Back to School Night - msg from mom

Hello friends and family, mom here.

Tonight was "Back to School Night" for Cody's school. I returned home very impressed and wanted to share with all of you a little of what's ahead for Cody this year.

Fourth grade math is demanding and fast paced. Cody's teacher has divided the class up into two groups to better meet the needs of each child. Cody has been placed with the group of children who will succeed by being given more time to absorb the material. We all know that math is not one of Cody's favorite subjects, nor was it mine! All of their math lessons are online this year. You might want to take a peek to see what fourth graders are expected to learn as compared to when we were in fourth grade. www.onlineintervention.com

In Language Arts Cody is going to really expand her horizons this year to write well organized and vivid multi paragraph pieces. All writing is expected to be in cursive, which at times is still difficult for Cody due to her small motor abilities. She is giving it a good go though, practicing on her laminated work mat that Nana bought for her over the summer.

Reading is very important and Cody is expected to read every night for at least 25 min. She has a reading log in her binder and is expected to write her teacher a letter every two weeks telling her about what she has been reading. The children were tested at the beginning of this year and given what is called a "Lexile level" score which helps choose appropriate books for each child's reading ability. The average level for fourth grade is 600-800. Here is where I am going to brag a bit, Cody's Lexile level score is 910! A score of 985 is considered 7th grade.
There is a web site to check the reading level of books, www.lexile.com

Social Studies is a continuation of her 3rd grade study of California. She should be an expert on our State by the time 4th grade is finished!

In Science Cody will study Geology, Electricity and Magnetism as well as Environmental studies.


Cody will also be getting letter grades for the first time. I reminded her that although she may want to set her goals for "A", that is a perfect grade, and no one is perfect in everything they attempt to do.

One skill that Cody is going to work hard at this year is Organization. Her teacher is very well organized and presented her materials well. She has the children set up in their binders to be responsible for writing their own assignments into their planner, keeping track of their belongings, turning work in on time with proper consequences if they don't. We are going to think positive about this skill this year and hope that it will grow on Cody as she continues to grow.

Here's to a happy Fourth grade year!

Cody's mom,
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