Mrs. Danielle Ness

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Welcome to4th Grade! Curriculum Night 2007

• Mrs. Danielle Ness
• Sunset Elementary School

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About Me

• Personal
• Background
• Family
• Professional
• Undergraduate
• Student Teaching

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• This years theme
• Teamwork
• Team Awesome Ness will focus on
• Being a good teammate
• Supporting each other
• Working together to reach a goal
• Problem solving together

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Student Expectations

• I expect students to
• arrive at school on time.
• come to class ready to actively engage themselves
  in learning.
• be responsible for themselves.
• make choices that dont cause problems for
  others.
• consistently turn in their best work (on time!)

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Parent Expectations

• I expect my parents to
• bring their students to school on time.
• provide an appropriate and supportive environment
  for completing homework.
• review and sign the Friday Folder each weekend.
• sign their childs planner every night.
• to contact me in a timely fashion with problems,
  questions, concerns, or compliments!
• It is my hope that parents will become just as
  excited about fourth grade as their students!

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Part One

• Classroom Rules and Procedures

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Classroom Agreements

• We respect and show kindness to others.
• We raise our hands and wait for permission to
  speak.
• We listen carefully and follow instructions the
  first time they are given.
• We keep our hands, feet, and objects to
  ourselves.
• We stay in our seats unless we have permission to
  do otherwise.

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Positive Consequences

• Praise
• Positive Notes
• Phone calls home
• Classroom Economy Money
• Gold Coins
• Free Friday Time

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Infraction Steps

• Verbal warning
• Loss of Classroom Economy money
• Sit and Think Time
• Requires parent signature
• Phone Call Home
• Parent Teacher Student Conference

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Homework

• Fourth grade is an important time to develop and
  refine study and organizational skills.
• 40-60 minutes, Mon-Thurs. nights
• Homework assignments will vary from reading
  independently, math, spelling, writing, and
  working on long-range projects.
• This homework is required and expected to be
  completed and turned in, on its due date.

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Planners/Homework

• Every day we will fill out planners listing and
  explaining homework assignments.
• Check your childs planner nightly
• Planners need to be signed by parents every
  night!
• By signing it you are assuring me that you have
  checked your childs homework for completeness
  and that they have read for at least 15 minutes.
• Planner management is the responsibility of the
  student not the parent. Coming up with a nightly
  system or routine will help with this
  responsibility.

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Friday Folders

• Folder will come home each Friday
• Will include all completed and graded work from
  the week
• Assignment log with missing assignments
• Please review and sign the correct date each week
• Return to school on Monday

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Grading Policy

• Grades
• 4 Extra effort (Exceeds standard)
• 3 Youve got it (Meets standard)
• 2 Keep working (Approaching standard)
• 1 Try again (Below standard)
• Four Criteria
• Accuracy
• Timeliness
• Completeness
• Neatness

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WASL

• Test will be administered in April
• Reading, writing, and math
• Students have already started preparing The
  process for getting them ready for these tests
  has been going on since they began school!
• Each day, students will learn new skills that
  will help them do better on the test.

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Morning Routine/Schedule

• Morning Work
• Team Huddle
• Class meeting
• Language Arts Block

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Afternoon Routine/Schedule

• Lunch (1150-1235)
• Silent Reading
• Everyday Math
• Science or social studies
• Dismissal _at_ 338

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Specialist Schedule

• Monday (morning) PE
• Tuesday (morning) Library
• Wednesday (morning) PE
• Thursday (morning) Music
• Friday (morning) PE
• Computer Lab Tuesday mornings

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Practicing Good Nutrition

• Mandated policy from the state
• Issaquah adopted Health curriculum
• Healthier school lunches
• No in-class food rewards
• Non-food birthday recognition
• Promote healthy foods for in-class parties

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Part Two Curriculum
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Reading

• McGraw Hill Textbook and Workbook
• Aligned with Washington State GLEs/EALRs
• Includes grammar practice
• Read Aloud
• Guided Reading
• Silent Reading
• Library (once a week Tuesdays)
• Read at home!
• Reading Logs
• Read every night! Record what has been read!

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Reading Instruction

• Reading is focused on throughout all curriculum
  areas.
• We will focus on three types of reading
• Individual Reading
• Guided Reading
• Small group with and without teacher
• Novel studies
• Shared Reading
• Whole group and with partners

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Writing

• Writing is practiced and evaluated through all
  curriculum areas.
• Throughout the year we will be enhancing our
  skills in the Six Traits of Writing
• Narrative and Expository
• Letter Writing (Business and Friendly)
• Sample Genres
• Personal, Realistic, Poetry, Comics

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Spelling

• Words Their Way Word Study
• Teaches phonics, vocabulary, and spelling
• Spelling lists handed out on Mondays
• Test on Fridays

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Math Curriculum

• In Everyday Mathematics you can expect to see
• a problem-solving approach based on everyday
  situations
• an instructional approach that revisits concepts
  regularly
• frequent practice of basic skills, often through
  games
• lessons based on activities and discussion
• mathematical content that goes beyond basic
  arithmetic
• Unit Family Letters

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Social Studies

• Washington state
• History
• Geography
• Government
• The Pacific Rim
• Geography
• Economics
• Culture
• Relationship to the Pacific Northwest

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Classroom Economy

• Year-long Economic Unit
• Opportunity for students to earn, save, and spend
  money.
• Students are learning major economic concepts, as
  well as using math skills on a daily basis .

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Science

• Inquiry-based science
• Scientific method
• Forestry ecology
• Land and water
• Astronomy
• Plants
• Volcanoes and earthquakes
• Disaster/emergency preparedness

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Technology

• Keyboarding
• Word, Power Point, Excel, Publisher, Inspiration
• Internet as a research tool
• I integrate technology into my teaching as much
  as possible.
• Document camera/projection system
• Classroom website

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Miscellaneous

• Book Orders
• Once a month
• Birthdays
• No treats
• Study Club
• Drop-Off Items
• Table outside office

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Parent Support

• Volunteers
• Room Parent
• Teachers Helper
• Math Flash
• Computer Lab
• Writing Workshop
• Party Coordinators
• Book Orders
• Home Helpers
• Art Docent
• Field Trip Chaperones
• Classroom Donations
• Classroom Store Items
• Cardboard
• Books

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Field Trips (tentative)

• Snohomish Corn Maze
• October 10, 2007
• Olympia Capitol Tour
• So. King County Water Treatment Tour?

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Contact Information

• Please contact me any time!!
• Email is preferred
• nessd_at_issaquah.wednet.edu
• Phone [phone]
• Relay important information to the office
• Report absences to the office

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Before You Leave

• Leave a note for your child using the My 4th
  Grader is Special form
• Sign up for a November conference time
• Sign up for your childs MVP week
• Put your check for the planner and the Scholastic
  News in the envelopes and check your childs name
  off
• Take all handouts with you

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Questions?

• Please write them on a Post-it note and leave
  them on the back table.
• Thank you for coming!