• Our goal for all of our fourth graders is to make them into life-long "wild" readers!  With that goal in mind, we will meet grade-level standards in a way that encourages reading habits that our scholars will use throughout their reading life.
      
    Reading Spiral- Most student work is completed in their Reading Spiral. We use this spiral to track our reading, take notes, and show our understanding of what we are reading.  Students keep these spirals with them at all times, so you are always welcome to peek inside and see what your scholar is working on.  Please note that there are different sections in the spiral and we do not use all of the pages in order, most pages will be used by the end of the year. 
     
    Assessments and Projects- At the end of each "unit" students take an assessment based on the skills we have been working on using.  At times, students also use the work they have collected in their Reading Spirals to complete an in-class project.  We send assessment and project scores home together and ask for a parent signature so that we know you are aware of your scholar's progress. 
     
    WordMasters- Our students participate in WordMasters, a national vocabulary competition.  We will receive 25 words at three different times during the year.  Students spend time learning all of the different meanings of the words and how they relate to each other.  We also spend time learning many analogy relationships.  Students have yellow analogy sheets in their binders that they may use to practice.  Three meets will be held during the year in which students will be tested using the words in difficult analogies.  When you see these tests come home, please know that they are not "normal" tests.  WordMasters congratulates students for even answering 10/20 correctly.  Overall, our fourth graders tend to perform well, receiving 4th, 9th, 6th, and 10th in the nation over the past four years. 
     
     
    Homework- Reading homework is almost always to read daily for a minimum of 20 minutes.  We spent the first full week of school finding times and places that we could fit our reading in (car, at a sibling's practice, curled up in a favorite chair, in a shady spot, waiting for an appointment, etc.).  Students keep a log of their reading in order to refect as a reader on the level and genre of books they are reading.
     
     
    Reading