Welcome to Back to

School Night

Fourth Grade
Mrs. Faherty
Room 26
Contact Information:
jfaherty@etusd.org
faherty.julie@tusd.org
310.533-4559, ext. 2226 (voicemail)

Classroom Rules (based on Whole Brain Teaching)

Rule 1: Follow directions quickly.
Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak.
Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
Rules 4: Make smart choices.
Rule 5: Keep your dear teacher happy.

To achieve rules 4 and 5:

REACH
Respect
Effort
Attitude
Cooperation
Honesty

Curriculum

Common Core State Standards Based

the Common Core State Standards establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every

student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from
kindergarten through 12th grade. (The Common Core Standards Initiative, 2014)

The CCSS contain rigorous

(challenging) content and
encourage higher-order
thinking skills.

The CCSS are:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Research- and evidence-based

Clear, understandable, and consistent
Aligned with college and career expectations
Based on rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order
thinking skills
5. Built upon the strengths and lessons of current state standards
6. Informed by other top performing countries in order to prepare all students
for success in our global economy and society

Curriculum (continued)
Writing A major focus of the fourth grade curriculum is writing. Three of the
writing genres we will be working on are Narrative, Opinion, and
Informative/Evaluative. Students will begin by working on writing strong sentences;
they will then move on to writing solid paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting
details, and a conclusion; and eventually will move on to writing multi-paragraph
texts.
Reading Students will be expected to use skills and strategies to read on-grade
level texts with purpose and understanding. Small group and individual reading
instruction will take place during guided reading groups. Students will also work
with TUSD core literature including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and By the

Great Horn Spoon. We will be using the Daily 5 and CAF programs during
our guided reading time.
Mathematics Some highlights of what we will be learning in math this year include
multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers; solving word problems with whole
numbers which may include remainders; working with and comparing fractions;
comparing decimals and fractions; and measure angles. Please have scratch paper
available for your child to work math problems out on. Fourth graders will be
expected to show their work so that we may analyze errors and gauge
comprehension.
If your child has not mastered basic math facts (single digit addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division), fourth grade math curriculum will be a
struggle! Please help your child and practice basic math facts as much as possible
to ensure mastery and foster his or her success.

Curriculum (continued)
**Please note: We will be switching classes for Social Studies and Science**
Social Studies (taught by Mrs. Faherty) The following topics will be covered:
Californias Geography; Californias Indians; and Exploration and Early Settlement
of California. Students will have extra credit opportunities such as giving a brief
oral report about a mission visit or turning in a mission model (more information
will be sent home in December). We will be completing mission reports in class.
We will also study Mexican Rule in California; Americans Moving West; and
Statehood for California.
Science (taught by Mrs. King) Students will be exposed to life, physical and earth
sciences through reading, discussion and experiments. Students will be exposed to
the scientific process.
P.E. We are so fortunate this year to have P.E. instruction time taught by
dedicated P.E. teachers. During the students P.E. time on Thursdays, our fourth
grade teaching team will be working collaboratively on Common Core. The
students will also be going to P.E. with their regular teachers. They will be working
on cooperative games and participating in Mileage Club.

General Class Information, Room 26

Behavior incentive program, also known as Our Classroom Economy
Our classroom incentive program reinforces positive behavior by awarding
fun bucks to students for good citizenship and work habits. Students choose
jobs at the beginning of the trimester and are paid for their jobs at the end
of the trimester. They also have opportunities to voluntarily earn extra fun bucks
for doing extras for the teacher . As an extra incentive, students may also
earn fun bucks as a group for accumulating the most table points, or as a whole
class as a reward for on task behavior.
All students begin the year with a balance of $50 (fun bucks). Students
are responsible for keeping track of their own fun bucks in their individual
classroom wallets. Students will be able to redeem their fun bucks for small,
donated prizes three times per year during our class auction. Students may be
fined (have fun bucks taken away) for not following class rules or for excessive
trips to the restroom during instruction time.
Homework
Students will have homework daily, usually in Language Arts and Math. The
language arts packet alternates between spelling and vocabulary each week and is
sent home on Monday. It should be returned at the end of the week. Individual
math pages are sent home daily and are designed to reinforce lessons taught in
class. These pages should be returned the next day. Science and Social Studies
homework will be sent home as needed. Classwork that is not completed during
the school day may also be sent home for homework. Please check your childs
planner daily, and look over the homework with him or her. Help your child, but
please do not do his or her work. Remember, the most important part of learning
is often the process rather than the product. Please let me know if your child
appears to be having excessive difficulty completing assignments.

Organization
Fourth grade is a big adjustment for many kids. The curriculum is
demanding and the students are expected to be responsible and organized. It
may be stressful at first for your child to adjust to the increased level of
responsibility. Please reassure your child and help him or her become more
responsible by letting him or her be more independent. While he (or she) may
still need your help, he also needs to know that he is competent and capable!
You can help by providing a designated spot in your house for your childs
planner and homework, and by initialing your childs planner each day. Please do
not initial your childs planner if homework is not written in and completed. We
will be checking planners daily.
If your child forgets to bring something to school (lunch, binder, etc.), please
drop it off in the office. The school secretary will call and I will send messengers
to the office to pick up the item. Please do not drop in unexpectedly during the
day. We are working hard tackling challenging curriculum, and unexpected dropins make it difficult for the students (and the teacher!) to maintain focus. Thank
you for your understanding.
Odds and Ends
Birthdays We will sing, celebrate, and give your child a special sticker.
Please be mindful of our District Wellness Policy when considering treats (please
see page 31 of the Anza Parent-Student Handbook). Please do not send in food.
If you want to send in a treat, non-food items such as pencils or stickers, or
perhaps a gift book for the class, are preferred.
Volunteers We are still in need of a room parent and library volunteers.
Also, the Anza Valet Service is desperately in need of volunteers. In class
volunteers will be needed primarily for reading, more information will be coming

home after groups and levels have been established. Please contact me
individually if you are interested in volunteering.
Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions or if Ive
forgotten any vital information in this packet.

Thank you for your participation in this

important night! Im looking forward to a
great year with your children!

Mrs. Julie Faherty

faherty.julie@etusd.org
310-533-4559, ext. 2226
http://mrsfaherty.weebly.com/