http://www.debbiesthemes.com/forbes/

I also have an educational website that can be used for reports later in the year. It is on California History, and there are some good information links for the projects.

http://www.californiahistory.org

I complete the reading program that our district has adopted. Currently the adopted program is Open Court.

In addition to our adopted program and SRA, I have purchased several class sets of novels that we will go through during the year. All of these are Accelerated Readers.

Students should be reading AR novels in class and are responsible for testing on the novels. Each student will have an individual goal based on his or her reading level. If that goal isn't met, it will impact the reading grade. If the student far exceeds his or her goal it will be considered extra credit. The goal is based on a formal in the accelerated reading level based on tested level and time reading. The time considered is 30 minutes per day, which students are given in class. Please ask your child how many AR points they have and how many they are supposed to have. You will also be emailed this information.

In addition to the district adopted math curriculum, I use some hands-on or overhead activities to supplement our very difficult math program. We also do "Math 4 Today" on Tuesday and Thursday. This is a grade level program that reviews all 4th grade skills all year long. During the year students will need to learn long division, two place multiplication, fractions, and decimals. This is very overwhelming and I try to include some fun activities. Please note that it is expected that your child has instant recall of multiplication facts. I do not spend time on review. Please work on these at home constantly since the kids forget them easily. Division is extremely difficult without instant recall of multiplication facts. At the end of the year we will be adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators as well as reducing fractions.

I also use the Accelerated Math program. We will be working on this at least twice weekly. This is not a graded activity, but students will need to progress through the activities and skills at a reasonable pace.

During the course of the year we will be studying Plants, Bats, and Geology in depth.

I require a science project in the Spring, but I do NOT require that students participate in the Science Fair. Students will need to complete an experiment at home and then show the experiment to the rest of the class. They will need to explain their procedures and the outcome. I help the kids find a simple and inexpensive experiment, and I will provide you with a copy. It is a pass/fail grade and I do not expect anything elaborate unless that is your choice.

California history is the main focus of fourth grade social studies with special emphasis on the Mission Period and the Gold Rush. Students will be responsible for a Mission or Gold Rush project that will be due in the Spring. This will be a large part of the quarter grade. This is also a pass/fail grade.

I teach formal art lessons throughout the year. I introduce the children to different periods of art . I never seem to have enough time to teach this in depth, but there will be some instruction. I do not formally participate in the student council art contests monthly, but your child is welcome to enter if they want to. Pens for directed drawing are on the supply list.

Students are required by state law to participate in a physical education program. I require a note if your child is hurt and can’t participate. If I don’t have a note from you, I will assume that whatever injuries they have aren’t serious or require limited participation rather than full participation. I will never expect kids to run past the point of their endurance. Girls are especially susceptible to getting hurt if they are wearing dress shoes or sandals. Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate footware.

I use Positive Classroom Discipline in my classroom. I do not write names on the board (except as reminders) or "flip cards." I provide a variety of individual, group, and class incentives so major behavior problems are rare in my room. Depending on when you enter our room, it may be so quiet you can hear a pin drop, or somewhat noisy with everyone talking while they are working. The expected behavior varies with the activity, and behavior objectives are clearly stated each time we start an assignment. If I have consistent difficulties with a student, that student will be removed from the group either temporarily or permanently (sitting outside of normal seating area). Some kids have a hard time not chatting with their neighbors and this helps. The great majority of students will only have a minor and occasional "brush with the law." Sometimes a situation needs a short "time out" either in the room or in the office. If your child receives a time out in the room and I don't call you, it was a minor infraction of little consequence. Time outs in the class without phone calls are not formally documented or put in your student’s file.

I expect excellent classroom behavior and good manners, and children generally live up to those expectations. I do not make behavior exceptions for anyone.

On a more serious note, I do not tolerate behavior that jeopardizes the learning climate or safety of the other children in the class. I will suspend a student who is being extremely disruptive or cruel to another child or send the child to the office for our principal to make the call. To see my exact procedures on this, please check the link on grading, homework, and discipline. If I am having consistent problems with a student I will call you or send home a note. If the problem continues I will arrange a conference so we can discuss how to handle the situation together.

If your child is being harassed by another student in class, please let me know so I can make sure they are separated. If your child is being harassed on the playground and the situation is not handled to your satisfaction, our principal is the best person to talk to since my breaks correspond with the children’s and I don’t see what happens there.

I realize that I set behavior standards extremely high. The reasons for this are twofold. First, children need an acceptable learning environment to be able to study and learn, and they almost always live up to expectations. Second, I set my behavior standards at a level where a child breaking the rules will not elicit an emotional response from me. To set my behavior levels at my tolerance level would be placing myself in a position of children "pressing my buttons" all day long. By setting my standards high, the typical and normal line crossing that everyone does will not wear me down throughout the day. Non-emotional decisions are generally better decisions.

If your child says that I’m nice, it generally means he or she is following the rules. If you are hearing, "She's mean," or "She doesn't like me," it usually means your child is consistently not following the rules, and we need to get together to discuss why rules are being continually broken.

I don’t let myself get to a level of emotionally yelling at kids, therefore everyone is treated equally and fairly. Making my behavior standards high makes this possible. There are times when you feel I may be overly strict. I hope this helps you understand why it is necessary.

Most children do not abuse the privilege of bathroom and water breaks. Unfortunately, there are always a few who do. Generally, children can get up and use the bathroom if it is an emergency. They do not need to raise their hand or ask. They can just get up and go as long as they sign out. If they go to the restroom during class time, they lose 5 minutes of their recess. However, if I notice a pattern of abusing the bathroom priviledge I will revoke it for certain children. I will email you when there is a danger of this happening. When kids come in from recess and lunch they are allowed to use the water fountain on the way in. I do not ever allow the kids to use the water fountain in the back of the room, because it never is working right. They can, however, use the sink to refill water bottles. I encourage all kids to have water bottles at their desk. Please, no ice due to condensation problems.

If students have all classwork and the homework turned in they will be allowed free time on Friday afternoon on the playground. All work must be turned in by the end of first recess on Friday to earn Freaky Friday.

You will receive at least one progress report from me during the middle of each quarter. If you have given me an email address, you will receive far more than that, since I will generate them every couple of weeks for all parents who have given me email addresses. I do not penalize for most late work, but it must be turned in the next day, and will not be accepted after one week of when the work was assigned. The Mission/Gold Rush project and the Science Experiment will not be accepted late.

I keep a list of missing assignments on the board so students can easily see if they owe me work. All students will be provided with a planner at the beginning of the year.

Please see the grading and homework policy for detailed information on grading. In addition to that policy, these items are important:

Please remember that incomplete work counts as an "F" even when students are absent. Several missed assignments will make a big difference in the final grade. At the end of the quarter my computer gives me an overall grade with no mercy. When your child is absent, missed work is collected for them and I expect them to complete the assignments. This is consistent with the policy of other fourth grade teachers.

Students will have an AR reading goal for each quarter. This is individualized for each student based on their reading ability. The goal is arrived at by use of a chart in the program and assumes 30 minutes of independent AR reading per day. AR reading is only used to verify the thirty minutes. If a student comes reasonably close to the AR reading goal, AR reading will not affect the reading grade one way or the other. If the student falls significantly short of the goal, the reading grade will be lowered (B- to C+ for example). If the student significantly surpasses the reading goal, it will be considered extra credit work and increase the reading grade.

I try to run the AR reading program as it was intended by the software developer. That means that students will be encouraged to read books in their level. Students will have a target reading level with the focus being on increasing the reading level of the child. I do not compete with other classes over points. I think that is counterproductive. I do not read high level books to the class to increase our class points. I believe these things increase cheating on tests and serve no academic purpose whatsoever.

Students have one week to finish all work and I allow them to take it home to get help. Therefore, I generally only accept extra credit work for students who are working towards the honor role and are right on the line or if there have been low test scores that are significantly affecting the grade. If extra credit is a big concern for you, please call me so we can make arrangements. If you have an high achieving students, there are alternate assignments that can be completed for credit.

Students are expected to make up work they missed during absences. It is collected for them and placed on their desk. This is the hardest thing for fourth grade students to accept, since not all third grade teachers require this. This is the policy of all teachers from fourth grade up. They will have one week from the time they return to complete the work. If you know your child will be absent, please just let me know and I will send a list of their work prior to their absence.

All students are given the opportunity to use a computer in the class. Students will only allowed to use the internet in the class and the lab for research under my direct supervision.

All homework will be sent home on Friday and is not due until the following Friday. The exception to this is long-term projects, which you will be notified of, and any incomplete work that is not finished by Friday. Students will have time periods throughout the week to work on any class work that hasn't been finished within the standard allotted time. See the grading section for more information on the packets. I do not give homework or spelling words during Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter break. Homework packets will be assigned through the month of April. The only assignments due in May will be projects.

Times are subject to change, but this is our general class schedule.

8-9:40 AM: Math. 10:00-11:45 Language Arts. 12:25-2:20: Social Studies, Science, Art, P.E.

Library: Friday 8:55-9:25.

Computer: Thursday at 1:30.

Music: Friday 10:20-11:15

Recess: 9:40-10:00.

Lunch: 11:45-12:25

Art: No longer provided by the district

P.E.: No longer provided by the district (with P.E. teacher)

I assign a number to each student that they are to use on all their work along with their name. It helps me check for missing work, collect and pass out corrected papers, and enter the grades in the computer.

Students are ultimately personally responsible for their own grades. If assignments are particularly difficult or students will benefit by group work, some assignments will be cooperative in nature assuring success for everyone in the class. The reason for this is for students to develop their reasoning abilities and communication skills. I strive to provide thought provoking problems that can be solved in a variety of ways. For example, as adults we are often faced with solving a problem using mathematics in our everyday lives. While we may not remember a formula, we do have the ability to find a reasonable and logical way to solve the problem in a variety of direct or indirect ways. Developing these skills are essential. Additionally, when we work cooperatively we constantly bounce our ideas off of one another helping to clarify our thinking process and build upon one another's ideas.

Even though I do use some cooperative learning, the majority of graded projects will be completed individually, and each student is ultimately responsible for his or her own grade. If a student is not helping the group or is hindering the group, they will be required to complete the assignment on their own.

A mission or gold rush project will be due in the early Spring. Lots of details will be coming home on this about a month before it is due. This is a required project. All fourth grade students will see slides and pictures of previous projects. Winners are not determined by the elaborateness of the project, but rather the amount of student work, historical accuracy, and creativity. To give you an idea of some superb creative ideas, students have used painted peanut shells, macaroni, and red chewing gum to simulate tiled mission roofs. If your child opts for the Gold Rush project, remember that placer mining, or panning in stream beds, was the main form of gold mining in California. There was some quartz mining using stamp mills as well. Underground mining, or lode mining, was extremely limited. This is a pass/fail project, but it is worth a lot of points.

I do not require a science project for the science fair. If your student enters the science fair and presents his or her experiment in class, I will grade the project and excuse the student from the Spring experiment due in May. It must be presented in class to do this!

I believe that competition is part of everyone's daily life and learning to compete in a sportsmanlike way is essential. Learning how to win is as important as learning how to lose. As adults we know that every time we apply for a job or work towards a promotion we are in competition with others. Competition is a way to learn to deal with our individual strengths and weaknesses. I provide activities in the classroom where there is competition, and I expect all students to behave in a thoughtful and kind way to others during those activities. We have learning games with teams, art contests, sport, and class elections where there are winners and losers.

Each month I hold a class election for President and Vice-President. These officers serve for a whole month and do jobs around the classroom. It usually turns out that almost all students will have a turn since we rotate through those who haven't had a chance during the last couple weeks of school..

Troll book orders are sent home toward the end of the month and are due during the first week of the month. These orders help me get more books for classroom use. There are also some excellent prices.

Parties will be held for the following holidays: