NAME:
Ms. Moon
SCHOOL:
Purdy Elementary
CLASS:
4th Grade
SCHOOL PHONE:
530-4658
I have been a teacher for twenty years: ten years in California and ten
years at Purdy. I have a Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of
California, Irvine and a teaching credential in K-12 English and Multiple
Subjects from the University of California, Riverside. I have a Master of
Science Degree in Education Administration from National University.
I live at home in Gig Harbor with my mother, Gwen. I have a beautiful
daughter, Amy, who also lives in Gig Harbor with her family.
Ms. Moon's Educational Philosophy
In general, I do not take grades on daily homework activities. I feel that
most homework is practice and therefore should not be put into a grade book.
It is important that students do the homework because it prepares them for
the assessments. Please reinforce that with your child. I will allow students
to use all homework assignments on tests. My reason for that is that I want
the children to learn to be organized and to be able to locate their work. If
they learn to file homework in the proper place, the perk is that they can use
that homework on exams.
I make every attempt to have math homework a two-day assignment so that
children who have after school activities can plan their time accordingly. You
may often see two days’ worth of assignments at once for that reason. Because
I try to accommodate to student schedules, it is essential that children do
their work and bring it to school on time.
There are two things that I believe are extremely important for children to
learn this year. The first is personal responsibility. By the time children
enter the fourth grade, they should be starting to become responsible for
their work both in and out of school. It is not mom’s or dad’s “fault” if
something does not get into the backpack. I constantly stress this point
with the children. When they go to middle school and beyond, if they are not
responsible, it’s a huge headache for all involved!
The other essential thing that young people need to know is how to access
information. Our young students will be getting information mostly from the
Internet in coming years. Therefore, it is very important that they practice
that skill and learn how to be discriminating “consumers” of Internet
information. Please assist them when they research at home.
In general, spelling is taught within the framework of phonics, so you will
see a specific phonics/grammar skill with most spelling activities. They
will work on phonics and spelling and revision and editing in their writing
as well. I will have them correct spelling in writing activities and will
require them to rewrite essays and stories when errors are made. This
reinforces the need to spell correctly. Students may produce essays in Word,
but THEY MUST do the word processing, not parents (this can be frustrating at
the beginning of fourth grade, so I leave it to parents to decide when to step
in and assist with typing). Students will be learning to type their weekly
essays, and by the end of the school year I prefer typed manuscripts because
it not only helps the children with their keyboarding skills, but also assists
them in editing and alleviating frustration levels as well.
I also believe in creating a team, or “family” atmosphere in my classroom.
We will do a lot of activities that bring us close together as a group. We
have class meetings almost every day, and I read aloud to them every day. It
is my hope that my students will cement friendships that will carry them
through at least the next six years of school.
It is my goal to help students to do their personal best all the time and to
take responsibility for themselves and their achievements. It is my desire
to act as a facilitator to students as they discover the joy of learning.
Pretty Good
By: Charles Osgood
There once was a pretty good student,
Who sat in a pretty good class
And was taught by a pretty good teacher,
Who always let pretty good pass.
He wasn't terrific at reading,
He wasn't a whiz-bang at math;
But for him education was leading
Straight down a pretty good path.
He didn't find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well,
And he did have some trouble with writing
And nobody taught him to spell.
When doing arithmetic problems
Pretty good was regarded as fine.
Five plus five needn't always add up to be ten,
A pretty good answer was nine.
The pretty good class that he sat in
Was part of a pretty good school,
And the student was not an exception,
On the contrary, he was the rule.
The pretty good school that he went to
Was in a pretty good town.
And nobody seemed to notice
He could not tell a verb from a noun.
The pretty good student in fact was
Part of a pretty good mob.
And the first time he knew what he lacked was
When he looked for a pretty good job.
It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that life could be tough,
And he soon had a sneaky suspicion
Pretty good might not be good enough.
The pretty good town in our story
Was part of a pretty good state,
Which had pretty good aspirations,
And prayed for a pretty good fate.
There once was a pretty good nation,
Pretty proud of the greatness it had,
Which learned much too late
If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.
ITPG
