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Welcome to Mrs. Gerding's Page! September 2008 IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES: No School September 1, 2008 Happy Labor Day September 3, 2008 Home & School Meeting 6:30 PM September 5, 2008 Jeans Day for $1.00 **** 12:30 Early Dismissal September 12, 2008 Family Potluck – check Newsnotes for more information September 15, 2008 Photo Retakes September 17,
2008 Field Trip to South Platte Park September 19, 2008 NO School September 22, 2008 Conference Letters go home September 22, 2008 Due date for next book and summary sheet (given out in class on August 29th) – see reading list below – your student will take an in class assessment sometime during the week September 26, 2008 Conference requests due back
2008 – 2009 COURSE SYLLABUS 4TH and 5th GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS AND RELIGION  I firmly believe that developing skills in language and communication will prepare our students to make good choices based on Christian values. Students must possess the ability to read fluently, write intelligently, and use critical thinking and comprehension skills to decipher new text. These skills will enable our students to communicate the Gospel message by word and by witness. The Archdiocese updated the Language Arts Curriculum in August of 2007 and St. Louis purchased new textbooks that support those changes. The reading series is from Macmillan/McGraw and is titled Treasures. The students have a Spelling workbook that supports the reading program but not a reading practice book. This year I will be copying pages from black line masters based on each student’s individual needs.  Using the required workbook your student will work on handwriting everyday. On Friday your student will be required to have all the lessons done for the week and hand in various written assignments for evaluation and a grade. Handwriting is a separate grade and so it is imperative that your student complete all daily lessons and any assigned task each week. In addition some writing assignments/projects throughout the year will have a handwriting criteria and that grade will be recorded in the handwriting grade. In addition, this year I will be randomly selecting assignments from various subject areas to grade for handwriting. Our goal is to help the students realize that every assignment needs to always be in their best handwriting. On Friday your student will take a pre-test for spelling. This enables the student the weekend and the first part of the week to prepare for the test on Thursday. All spelling workbook pages should be completed and turned in by Thursday when they take their test. Please remind your student throughout the week that they should be working on their spelling pages and studying their words. If they have a questions about any of the assignments have them touch base with me before the pages are due on Thursday.
On Monday your student will be given eight vocabulary words that are connected to the reading selection for the week. The vocabulary words are in the Reading text and can be done over the weekend if the student wants to get a little ahead. The format is listed below and I have attached the rubric. Please keep the rubric as a reference (rubric also located at the end of my class page) because I will make a short version to staple on their homework:
Within my classroom I have various books that are available for checking out. These books have been either purchased by myself or have been gifts from students. I have explained to the students that they must care for them like they are books from their local library. If a book is damaged the student will be held responsible and a replacement book must be purchased to replace it. Please see me if there is a financial or parenting issue with replacing the book.
In addition I will be assigning books for a reading assessment each month (see attached list and due dates). The list does contain books that I will be able to loan the students but there will be books that you will be responsible for either purchasing or borrowing from the public library. I have marked the books on the list with a star that you will need to find for your student. The assessment will be an in class assignment. Assessment: I will use several different types of assessments throughout the year to determine student progress. They include but are not limited to: personal observation, individual assessment, tests, quizzes, worksheets, journals, and projects that require the student to meet a specific objective.
The Archdiocese updated the Language Arts Curriculum in August of 2007 and St. Louis purchased new textbooks that support those changes. We will be using Voyages in English published by Loyola Press for Grammar and Writing. The students will have a workbook that supports their text as well as assessments to evaluate the student’s knowledge of the skills taught. The students throughout the year will have writing assignments that will be done in class.
· Use the 5 step writing process 1. Prewriting/organizing ideas 2. drafting 3. revising 4. editing 5. publishing 6. sharing · Understand and include the 6 key elements (6 Traits) of a written piece 1. Ideas (main idea/thesis, introduces it in a new way) 2. Voice (writing has a style, conveys how the author feels) 3. Sentence fluency (has a nice flow, variation on how a sentence begins) 4. Organization (has a logical order, has a beginning, middle, end) 5. Word Choice (words used correctly, descriptive words create a mental image) 6. Conventions ( clean, no errors) · Write for a variety of audiences and purposes 1. Write reports 2. Write in a journal 3. Produce Poetry 4. Write a narrative 5. Write an expository piece · Use resources to assist in writing process 1. Thesaurus 2. Dictionary 3. Internet 4. Reference
The Catholic religion curriculum is based on Sacred Scripture, the Second Vatican Council, and the writings and teachings of Pope John Paul II. The We Believe texts used by St Louis Catholic School have been approved by the Archdiocese of Denver. The students will participate and lead the Mass for the school in the month of January. Throughout the year they will have an opportunity to lead Rosary and Stations of the Cross. Each month the students will be required to take either a written or an oral test on the prayers St. Louis recites throughout the year. The Fourth Grade program focuses on: 1. Various aspects of the Sacred Scriptures including God’s covenants, the Gospels, and the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy 2. The Church’s history as outlined in the Acts of the Apostles and the saints who assisted in the growth of religious life 3. How the Ten Commandments play a role in our morality 4. The Beatitudes in our daily life 5. The liturgy: the rituals, parts, symbols, liturgical season and the vestments 6. Doctrines of the Church pertaining to The Apostles Creed, the Immaculate Conception, Annunciation, and the Assumption 7. The Church as the Body of Christ and how our behavior and the behavior of others affects everyone 8. Prayer and how prayers can help our relationship with God
The Catholic religion curriculum is based on Sacred Scripture, the Second Vatican Council, and the writings and teachings of Pope John Paul II. The We Believe texts used by St Louis Catholic Schools have been approved by the Archdiocese of Denver. The students will participate and lead the Mass for the school in the month of December. Throughout the year they will have an opportunity to lead Rosary and Stations of the Cross. Each month the students will be required to take either a written or an oral test on the prayers St. Louis recites throughout the year. The Fifth Grade program focuses on: 1. Identifying Scripture passages that relate to sacraments and how to locate them 2. Identifying the Acts of the Apostles as the history of the early Church 3. Doctrines of the Church pertaining to ways the Holy Spirit is manifested in the sacraments, that sacraments are a personal way we meet Christ, and the role grace plays in our relationship with God 4. Recognizing that we must be Prophets, Priests, and Kings in our lives as a testament to our Faith 5. Understanding morality as it applies to the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and vocations 6. Stewardship and how the sacraments empower us to serve others 7. Prayer and how prayer can help our relationship with God
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