Welcome to our world of homework! Our favorite time!! I know that the kids have to work really hard in class all day. Hopefully they will work at completing homework in 40 minutes. Sometimes it will require more time based on each child. They are also required to read 20 minutes every night and record it on their reading logs with a parent signature. I always try and give math homework every night for skill and drill practice I alternate Science and Social Studies so homework varies. See your child's planner for daily homework assignments. ******************************************************* Each morning students complete a daily "self start" activity. They are designed to get students into using their atlas and learning about the world around them, thinking about relationships and vocabulary words, thinking mathematically, and doing a little editing. No more Daily Geography for homework. We correct them orally together about 20 minutes later. Students mark the correct answers on their sheets and take them home to review because EACH FRIDAY IS A QUIZ OVER THE SAME MATERIAL! The quiz consists of all 8 of the week's daily geography questions, all 8 analogies, 2 math questions (out of four) and 2 or 3sentences to edit (out of eight) and a paragraph to edit. Students are encouraged to review the material for the Friday Quiz, which is the grade I record from the week's practice. I am having the kids write a poem a month and every month is different. Please ask to see their poetry packet which is in their binder behind their poetry tab. They have to either be typed or handwritten in their very best writing and have either a graphic or illustration. We will publish these at the end of the year and every child will have their own poetry book. Please be asking your child how their poem is coming along and be sure and read them. They love doing this and they have been really good! They will have a book report every month also. It will be on a different kind of book so your child has a balanced reading diet. I will give the assignment out and it will be due in 3-4 weeks. The instructions will be on the sheet that I give them. I am reminding them to make sure they are following the directions on this sheet. Please check in with them periodically on this. Also, I think a timeline would be helpful so as not to wait until the last minute. Again, this is part of those good work and study habits that we want them to develop. This is an overview and I will not be posting this every month. It will just say Poem due/book report due. Thank You! ************************************************************ Spelling Words and Tests Our classroom uses the research based Sitton Spelling program. The Sitton Spelling philosophy is that words aren't really "mastered" until they are spelled correctly in everyday writing. Many students can memorize words for a "Friday Test" but if there is no transfer to student writing, what's the point? Fourth graders are responsible to learn "core words" 336-500 from the list of 1200 words. Words are arranged on the list in the order of frequency of use in everyday writing. In addition, words on the "NoExcuses" (Priority Word List) are words that should have 100% mastery for fourth graders. I will teach spelling lessons and strategies such as spelling rules, phonics, word patterns etc. Students will have classroom assignments to practice their spelling skills in context. Visual skills are developed and practiced such as proofreading. Each week for homework, students will work on the words on their "personal list" that need to be learned. Students will add words to this personal list as the words are spelled incorrectly in their everyday work. Parents can help by becoming their child's personal spelling editor and assisting with spelling. While the core word list may look easy,remember that these words are also the words that might be misspelled or used incorrectly in everyday written work. How are students Assessed? Students are assessed using their everyday writing. Random checks will be made to classroom assignments. They could be graded for spelling - science, social studies, language arts, math. .In addition, a "cloze story" test is given in which students listen to a passage read by the teacher and fill in the missing words in the story. These words come from the core word and priority word lists. Sentence dictation tests are also given. The teacher reads four sentences and the students write the sentences including using the correct punctuation. Again, nearly every word in the sentence dictation comes from the core word or "no excuses" priority word list. Thursday Packets Work from the week will come home for you to look at each week in a Thursday Packet. This packet will also contain important papers from the office. The kids receive a sticker everytime they bring their Thrsday folder back the next day. ”*********************************** It is most important to me that your child learn what is being taught. Work which is acceptable (grades of 75% and above) can be kept at home. Work(grades of 74% and below)needs to be corrected and turned back in. Students may turn in and finish any incomplete work and correct assignments that have received scores below 74% within one week. I willaverage the two grades and this will be their grade. Each morning students complete a daily "self start" activity. They are designed to get students into using their atlas and learning about the world around them, thinking about relationships and vocabulary words, thinking mathematically, and doing a little editing. We correct them orally together 15-20 minutes later. Students mark the correct answers on their sheets and take them home to review because each Friday is a quiz over the exact same material. The quiz consists of all 8 of the week's geography questions, all 8 analogies, 2 math questions (out of four) and 2 or 3 sentences to edit (our of eight) and a paragraph to edit. Students are encouraged to review the material for the Friday quiz, which is the grade I record from the week's practice. The beauty of the internet is the vast amount of resources at our finger tips. When I began teaching fourth grade I spent hours on the computer looking at classrooms and teachers to model mine after. I came upon a teacher in Redmond, Oregon who has been Teacher of the Year and Disney Teacher of the Year. Her name is Mrs. Renz. I loved what I read and have used several of her ideas in my own classroom.