Mrs. Clemons-Price's Blog

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Mrs. Clemons-Price's Expectations

My expectations for your child:

Listen carefully in class
Cooperate with others
Follow classroom rules
Work hard in class and put forth their best effort
Complete class work in a reasonable amount of time
Make sure work is of the best possible quality
Complete homework nightly
Let the teacher know when they have a question or need help
Treat the teacher and classmates with respect

My expectations for parents:

Communicate with the teacher at the first sign of a problem
Check all homework and help when a problem arises
Sign informal progress report and return with work envelope
Sign planner nightly

Expectations for myself as a teacher:

Prepare quality lessons that will engage your child in learning.
Meet the needs of all learners by the use of varying techniques and styles
Assign meaningful homework that reflects what is being taught
Help students develop responsible habits and strong self-esteem
Communicate with parents weekly, and as need arises
Ret each skills as needed
Treat your child with kindness and respect

Educational websites for students

Creeds Elementary School http://www.creedses.vbschools.com/

Educational Games http://www.funbrain.com/

Merriam-Webster's Word Central is the hot spot for cool words! Use the Student Dictionary! Also Offers interactive word games and has a Daily Buzzword feature. http://www.wordcentral.com/

Virginia SOLs - Test Practice and Review for Science and Social Studies SOL Tests! http://www.emgames.com/

Everyday math games http://www.emgames.com/

Reading is important!

Please encourage your child to participate in reading. Remember, good readers make great learners. Read at least two chapter books a month. Keep in mind that this is based on honesty. If you have any questions, please contact me at ella.clemons@vbschools.com

Mrs. Clemons-Price's Class Description

ARRIVALS
Time of arrival is between 8:15 and 8:30. Students are considered tardy after 8:30 and must report to the office for a pass to enter class unless their bus is late. Instruction will begin immediately after the pledge and morning announcements. Although the tardy bell does not ring until 8:30 AM, students begin arriving at 8:15, and the announcements begin at 8:25. The students use that first 15 minutes to unpack, sharpen pencils, copy homework, and begin morning work. It is helpful and makes for a less stressful morning for your child if he or she has time to unpack and get organized before the bell rings.

AGENDAS
Every student has an agenda, and it is the student’s responsibility to write down all homework assignments on a daily basis. At the end of the class period we will ask students if the assignments have been written down. Please check your child’s agenda every day. It is your child’s responsibility to be sure all homework is completed and returned to school the next day.

GRADES AND REPORT CARDS
Fourth graders receive letter grades in the following subjects: reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Grades are determined according to the grading scale found below. Since the children should try to do their best work the first time, there will be no extra credit projects. It is important for intermediate grade students to learn to manage time wisely and live with deadlines and due dates. Late assignments will be accepted in the case of an excused absence or at the discretion of the teacher in other situations.

Grading Scale:
A=94-100
B=86-93
C=78-85
D=70-77
E=69 and below

GRADING REQUIREMENTS
The Virginia BeachCityPublic Schools’ Department of Curriculum and Instruction has given us some requirements for evaluating and grading student performance in reading, writing, and math.
In reading, tests and quizzes will constitute 20% of the overall grade each quarter, projects/presentations will be 15% of the reading grade, and written and oral responses to literature (various class work) will constitute 65% of the remaining reading grade.

In writing, spelling and grammar tests and quizzes will count for 10% of the writing grade, process writing (pieces of writing taken through the writing process) will constitute 50% of the overall writing grade for the quarter, and the remaining 40% of the writing grade will be determined by daily writing (various class work).

There are program goals and grade level goals within each strand of Mathematics. Each unit’s content relates to specific learning goals, and these goals are assessed in a variety of ways. The on-going assessments are done in class, and often may consist of oral or slate assessments, work from the math journal or other class work. We use on-going assessment in which a particular learning goal is assessed in each lesson (daily work), as well as end of the unit Progress Checks. Students benefit from the frequency of assessment, and the information we collect during on-going assessments allows us to be more in tune with our students’ strengths and weaknesses so that we can better meet their needs.

When I evaluate your child’s progress on these learning goals, I will use the rubric below.
4 points – Making adequate progress. Solves problems correctly and demonstrates a sophisticated and well-articulated understanding of the concept or skill being assessed.
3 points – Making adequate progress. Solves the problem correctly with only minor errors and demonstrates a developmentally appropriate understanding of the concept or skill being assessed.
2 points – Not making adequate progress. Appears to understand some components of the problem and attempts to solve the problem. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept or skill being assessed that is marginally short of what is expected.
1 point – Not making adequate progress. Appears to not understand the problem, but makes some attempt to solve it. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept or skill being assessed that is significantly short of what is expected.
0 points – Child does not attempt to solve the problem.

The report card grade will be determined from these rubric scores. At the end of the grading period, I will add up the total number of points earned during the grading period, and that number will be divided by the total number of assessments that quarter. Then, letter grades will be assigned as follows:

3.6 – 4.0 A
3.0 – 3.5 B
2.5 – 2.9 C
2.0 – 2.4 D
0 – 1.9 E
When you look at the Progress Check (end of unit), you will see a score that is the culmination of all the assessments for the unit. This score will represent your child’s performance at that point in time. Section B of the Progress Check is used only as a tool to help the teachers plan future instruction. I maintain checklists of the daily assessments, so if you ever have any questions about your child’s progress, please contact me I will be happy to discuss your child’s progress with you.

GRADED PAPERS
Graded papers are sent home every Tuesday. Please look through them with your student and discuss their strengths and weaknesses and plan to improve. After you have looked the papers over, please sign the envelope and return the envelope to school by Friday. It is important to return the signed envelope by Friday so that the envelopes can be ready for the next week. We also send home PTA notices, announcements, and other important papers every Tuesday.

DISCIPLINE
During the first week of school, we will have some discussion about what it will take to make our classroom a great learning environment. Our classroom rules will center on the rights and responsibilities of each student. Once developed and agreed upon as a class, we will send home a copy of our class rules.

Incentives
Praise (daily)
Positive note home (random)
Positive phone call home (random)
Various other positive perks (through out the school year)
Earn tickets toward the weekly drawing

If a Student Chooses to Break a Rule the following actions will be taken.
First Time: Name in book. Warning.
Second Time: Name in book. Note written home by student, signed by parent
and returned the next day.
Third Time: Parent called.
Severe Disruption: Student sent immediately to the office and parent called.
Students start with a clean slate everyday.

HOMEWORK
An important element of school is homework. Homework allows parents to be informed of what their child is doing in school and where he or she may need additional help and practice. It also promotes responsibility, an important part of fourth grade. Homework provides enforcement of skills learned in class and study time for tests and quizzes. Homework also helps the student develop good work habits and time management skills important to success. Responsibility and good time management skills are important to success in elementary school, middle school, high school, and beyond.

Please be part of your child’s homework each night. Provide him or her with all the needed supplies at hand. Make sure the area is quiet and free from disturbances. If your child does his or her homework at the same time and in the same quiet spot, chances are they will develop good homework habits.

When you help your child with homework, please offer guidance, not answers. It is always a good idea to check over the homework with your child. Sometimes they forget part of an assignment or do not read the directions carefully. This will improve as students learn to be more thorough and double-check their work.

Please do not allow homework time to be stressful for you and your child. If completing homework assignments in a reasonable amount of time becomes difficult, let us know and we will try to offer some suggestions for making this time less stressful. By working together, we can help your student develop better study habits.

Homework is assigned Monday through Thursday evening. Long term assignments, such as a book report or social studies project, could be assigned with a Monday due date, but there is no daily homework on Fridays. Since this is fourth grade, all assignments are to be completed neatly in cursive and on time. After reviewing the homework, we have the students place it on the ‘home’ side of their daily folders. Homework only counts if it makes it back to school to be turned in. If an assignment is not turned in, the student receives a homework think sheet. Please sign and return the sheet. This think sheet is written notification of a missing assignment. When the missing assignment is completed and turned in the student receives partial credit for turning the assignment in. Homework is reflected in the work habits section of the report card.

BOOK REPORTS
I generally assign two book reports each grading period. Each month’s format will vary, but she will always provide a written description of the assignment or the form to be used along with information on how the book report will be evaluated. Book report books must be read by the student from cover to cover. The book should be at an appropriate reading level for your child. Please help your child plan his/her reading so that the book will be finished in time for the student to complete the book report by the due date. Please help them schedule their time and plan for the actual report so that they have time to do their own best work. Book reports and projects will make up no more than 15% of the reading grade for the quarter

Mrs. Clemons-Price's Blog

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Mrs. Clemons-Price's Expectations

Educational websites for students

Reading is important!

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Mrs. Clemons-Price's Class Description