1. Zipper Pouch Contains Pencils, Erasers, Etc

FOURTH GRADE MECHANICS

BINDER

The binder is an integral part of the school day. Your child will be taught to organize it as follows:

1. Zipper pouch – contains pencils, erasers, etc.

2. Vinyl folder – contains “Parent Pocket,” assignment sheet, homework, calendar

3. Subject dividers – contains completed or returned work filed behind the

appropriate divider

“Binder Checks” are given regularly so that old work does not accumulate. Therefore, please do not remove papers from your child’s binder.

SUPPLIES

All supplies will be provided by the Episcopal School of Dallas, with the exception of the binder itself. The bindermust be a Mead 5-Star 1.5” Zipper Binder available at the Eagle’s Nest.

HOMEWORK

As a general rule, an hour to 90 minutes should be set aside for homework assignments. Weekend homework is a rare exception.

We hope that the following suggestions will help you determine how you can best assist your child with homework.

1. Recognize that homework is an opportunity for your child to learn to work independently. Learning to set aside time for a task and “making a plan” to “figure out how to do it” are probably just as important to your child as the assignment itself. So, even if a project interests you, please see that your child is working independently.

2. Express your interest in the homework, but don't belabor the point. Ask what students are doing in the class and how the homework supports or extends that learning. Remember, homework is a form of communication between the home and school.

3. By limiting your role to listening and questioning, you can help your child figure out practical ways of approaching an assignment and preparing to work. In discussions,let your child do most of the talking. If your child still doesn't understand an assignment, encourage him/her to call a friend or spend a few minutes tryingto help him/her complete the task.

4. Help your child build good study habits by encouraging initiative and

responsibility. Some suggestions are:

Decide together on a good time for homework and help your child observe the schedule.
Help your child choose a good place. Have him/her make sure that all supplies needed are in this one place. It should have adequate lighting and be quiet enough for concentration.
Support independent projects by visiting the public library together. Encourage your child to become familiar with online card catalogs, indices, and other library resources.
At home, keep a good dictionary and other reference materials handy. Use them to answer questions, to solve disputes, and to confirm hunches about correct spelling and/or usage.
When appropriate, become an audience for rehearsal of an oral report or presentation.

GRADING SYSTEM

Not all work will be evaluated with a letter or numerical grade. Report cards receive letter grades. Numerical equivalents for letter grades are as follows:

A90 – 100

B80 – 89

C70 – 79

D60 – 69

FBelow 60

Report cards will be sent home at the end of each quarter. If a student’s average is below 80, an interim progress report will be sent home mid-quarter.

FOURTH GRADE EXPECTATIONS

Students are expected to come to class with completed assignments and the proper materials. In addition, for the first time, fourth graders will switch for core subjects; therefore, it is important that they be organized. In order to encourage responsibility and to ensure that all students have the proper learning environment, the following plan will be used. Your child’s progress will be recorded in a folder kept in his/her binder. This folder will be sent home for parent review and signature each week.

Every student will begin each quarter with a “perfect” grade of 1. Failure to meet expectations will result in a signature coded as follows:

M – materials are not ready for class or are not in correct location

HW – homework is not complete or is not turned in on time

O – off task behavior is observed

R – respect is not shown to others

U – uniform non-compliance

Each signature will lower the student's grade as follows:

1 = Outstanding0 to 1 infraction

2 = Good2 to 4 infractions

3 = Needs improvement5 to 7 infractions

4 = Unacceptable8 or more infractions

END-OF-QUARTER REWARDS:

·Students who have perfect uniform compliance will receive a “free dress coupon”

·Students who have a 1 in homework completion will receive a “homework coupon”

·Students who have a total of 3 signatures or fewer will be rewarded with a “sit with a friend coupon”

*Loss of this folder will result in an automatic 3 in all categories.

FOURTH GRADE ACADEMICS

LANGUAGE ARTS

Our fourth grade language arts program is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to become motivated, engaged, fluent, life-long readers. This goal is accomplished by modeling successful reading behaviors, sharing rich and varied literature, and providing direct instruction that focuses on developing comprehension skills and reading strategies.Students will have choices in selecting books to read and each student will be encouraged to read books at a level that is “just right” for him/her. Students will be expected to maintain a complete and accurate reading log in their Reader’s Notebook. They will also be asked to make various reading responses and reflections about what they have read. Most nights they will be expected to read approximately 20 minutes per night as part of their language arts homework.

In addition to books selected by the students from our vast library collection, they will studythe following novels as a class:

- A Week in the Woods, Andrew Clements. Copyright 2002; This novel is required summer reading for all incoming fourth graders. Language arts assignments during the first week of school will focus on this book.

Fourth grade also participates in a reading incentive program. Students are encouraged to read and summarize books on the Flying Angel and Bluebonnet lists. For each book read, they will list the title, author, and characters of the book, and write a brief summary, five to seven sentences. A parent’s signature will be required on each Flying Angel/Bluebonnet summary. Certificates for outstanding achievements in meeting the established goals will be presented at the end of the school year during our Honors Assembly.

Read aloud books are also frequently shared with the students by the teacher and many opportunities arise for discussing, analyzing, and synthesizing concepts found in reading material across the curriculum.

In addition, our language arts program strives to create passionate, self-assessing writers. In fourth grade, students will focus on writing as a process, and will spend time prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and sharing their writing. Students will examine these specific six traits of effective writing: ideas; organization; voice; word choice; sentence fluency; and conventions including proper grammar, usage and mechanics. Multiple types of writing will be done, including analytical writing, personal narrative, poetry, reports, essays, responses, and friendly letters. Each student will have a Writer’s Notebook and a Writing Folder.

SPELLING STANDARDS

Fourth grade ESD students are expected to consistently use and spell the following words correctly in all subject areas.

FIRSTSECOND THIRD FOURTH

they to a lotright

went toobeforewrite

of twodoesalways

get sayshearalready

with because hereall right

said which itsanswers

what thereit'sdoesn't

like theirknewEnglish

saw wereoffwhole

was wherereallyhole

wouldthey'reyour

whothrewyou're

throughwe're

untilour

hour

are

MATHEMATICS

Everyday Mathematicsisthe basis for ourmath curriculum. The sequence of instruction builds upon and extends the knowledge and skills of previous years. The curriculum is structured to provide multiple exposures to topics, and frequent opportunities to review and practice. The skills are divided into the following content areas: number sense, operations and computation, data and probability, measurement, geometry, and algebra. Additionally, we will focus on problem solving and logical reasoning to better prepare our students to become independent and resourceful thinkers.

To allow us to differentiate instruction, pretests will be given at the beginning of each unit. Groupings are fluid and are aimed at each student’s level of readiness. Students will occasionally be given timed facts practice to improve automaticity. It is our expectation that incoming fourth graders have mastered their multiplication tables up through nine.

SCIENCE

Fourth graders will explore various topics from earth science, life science, and physical science. The beginning of the year will be spent learning the scientific method. Areas of study include: inventors & inventions,electricity & magnetism, the human body, physics of sound, and the solar system. Students will participate in group and/or partner experiments and will apply the scientific method to further their understanding of these units.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The topics of Texas geography and history from the early explorers through the Texas Revolution, and current events serve as focal points for the first semester of fourth grade social studies. Each unit of study integrates concepts from citizenship, economics, geography, government, history and culture. Students will participate in a research project exploring the many cultures of Texas. This project will culminate with an interactive museum.

The second semester is dedicated to the continued study of Texas as well as learning research skills using the Big Six research model. Students are given several weeks to research their topic, make note cards, and organize facts in a logical sequence. This will culminate intoa final product of their choice to be given as an oral presentation.

At the end of the year, fourth graders participate in Quiz Bowl. This is a trivia game based on their studies of another part of the world or a global issue. Teams from different classrooms challenge each other in this fun event.