Dear Parents/Guardians, Welcome to a new school year!

I am excited to have the opportunity to work with your child this year. If the first few days are any indication of the rest of the year, I fully expect to have a reat school year! !"#. $I%I &I'()* I am the #ocial #tudies teacher in house +,-. .his is my /0 th year of teachin and after teachin 1th, 0th, and 2th rades, I3ve 4een in +th rade social studies since 5"!# opened. %6""I%6'6!* We are continuin to work with the .%I &istory 7live pro ram. I hope your students have found it to 4e valua4le, entertainin , and en a in . We will continue to use the multiple strate ies, and hi hly en a in activities that tie into the multiple intelli ences and talents that our students have. We will 4e studyin early 7merican &istory from a 4rief review of the 7merican "evolution to the %ivil War and the Industrial "evolution. !7.5"I7'#* .he students will need their text4ook, interactive student note4ook, a note4ook 8" 4inder with extra paper, for class most days, as well as a writin utensil. G"7DI$G* I will 4e wei htin rades this year. 7s a house, our radin systems are very similar* homework is worth the smallest percenta e and tests the most. .ests will 4e 09:, pro;ect/<ui==es will 4e 19: and homework will 4e /9: of the students3 final rades. >7%.# 8> .&5 D7)* .here will 4e -,? facts of the day written on the 4oard every day. 7s they come in they are expected to write these into their note4ooks. .hey need to accumulate these throu hout the year. .hey are the facts they will need to study for their tests, and accumulated for the final at the end of the year. I#$, D7I') &8!5W8"@* !ost homework will 4e in the I#$, and will not take much time outside of class. !ost work will 4e started in class and may need 0 or /9 minutes to finish up 4efore class the next day. 7ll work must 4e in complete sentences. .hese are the summaries for the sections and while there are few items, the answers need to 4e %8!P'5.5. .he I#$ may 4e raded in one of ? ways* every item corrected/scored for total pointsA random items scored for /9 to /0 pointsA spot, check for completion/<uality for /9 points. #tudents will not 4e informed ahead of time which method will 4e used, and the same one will not necessarily 4e used with all classes on any iven day. .hey will need to 4e ready for all of them for every assi nment.

P"8B5%.#/C6IDD5#* Pro;ects and <ui==es will 4e used scattered throu hout the units to a varyin de ree. !ore in depth pro;ects will 4e worth more points than others. #tudents can expect some to 4e completed in roups, while others will 4e completed individually. 5ven roup pro;ects will have an individual component 4uilt into the scorin . Cui==es may or may not 4e announced ahead of time, and may or may not 4e included in a student3s rade. !ost <ui==es will come directly from the I#$, and will sometimes 4e open,4ook. .5#.#* .ests will 4e iven after every chapter. .hey will consist of multiple choice items, skills/maps items, and an essay <uestion. .he students are expected to use their >acts of the Day and their I#$ as their primary study tools. .here is also a chapter review in the text4ook. .he online component of the pro ram includes review ames for the students to do from home. .5%&$8'8G)* .he new curriculum encoura es the use of technolo y 4oth in and out of the classroom. .he students will have access to online materials. .he text4ook, as well as review ames are availa4le to the students from the we4site. It will even read it to them and hi hli ht it to show them the important information. .hey will 4e usin all kinds of technolo y tools as they explore the curriculum. Personal devices are welcome, and may 4e used in class occasionally. %8$.7%. !5* If you ever have any <uestions/concerns, please don3t hesitate to contact me. I have found that most issues can 4e easily resolved when the <uestion is asked. 5mail is most convenient and private as I can check it and address it as I have time throu hout the day. Phone calls are a little trickier and re<uire a classroom free of students for privacy. I sincerely thank you for sharin your child this year, !rs. $ici &il4y $&il4yEd4<schools.or 00-,09+/