ACADEMIC CONTENT/STANDARDS
*Spelling/Vocabulary: I don’t have a traditional “spelling list”. Instead, we focus on a unit of words that share common Greek/ Latin roots. Students will be expected to spell the vocabulary list, but more importantly, they must understand the Greek/Latin roots and their meanings. There will be a spelling test and also a vocabulary meaning test every two weeks.
*Language: Grammar lessons will be combined and will cover both 4th/5th grade standards. Very rarely will we use textbooks, as I will follow a scope and sequence for skills outlined in the standards. I will collect a language quiz for a grade about once a week. Students will have a few additional grammar and language assignments for grades as well.
*Writing: Each unit will have a genre focus and several writing craft, structure, and grammar focuses. I will use stories as mentor texts to model the type of writing I'm teaching for both grades. I will meet with students to view their notebooks and writing progress. Students will be expected to edit their writing with a peer before turning it in. Most writing will be assessed with rubrics based on the skill focus for that piece. Generally, one published writing piece will be graded each month. Each assignment will have different requirements, and the rubric for these pieces will be provided to the students before they begin.
*Reading:
We will be reading class novels on a regular basis, but sometimes 4th and 5th grades may not be reading the same novel. I will meet with groups to lead discussions. Comprehension questions will often be assigned for class novels.
Individual reading instruction will occur as I conference with students about their self-selected reading. I'll assess and take notes as they read to me, then guide and make suggestions individually.
Goal setting will be very important in our Accelerated Reader program. Point goals will be set based on individual reading levels. Students will set quarterly goals. AR quiz averages will be part of their reading grade. Students should read at least 120 min. per week outside of class.
EVERY month, students must read ONE AR novel (on their individual level) of MORE than 100 pages. They must pass the quiz over that book. This is another component to their reading grade. They should not wait until the end of the month to select a book!!
EVERY month, students must read TWO AR nonfiction texts (on their individual level) and pass the quiz. With the new standards, more emphasis must be placed on nonfiction reading, so this component will be a large part of the informational text grade.
Math:
I will need to instruct the two grades separately most of the time.
Look for practice pages as homework if not completed in class. If a student is not doing his/her practice pages and turning them in, it will lower the grade because each completed homework assignment is given a completion point.
Students will also have weekly IXL assignments that will correspond to the skills being taught during the week. If your child uses his/her class time wisely, there is plenty of time to complete these in class.
Quizzes will be frequent in order to assess your child’s understanding of the concepts. These are typically worth around 10 points.
Tests will follow each major unit of study and are usually worth about 25-30% of your child’s grade.
In order to cover all standards for both grade levels, content for Science and Social Studies will be spread over two years so that anything not covered when your child is in 4th grade will be studied in 5th grade. Thus, they are prepared for the state tests!
Science: We will be doing Science in units that will be designed to fit both grade level standards. Our science content is online with the Discovery Science curriculum, but I will be supplementing a lot. I'm particularly excited about taking students from scientific inquiry to application in the Engineering Design Process. We will be very "hands-on," but we will also read plenty of science content as they need to learn content as well as discovering through inquiry. We will keep a science/engineering notebook that will be informally assessed and we'll have tests and quizzes over content.
Social Studies: Because the content for 4th and 5th is pretty different in social studies, we will have to use the text books for some content learning. However, some activities and social studies core standards (government, economics, geography, citizenship) will be taught with projects for both grades with differentiated requirements. Content reading may need to be assigned as homework. Tests and quizzes will be graded and recorded, and rubrics will be provided for projects.