning before being asked to sign the book. If a student signs the book, he/she will have to walk the perimeter of the playground for 5 minutes. Each additional signature will add an extra 5 minutes of walking. If the student signs the book four times in one day, he/she will be asked to write a note home to their parents explaining their behavior and what changes they plan to make the following day to correct this behavior.

9. Good Behavior • Students can earn coins for good behavior. • Coins can be used to buy classroom rewards.

10. Weekly Newsletter • A weekly newsletter will be sent home every Friday. • This includes important dates and skills covered for the following week.

11. Lockers • Students will be issued a locker. • Nothing may be stuck to the outside or inside of the locker with glue, tape, or stickers. • Locks can’t be used. • Magnets and shelves can be used on the inside.

12. Snacks • Students are permitted to eat a snack each morning after P.E. • Please do not send gum, drinks, or messy snacks, however students are permitted to bring a water bottle. • Birthday snacks can be brought in with prior permission from the teacher. • Birthday snacks must follow the nutrition policy.

13. Parties • Christmas • Valentine’s Day • End of the Year

14. Field Trips • Montgomery - November 7th • Moundville - week of October 8th • The Nutcracker - December 13th • Wetland Wanderers - spring • Field trip t-shirt order forms will come home during the first few weeks of school.

15. What to Expect in Language Arts • Language arts instruction will be approximately 90 minutes per day. • Daily Instruction Students will spend time each day reading, discussing, and responding to text. Students will also receive direct writing and grammar instruction each day. Students’ responses to text, their writing, and grammar handouts will be periodically graded at the teacher’s discretion.

16. What to Expect in Language Arts • Homework Students are required to read 20 minutes every night and respond to that reading on their Weekly Reading Record. Weekly Reading Records must be turned in every Monday. Students will also be required to complete one book project per nine weeks. • Tests Tests will be given on all Reading Street stories we cover. Students must also take two AR tests for each nine week period. At least one of these tests must correspond to a nonfiction text. Students will also be tested on grammar skills. Students will use SpellingCity.com for their weekly spelling tests.

17. More Information about Spelling City • Students may use the following website to practice their weekly spelling words in and out of class. http://www.spellingcity.com/ • They will use this site to take their weekly test in class. • They can take their test whenever they feel ready, but they must take it by the end of class on Friday. • They may retake the test one time if they (you or I) are unhappy with their grade. • A hard copy of spelling words will come home on the newsletter each week.

18. What to Expect In Math • Math instruction will be approximately 90 minutes per day. • Daily Instruction Our pace is approximately one lesson a day. Daily assignments will be periodically graded at the teacher’s discretion. • Homework Homework assignments will be given at the teacher’s discretion.

19. What to Expect in Math • Tests Tests will be given at the end of each unit of study. Mid-chapter checkpoints occur in the middle of the unit. Unit tests will usually be preceded by a study guide that will be given at least one class period before the test.

20. What to Expect in Science and Alabama History • Science and AL History will be approximately 45 minutes each per day. • Daily Instruction During science and AL History, students will be engaged in classroom instruction, projects, critical thinking, discussion, and reading. Students’ classroom participation and any handouts or classroom activities will be graded at the teacher’s discretion. • Homework Science and AL History homework will not be given unless students are required to turn in a graded project, or study for a test.

21. What to Expect in Science and Alabama History • Tests Science – Tests will be given at the end of each unit. Often, students will be tested on vocabulary throughout the unit. Students may also take a test on a specific part of a unit. AL History – A test will be given at the end of each AL History chapter that we cover. Tests will consist of multiple choice questions, vocabulary, and an extra credit question.

22. The End