2 box standard facial tissue

1 clipboard (low profile)

4 composition notebooks

5 glue sticks

1 set of colored pencils

1 pair of scissors (sharp point)

2 pkg. #2 lead pencils

1 highlighter

2 two-pocket folders

2 pkgs. Post-it Notes (2 x 2)

1 plastic pencil box

2 erasers

1 three ring binder (1”)

1 pkgs. pencil cap erasers

1 pkg. wide ruled paper

1 canister of Clorox Wipes

Supply List

Skyler Manning skylermanning@usd475.org

We Believe All Can Achieve

Daniel Dinkel

danieldinkel@usd475.org

Thank you for sharing your child with us and putting your trust in Sheridan Ele-mentary. We will do what-ever we can to help your child be successful. We are looking forward to a great year.

Welcome to fourth grade at Sheridan! We are go-ing to have a great year. This packet of infor-mation has been created to help answer any ques-tions you may have about classroom procedures, rules, curriculum, and ex-tra-curricular activities.

Fourth grade is a very exciting and busy year. There are so many things to learn, and with that comes a great deal of work to be accomplished. The year goes by very quickly, and all students have to work hard to ac-complish all that needs to be done. We encourage parents to be actively involved in their child’s homework and activities at school.

Your child will start the day in his/her homeroom class where they will learn reading, math, and writing. Science and so-

cial studies will be taught on an alternating schedule by both teachers. Mr. Manning will teach social studies, and Mr. Dinkel will teach science.

We are looking forward to developing a positive rela-tionship with you and your child. Together we can ac-complish great things!

Welcome to 4th Grade

FOURTH GRADE

2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5

Sheridan Elementary 429 W Ash | Junction City, Kansas 66441 | (785) 717-4670

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Grading

Grades will be taken regularly on assigned work, quizzes, and tests. The following are the district percentage/grade equivalents:

Academic subjects

90-100% = A

80-89% = B

70-79% = C

60-69% = C

Below 60% = F Writing

4 Point Rubric used for 6-Trait Writing Model

Mathematics In 4th grade, your child will gain important new skills while continuing to build on what he or she learned the previ-ous year. One of the main areas studied in 4th grade is arithmetic and applying it to solve problems. This is an important life skill, and your child should make significant strides in this area during the year. Your child will

also build knowledge and skills with frac-tions to prepare for mastering this topic in 5th and 6th grades. These skills will help ensure your child is ready for algebra and advanced math.

Homework be allowed to complete that homework the fol-lowing night or during Earn Time. Students will inform you of daily assignments through the student agenda. Please sign this agen-da each night to en-sure that your child is getting his/her home-work completed.

Students will have math homework each day. These assign-ments are designed to be completed at home, and sometimes with the help of an adult. Stu-dents will also be re-quired to read a mini-mum of 20 minutes dai-ly at home. There may also be work from oth-er subjects and any work not completed during the day. If your child is unable to com-plete the homework because of a family ac-tivity, please send a note and your child will

F o u r t h G r a d e

Accelerated Reader The AR program will be used to enhance our stu-dents’ reading abilities. Each nine weeks we will have half-way parties in the classroom and a school-wide party at the end of the nine weeks.

Classroom Procedures

Snack - Due to a lunch that is scheduled later in the day, students will be given a break each day to eat a NUTRITIOUS snack that has been brought from home. Some suggestions are: fruits, vegetables, crackers, etc. No candy, pop, chips or Ramen noodles.

Personal Items-Cell phones, toys, balls, and sports equipment are not allowed at school unless written permission is given by the teacher ahead of time. If these items ar-rive at school, we will keep them until the school day is over. Trading cards and electronic games are not to be brought to school for any rea-son. Always receive permission ahead of time for ANY questionable items you wish to bring to school.

Earn Time is a daily earned re-cess. In order to earn this recess, students are expected to complete work that meets the expectations established by students on the 4th grade No Excuse List. Student not participating in Earn time will work to correct assignments to the crite-ria set. This is also an opportunity for teachers to assist students with individual academic needs.

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Behavior

Sheridan Elementary 429 W Ash | Junction City, Kansas 66441 | (785) 717-4670

Teachers and other adults in the building will enforce the school-wide rules. These basic rules are outlined in the Sheridan Infor-mation Packet, and we place great emphasis on the Lifeskills and Lifelong Guidelines.

During the first weeks of school, the students will help develop, learn, and practice classroom rules and procedures.

Parents will be informed daily of any behavior problems through the student agenda, which needs to be signed by a parent each night.

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Communication

We will communicate weekly with our Fourth Grade Happenings

newsletter. This newsletter will

include our weekly spelling list and

upcoming classroom activities.

Classroom Procedures The school day starts at 8:00 a.m. Stu-dents who arrive after that time will need to go to the office for a tardy slip before com-ing to class. School is dismissed at 3:15 p.m.

Classroom parties are given on Halloween, Christmas, and Valen-tine’s Day. Parents will be notified by the room parent about making healthy treats, providing help at the party, and other nec-essary supplies or ac-tivities.

Birthdays are recog-nized, and children may bring treats if desired. In advance, please call or write a note that your child will be bringing in treats. Birthday party invitations should not be passed out at school unless ALL girls/boys are includ-ed. Field trips will be planned as often as possible when they can be incorporated into the classroom learning.

The Junction City YMCA provides a week-long swimming safety program for 4th grade students. The students will be transported on bus to the YMCA for an hour of swimming safety instruction. Information will be sent home closer to the actual date of this activity. **Because the water safety program is scheduled during the school year, we urge you to consider pur-chasing a swimming suit while they are still available in stores.

F o u r t h G r a d e 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4

Word Work

Learning to read and under-stand multisyllabic words is a critical component of the fourth-grade language arts curriculum. Throughout the year, students will partici-pate in activities that pro-mote the learning of mor-phemes, vocabulary, and spelling strategies essential to fourth-grade readers.

P a g e 3 Science/Health

During the year, stu-dents will experience science as full inquiry, which involves asking

questions, completing an investigation, an-swering the question, and sharing the re-sults with others. We will be studying physical science, earth and space sci-ence, science and technology, and sci-ence in personal and

environmental per-spectives.

of books on history, science, art, and mu-sic. Fourth grade stu-dents also will make important strides in their ability to explain plainly and in detail what a book says—both explicitly and what is implied from its details. By 4th grade, your child will be writing effective summaries, book re-

ports, and descrip-tions of characters or events that use cor-rect grammar and punctuation.

Building the stamina and skills to read challenging fiction, nonfiction, and other materials is funda-mental in 4th grade. Your child will contin-ue to learn about the world as well as build vocabulary skills by reading more compli-cated stories and po-ems from different cultures and a range

English Language Arts

Sheridan Elementary 429 W Ash | Junction City, Kansas 66441 | (785) 717-4670

Social Studies The 4th grade social studies curriculum con-centrates on the re-gions of the United States. In each region, we will study the states, capitals, major indus-tries, and land for-mation.

P a g e 4

Our Rules Against Bullying

1. We will not bully others.

2. We will include others who are being left out.

3. We will help others who are being bullied.

4. If we know that someone is being bullied we will tell an adult at school and at home.

Handwriting Students in the 4th grade are expected to complete some of their daily tasks using cursive handwriting. The students will be expected to demon-strate a reasonable amount of effort to-wards neatness and style. The teacher will

take individual style into consideration.

F o u r t h G r a d e 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4

Art Art will be incorporated into the curriculum as much as possible. We will have instruction from the district art teacher throughout the year.

pieces of writing throughout the year, with our em-phasis on growing as a writer rather than focusing on one “perfect” piece of writing.

We will be using the Lucy Calkins Writing Series. This series helps young writers use the Writer’s Workshop to learn the 6-traits of writing (ideas and content, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency, and conven-tions) and the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, ed-iting, and publishing). We will focus on narra-tive, expository, per-suasive, and technical

Writing

Bully Prevention

Sheridan Elementary uses the Olweus [pronounced Ol-VEY-us] Bullying Preven-tion Program. The program is a compre-hensive, school-wide program designed for use in elementary, middle, or junior high schools. Its goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems

among school children and to improve peer relations at school. The program has been found to reduce bul-lying among children, improve the social climate of class-rooms, and reduce related antisocial be-haviors, such as van-dalism and truancy. The Olweus Program

has been implemented in more than one doz-en countries around the world.

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use technology and library resources to create awesome presentations for our whole school and parents to enjoy.

Fourth graders are allowed to check out 2 books and 1 maga-zine at a time. We encourage students to select both liter-ature and informa-

tional texts to round out a diverse read-ing experience.

Fourth grade stu-dents will use the library media center for a variety of fun learning experienc-es. We work as a team with the li-brary staff to re-search and present many exciting pro-jects like the Animal Mini-Museum and the Kansas Charac-ters Museum. We

Library Media Center

you as the time approaches.

Fourth grade students will be taking the State Science, Read-ing, and Math Assess-ments in the Spring. We will also be taking the District CRT Writ-ing Assessment in April. We will notify

Assessments

Sheridan Elementary 429 W Ash | Junction City, Kansas 66441 | (785) 717-4670