You Are In Fourth Grade Now!
Being a bigger kid comes with some increased responsibilities though. You need to be responsible for your work and your actions. It’s important that you develop these responsibilities because you will need them throughout your entire school career. This page will give you some important information that you will need to make the year successful.
Assignments Each day, before leaving school, YOU will be responsible for writing all of your homework assignments in your assignment book. You will be able to find most of your assignments on the digital assignment board, but not everything you need to do will always be listed there (work you need to finish because you had a band lesson, etc.). It's a good habit to utilize your assignment book. It will help you stay organized for the higher grades.
Homework You will receive homework almost every night. It is expected that it will be done. If you make up your mind to concentrate and get it done, it shouldn’t take you long. There will also be times during the school day when you might be able to get some of your homework taken care of if you use your time wisely (see Homework Policy at the bottom of this page).
Rules We will discuss our class rules during our first few days of school. You will be expected to follow these rules and behave appropriately at school. Misbehaviors will result in consequences, such as lunch detention, writing apologies, or filling out “think sheets” (see Behavior Policy at the bottom of this page). Good behavior will be rewarded. In real life, if people do what they need to do at their jobs, they receive paychecks, rewards, and bonuses. School is your job. If you do a good job, you will be rewarded.
Snack Small mid-morning snacks are permitted. I will not be supplying snacks. We won’t be stopping our work to have a snack; your snack should be something that you can eat at your desk, while you are working. It should not be anything messy; just a little something to tide you over until lunch. Healthy snacks are encouraged. Candy is not a snack.
We will be doing so many fun things this year!
I’m very excited to start the new school year! Together, we can make it wonderful!
You need to be responsible for your work and your actions.
It’s important that you develop these responsibilities because you will need them throughout your school career.
You will receive homework almost every night. It is expected that it will be done. If you make up your mind to concentrate and complete your work, it shouldn’t take you long.
Oh…and you can’t use sports as an excuse. My son, Joey, played on four baseball teams, played soccer, and wrestled during his fourth grade year…and still got his homework done! So, no excuses…unless of course you chopped your finger off with a buzz saw and spent the night at the emergency room…that’s an excuse I’ll accept. 😉
If you use your time wisely, you may often find that you can get some of your homework done during school.
You can expect to have math homework almost every night with the exception of the night we have a math test. Homework may consist of one or more of the following: homework in your text book, fact practice, IXL assignments, Practice Buddies, and/or extra practice if warranted. It is very important to practice your facts. Everything else we learn will stem from knowing your addition/subtraction and multiplication/division facts. If you know your facts it will make math so much easier!
Reading Homework is simply reading at home, and studying your focus skills and vocabulary words for your tests. If you don't finish a classwork assignment, then that may need to be completed at home.
Spelling homework is assigned on a case-by-case basis which is based on the difficulty of the words and your pre-test score. Practicing is up to you. We always take a pre-test, so you will know which words you need to practice, and we work with the words several times in class throughout the lesson. We will only have spelling on full five-day school weeks. Pre-tests will be given on a Monday. You will have until Thursday to complete your homework based on your pre-test score. Friday will be the test.
You will also have science and social studies assignments occasionally that may need to be done as homework. Other homework and projects are sometimes assigned. Returning any type of document (like permission slips and Think Sheets) also count as homework responsibilities.
Any classwork that doesn't get completed may also become homework.
If homework is not done- you may choose to complete it during recess. If it becomes a recurring problem it will need to be done in lunch detention, or in place of a downtime activity…but that’s not going to happen…right?
In Fourth Grade it's all about making the right decisions. The choice is entirely yours!
Success, whether in the classroom or in life, depends greatly on self-discipline. Rules and consequences are necessary to help students make good decisions about their behavior. The following is a set of basic classroom rules for fourth grade, and consequences for inappropriate behavior choices.
Basic Rules:
* Follow directions the first time they are given
* Complete all assignments on time and to the best of your ability
* Show respect for all people and property in the school
* Ask questions when you do not understand something
In my homeroom we use a card system. The idea is to stay on green all day. Verbal warnings are always given except in the most serious of behavior violations.
If the action is not corrected after one (or sometimes many) verbal warnings, then we start moving cards.
Green = all good
Yellow = we’re having some problems and need to get it together
Red = some sort of consequence is now necessary
Blue = a think sheet will need to be filled out and signed by parents
Everyone starts out on green each day.
Logical Consequences include:
* lunch detention
* loss of privilege
* written apology
* “Think Sheet” signed by child, teacher, and parents
In the worst-case scenarios (blatant disrespect, hitting another student, stealing etc) it will be necessary to write up an official discipline report. This, however, is a rare occurrence.
