Expectations

Multi-age Grading Expectations

Fourth and Fifth grades are exciting years for learning! Students will read challenging and engaging texts, learn about several history-defining events, and write a variety of essays. Expectations are high in both fourth and fifth grades, both academically and behaviorally. The grading used by our team reflects these high expectations, so we would like to be clear about them from the start. 

Academically, students will receive grades for the following subjects: reading, writing, social studies, science, and math. You should expect the average grades your student will receive to be B grades (80-89%). Bs are GOOD grades and indicate that your child is meeting the standards we are aiming for. An A grade shows that your child has done excellent work and is giving exceptional effort, a C grade suggests that the work/effort is satisfactory with room for growth, and anything lower shows that either the standards are not being met, effort is not being made, or some combination of the two. 

• Science and Social Studies: For both science and social studies, grades are academically focused, but have a large effort component as well. I look for attentiveness during class, effort in assignment completion and their best work. Your child will earn their grade based on those main factors. 

• Reading and Writing: At Aquarian, we use a Language Arts structure that combines reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Our main curriculum is the Wit & Wisdom program, though we do some additional things, including integrating with science and social studies. There are four Wit & Wisdom modules over the year. Each module focuses on one or two main texts and one overarching Essential Question that guides our study in the module. Grades come from daily work, quizzes, and responses to text-dependent questions. The largest point value for both reading and writing grades comes from Focusing Question Tasks, or FQTs for short.

  • Daily Work: Each student will have a Wit & Wisdom “journal” used during daily lessons. There are several times throughout each module where students will be asked to turn in their journal to receive a grade on the work they were asked to complete that day. 

  • Quizzes: Each teacher chooses which quizzes to give, but our classes should expect quizzes to be used in class for things, including but not limited to: reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar rules, and more. 

  • Text Dependent Questions: After reading and discussing a text, students will be asked to respond thoughtfully to a number of questions about the text using complete sentences, providing text evidence, and elaborating on that evidence. 

  • FQTs: FQT stands for Focusing Question Task. These are larger reading and writing assignments based on the focusing questions of each module. These FQTs are usually larger writing prompts of 1-6 paragraphs in response to the focusing question for that group of lessons. We work on these assignments over several lessons, and they are scaffolded along the way to build up to the final writing task. Students will write rough drafts and type final drafts for the majority of the FQT assignments. 

    • Students will receive a rubric for each FQT before they write it, so they know which standards they are being asked to meet, and it is the same rubric used to grade the assignment. After submitting the assignment, students will receive written feedback from their teacher along with a filled-out rubric for each FQT. The rubrics will indicate how their work meets the standard expectations based on the following scale:

      • M = Missing

      • B = Beginning

      • D = Developing

      • A = Arrived 

      • E = Exceeds 

    • Grades will then be assigned based on what the student earned. Please note, If a student receives a missing or beginning grade for any standard on the rubric, the highest grade they will be able to receive for that assignment will be a B. That said, a student can make changes based on my feedback and resubmit for a higher grade.

    • It is important to note that if a student is absent for an FQT, they are expected to complete it. I will do my best to support them, but this usually must be done at home. 

• Math: Your child may have a different teacher for math, and their grading expectations may be different, so please check with them with any questions or concerns you have about math grades. 

Behavior grades are given to students quarterly on an O-S-N scale in the following categories: responsibility, work completion, self-control, organization, follows directions, positive attitude, respects authority, works cooperatively, works independently, works neatly, speaking, and listening. Please know that in fourth and fifth grades, I believe that “Satisfactory” (or an S) is the standard! Students can move up or down from an S based on their observed behaviors during each quarter. We also have a set of expectations at Aquarian called the “25 Rules to Live By”. These outline some behaviors we look for throughout the day. Grades in this area are up to my discretion, but at the end of the day, they are earned by the students! 

Vacations and Absences

I know there are times when a child misses school. Sometimes this is an illness, and other times this is a planned family trip or sports trip. If your family goes on a vacation or sports trip, please ask for work at least a week in advance. Students are responsible for completing the assignments to the best of their ability. Our language arts curriculum is cumulative. Keeping up with the work is important for building an understanding and foundation. Canvas is the place to find digital and audio copies of books, videos, and other things we do in class. If a child misses an FQT assignment, they are responsible for making up that work. 

I have tried to outline the most common grading scenarios. I also realize that it is impossible to outline every single scenario in one document, so there may be some things that arise throughout the year that cause us to deviate from what we have written here. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and ask any questions you may have. Open communication is the best way to make sure we are all on the same page, and I am here to help however I can. I am looking forward to a great school year filled with learning and loads of fun! 

Thank you!

Ms. Sarah