Curriculum Night

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Curriculum Night

• 4th Grade
• September 12, 2007

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Behavior Policy

• Positive Reinforcement- many opportunities to
  earn dolphin dollars for class store
• Double S each week in conduct assignments
• Group competition for marbles
• Brain teasers
• General good behavior
• Magic Trash
• Consequences Hole-punch in agenda
• Students will write why they earned the
  hole-punch.
• Agenda needs to be signed that evening showing
  that it was seen by a parent.
• Hole-punch will result in a lower conduct grade
  for the week. No hole-punches S, 1 hole-punch
  N, 2 or more U

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Homework Policy

• If students do not complete a homework
  assignment, they will complete an assignment
  ticket, which should be stapled or paper-clipped
  into their agenda.
• The student must get the assignment ticket signed
  by a parent that evening, complete the missed
  assignment, and return both to school the very
  next day.
• Assignment tickets will result in a lowering of
  the homework grade for that week. 0 tickets S,
  1 ticket N, and 2 or more tickets U.
• Please check your childs agenda daily!

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Homework Expectations

• Organization is a large part of homework.
  Basically, we tell students their responsibility
  is to Get it home! Do it well! Bring it back!
• Student Agendas- Students are responsible for
  writing down nightly homework assignments and
  tests from the board.
• Parents, please check agenda nightly. Through the
  agenda you will be informed of the homework
  expectations for the week and upcoming tests. In
  addition, this is an excellent form of
  communication.

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Homework (cont.)

• How you can help? Create a routine!
• Check agenda
• Assist your child with a quiet study location
• Help your child with organizing cleaning out
  folders
• Making sure that work is returned to school on
  time completed
• Acknowledging your childs responsibility in
  understanding assignments completing work on
  time.
• Fourth graders should be spending about 40-50
  minutes a night on homework! If your child
  finishes homework in less time, please work on
  math facts, read, or practice spelling words.

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Absences

• As taken directly from the Daves Creek Student
  Handbook, It is the students responsibility to
  make arrangements with the teacher within two (2)
  days of returning to school to make up class work
  and test(s). Again, it is the childs
  responsibility to collect the work that they need
  to make up. Students have five days to turn it
  in, however, this is only for assignments that
  were assigned the day they were gone. Many of
  you request that work be sent down to the office
  or sent home with a sibling when you have a
  sick/absent child. We are more than happy to
  accommodate this request! In fact, it helps us
  out in the long run- we encourage this! ?

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Friday Folders

• Communication from school will be sent home
  with your child in a Friday folder. You receive
  the blue folder with two pocks, as well as a tan
  folder with the weeks behavior/homework grades
  and all graded work. Please read all items,
  review return graded work, keep any
  informational handouts, and return the folders on
  Monday with your childs weekly behavior log
  signed.

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Lunches

• Please feel free to come eat lunch with your
  child, but remember that you must sit outside at
  either of the courtyards, or sit at the extra
  table. Unfortunately with our class size being
  so large, there is not enough room for parents
  and the class. Also, please no inviting a buddy
  to eat with your child.

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Grading

• Please make note that your child will be
  receiving grades based on the traditional A,B,C,
  and F policy. This is different from what you
  have been given in the past.

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Conferences

• This year conferences will be given in October
  and March to all students. Conferences will be
  led by your child. This is a school policy!

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Reading/Lang. Arts/Writing Overview

• The fourth grade uses MacMillan/McGraw Hill,
  Daybooks, guided reading, novel sets, short
  stories, magazines, and Accelerated Reader books.
  Please help your child find AR books at a
  library or bookstore. After completing an AR
  book, students will have the opportunity to take
  a computer test on that book. In writing, we
  will be learning the traits and using the steps
  of the writing process. These traits are
  evaluated and include ideas and content,
  organization, sentence fluency, word choice,
  voice, and conventions.

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Reading

• Vocabulary using context clues and word parts to
  create meaning.
• Wordly Wise Homework nightly tests on Friday
• Fluency (95 accuracy) practice, practice,
  practice!
• Focus Skills Inferencing, summarizing, locating
  information, distinguishing cause effect,
  interpreting figurative language, connecting to
  text
• We will be doing a large part of reading
  instruction through the use of the basal reading
  program, literature circles, and novel studies. I
  will begin to implement literature circles within
  the next few weeks.

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Writing

• Genres
• Narrative
• Informational
• Persuasive
• Response to Literature
• Cursive At least one writing grade per nine week
  term will be based on handwriting.
• Writing will be graded using a 5-scale rubric.

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Language Arts

• Grammar types of sentences, subject predicate
  (complete and simple), sentence structures
  (compound, simple, complex), clauses (independent
  dependent), parts of speech (noun, verb,
  adverb, adjective, preposition)
• Spelling Students will be taking pre-tests on
  Mondays based on the MacMillan/McGraw Hill
  reading program. Students who score a 90 or
  higher on their pretest will be given the Wordly
  Wise words for their spelling list. Spelling
  words will come home on the weekly newsletter for
  the upcoming week and the final tests will be
  that following Friday.

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Social Studies

• Native Americans
• Explorers
• Colonialism
• Revolutionary War
• Early Government
• Westward Expansion
• Civil War

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Science

• Ecosystems
• Weather the Water Cycle states of matter
• Sound light
• Space
• Simple Machines

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Math General

• We have switched the math program from Everyday
  Math to the Houghton Mifflin basal series. With
  this new series comes a homework book that
  students will bring home each night for
  reinforcement of the days skills.

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Math Semester 1

• Place Value
• Number forms expanded, standard, word form.
• Rounding numbers through thousands
• Multiplication facts, multiplying 2-3 digit by
  1-2 digit numbers
• Division facts, 2 digit divisors, terms
  (divisor, dividend, quotient, remainder)
• 4 operations addition, subtraction,
  multiplication, division
• Properties of addition commutative, associative,
  distributive
• Standard and metric measurement of weight
• Interpreting graphs

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Math Semester 2

• Characteristics of geometric figures (i.e. types
  of angles, lines, quadrilaterals)
• Characteristics of solid figures (ie. faces,
  edges, vertices, models)
• Use of ordered pairs in coordinate system
• Decimals addition, subtraction, multiplication,
  and division
• Fractions finding equivalent fractions, addition
  subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers with
  like denominators
• Changing mixed numbers to improper fractions and
  vice versa
• Represent and interpret mathematical
  relationships in quantitative expressions (ie.
  Algebraic relationships)

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Questions Concerns???

• The best way to reach me is through email. Its
  more difficult to reach me by phone, but you are
  more than welcome to call. Please know that you
  can come to me with any question or concern you
  may have. I value your thoughts and input.
• Contact Information
• Email mmphillips_at_forsyth.k12.ga.us
• Phone [phone] ext. 170309

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• Thank you for attending this years Curriculum
  Night. I value your continued support at home and
  look forward to a successful year!