Welcome to Room 226Home of the Wolfhounds!

Dear Parents,Fourth grade is an exciting year of learning and growing for the

kids, you and me. Keeping open lines of communication can help your child have the best year ever. If you need to contact me directly, email is probably the best way (keefer_tony@dublinschools.net). Please email in the next few days with the message reading “For Address Book” so I can easily compile a list of your email addresses. If you have done this already, thank you very much.

The main form of communication from me to you will be our class website, www.thewolfhounds.weebly.com . Please consider checking this website often. Once I get the class email address book complete, I will be sending out email reminders when new information is on the site.

The following is a guide of things we will be working on as well as student expectations in Room 226.

Classroom Environment:We like it tidy in room 226. I will do my best to keep your child

organized, but I hope you can help your child at home as well.We are working hard to create an atmosphere where we are

polite, respectful and help each other.We are also working very hard to create a culture of

collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. My goal is not only to help your child meet and exceed the state standards, but to have him or her discover things about their own learning that will help them get excited and want to learn even more.

And lastly, I want your child to come to know they are getting my best every day. I want each Wolfhound to expect me to nurture and challenge him or her at the same time.

Language ArtsIn both reading and writing, we will use a “workshop” approach.

This format allows me to flexibly teach the whole class, small groups or individuals. This flexibility allows me to meet each student’s needs in order to maximize success. Much of their work will be driven by student choice, but there will be a variety of genres we will study in depth. These include poetry, nonfiction, mysteries, and short stories.

You may find your child reading books that you think aren’t challenging enough. I will be monitoring their progress as a reader and will be “pushing” them to try harder books if they are ready for it. However, just like adults, kids need a little “light reading” every once in a while too. This will especially be the case when they are studying a book for how it was written and reading for the story or topic.

Many of our writing projects will not look like typical writing projects because of the use of technology. For example, one of the bigger “writing projects” we will do this year is a digital picture book that includes, voice, writing and digital art or photography.

In word study we will be focusing on vocabulary development, flexibility and transfer in word knowledge, more complex spelling patterns and high frequency words. We will have tests about every two weeks once we get started on our word study program as a grade level. The fourth grade team at SCE has a website for an at home resource tool. It is located at http://sce4wordstudy.yolasite.com/. This link can also be found on our class blog as well.

MathOur district uses the program called enVisions. It is aligned to our

state standards in many ways. However, many of the resources provided in this program are not as challenging as they need to be, especially in the area of problem solving. Because of this, we will be using the enVisions materials as a one, but not the only, resource for math instruction.

Like in Language Arts, math will be a flexible workshop time. Students who have shown early mastery in a topic will be guided toward more in-depth projects. Students who need a little more support within topics will get more time in small group instruction.

ScienceA major emphasis in fourth grade science is becoming a

scientist. The Scientific Method will be explored all year while we are studying a variety of topics. Studies include the properties of matter, physical vs. chemical changes, processes that change the surface of the earth, plant life cycles and weather.

Most of the work in science will be done in the classroom. Your child might have to study for a test or a quiz, or occasionally read an article for homework.

Social StudiesWe are all about Ohio in fourth grade. All of our major studies;

government, economics, geography, history and cultural studies, will be done by focusing on the State of Ohio.

Grading/HomeworkWelcome to letter grades! If you have older children, you are

aware that 4th grade is the first grade in our district that uses letter grades. If your Wolfhound is your first Dublin 4th grader, then he or she might be a little more stressed about the marks on their paper this year. Hopefully, I can help them to understand that earning good

grades is definitely important, but a bad grade does not define them as a person.

I will assess your child in a variety of ways. Summative Assessment (tests and all major projects) will receive a letter grade. This type of work will be the bulk of your child’s term grades. Formative Assessments (small quizzes or check-ins) will receive an AC (achieving the standard), PR (progressing toward achievement) or LP (limited progress toward achievement) on the top, but will not have letter grades written on them. Formative Assessments are important, but do not have a major impact on your child’s grade. They are primarily a way for me to make sure that your child is grasping what we are doing. Both Summative and Formative Assessments will be recorded in Progress Book. The last way I will assess your child is with +, √+, √ or -. These marks will typically be seen on classwork or homework. Classwork activities that receive the +, √+, √, or – will not be recorded into Progress Book.

Most homework will be recorded in Progress Book, so that you are aware that your child has either completed or not completed assignments. Homework has no direct impact on your child’s term grades. However, completing homework does allow for more practice and it helps to build routines for later in their scholastic career. Please feel free to help your child with homework and try to help provide a good environment for him or her to complete their assignments. Our homework schedule will typically look like this:

A) At-home reading 2 hours per week. We have no home reading logs in 4th grade, but we do have an in-class log that allows us to track home reading. This assignment will not be logged in Progress Book. However, if your child appears to not be following through on the home reading expectation, he or she may be temporarily put on a reading contract that will need your nightly signature.

B) Weekly Math “problem sets.” This is a packet of 10 problems that are designed like Ohio Achievement Assessment questions. These are given the first day of the week and collected the following first day of the week. For the first four to five weeks, these problem sets are all based on third grade standards, so they should be good review from last year. Later on we start to have slightly more complicated problems. Your child has all week to do these, but I would not wait until Sunday night to try to get these done. These problem sets will be recorded in Progress Book.

C) We will have a one page or internet-based homework assignment for Math every Tuesday and Thursday. These assignments typically review work we have already done in class. These assignments will be recorded in Progress Book.

D) In word study, we have no official homework, but I will be encouraging your child to practice at home using the activities listed on the word study website.

E) Occasionally, your child will also get review sheets to help study for upcoming tests. These review sheets will not be recorded in Progress Book.

As a final note, your child will be bringing home an official Progress Report at the end of each twelve-week trimester. However, I would try to check their Progress Book account for updates once every two weeks. There may not be new information everyday, but if you wait until the very end of the term for the written report there may be surprises, both positive and negative. And if you are like me, surprises are not necessarily fun.

PlannersYou can expect your child to write something in their planner

every single day. So if you really want to know what is coming up, please remember to ask to see the planner. We have a system in the classroom, where students check each other’s planners. There might be a day in which we only write one thing down, but there will always be something in it for you to check. Checking regularly should help to avoid the “I have a test today and I forgot to review” moment at the breakfast table.

BirthdaysBirthdays are fun and at fourth grade most kids still love the

birthday treat. If you are planning on doing this for your child, please make the treat transportable because we will be taking them to lunch. Please, please, please try not to bring cake or the “cupcake” cakes. It is really difficult to pass these types of birthday treats out to the class. Great birthday treats from the past include cookies, brownies, donut holes and “mini” candy bars.

Camp WillsonIt has been a long-standing tradition that the fourth grade team

at SCE attends two day, one night outdoor education experience at Camp Willson in Bellefontaine, OH. (http://ymcacolumbus.org/willson/) It is a great experience on many levels. The kids get to do a variety of activities, spend the night in relatively comfortable cabins, and get to learn a little more about their 4th grade classmates. This year the trip is on October 4 and 5. We will be having a parent information session on September 21. There is a fee for camp. It will be between $60 and $65. And, not surprisingly, there are many forms to fill out, including some that need to be notarized. These forms will be coming home soon.

For nearly all 4th graders camp ends up being one of the best things about being a 4th grader at SCE. I have been there 5 times and loved every trip, even the rainy ones.

Again, please contact me with any concerns or questions. Thank you for all of your support for your child.

Thanks,

-Mr. K.