What do I need to know about Grade 4?

If you have a question about any of the Grade 4 policies, please contact your child's teacher.

(The ladybugs will bring you back to the top of this page.)

Homework Notebooks
Writing
Writing Rubric

Homework Notebooks

• During the past several years, the fifth and sixth grade teachers have met to discuss ideas for improving student transition from the elementary school to the middle school. The major recommendation from these meetings was to find ways to improve study skills. It was also found that the children needed to develop more responsibility for homework and class preparation. (i.e. having school tools, pencils for class, sneakers for gym, instruments for band lessons, books for library, etc.) To make this transition smoother, we feel the need to include a device to improve this performance at the fourth grade level, as well. Therefore, all 4th and 5th graders at J.F.K. School will be provided with an assignment notebook. Students will be required to keep a written record of all assignments in this book. Parents should expect to see it brought home each day. Fourth graders will be assigned 35-45 minutes of homework on Mondays through Thursdays. These assignments will be posted on a board in the classroom. Other long term assignments, such as reports and projects, as well as special event news. Will also be written into this notebook. Should the book be lost, it must be replaced at a cost of $2.00.
• Students not completing homework on a regular basis will be kept in during recess, or after school, to finish missing assignments. Parents will be notified if more than three assignments are missing during a marking term.
• Furthermore, children will not be allowed to make phone calls home requesting the delivery of forgotten material. You can assist in developing these work habits and organizational skills by not bringing in forgotten homework, money, books, and items. These things should be part of your child's responsibilities.
• We hope that you will support our goals, and with our combined efforts, we will help the children to become more responsible, more organized, and better prepared individuals.

Writing

• Writing is a very important component of the fourth grade curriculum. Writing is included in all subject areas and emphasized across the curriculum. The fourth grade teachers at the Kennedy School are using a 6/4 point rubric to score written language assignments. This rubric is consistent with the Harcourt reading program and the MCAS composition scoring guide.
• For each writing assignment, students will be given 3 grades:
• 1 grade will reflect the content of the writing
• 1 grade will reflect the grammar/mechanics in the writing
• 1 grade will be an overall grade
• In order to make this rubric scoring system more understandable for students and parents, we have aligned the rubric to reflect the grading system on the report card.

Writing Rubric (coming soon)