 |
2009-2010 FOURTH GRADE WEB PAGE
SOUTH HIRAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Mrs. Wykes
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome to my web page for the 2009-2010 school year. This page is a work in progress, so I invite you to visit it from time-to-time to view updates that will be taking place on an ongoing basis. I'll be experimenting with including different types of information and resources in the coming weeks, so I invite you to check this web page often for updates. Updates requiring your immediate attention will be found in red immediately following this message. Parents and students are
encouraged to check this web site daily for updates.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to provide feedback.
Thank you,
Mrs. Wykes
 ***AFTERNOON STUDY HALL AVAILABILITY***I will be running an afternoon study hall for students most Monday - Thursday afternoons from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. Unfortunately, there is no transportation provided by the school. Students wishing to stay for the study hall must be picked up promptly at 3:15. Please send your child to school with a note giving him and her permission to stay on the morning of the day they intend to stay. Please include a telephone contact in case an emergency comes up and I must cancel at the last minute. Students without a note will not be permitted to stay. Students are reminded that this is a quiet and focused time for work. Students should only stay if they are serious about using this time to work. Please see below for my availability. It will be
updated daily, so please be sure to check it often.
AFTERNOON STUDY HALL AVAILABILITY
Monday, March 22
Tuesday, March 23
Wednesday, March 24
***IMPORTANT NOTICES***
The next book project is due April 14, 2010. All students should pick their fourth book project book as soon as possible. Please see "Reading Quilts" below for more information. Students may complete their projects before the due date. Finished book projects should be brought into school as soon as they are finished. Mrs. Wykes will arrange a presentation time as soon as the project arrives at school.
 SPELLING PRACTICEThere is an exciting new website available for students to practice their spelling words online. Locate South Hiram Elementary on the district web page or click on the spelling bee above. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Spelling City. Locate your spelling group for the week and click on it. You'll then be able to play a variety of spelling games and take practice spelling tests.
Here are the sorts needed for each of the spelling groups for this week:
Group A WW Sort 8
Group B WW Sort 30
Group C SA Sort 20
Group D WW Sort 38
Group E D Sort 21
 Reading QuiltsAll students have started reading the first book for their reading quilt. The quilt is made up of a collection of six different book genres. Students are asked to read two different book genres each trimester. The students will complete a book project upon once their book is finished. The project will be presented to their classmates. All students have a reading quilt, book project directions, and planning sheet in their reading/writing notebook. The reading quilt and book project directions are posted on this web page as well. All students must have their project approved by a parent and Mrs. Wykes before beginning it. Students are reminded that they should be reading their quilt book at home and at school. The book should return to school every day, because students
will be given daily class time for quilt reading. Parents and students are reminded that any time spent reading in the quilt book at home may be counted for R.A.H. (Reading at Home) reading. http://www.google.com (Image)
 FOURTH GRADE NEWSLETTERSNewsletters will normally be sent home every Monday afternoon. Most Mondays the newsletters will also be posted on my web page. They will be shown in the column to the left and be labeled "Newsletter" with the date. http://www.google.com (Image)
 HOMEWORK LOGSHomework Logs are sent home with our students every Monday afternoon. They will come home on Tuesday afternoon if there is no school on Monday. The logs will show the homework for each night by subject. If there is nothing listed, there is no homework for that subject. Most nights the children will be asked to read at home for 20 minutes. This reading should be logged on the R.A.H. (Reading at Home) log located on the back of the homework log. We ask that parents sign the homework log indicating that all work has been completed. The log should not be signed if the student has not completed the work shown. Weekly homework logs can be accessed and printed from this web page by clicking on the log listed to the left of this message. http://www.google.com (Image)
FLUENCY READING
Fluency reading will be sent home most Monday afternoons in each fourth grader's homework folder. As is the case with the homework logs, fluency reading will come home on Tuesday if there is not school on Monday. The fluency reading that is sent home will come in the form of two separate pieces. One pieces is for the student to read from, and one is for the listener to follow along with as he or she listens to the fourth grader read. There is also a "Listener Log" to be filled out at the completion of the reading. Each reading should be for one timed minute. The reader should begin AT THE BEGINNING of the story each time he or she reads. This will provide an opportunity for the reader to become more expressive as the reading becomes more familiar. This should also
provide growth in the reading rate and a reduction in the number of reading errors. Fluency questions should only be answered by the student after the piece has been read at least two times. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the weekly fluency reading. http://www.google.com (Image)
"WE MISSED YOU" SHEETS
"We Missed You" sheets will be provided to the student for each day he or she is absent or has been dismissed early. These yellow sheets will show the work that was missed in each subject. Worksheets or other paperwork needed to complete the assignments will be placed behind the "We Missed You" paper. This work will have a due date written at the top of it. The due date will be one week from the day the work was missed. Please contact Ms. Barnes or Mrs. Wykes if you anticipate a problem with your child completing the work by the due date. Please note that most of the work on the "We Missed You" sheet is meant to be completed at home. In some cases, the child will need to remain in at recess or stay after school to complete assignments that can only be
completed in the classroom. Work that must be completed at school will be indicated in red. http://www.google.com (Image)
Word of the Day
Students are enjoying the daily Word of the Day activity. Each day I have a new word posted on the board in both homerooms. The children go over the word together and talk about the part of speech, meaning, and other forms of the word. They also see the word used correctly in a sentence. Students are encouraged to use the word in a sentence of their own throughout the day. If that happens, they receive a sticker as a small reward. It's wonderful to see the children so excited about using new words in their vocabulary. Dictionary.com is an excellent online resource for students wishing to increase their vocabulary.
ELA Beyond the Classroom
Would you like to have extra reading and writing practice at home? There are several websites that offer interactive activities to increase the reading and writing abilities of students. Grammar Gorillas is one website that the kids have used to practice their reading and writing skills once they have completed all their work and have free time.
| |
