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4TH GRADEMRS. LOWRY – 4A – ROOM 201MRS. CHRISTENSEN– 4B –ROOM 203MRS. FIGURA – 4C – ROOM 202

CONTENT TO BE COVERED:•Being good Christians•Beatitudes•Ten Commandments•Rosary•Saints•Sacraments•Vocations•Liturgical Year•Stewardship

RELIGIONTEXT USED: CALL TO FAITH (2012)

RELIGIONWHAT 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 4th graders

MATHTEXT 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

MATHWHAT 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.

LANGUAGE ARTSTEXTS USED: MCGRAW-HILL TREASURES ( 2008)

SADLIER VOCABULARY (2005) SADLIER GRAMMAR WORKSHOP (2007)

ReadingComprehensionCause/EffectSetting/CharactersInferencesDrawing ConclusionsSynonyms/AntonymsFact/OpinionIndependent Reading (read 20 minutes at home each night)

Weekly homework

LANGUAGE ARTSEnglish/GrammarSentence structureNounsVerbsPronounsAdverbsAdjectivesCombining sentences6 Traits of WritingGrammar Workshop on-line practice

LANGUAGE ARTSVocabulary•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

LANGUAGE ARTSSpellingContinuing 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.comTest at the end of the first week

SCIENCETEXT USED: INTERACTIVE SCIENCE – PEARSON (2012)

CONTENT TO BE COVERED:• Earth’s land and matter• Nutrition• Living things• Electricity• Weather

SCIENCEWHAT 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.

SOCIAL STUDIESTEXT USED: HARCOURT HORIZONS (2010)NEBRASKA STUDIES WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS

CONTENT TO BE COVERED:• States• Regions of the U.S.• Nebraska history• States and capitals

SOCIAL STUDIES

WHAT TO EXPECT:• Studies Weekly newspapers for

Nebraska history• Learning the states and capitals• Archdiocesan assessment: A Field

Trip to the Museum (2nd Semester)• Mrs. Lowry teaches Social Studies

to all three sections of fourth grade.

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.

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.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN HOMEWORK

Homework is assigned daily in 4th 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!

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.

GRADING/ASSESSMENTGrading 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.

EXTRA CREDIT/RETAKESAt 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).

SPECIAL PROJECTS• Book projects – throughout the

year• Archdiocesan assessment - Social

Studies (2nd Semester)• Rosary project - October• Saint project - November• Pre-School buddies – September,

November, April, May

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

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!