| Ms. Ballenthin's Class |  | 
Dear Parents,
I am so pleased to be able to work with your child this school year. Encouraging your child to be and do his best will make it be a very successful year.
SUBJECT EXPECTATIONS
During the year there will be two ongoing homework assignments, as well as any work your child doesn’t finish in class. Homework, to me, is any work that hasn’t been completed in class. I make every effort to allow enough time to finish most assignments in class, so that your child can spend most of his time at home reading. If you find your child spending a lot of time on homework, please check with me as to how he is spending his time in class.
MATH HOMEWORK
1.
Your child will be given a math practice sheet to complete each night. The following morning we will correct it in class. These sheets are review. If you know your child continues to have difficulty in that area, please guide him through the page. These pages are reviewed skills from previous years in school.
2.
The Everyday Math series has a parent letter that is to be given to you as we study each chapter in the book. The parent letter describes what your child is learning, and has the answers to a homework packet that is to be done at home with you. The work can be difficult. Please ask your child to bring home his math reference book, so you can refer to the chapter being studied in class for questions you may have. Have your child return the reference book to school each day. Your child is not to complete the packet all at once. He is to do only the page that goes along with the daily assignment. If you are in doubt about what page he should be doing, refer to the number at the bottom of the packet, or refer to your child’s daily planner.
3. If your child does not finish his math journal assignment in class, he is to take it home and finish it.
4.
Every day in class your child is given a 30 second timed facts test. He starts with memorizing all his multiplication facts, and finishes with all his division facts. Please encourage your child to memorize facts each night.
GEOGRAPHY HOMEWORK
Your child will also be expected to be working on a daily geography assignment during the week. The assignment is eight geography questions in a red laminated booklet, and is due every Wed. morning. It is to be done neatly on a sheet of green paper that has been filled out in class on the previous Wed.. In order to do this assignment your help is needed. Please use the atlas and social studies book that can be taken home from school. The atlas can remain at home, but be sure to send the social studies book back to school, so it can be used in class.
READING HOMEWORK
1.
Each morning from 8:30-8:50 your child will be given a story page and a worksheet page that reinforces the Minnesota and National educational standards. Your child is to spend this time on these 2 pages. If he does not finish this in class, he is to finish it at home. We will correct it in class the next day. You may want to go over your child’s work to encourage accuracy.
2.
Your child is to read at least 25 books this school year. He has a laminated yellow book. He is to write specific things in about each book he has read. The first page of the laminated book explains what your child is to write for a fiction and a nonfiction book. After completing the page, he is to turn the aqua book in to me for credit. If you child says he has no written homework, he can always read! If you share reading time with your child that can be a great bonding moment. Your child will be given credit for at least 5 books he has read over the summer. Please help him record the information in the yellow laminated booklet.
3.
During the year the Macmillan McGraw Hill series is used regularly. Each day your child will be given a reading assignment that acompanies the lesson given that day.. If he does not finish the assignment, he should take it home to finish it. After each story, a story test will be given. After each chapter, which is 4 stories, a unit test will be given. Please ask your child what the vocabulary words mean that accompany each story to prepare him for testing.
4.
Between units in the reading book, chapter books will be assigned. Some chapter books have worksheet packets that reinforce reading skills. A certain number of pages in each packet will be assigned each day to strengthen your child’s reading skills. There is not a test given after
reading a chapter book. Please ask your child questions about the book he is reading.
SPELLING HOMEWORK
1.
Spelling is reinforced each day. The spelling words coincide with the story being introduced in the reading series. As a result, your child sees the words in spelling and reading class. A workbook designed to reinforce the spelling words is used, as well as a few weekly spelling games. Each Friday your child is introduced to a new list of words. On Monday he will be pretested on the words. Throughout the week he will work in his spelling book, and will be reintroduced to his spelling words in a variety of ways. The final test is on Friday, unless school isn’t in session, and then the test will be on Thursday. If your child has difficulty remembering his spelling words, please give him a pretest as many evenings as possible.
LANGUAGE ARTS HOMEWORK
1.
Daily language, which is in an orange laminated book, is due daily. Each day your child is allowed 5 minutes to correct (edit) 3 sentences that have a variety of punctuation and grammatical errors. If your child wants to, he may do the entire page at home and turn it in for
credit. Your guidance is greatly appreciated.
2.
Language For Daily Use is a text book that I use to reinforce English language skills. Your child is instructed in 1 lesson each day. He is then assigned a page from the same book that will be recorded in his notebook, and corrected the following day. At the end of each chapter, a test will be given. Please encourage your child to bring his English book and notebook home, so you can review his progress.
3.
Writing happens daily in room 210. Writing is a process. An hour will be devoted to writing and language skills each day. Your child will compose a variety of styles of writings throughout the year. This includes descriptive, narrative, informative, persuasive, friendly letters, thank you notes, and poetry. Your child has a gray composition book in which he will be asked to record a variety of things. Each day in class we talk about various forms of writing, and that evening your
child may have to think about, or bring to memory, events that need to be recorded in his composition book. At times, he may ask for your involvement. This is a great bonding opportunity. Please ask your child to share his writings with you. I will be saving all your child’s
writings this year and binding them together in book form for him to save for the future.
SOCIAL STUDIES HOMEWORK
1.
Your child is reading the Harcourt Brace Social Studies book this year. Regions and states within the United States will be memorized and discussed. There is a workbook that accompanies the daily reading that your child will be working in. Occasionally ask your child to bring his book and workbook home to read with you, and talk about what was discussed in class. Remember, the vocabulary in social studies is very new to most students. After completing each chapter a test will be given.
2.
There will be at least 2 extra projects to be completed with your guidance at home this year. One project is a map reading packet, and the other project is an economics project.These projects will be evaluated for neatness and accuracy.
DAILY PLANNER HOMEWORK
Each day your child fills in subject spaces in a daily planner. He records what he did for the day, puts a check next to what he has finished, and gathers together what he hasnn’t finished to take home for homework. Please look at your child’s planner each day, and initial the bottom of the daily column. Your child will be given so many blue (reward) tickets for the times you initial his planner. This is a good way to talk about your child’s school day. Please look at each subject, and have your child talk about what he learned that day.
CLASS SCHEDULE
8:20-8:50.....D.E.A.R.
8:50-9:00....CORRECT HOMEWORK
9:00-10:OO....READING
10:00-10:40...ENGLISH/SPELLING
10:40-11:30...SCIENCE, MUSIC, PHYSICAL EDUCATION
11:30-12:30...MATH
12:30-1:00....LUNCH/RECESS
1:00-2:00.....HANDWRITING/WRITING
2:00-2:45.....SOCIAL STUDIES/ART
2:45-3:00.....DAILY PLANNER
3:05..........DISMISSAL
FOURTH GRADE IS A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR YOUR CHILD. HE REFINES HIS CURSIVE
LETTERS, IS INTRODUCED TO SMALLER PRINT, IS REQUIRED TO DO AT LEAST 45 MINUTES OF HOMEWORK EACH NIGHT, MEMORIZES THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS, IS EXPECTED TO READ LONGER CHAPTER BOOKS, AND WRITE IN GREATER DETAIL. YOUR PATIENCE AND POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT IS SO HELPFUL.
Here’s to a great year!
Ms. Ballenthin
peggy.ballenthin@spps.org.
651-290-8827 BEST TIME: 10:40-11:30
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| |  | | Class Schedule | 8:20-8:50........D.E.A.R.
8:50-9:40........Writing
9:40-10:30.......Reading
10:40-11:30......Science, P.E., Music
11:30-12:27......Spelling/Eng.
12:27-12:59......Lunch
1:00-2:00........Math
2:00-2:45........Soc.St./Art
2:45-3:00........Daily planner
3:05.............Dismissal |
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