slawless

General, cat out of the bag information.

Mrs. Lawless

A.R.M.Y.

– Always Recognizing My Ability!

Welcome to my page, this year we are going to have an army theme for learning, army stands for Always Recognizing My abilitY.

The last semester will involve: times tables, fractions and decimals, 6 trait writing, spelling, reading comprehension, sentence fluency, and State testing for AYP.

Lets do things the A.R.M.Y. way:

1. Listen attentively,

2. Complete assignments,

3. Read at home,

4. Have a positive attitude,

5. Follow the rules.

If children are like soldiers, adults must be like generals.

All lessons in every subject are from the state standards. To find them, go to linktostate, then to “popular pages,” then to standards. From there you can choose the subject and grade.

Math

This link is from the website sponsored by our textbook company. I pull resource information from the site often, especially for problem solving. The page you will be connected to the family site with activities you can do with your child to help them learn at home, in a fun way. http://www.scottforesman.com/families/routines/g4/1/index.html

I believe the reason common sense is not so common anymore is that it has changed. What was common in the hands-on society we grew up in is different from what is common in the computer centered society our children are growing up in. There are still common experiences we can share that reinforce what your child is learning in school. Things like, letting them help balance your checkbook, pay bills, building something for the house or yard, calculating gas mileage, reading a map to plan a trip, or buying a few things in the store and handling the money for those transactions. The more kids can help us, the more confidence it gives them.

State testing for math in fourth and fifth grade is in March and April every year.

Reading

The following site is for the National Reading Panel (NRP). There is a lot of useful information on this site as well: http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/default.htm

Reading is tested every year after second grade by the state during March and April.

Students should read about 20 pages per night, minimum. Reading every night just before bed time will help your child set a good pattern and get them ready to fall asleep quicker. When asking your child about their book, ask about setting, characters, problem and solution. Ask them if there are any hard words they don’t understand. Be sure to check the library for new books and Mrs. Price gets several each year.

Spelling

The state site doesn’t have spelling standards. However, spelling and vocabulary are a big part of every subject. We use Instructional Level Spelling. Spelling is adapted to each individual student’s level. Students with spelling goals are expected to use the words in their writing and recognize them in their reading. When you see your child’s spelling list you can help them by reviewing the list and discussing the spelling rules at the top, where they have seen the words before and when they might use them. The words should be written in their agenda each week. When you ask for any papers they brought home, check their spelling in daily, written work.

Writing

Our curriculum uses Six Trait Writing. It teaches all of the Standards, Benchmarks and Indicators expected by the state.

The site for Six Trait Writing is: http: //www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/ljancola/6Trait/6-trait.html

Writing is tested in Fifth grade. Students are expected to know how to write a narrative, expository, technical and persuasive paper. Good organization, clear thoughts, spelling and grammar are what will impact their scores the most. This is what we will be focusing on a lot this year.

We will be writing our candidates this year since the elections are coming up. It gives the kids writing practice and helps them relate to the world around them.

Science

Reading, writing and math play a large role in science. Fourth grade has an in-depth science book that requires students to read, take notes and answer essay questions. These are important skills, however, in every subject that will carry on as long as they are in school.

Cooking, baking and even painting projects can lead into science discussions. Kids love to conduct little science projects at home and share them at school. Please ask for resources if you would like to do this.

Social Studies

Fourth grade, in addition to memorizing multiplication and division facts are also required to memorize all of the state capitols. They will do this in regions. It takes a lot of practice, and could be useful if your child grows up to be a cartographer, or a meteorologist. There are several ways to practice and may only take a few minutes a day. One way to help your child have fun and study is to play a or game, or puzzle online. One website is www.scottforesman.com . I found this website to be helpful for many things. If you click on “students”, then look to the left side of the screen, you’ll see games and quizzes. DiscoverySchool.com offers online kids' games and free kids' games to improve kids' thinking skills. It will be a fun way for them to practice skills. Another site is: GeoNet Game and National Geographic GeoSpy Geography Game (For Kids).

Additionally, we have a social studies book. This takes the kids from learning to read into reading to learn. They have to take notes and make inferences. We will be doing several activities that tie into the upcoming elections. I will try to get the kids to chose a favorite candidate. I will not, however try to influence them.

My E-Mail

My e-mail here at the school is slawless@pld.com I check my mail several times per day when we are in school. I can’t guarantee anything during breaks.

General Information

If you have concerns with behavior in your kids, there are some resources I’d like to pass along that may help. This is a tough time to be a kid, and even tougher to be a parent. Some places I go for information are: www.disciplinehelp.com, www.loveandlogic.com, and www.parenttalk.org. They are good places to get information on how to deal with the issues that come up while we are raising kids. I hope these will help you.

I have given you a lot of information to try to help your child gain information at home, but one of the biggest ways to teach them is to give them experiences in daily life. Some great ways to practice math, reading, spelling and problem solving at home are to fill out the questionnaire at the doctor’s office, build a dog or bird house, order from a menu, find out how far it is to different places you travel to in and out of town, etc. As adults we do a million little things every day that our children can help or get involved with and learn from in the process. Another way to practice skills is to play board and card games with your child. They often find they like interactive games better than a video game the play by themselves.

My website deals a lot with the state standards and state tested items. We, educators, have had to rearrange our curriculum to accommodate No Child Left Behind. I have always felt we did a good job educating our students with knowledge they will use. The state now has new standards for education with and monitors progress through state tests. We are still teaching the same things we always have, but we are making sure to cover the state tested items even more thoroughly, as it affects the amount of support we receive from the government. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me, or call me here at the school.

For booklets offered to parents from the Kansas State Department of Education, click on this link: Kansas State Department of Education .

Class News

We had elections in the class when everyone voted on April 3^rd. Here are our results:

Jay Powers, Rob McCallister, and Tim Miller retained their school board positions. Melissa Flores won the write in for position 7 on the school board. Runners up for school board were Alethea Aguilar, Homero Lazano and Arnaldo Rincon.

Terry Wolf, Della Brandenburger and Steven Sterling were retained on the college board of trustees.

James Jarnagin, Melissa Flores and Mrs. Gaede all tied for Mayor of Holcomb.

Lary Cole got 100% of the vote for city council.

Lastly, the .25% sales tax passed by unanimous vote.

Nothing was added to the ballot.

The students have been working on using complete sentences. One way we can help them practice is giving them a sentence starter and letting them finish it. They are quite creative. Here are some of the sentences they finished.

· “The buck stops...” where the deer waddles.

· “Life is what happens...” when you are not dead.

· “Life is what happens...” in World War II.

· “Float like a butterfly...” and walk like a dog.

· “Imitation is the most...” annoying.

· “Under every stone lurks...” a rolley poley.

· “We are what we...” are.

· “We are what we...” know.

· “Always be ready to speak...” after you raise your hand.

· “Better late than...” on time.

· “Better late than...” early.

· “One good turn...” and everything falls.