Greetings Families,
I hope you have enjoyed your weekend and that your child is about to go to bed if not already there. I've been at school most of the day apart from when I went to church and ate lunch. I think I'm ready to have my students in my classroom!
Tomorrow will be a little different from the rest of the week because we will be working on establishing classroom procedures. However, students should expect to learn tomorrow and have homework. Over the weekend, a parent emailed me in respect to homework. I am attaching what I wrote her because it will probably answer some questions that many of you have.
Lessons
Math: In math this week, students will review whole numbers up to the hundred millions place. They will be discussing place value, standard form, expanded form, how to write numbers as words, how to order numbers in increasing and decreasing order, comparing the value of numbers, and addition and subtraction. There is a text over this week's material on Monday of next week.
Grammar: Students will begin their week with a review of the sentence and its four kinds. The will review the five parts of a complete sentence: capital letter, subject, verb, end mark, and complete sense. They will then start their study of the parts of speech, starting with a noun. They will be expected to memorize that a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. They will also student singular and plural nouns and the process of pluralizing nouns of varying kinds. They will also be introduced to verbs. There will be a short test on the sentence and nouns next Monday.
Science: Students will start their study of science with a unit on chemistry. Their study will start with a reading on atoms and the history of atomic theory. At the end of the week, students will have a lab to help them explore the concepts of mass and density.
Spalding: Students will begin their Spalding study with a 50 word test. This test does not count toward their grade, but is used to gauge the student's current spelling grade level. The rest of the week will be spent working on their Spalding notebook's rule pages, which will help them understand how the English language works in written form.
Greek and Latin Roots: The students will learn 4 Greek and Latin roots this week and will have a review check next week to discern their memorization of the roots.
Poetry: "Humanity" by Elma Stuckey will be the first poem students are expected to memorize. The recitation of this poem will take place during the third week. Students are expected to have this poem memorized by Monday of week 3.
Idiom: The idiom of the week is "as the crow flies." Students will be taught an idiom, proverb, or abbreviation each week, but there are no assessments on these.
History: The first unit of history is geography. Students will learn about measuring distance on a map, latitude and longitude lines, how to use latitude and longitude lines to find a place on a map, and time zones. There is a quiz on Friday. Students should know the terms latitude, longitude, legend, equator, compass rose, Prime Meridian, map scale, and hemisphere.
Literature: Students will begin their journey into the work of princesses and goblins as they begin their reading the The Princess and the Goblin. This week, students will read chapters 1-4. There are no tests in literature, but students are expected to summarize most chapters. This week's summarization activities will begin on the third chapter. There will also be other activities along the way for your child to complete that will help them improve their comprehension and enjoyment of literature.
There is a good deal more that could be said and I hope to provide you with regular updates on class performance, areas for improvement, and areas of strength, and ways you can support your child's learning at home. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Thank you for providing me the opportunity to be your child's teacher. It is a sign of great trust, and I look forward to serving your child as his or her teacher.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
Below is part of an email I shared with a parent in respect to homework.
Homework is supposed to take somewhere between an hour to an hour and thirty minutes. However, that expectation is for the average student. Some students who are very disciplined can complete their homework in as little as 40 minutes. Other students who may struggle in school can have homework take as long as two hours. If you find that your child is regularly taking more than an hour and a half because of the difficulty of the work, please let me know and we can work to find ways of resolving the issue.
Students are expected to read age appropriate books for 25 minutes a night. By age appropriate, I’m referring to their reading difficulty, not content. Students may read anything they like with your approval at home for their free reading time. There will be times when students have to read school materials at home. This assigned reading can count toward the 25 minutes. Also, the 25 minutes is included in the hour to an hour and a half of homework each night. There will be a reading log sent home. It is more for you to fill out than the child, because you will be the one holding your child responsible. Last, students can make up reading time. If one night is especially busy for you, your child can make it up. The aim is 125 minutes of reading for a five-day week. Shorter weeks will have lower expectations.
A typical night might look like this:
I hope you have enjoyed your weekend and that your child is about to go to bed if not already there. I've been at school most of the day apart from when I went to church and ate lunch. I think I'm ready to have my students in my classroom!
Tomorrow will be a little different from the rest of the week because we will be working on establishing classroom procedures. However, students should expect to learn tomorrow and have homework. Over the weekend, a parent emailed me in respect to homework. I am attaching what I wrote her because it will probably answer some questions that many of you have.
Lessons
Math: In math this week, students will review whole numbers up to the hundred millions place. They will be discussing place value, standard form, expanded form, how to write numbers as words, how to order numbers in increasing and decreasing order, comparing the value of numbers, and addition and subtraction. There is a text over this week's material on Monday of next week.
Grammar: Students will begin their week with a review of the sentence and its four kinds. The will review the five parts of a complete sentence: capital letter, subject, verb, end mark, and complete sense. They will then start their study of the parts of speech, starting with a noun. They will be expected to memorize that a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. They will also student singular and plural nouns and the process of pluralizing nouns of varying kinds. They will also be introduced to verbs. There will be a short test on the sentence and nouns next Monday.
Science: Students will start their study of science with a unit on chemistry. Their study will start with a reading on atoms and the history of atomic theory. At the end of the week, students will have a lab to help them explore the concepts of mass and density.
Spalding: Students will begin their Spalding study with a 50 word test. This test does not count toward their grade, but is used to gauge the student's current spelling grade level. The rest of the week will be spent working on their Spalding notebook's rule pages, which will help them understand how the English language works in written form.
Greek and Latin Roots: The students will learn 4 Greek and Latin roots this week and will have a review check next week to discern their memorization of the roots.
Poetry: "Humanity" by Elma Stuckey will be the first poem students are expected to memorize. The recitation of this poem will take place during the third week. Students are expected to have this poem memorized by Monday of week 3.
Idiom: The idiom of the week is "as the crow flies." Students will be taught an idiom, proverb, or abbreviation each week, but there are no assessments on these.
History: The first unit of history is geography. Students will learn about measuring distance on a map, latitude and longitude lines, how to use latitude and longitude lines to find a place on a map, and time zones. There is a quiz on Friday. Students should know the terms latitude, longitude, legend, equator, compass rose, Prime Meridian, map scale, and hemisphere.
Literature: Students will begin their journey into the work of princesses and goblins as they begin their reading the The Princess and the Goblin. This week, students will read chapters 1-4. There are no tests in literature, but students are expected to summarize most chapters. This week's summarization activities will begin on the third chapter. There will also be other activities along the way for your child to complete that will help them improve their comprehension and enjoyment of literature.
There is a good deal more that could be said and I hope to provide you with regular updates on class performance, areas for improvement, and areas of strength, and ways you can support your child's learning at home. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Thank you for providing me the opportunity to be your child's teacher. It is a sign of great trust, and I look forward to serving your child as his or her teacher.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
Below is part of an email I shared with a parent in respect to homework.
Homework is supposed to take somewhere between an hour to an hour and thirty minutes. However, that expectation is for the average student. Some students who are very disciplined can complete their homework in as little as 40 minutes. Other students who may struggle in school can have homework take as long as two hours. If you find that your child is regularly taking more than an hour and a half because of the difficulty of the work, please let me know and we can work to find ways of resolving the issue.
Students are expected to read age appropriate books for 25 minutes a night. By age appropriate, I’m referring to their reading difficulty, not content. Students may read anything they like with your approval at home for their free reading time. There will be times when students have to read school materials at home. This assigned reading can count toward the 25 minutes. Also, the 25 minutes is included in the hour to an hour and a half of homework each night. There will be a reading log sent home. It is more for you to fill out than the child, because you will be the one holding your child responsible. Last, students can make up reading time. If one night is especially busy for you, your child can make it up. The aim is 125 minutes of reading for a five-day week. Shorter weeks will have lower expectations.
A typical night might look like this:
- Reading: 25 minutes
- Math: 30 mintes
- ELA: 15
- Science: 10
- History: 10