Welcome to Mrs. Cunningham’s class! - Please write a note to your child.

After this presentation you will: Know a little bit about Mrs. Cunningham Get an understanding of homework, classroom expectations, and classroom procedures Get a snapshot of your child’s 4 th grade year!

All About Mrs. C. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Then, I moved to Rockford, IL for one year. I married my wonderful husband and best friend, Zach Cunningham on June 19 th. This is my 5 th year teaching. I taught third grade for 4 years between Wisconsin and Illinois. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish from Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL.

My wonderful husband

PBIS- Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Be SAFE, Be RESPECTFUL, Be RESPONSIBLE School wide discipline procedure

Rights and Responsibilities vs. Rules Rights and Responsibilities focus on what the student CAN do. Rules focus on what the student CAN’T do. The student takes ownership of his/her actions. This plan has worked well in our class thus far.

Discipline procedure in Mrs. C’s class First time: Warning Second time: Time taken off of Fun Friday (NOT recess- Students need to run around!) Third time: Parent contact, form both the student and the parent will need to fill out

Individual Rewards, Group rewards Dolphin dollars: Student shows the 3B’s Tickets: Student participates, holds classroom expectations, agenda is signed each night Group wars: The group with the most points at the end of the week will receive an incentive from me.

Reading Reading Jumpstart -Focuses on the common core standards and reading strategies Fluency, Text Connections, Narrative Elements, Making Predictions, Summarizing, Identifying Cause and Effect, Identifying Author’s Purpose and Point-of-view, Vocabulary Harcourt curriculum

Math Daily math fact practice Math Jumpstart Centers Investigations/Engage New York

Writing Parts of speech (Grammar Rules) Word skills and vocabulary Writing process- Topic generation, rough draft, revising, editing, final draft, publishing 6 in 1 traits: Ideas and content, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice, conventions Informative/explanatory, narrative, persuasive structure

Social Studies Arizona’s History Arizona’s Government and Economy Landforms Current Events

Science Plant Structure and Animal Classifications Magnetism and Electricity Water Cycle, Climate, and Weather Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Sources Scientific Method

Health Character Pillars Being Healthy -Self-esteem -Teamwork and Conflict Resolution -Disease Prevention -Growth and Development -Nutrition and Fitness -Safety and Emergencies

Grades and Report Card This is your child’s first year of getting letter grades. “B” is “very good.” -We need to focus on growth rather than on the letter grades. Proficient: A to B Developing: C to D Area of Concern: D to F

Homework The homework will be as follows: -Reading log (2 hours/wk. + summary) -Math assignment ( Review) + practice math facts -Spelling menu -On occasion: Homework from other subjects

Communication Call the classroom phone Weekly newsletters Notes sent home (Good ones, too! ) Notes sent from home