Welcome to fourth grade. We will have an exciting school year! Students are always eager to learn their new classroom routines and expectations for behavior. I am delighted to be your child’s teacher! This year will mark my ninth year instructing elementary school. I recently completed my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education and have many new strategies to use in your child’s learning program this year. I love to read and learn and hope to instill these qualities in your child. This fall we will also be learning from our student teacher Mrs. Pruis. We will greatly benefit by having two teachers!
Behavior: Our classroom environment will be a positive, safe place for learning to take place. I am firm, fair, and fun in my style of teaching and classroom management. Our classroom rules will be created together, signed by students and posted in the classroom to help your child make the best choices possible. I use a positive card system for behaviors in the classroom. Students have five good choice cards we turn daily if no classroom rules are broken. After five days of good choices a prize card allows students to choose a prize from our prize box. If a student makes a wrong choice or breaks a rule they pull a wrong choice card. It will be one more day before a prize would be earned. Our colors and consequences are: brown is a warning and 5 minutes of recess is lost, yellow is miss a full recess and fill out a yellow making better choices form—this will be attached to a note home to sign and return to school. If a note is not signed, I will call the next school day. The last color is red, a student is sent to the principal’s office and a red making choices form is completed and sent home as well as a phone call from me. This system is both positive/negative and allows me to create the best atmosphere for everyone to learn.
Homework: I do not give students busy work to complete during the evening hours. Any homework sent home is a direct extension of what was learned on any given day. Your child should be able to complete a novel or chapter book a month and does a book report for a grade. The book report will allow me to check your child’s comprehension of a book choice. With students reading at least 20 minutes each evening as well as silent reading time in class, this should not be a problem. Of course I will send home reminders when reading logs and book reports are due. If extra forms are needed just let me know! There will be an incentive chart tracking how many book logs your child has turned in.
Homework corrections: Students are encouraged to redo any D’s or F’s. An average of the first score and second score will be the final grade of that lesson. Students may only redo a poor paper once. Correcting an assignment allows your student to learn from their mistakes. Please check home folders for papers that say fix at the top.
Home folders: These are sent home each evening. Students will put important information from the school, incomplete homework, and graded homework in their folders. Please help them sort through papers to keep at home and the homework needing to be returned.
Planners: Our student planner is a great way for us to teach the children how to be responsible and organized. Please sign this nightly so I know you are seeing the work that is completed or incomplete. If a homework assignment is completed in class I will sign my initials to let you know it is complete. Students get a stamp or sticker the next day of school when I check planners for parent signatures. You are also welcome to write notes to me to keep communication open. If a student does not bring their planner they get one chance, but the next day if it is still not returned, a card will be pulled for not being responsible.
Web page: Our classroom webpage is a wonderful way to get news from home. Go to www.plt3.org and click on Tampico Elementary at the top. From there select classroom web pages and click on Ms. Doubler’s 4th grade. You can get daily homework, spelling lists, student website links, projects, our daily schedule, book lists, and much more. I will be updating this page daily, and weekly so check back often!
Birthday Treats: Students may bring birthday treats that must be store bought. I would really appreciate a note in your child’s planner a day or two in advance. Treats may be brought to the office or classroom and we will enjoy the snacks when we have some fee time at the end of the day. If your child has a summer birthday we can figure out a time before the end of the year to celebrate their special day.
Reminders: