Sample Grade Card Comments

 Hudson = Smart but not working up to potential

Hudson is an absolute delight to have in class. He walks into the room with a smile
on his face and is always volunteering to help do a class job.
I noticed how well Hudson does in his subjects but I’m having a hard time getting
him to turn in his. When we do math problems on the board is always one of the
first students to answer correctly but he doesn’t complete the work on paper.
Hudson seems to need a constant reminder to say on task and turn in his work. I
don’t believe he is having difficulty doing the work because his test scores are very
high. I want to try putting a checklist at his desk as a prompt and see if that helps
stay focused on what he needs to do. Once we get him to start turning in his work,
you will see his grade go up tremendously.

 Margot = Struggles a lot but works very hard.

It has truly been a pleasure getting to know your student. Margot is a student that
shows excellent leadership qualities and always provides a helping hand to her
peers. I have noticed she has gained quite a few friends since the beginning of the
year.
Since the last time we talked, I have witness Margot still struggling in her academics.
We have made great strides in her confidence with peers and now I’m trying to
work on getting her at a higher level. She has a wonderful work ethic and tries twice
as hard as her peers but is still coming up short. I have an after school tutoring
program on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until 5. I think it would be very
beneficial for her to come and continue what we have worked on and get some extra
practice. I know that you have very busy schedules but I believe the extra hour and a
half might be what she needs. I will send an email with the information, just let me
know what you decide.

 Lucy = Excellent student with behavior and academics.

Your child has done a very fantastic job this year. She takes considerable pride in
her work and cares about the quality of each assignment. She is a model student and
one that I can count on.
When we last talked, I remembered you mentioning you were having trouble with
Lucy at home with the new baby. I want you to rest assure that she has behaved
exceptionally well. Not to mention her grades are all A’s and she has one B in math.
She was very close to getting the A in math but fell a few points short on her last
quiz. She works very hard and I believe she will have it to an A soon. I will let you
know if her behavior changes or grades begin to slip. I understand adjusting to a
new sibling can be a bit of a challenge and I appreciate the heads up.
 Rules and Classroom Guidelines
The rules I want for my class room are going to be created by my class. I hope to

teach fifth grade and I feel that it is important for students feel like they have some

control in their learning. There is a general set of rules that I will expect my students to

follow. The will most likely heavily prompt them to develop the rules I would like to

display. There is a total of six rules, I feel that they can handle being given six rules since

they’re in the upper elementary. The first rule I would want to incorporate would be to

work as a team. The second rule would be to be responsible. The third rule will be to

listen to others. The fourth rule will be to be respectful to everyone. The fifth rule will be

to be kind and helpful. The sixth and last rule will be to do your best. I feel as if these are

a traditional set of rules and will be easy to follow.

 Rewards and Incentives
In my classroom, I will be using a reward system. My reward system will consist of

having class points based off of table grouping. Then I will have a three-level reward system.

The first level is going to be the blue level and it will be the least amount of reward. The blue

level will consist of chewing gum in class, no shoes, sitting with a buddy, and being the teacher

helper. The second level is going to be orange and it will be the next step up. The orange level

will be, getting to eat lunch in the classroom, homework pass, pick the brain break, free app time

for fifteen minutes or a free juice or snack. Then the last level is going to be level red and this

will be for rare occasions and be more of a whole class reward. This will include, free recess,

pajama day, read day or movie day. I will include more options within these but these will be the

core of it. Each table with have to earn a total of 10 table points to receive blue, 25 to receive

orange and 50 to receive a red. The points do carry over for each table but won’t be something

handed out a lot. This will keep things interesting and give them something to work towards.

This will be like the system I will have but each row

will have a different colored border to indicate the

point level. Each team’s total points will be on a

bulletin board.
 Consequences
Undesirable behaviors

 Cheating on a test

 Not listening to directions

 Hitting or kicking another student.

 Bullying another student.

 Talking when you’re not supposed to be.

In my classroom, I’m a firm believer in using a Think Sheet. The Think Sheet allows the

student to tell you what they think they did wrong, tell what they should have been doing and

how to fix it. Anything after one verbal warning, a student will be directed to fill out a Think

Sheet and take it home to be signed by a parent. After getting eight Think Sheets a student will

be required to have a meeting with the teacher and guardians and possibly the principal if the

problem continues. I believe the tally of Think Sheets should be started over every nine weeks. I

will keep them for documentation though. This type of consequence system will give them the

opportunity to think about their actions but isn’t too strict of a system. I plan to use these for

basic problems but anything I would deem important; the student will have a one on one

conference with me and/or the principal.

 Procedures
When We Have a Visitor

 When we have someone come into our classroom who is not part of our class

(teacher, administrator, student, parent) you are expected to follow the same

classroom rules and procedures. You are expected to be polite to the visitor. Do not

talk to the visitor unless he/she is talking to you directly. Continue working on your

assignment as usual. If the visitor needs to speak to me privately, I expect you to

remain in your seat without talking until I finish speaking with the visitor.

When You Finish Early

 If you finish all of your assigned work early you may a) read independently b) work

on an assignments c) work on Istation d) practice math or spelling e) work on class

job. DO NOT TALK OR DISTURB OTHERS

Procedure for the End of Class and Class Dismissal

 Right before the bell rings everyone should: be in assigned seat, be quiet, gather all

their materials, and waiting for the teacher to line them up alphabetically. Once they

are in line and quiet, they will be dismissed.

If You Are Late

 You are late to class if you are not inside the classroom when the bell rings. If you

are late to class you must: 1. Walk in quietly making as little noise as possible. 2.

Sign-in at the Tardy Sheet. (Name, date, time) If you have a pass leave it in the

basket. 3. Take your assigned seat. 4. Join the activity in progress. If you don’t
 know what the class is doing raise your hand until the teacher sees you. 5. Continue

working (waiting) quietly until I get to your desk.

Procedures for Entering the Classroom

 There is a specific way I want you to enter the classroom. I expect you to follow

these procedures: 1. You are not to stand or wait around in the hallway. 2. Enter the

classroom quietly without running or pushing. 4. Take your assigned seat 5. Do Bell

work assignment on the board. 6. Work quietly and by yourself 7. Wait for further

instructions from the teacher

Fire drill

 Stop everything; stand up and head for the door quickly, but without running or

pushing; do not cover your ears; do not make any side trips; the classroom "fire

chief" takes the fire drill packet and leads the line outside; the second person in line

holds the classroom door for the rest of the class; the third person in line holds the

outside door only for our class, then becomes the last person in line; wait patiently,

calmly, and quietly in line outside until we are allowed to go back to what we were

doing.

Pledge

 When you hear/see the signal, stop what you're doing immediately and stand up;

place your right hand over your heart; say the Pledge of Allegiance respectfully;

during the 30 seconds of silence, quietly think about the things you want to learn

today and how you will act in class and on the playground.
Lunch count/attendance

 "Hot lunch" means you are having school lunch; "cold lunch" means you brought a

lunch from home; move your attendance tag/magnet/clothespin to the "hot lunch" or

"cold lunch" sign/spot; wait patiently for your turn.

Using the classroom library

 When I am not teaching the whole group, you may check out a book. To do so, select

a book (you only have three minutes at the class library) and sign out the book on the

sign-out sheet. Take good care of the book; when you are finished, return the book to

the basket and check it off the list.

 Policies
Bullying

 Bullying in the school building, on school grounds, on the bus, or at school-

sponsored functions will not be tolerated and will be grounds for disciplinary action

up to and including suspension or expulsion of students, and termination for

employees. Any incident of discrimination in any form shall be promptly reported to

an employee's immediate supervisor, the building principal or the district compliance

coordinator for investigation and corrective action by the building or district

compliance officer. Any student who engages in discriminatory conduct shall be

subject to disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion. Bullying also includes

cyberbullying. “Cyberbullying” means bullying by use of any electronic

communication device through means including, but not limited to, e-mail, instant

messaging, text messages, blogs, mobile phones, pagers, online games, and websites

Cellphones

 Students are not allowed to use cell phones during the school day. If students

possess a cell phone at school they must keep them turned off and stored in their

backpacks or lockers. If a student cell phone causes a disruption to the learning

environment it will be confiscated by school staff. The only exception will be

special circumstances approved by the building principal.

Dress code

 All students are to dress neatly and in attire which is appropriate to an educational

setting. Proper dress and grooming are necessary in order to have the best learning

situation. Such dress and grooming are to be based on the safety of the students,

normal personal hygiene and non-disruption in the classroom. I recognize that the

parents are primarily responsible for proper dressing and grooming. The school will

become involved only as this responsibility is neglected

Drug-free school

 Students shall not manufacture, sell, distribute, dispense, possess, and/or be under the

influence of illicit drugs, controlled substances, or alcoholic beverages on or in

school property, or at any school activity, program or event. Any student violating

this policy shall be reported to the appropriate law enforcement officials and be

subject to disciplinary action which may include suspensions and/or expulsion from

school.
 Preventative Maintenance
Problem 1: Cheating

 The first preventative measure I will use will be to space the students out and not

have them close enough to see other papers.

 The second preventative measure will be to have every student use a cover sheet.

This will stop any peepers from looking if they have to sharpen a pencil or use the

bathroom.

 The third measure will be to use two or three versions of the same test. By taking the

time to mix up the answers, I will have made it hard to just peek and get an answer. I

will stick a number at the top of a test to identify which version it is.

Problem 2: Talkative students

 The first preventative measure will be to not stick a student by someone they would

normally talk to or someone who is just as talkative.

 The next preventative measure would be to have them engaged in something or

making the activity exciting to where they don’t feel the need to talk.

 Have a motivator in the classroom to where they don’t want to talk. Possibly getting a

reward for staying quiet during the appropriate times. An example of something to

use would be Blurt Beans. This is like the filling the marble jar up routine. Each kid

will get 3 to 5 Blurt Beans a day. If they blurt or talk when you’re talking they get a

bean taken away. At the end of the day all the students drop their beans in the jar. The

jar could have my three-color reward levels on it as well to tie into the point system.
Problem 3: Assignments not being turned in.

 The first preventative measure would be to have a homework folder or binder. This

would keep all the assignments organized between what is still needing to be worked on

and completed.

 Have a class job to where there is a specific person who picks up papers. The students

know the amount of time they have to complete something and then the paper picker

upper gathers them off desk and sticks them in the tray.

 Another thing that could be done is have a mini tutoring session during free time or down

time. Sometimes students don’t turn in work because they don’t understand it and this

would allow them to have extra help. A benefit of this is that the paper can be turned into

the tray immediately after they have completed it.

Classroom Design