2. WELCOME TO CURRICULUM NIGHT ! 4 TH GRADE MRS. LOWRY – 4A – ROOM 201 MRS. CHRISTENSEN– 4B –ROOM 203 MRS. FIGURA – 4C – ROOM 202

3. CONTENT TO BE COVERED: Being good Christians Beatitudes Ten Commandments Rosary Saints Sacraments Vocations Liturgical Year Stewardship RELIGION TEXT USED: CALL TO FAITH (2012)

4. RELIGION WHAT TO EXPECT: Fr. Mark’s visit each Monday Vocabulary pages – keep for the whole unit (3 chapters) Weekly quizzes (If students pay attention in class, participate, and review their vocabulary nightly, they should not have to study for these quizzes.) Mrs. Christensen teaches Religion to all 3 sections of 4 th graders

5. MATH TEXT USED: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN (2007) CONTENT TO BE COVERED: Addition and subtraction of large numbers Multiplication and division of large numbers Place value to millions Fractions Decimals Geometry Time and money Probability and Statistics

6. MATH WHAT TO EXPECT: Each day a lesson is taught which builds on the day before – prefer students to complete assignments in class. Assessments are given at the end of each chapter (approximately 5-8 lessons) and a unit test at the end of a unit (2-3 chapters) This year we have the addition of Fasttmath to our curriculum to meet our school goal of making our students proficient in Math facts. This is an online program that students will use at least twice a week at school, and sometimes will be assigned as homework. Please look for a letter home on this soon.

7. LANGUAGE ARTS TEXTS USED: MCGRAW-HILL TREASURES ( 2008) SADLIER VOCABULARY (2005) SADLIER GRAMMAR WORKSHOP (2007) Reading  Comprehension  Cause/Effect  Setting/Characters  Inferences  Drawing Conclusions  Synonyms/Antonyms  Fact/Opinion  Independent Reading (read 20 minutes at home each night)  Weekly homework

8. LANGUAGE ARTS English/Grammar  Sentence structure  Nouns  Verbs  Pronouns  Adverbs  Adjectives  Combining sentences  6 Traits of Writing  Grammar Workshop on-line practice

9. LANGUAGE ARTS Vocabulary 2 weeks for each unit 12 words Study nightly (2 or 3 words each night) List sent home on Tuesday of the first week, test the following Friday (books stay at school) Need to know ALL definitions and most synonyms/antonyms Students may always do flash cards for extra credit in Vocabulary. They’re due on the day of the test. Vocabulary Workshop on-line practice

10. LANGUAGE ARTS Spelling  Continuing Phonics/Spelling program from third grade  13 words with a common phonetic spelling pattern (plus the 12 vocab. words for a total of 25 Spelling words)  List sent home on Monday of the first week  www.spellingcity.com  Test at the end of the first week

11. SCIENCE TEXT USED: INTERACTIVE SCIENCE – PEARSON (2012) CONTENT TO BE COVERED: Earth’s land and matter Nutrition Living things Electricity Weather

12. SCIENCE WHAT TO EXPECT: Worksheets should be kept in their Science folder. Worksheets and notes given in class will be their study guides for the tests. Curriculum is based on terms and vocabulary. In class experiments and activities. Mrs. Figura teaches science to all three sections of fourth graders.

13. SOCIAL STUDIES TEXT USED: HARCOURT HORIZONS (2010) NEBRASKA STUDIES WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS CONTENT TO BE COVERED: States Regions of the U.S. Nebraska history States and capitals

14. SOCIAL STUDIES WHAT TO EXPECT: Studies Weekly newspapers for Nebraska history Learning the states and capitals Archdiocesan assessment: A Field Trip to the Museum (2 nd Semester) Mrs. Lowry teaches Social Studies to all three sections of fourth grade.

15. BEHAVIOR POLICY Students receive a new demerit card once a month. If a student chooses to break a rule during the day, he/she will receive one demerit or more depending on the severity of the action. The form that the student will fill out and sign will go home that night and needs to be signed by a parent and returned the next school day. After receiving 3 demerits or missing 3 assignments, earned free dress day will be lost. Five demerits received during a month will result in a meeting with the guidance counselor during the first semester and Dr. Williby the second semester. In our classroom, we use tickets. Tickets are chances. If a student loses all of their tickets for the week, demerits are then issued for the behavior. Tickets can be taken for not having a name on an assignment, forgetting to turn something in, talking during a work time, etc. Tickets are used for minor behaviors.

16. HOMEWORK Assignments average 35-40 minutes to complete each night, not including studying for tests and working on special projects. Nightly review of spelling words, vocabulary lists, and math facts (Fasttmath) is strongly encouraged. Please see the Fourth Grade Handbook for details on our homework policies.

17. PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN HOMEWORK Homework is assigned daily in 4 th grade, but may not necessarily come home as homework. Work times are given after each assignment is given in class, so if it is completed at school it will not be homework. Assistance with homework may be needed with difficult concepts at times. We do ask that you do not help them to where they cannot pass tests on their own. Fourth grade is gearing the students up for more independence. Please help us help your children !

18. SYCAMORE This year we will be using Sycamore as a way for you to access your child’s grades online. Grades will be updated on Sycamore at least once every 2 weeks. Please contact Tom Marble if you have any problems accessing this information.

19. GRADING/ASSESSMENT Grading Scale is in the school handbook and on my website. Students will be assessed in various formats throughout the year including projects, written tests, and informal observations.

20. EXTRA CREDIT/RETAKES At various times throughout the year your child will be offered chances to earn extra credit. Extra credit is not available by request. Daily grades below 70% may require a student to make corrections at school or home (at the teacher’s discretion). Test grades below 70% may require a student to make corrections or retake the test (at the teacher’s discretion).

21. SPECIAL PROJECTS Book projects – throughout the year Archdiocesan assessment - Social Studies (2 nd Semester) Rosary project - October Saint project - November Pre-School buddies – September, November, April, May

22. FIELD TRIPS/GUEST SPEAKERS Mormon Trail Center in December Lincoln Field Trip in April 4H presentations throughout the year The Rose performs Nebraskaland for us here Tandy Leather Soybeans in Nebraska

23. PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE EACH WEEKEND FOR THE WEELY NEWS! HTTP://MRSLOWRY.YOLASITE.COM CONTACT: A.LOWRY@STEPHEN.ORG A.CHRISTENSEN@STEPHEN.ORG T.FIGURA@STEPHEN.ORG YOUR SUPPORT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! HTTP://MRSLOWRY.YOLASITE.COM A.LOWRY@STEPHEN.ORG A.CHRISTENSEN@STEPHEN.ORG T.FIGURA@STEPHEN.ORG