ELA Class

Dear Parents,

Welcome! I am sure you are as excited about the new school year as I am. I am happy to have the privilege of welcoming you and your child to my classroom this year. Some of your children are new to Forest Heights Academy of Excellence; however, I can assure you that they will quickly adapt to the new building and new procedures. Your child’s time here will be well spent. He or she may even come home exhausted from all the thinking we do! But I will make every minute count!

Assessments

Fourth grade is a challenging year. I see it as a year in which we refine and extend upon the many new concepts introduced in third grade. In addition to these new skills, we will also be preparing students to take the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) in all core subjects this spring.

Curriculum

Our reading and language arts curriculum gives the children a chance to enjoy a variety of articles and stories. These stories will help the students develop their reading comprehension skills. In addition to whole group instruction, students will participate in small group instruction in the “guided reading” format. In these small groups, students will read fictional and non-fictional texts within their instructional level. These small guided reading groups will be led by me, giving me the opportunity to work with the children in a more individualized setting.

In fourth grade the students’ writing abilities will be further developed. The students will learn how to effectively write narrative, informative, and poetic pieces.

Homework Policy

There will most likely be homework every night. In fourth grade, the average student can expect about 45 minutes of homework per night. If you have concerns about the time your child is spending doing homework, please contact me. I understand that things come up and it may not be possible to complete a homework assignment on a certain night, in that case please write me a note and the student will get an extra day to complete the assignment. Homework is due first thing in the morning. If it is not completed when your child arrives at school, it is considered a late assignment. If you know your child is going to be absent please inform me so I can give them their homework ahead of time. When a student is absent from school, he/she has two days to make up their work for every one day absent.