Grading Scale
A 90-100 D 60-69
B 80-89 F 59-below
C 70-79

Grades will be based on daily class work, projects, and test. I set high standards for my student. I believe that your child will benefit from these standards and expectations for the rest of their life. Grades are not given, they are earned.

Discipline
I believe students learn best when they are in a safe, secure, and structured environment. I set high standards academically, as well as behaviorally for my students because I believe all children have the ability to act appropriately in class. I will not tolerate any behavior that prevents me from teaching or other students from learning. Fifth grade has developed the following discipline plan that will be followed fairly and consistently with every student every day.

Consequences:

1st Offense: Conference with the student
2nd offense: Loss of Privilege
3rd Offense: Parent Contact (phone, e-mail, letter), loss of privilege (silent lunch and/or silent snack)
4th Offense: Parent Conference
5th Offense: Office Referral

Extreme misbehavior will result in an immediate office referral.


*Class Rules*
1. No talking unless given permission.
2. Respect others.
3. Respect school property, as well as others property.
4. Keep hands, feet, and to yourself.
5. Follow all school policies and the policies in the Autauga County Code of Conduct.
6. Come to class prepared.
7. Be positive and have a good attitude.



Homework
Students will be given homework several times a week. It is important that your child complete their homework. The assignments are for their benefit, as they are a review of skills covered in class. Please make sure that your child is completing their homework.

Make Up Work
In accordance with the Autauga County Code of Conduct the following makeup work guidelines will be used in my classroom. An individual makeup work sheet is printed for each student for each day there is an absence and placed in the makeup work notebook. Any handouts are also placed in the makeup work notebook. It is the students' responsibility to check this notebook and obtain their makeup work upon return to school. Students need to see me to arrange a time to make up any tests or quizzes that cannot be made up at home. *Some classwork will not be allowed to be made up due to the type of work.

Failure to turn in homework or makeup tests and/or quizzes will result in a zero. According to Code of Conduct students have two weeks to complete makeup work; however, the work should be turned in as soon as possible in order to benefit the student. A delay in completing makeup work could place an undue hardship on the student.

Your child’s attendance in school is crucial to their understanding and success. Your child needs to be at school, on time, every day and to remain at school all day. Although make-up work will be provided, every minute that your child misses causes them to lose out on valuable instruction and monitored practice that cannot realistically be regained. Please set the tone for your child by stressing attendance!!

Dress Code
BOYS: Boys must wear their shirts tucked in at all times. Boys must wear a belt unless their pants have an elastic waist. Hats are not allowed and will be taken up if worn to school. In addition, boys must be in compliance with all other items listed in the dress code of the Autauga County Code of Conduct.

GIRLS: Girls must wear shorts/skirts of an appropriate length. We will check this by having the girls place their arms down by their side. The length of their shorts/skirt must be as long as or longer than their longest finger tip. Girls must wear shirts that cover their stomach at all times even if their arms are raised. Girls must also comply with all other items listed under the dress code in the Autauga County Code of Conduct.

If a student is in violation of the dress code, he/she will be sent to the office where he/she will be required to obtain a change of clothes from home before returning to class.

This dress code will be enforced consistently with each student every day. As parents, your cooperation will be crucial to insure that your child does not waste valuable class time waiting in the office for a change of clothes. Please check your child’s clothing before they leave home.

Please feel free to email me at AWilliams@autaugacountyschool.org with any concerns. Email is the most effective way to reach me.

Important Dates:

August 2008
7 Thursday School Opens--Full Day

September 2008
1 Monday LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
18 Thursday 1st Six Weeks Ends
29 Monday Parent Day/Report Card Conferences/NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

October 2008
31 Friday 2nd Six Weeks Ends

November 2008
11 Tuesday VETERANS' DAY HOLIDAY
24 Monday Weather Makeup Day if needed
24 Monday Thanksgiving Holidays Begin

December 2008
1 Monday Return from Thanksgiving Holidays
19 Friday 3rd Six Weeks Ends
19 Friday Last Day Before Christmas Holidays

January 2009
5 Monday Teacher In-service/NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
6 Tuesday Students Return from Christmas Holidays
19 Monday Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday

February 2009
16 Monday Teacher In-service/NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
19 Thursday Feb 19-26 Window for Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing

March 2009
30 Monday Mar 30-April 10 Window for SAT and ARMT

April 2009
2 Thursday 5th Six Weeks Ends
8 Wednesday April 8-11, 2009 Window for Alabama Science Assessment
13 Monday Spring Holidays Begin
20 Monday Return from Spring Holidays

May 2009
21 Thursday Teacher Workday/NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
21 Thursday Weather Makeup Day if needed
22 Friday Last Day of School



Lesson Plans 3rd Six Weeks

Reading

1st Six Weeks Stories and Spelling Words:

We have a new reading series this year that will be used for reading, spelling, and language. If your child has me for reading he/she will also have spelling with me.
There will be some changes in literacy this year since we have the new reading series. We cover 1 story per week in the reading textbook. Comprehension and vocabulary quizzes are given on each story.
Grades are also given on the focus skills for basal stories. Spelling tests are given on Friday.

The following stories will be covered the first six weeks.

The Three -Century Woman

Vocabulary:

eerie, intersection, pondered, severe, spectacles, withered

Spelling Words
elementary, vehicle, miniature, probability, definition, substitute, variety, literature, elevator, Pennsylvania, ravioli, cafeteria, mosaic, tuxedo, meteorite, fascination, cylinder, intermediate, centennial, curiosity, documentary, stegosaurus, pediatrician, mediocre, simultaneous




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The Unsinkable Wreck of the R.M.S. Titantic
Vocabulary:

cramped, debris, interior, ooze, robotic, sediment, sonar

Spelling: Unusual Spellings

league, sergeant, yacht, doubt, fatigue, debt, blood, vague, anxious, foreign, bargain, condemn, intrigue, villain, cantaloupe, flood, depot, cordial, subtle, disguise, bureau, reminiscent, adjective, monologue, environment





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Talk with an Astronaut
Vocabulary:

accomplishments, focus, gravity, monitors, role, specific


Spelling: Greek Word Parts

geology, thermometer, astronaut, atmosphere, biology, thermal, disaster, meteorology, technology, hemisphere, zoology, sociology, biosphere, thermos, asterisk, thermostat, astronomy, spherical, ecology, mythology, psychology, anthropology, thermoelectric, astronomical, microbiology


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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Vocabulary:

armor, encases, extinct, hideous, plunged, serpent

Spelling: Latin Roots

project, audience, decade, territory, auditorium, terrier, decimal, injection, December, reject, eject, terrace, audit, decimeter, audition, audible, decathlon, terrarium, dejected, terrain, terra cotta, subterranean, conjecture, trajectory, terrestrial



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Ghost Towns of the American West

Vocabulary:

economic, independence, overrun, scrawled, vacant

Spelling: Related Words

politics, political, major, majority, equal, equation, sign, signature, arrive, arrival, inspire, inspiration, human, humanity, clean, cleanse, resign, resignation, unite, unity, magic, magician, remedy, remedial, individual, individuality

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English

There is no English book this year.


Math

Harcourt Math Textbook



Your child needs to practice math facts daily. You need sets of flash cards for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. A weekly test will be given on
basic math facts. We have a challenging schedule for the first six weeks in math that will require your child to have rapid recall of basic math facts.


Chapter 3 Addition and Subtraction of whole Numbers
Chapter 8 Multiply Decimals
Chapter 12 Use Multiplication
Chapter 26 Area
Chapter 25 Perimeter –
Chapter 24 – Customary and Metric Systems
Chapter 30 – Probability

Review for SAT and ARMT

Parents you can help by using:
Vocabulary cards
Flash cards

Test Schedule
Test- After each Chapter.


Social Studies

Chapter 10 The Early Republic
Chapter 11 A Growing Country


Your child will have vocabulary to complete for each chapter. There will be time to work on this in class, but there may be an instance where your child must finish this at home. There will be a vocabulary test for each chapter.

**All test dates and classwork assisgnments are listed daily on the "homework" board in my classroom.**

Practice Test Information

If you have Internet Access at home Please have your child practice these tests.

Go to www.thinklinklearning.com

Click on student login and then Practice Probes

Type in the following code numbers and then your name

The test will be graded for you.

Code #'s:
Reading 745489 / 167713 / 120231 /212962 / 221200 / 788752