1. Parent Information Night 2010-2011 4 th Grade Mrs. Faria and Mrs. Bentley

2. Class Organization & Communication UFO - Students will write in assignment as needed, please check Website – I will have assignments posted weekly as well as special events. PLEASE CHECK COMMUNICATION IS the KEY! Conference period 8:15-9:10am Can call/email first thing in morning; will not be able to check email until the end of the day Wednesday folder Read David newsletter- online Please sign and return Blue cards

3. Attendance Policy School begins promptly at 8:00 a.m.! Students should be in their desks ready to begin instruction by this time.

4. If ABSENT, please call in absences and doctor appointments by 8:00 Please send in a doctor’s note for absences to be excused Please don’t reuse disposable water bottles. We tell the children to take home and wash the non- disposable bottle to prevent bacteria. Call nurse if sick more than 2 days If less than 2 days, leave message with front office before 8am

5. Birthday Parties Please only allow your child to pass out party invitations at school if they are inviting all the girls, or all the boys, or the entire class. This helps to alleviate any hurt feelings. Special treats can be brought and shared with the class for your child’s birthday during class time. Treats must follow school food guidelines.

6. TRANSPORTATION If you need to change the way your child normally goes home, please send a note with your child or call front office BEFORE 2 pm. If we do not receive a note or message, he/she will go home the usual way. If you permanently change how your child is going home, please send me a note. Girl Scouts/Cub Scouts/DI- send me a note Walkers- Please establish a meeting point away from the front porch. This is for car riders ONLY.

7. DISCIPLINE Keystone Positive reinforcement - Keys Consequences - warning, study hall, miss part/all of recess, parent phone call, parent/teacher conference, office referral

8. Study Hall Study hall is used for: *Incomplete work *Missed work due to absence *Extra time needed for assignments *Injury/illness notes (no recess due to a note requesting no recess) *AR Testing

9. CURRICULUM Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) District Scope and Sequence, can be found on CISD’s website under Curriculum & Instruction

10. Math We will focus on the following: *Fourth grade objectives and TEKS *Problem-solving strategies *Math in the “real world” *Math games and activities

11. Science We will focus on: *Science vocabulary *The Scientific Method and how to apply it to experiments *Science Process Skills

12. Social Studies *We will continue to work on map skills throughout the year. *We will move into the study of Texas history, including regions of Texas, Native Americans, exploration, the Texas Revolution, the Civil War, and other events in modern time.

13. Language and Writing Writing Workshop Application of spelling and language Process Writing Prewriting to Publishing Forms of Writing Paragraphs, letters, outlines, stories, etc. Public Speaking Posture, voice, and eye contact Grammar and Usage Nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, homophones Sentence Structure Expanding sentences Capitalization Punctuation Periods, commas, hyphens, apostrophes, question marks, and quotation marks

14. Reading Guided Reading Working at independent level for comprehension Auditory Skills Focusing and listening Phonics Beginning, middle, ending sounds Structural Analysis Syllables, possessives, affixes Vocabulary Development Context clues, figurative language and multiple meaning words Reference Skills Dictionary skills Thinking Skills Predicting, summarizing, connecting, inferencing Comprehension Skills Main idea, details, sequencing, cause/effect, fact/opinion, retelling Reading to Learn Creating meaning AR Reading comprehension computer program.

15. HOMEWORK Both LA and Math together should take no longer than 60 minutes. READING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS! Reading log due every Friday. Students MUST fill it out DAILY as well as have your signature each week. MUST read a MINIMUM of 5 nights a week, 30 minutes/15+ pages. Completion of the reading log is a grade. Grading Homework: Homework only counts for a small percentage of total grade, but it adds up. Missing work- David policy: -10 points/day late; after 3 days, the grade is a 0; prepare for 5 th grade

16. AR Program Each week students may check out up to 3 books from the school library. Each book should be in their AR level. They should have one from each of the categories below. 1 Nonfiction book 1 Novel 1 Free choice book (if desired) Books MUST be brought to school everyday. They are used to support many of the important concepts of our Language Arts curriculum.

17. AR Continued Students will have an individual goal set each nine weeks based on their previous and current performance. STAR tests will be administered at least 2 times a year to help establish levels and goals. Student record can be accessed through the David Website. See the website for further instructions. If students are not reading five nights each week (30 minutes/15+ pages), they will go to study hall to read.

18. AR Continued Students are expected to keep an in class log of all the books they have taken tests on. This is completed on the reading log and includes the book title, level, points, and score they earned. Prior to testing on a book, students may be required to complete an activity sheet which reinforces comprehension of the material read. When testing, students MUST have a copy of the book to use. Students will also take tests on teacher read books in the classroom and literature selections that the whole class has read. These books may be outside of their AR range.

19. AR Continued A major grade and a daily grade will be taken each nine weeks. The major grade is determined by the overall average of tests taken during the nine weeks. The daily grade is the percentage of the goal met for the nine weeks.

20. Grades per Nine Weeks Language Arts will be combined into 1 grade on the Report Card. This grade will be an average of: 1. Reading - 7 Daily, 2 Major 2. Writing/Word Study - 7 Daily, 2 Major Math – 9 Daily, 3 Major Social Studies – 4 Daily, 2 Major Science - 4 Daily, 2 Major

21. CONFERENCES Sign up sheet outside our rooms. Make sure you sign up!!! Questions???

22. Thank you for coming and being involved in your child’s education!!!