Welcome

Welcome to SCAPA Bluegrass 4th Grade

Dear SCAPA families,

Welcome to the 4th grade at SCAPA Bluegrass! We are so glad you are joining us for a wonderful year. As the year starts, Ms. Waterbury and I would like to let you all know that we are always open for questions and will try our best to keep you up to date on what our classes are up to. Please call or email any time you have a question.

I teach Math and Social Studies each day to all 4th graders. Normally we have 2 to 2 half hours each day to cover Kentucky Core Content for those two subjects. 4th graders should expect about 1-2 hours each night for home work- including 30-45 minutes of reading. Mrs. Waterbury, Ms. Moore and I will work together on a daily basis to assure that students will not be overloaded with homework.

Homework should always be in your child’s agenda/planner. Each day the students will have time to write new assignments and review assignments. Schedule changes, field trip information, testing information and other special events will also be added to their agendas regularly. Most teachers will ask for a parent signature on a daily or weekly basis. This gives parents a snapshot of what we are up to and lets teachers know that parents are aware of upcoming events and activities.

For Math classes, students will be given their homework once a week and the assignments will normally be due on Fridays or Mondays. This will allow students that are busy on a particular evening to have the opportunity to schedule their week appropriately. This also helps the students to be responsible for their homework in a timely fashion. The down side to this for the students and myself is that if a change in the schedule arises, the students may or may not be able to complete their homework appropriately. I do take these issues into consideration and will make changes in the time line for homework when these problems arise.

Students need to answer their work neatly and organized. Students should always put their answers in sequential order, write out the math problems and answers clearly. When their homework is collected, I also check their agenda to make sure parents have signed for the week.

Testing for the students comes in four ways. The first is unit testing over daily work. Unit testing comes every three to four weeks at the end of a unit of study. The second type of testing is paper and pencil testing covering 4th grade Kentucky Standards. These tests generally are given four to five times a year. The third testing area comes in the form of computerized testing. These tests are given three times a year and again help the teacher form a comprehensive picture of each individual student needs related to the Standards. The final testing comes in the form of end of grade testing.

Social Studies homework will generally come in the form of research projects, brochures, power points and maps. The students will have two large writing projects. One of these writing pieces will be on a topic related to Kentucky while the second writing piece will be focused on a U.S. writing piece. Much of this work will happen during class but some carry over into homework. The three main areas that 4th grade focuses on in Social Studies are Maps/ geography of the United States, basic economics of U. S. commerce and Kentucky history.

As another component of our year we will have 3-4 history related field trips and a culminating unit. We will travel to Ft. Boonesborough, Shaker Village, and the Kentucky State History Museum in Frankfort, KY. While we are in Frankfort we will also stop by for a tour of the State Capital. The final culminating unit activity is the “Kentucky History Festival and Museum.” The Students will work in groups to create a living museum here at school that covers all facets of Kentucky History. Parents are welcome and encouraged to join us for all of these grand activities.

The Math and Social Studies Competency Assurance documents for Kentucky can be found on my web page or on the fcps.net site. These documents are my lesson plan guide. As students show mastery in each area they will be further encouraged to grow using higher grade level and depth of knowledge work to meets their needs.

Fall Parent Conferences will begin in October. We will have a sign-up sheet for conferences at the September Open House. If you are unable to attend the Open House we will send a note with times and dates. Please call or email if you have any questions.

We are so excited you are a part of the SCAPA family!

Sincerely,

James E. Beers

SCAPA Bluegrass

4th Grade - Math & History