Meet the Teacher 2014-2015 Miss Duke

Curriculum Reading- NEW* Journeys Reading Series- Weekly stories, EOS tests, vocabulary, focus skills, text dependent questions. Designed to align with Common Core Online Access- See handout for username and password. Students have access to the magazine, grammar clips, and Journeys book. Core Literature Books- Night of the Twisters, On My Honor, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing Read aloud and silent reading Kansas Reading Assessment- Spring (I will send home specific dates as they become available)

Curriculum Math Review basic math facts- Multiplication, division, addition, subtraction Problem solving-Daily review/daily Envision lessons Multiplication: 3-digits by 2-digits Division: 4-digit dividend with 2-digit divisor Fractions-adding/subtracting, converting to decimals, ordering/comparing, improper fractions/mixed numbers Decimals- tenths and hundredths Geometry-3D geometric shapes, faces, edges, vertices, and types of triangles Math vocabulary- Math dictionaries/glossary of Envision Quizzes/Tests- Short quizzes throughout the year, Topic tests, 1 day review (book/online). Kansas Math Assessment-Spring (I will send home specific dates as they become available)

Envision Math Designed to align with common core (tested indicators in the state of Kansas) Math textbooks- these can be viewed online Online access – see handout www.pearsonsuccess.net

Curriculum Spelling Five review words Twenty words from Journeys spelling Five challenge words for those that miss 5 or fewer on the pretest (*Extra challenge- 5 additional words for those that miss 2 or fewer on the pretest) Pretests on Fridays, Posttests on Thursdays Mini-Lessons Review Games Spelling City (currently being updated) A typed list will come home with your child every Friday after we have completed the pretest.

Curriculum Science Experiments/Scientific process- Soap floats and antacid experiment 4 units Environmental interactions- Trees/leaves, food chains/webs and biomes. Bones and Muscles/Senses- Names of bones/muscles, parts, purpose. Sight, sound, taste. Rocks and Minerals- 3 types of rocks, various minerals, layers of the Earth, changes in the Earth. Electricity and Magnetism- Poles, circuits, electromagnets. Study guides provided- Homework assignments and assignments done in class will come home at the end of each unit. These are used as study tools. Science Assessment- Spring (I will send home specific dates as they become available)

Curriculum Social Studies Regions of the United States- Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West. States and Capitals- Test for each unit. Cumulative test at the end of the year over all 50 Geography- Discussed in each unit State projects and reports-one per unit Study guides provided- Homework assignments and assignments done in class will come home at the end of each unit. These are used as study tools. 50 states parade- Cumulative state project at the end of the year. Each student will research one state and create a “float”.

Curriculum Writing Writing Process- prewriting, rough draft, edit, revise, publish 1 piece of published writing each quarter- narrative (dialogue), persuasive, technical, expository Six Traits- Mini lessons throughout the year Daily Language Review- Completed daily. Covers conventions, parts of speech, synonyms/antonyms, etc. Cursive handwriting District Writing Assessment- Completed second quarter

State Assessment Dates Reading ~Feb. 25 - Apr. 19 Math ~Feb. 25 – Apr. 19 Science ~Feb. 25 – Apr. 19

Homework Homework should reinforce skills taught in the classroom, build responsibility, and develop essential study habits. It is expected for a fourth grader to have 40-60 minutes of homework each night. This includes independent reading time. Homework will generally take place in two forms. Practice of skills learned in class Completion of unfinished classroom assignments Daily homework assignments that students’ can work on include: Multiplication facts Independent reading States and capitals Envision website Spelling words

Grading Students will bring graded assignments home in their take home folder. Students who score below a 70% will have the opportunity to correct mistakes on their assignment to receive ½ point back for each incorrect answer. Corrections are not allowed on tests and quizzes. Please let me know if you catch any grading errors on my part and I will be happy to correct them!

Parentvue Access Currently, percentages should be viewable for each subject area. Individual grades for assignments, quizzes, and tests may be viewable. “mis” = missing assignment, “lat” = late assignment, “abs” = absent, “inc” = incomplete. Listening and Speaking is now a letter grade. Grades that I input into the system may not always be final grades (Ex: Corrections on assignments).

Parentvue Cont. I am still in the process of learning all the ins and outs of the new system  Please let me know if you see anything from your end that does not look correct. If you have questions about parentvue or things you are viewing from home please let me know and I will do my best to answer them for you!

Gotchas/Power Paws Students at Manchester Park will be Timberwolves on Track because they will be respectful, responsible, and safe. The teachers at Manchester Park will build a positive school environment by…using praise when students are “on-track”. Students will also receive Power Paws throughout the day as they display respectful, responsible, and safe behavior. Students can now receive Gotchas/Power Paws from their classroom teacher as well as other staff in the building (i.e. special’s teachers, office staff, aids/paras, custodians, etc.) A copy of every student Power Paw given out will be kept in a container in the classroom. Each Thursday every classroom will have an individual drawing and those names will be sent to Mrs. DeGroot. Every Friday morning 3 Power Paws will be randomly selected to be announced during the morning announcements.

Miss Duke’s Classroom Management Students in our classroom will be Timberwolves on Track because they will be respectful, responsible, and safe. As a class we have created our classroom agreements/expectations that will keep everyone on track. I will build a positive classroom by…using praise when students are “on track”. Students will receive blue carnival tickets throughout the day as they display respectful, responsible, and safe behavior. These tickets can be turned in on designated days in exchange for a reward off of our of classroom reward menu. Reward Menu.docx

Assignment Notebook Each day it will be your child’s responsibility to complete his/her assignment notebook (I will complete the chart in class and your child should copy from it). If your child has not completed an activity they should circle it and it is homework. It is your child’s responsibility to complete this, as I do not individually check with each student about incomplete daily work. I will initial your child’s notebook at the end of each day, and your child should have you sign his/her notebook each night. Your child will earn a sticker each time the assignment notebook is brought back to school initialed by me and signed by you.

Assignment Notebook… At the end of each month any child who has earned a sticker for 90% of the days during that month’s time will earn 5 carnival tickets, which can be redeemed for items off of the reward menu. The purpose of the assignment notebook is to help your child work on responsibility and staying organized. It also keeps you informed of daily activities.

Take Home Folder Should come home each night along with their assignment notebook. Mail- graded papers, notes, permission slips. Homework- Items that need to be completed and brought back to school.

Newsletters Newsletters come out every two weeks. Posted to my website. No paper copies are sent home. Email reminder will be sent out when the newsletter is updated. http://teachers.olatheschools.com/sdukemp/ This will soon be moving to our Manchester Park App!

Birthday Treats/Refueling Birthday Treats- Please email ahead of time to let me know the date you will be bringing in treats so I can plan accordingly. Refueling guidelines. Allergies Quick and ready to eat Cleanliness- We would like to keep our floors looking nice and our classroom materials in good condition.

Room Coordinator/Party Host Sign up is on the back table if you would like to host or provide activities/items for parties. Room Coordinator- Sign up on the back table if you would like to volunteer to be the room coordinator! A coordinator will be chosen by the end of the week.

Extra!!! Wish List- Please take a sticky note if you would like to donate an item for our classroom. Email Permission Form Mid-Quarter progress report (4 times per year)/Report card- At the end of each quarter Star of the Week- See attached schedule on website (located under “schedule”) Star of the Week 2014-2015.docx