Fourth Grade Policies
Classroom Expectations:
Your child deserves the most positive educational climate possible for academic success. Therefore, our classroom rules and discipline policy will be in effect at all times. We are a big believer in teaching responsibility and having students take ownership for their education and their classroom behavior. As educators, we are responsible for teaching the curriculum to the best of our abilities as well as provide a safe learning environment for the students to grow and flourish. As parents, your responsibility will be to support your child's education, check over daily/weekly assignments, and to be aware of your stugent's classroom involvement and behavior. Together, we will make this a wonderful year!
Classroom Rules:
1. Listen carefully
2. Follow all directions promptly
3. Work quietly while not disturbing others
4. Respect others, our school, and the school property
5. Raise your hand before speaking
6. Keep your desk and work area neat and clean
Homework:
Does homework affect student learning?
Myth 1: Homework increases academic achievement.
What researchers say: Cooper (1989a) argues that reviews on the link between homework and achievement often directly contradict one another and are so different in design that the findings of one study cannot be evaluated fairly against the findings of others.
Myth 2: Without excessive homework, students’ test scores will not be internationally competitive.
What researchers say: Information from international assessments shows little relationship between the amount of homework students do and test scores. Students in Japan and Finland, for example, are assigned less homework but still outperform U.S. students on tests (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development 2004). Other studies find a positive relationship in math, but not in reading (Fuchs et al. 2004).
Myth 3: Those who question homework want to weaken curriculum and pander to students' laziness.
What researchers say: Kralovec and Buell (2001) note that homework critics rarely question the work assigned but rather the fact that the work is so often performed at home without adult supervision to aid the learning process.
***Research has proven that 30 minutes of homework a night can raise standardized test scores by up to 40%. Students are aware that it is their responsibility to complete their nightly homework. Failure to complete homework assignments accordingly will result in consequences.***
Please ensure that reading nightly is conducted.
Absenteeism/Tardiness:
Absenteeism and tardiness will be handled accordingly in line with the district guidelines as outlined in the student handbook. Please do not send your child into school if they are sick. For help making this decision, click here!
Birthdays:
The fourth grade enjoys celebrating your child's birthday. However, we ask that you contact your child's homeroom teacher PRIOR to sending in birthday treats. This allows us to give you a time that would work best with our schedule.