Philosophy of Homework
Students are responsible for homework on a daily basis. They will usually have a Math assignment every day. Reading, Spelling and English will be all integrated together in the reading program. Spelling will have a pre-test the first day of a new reading story and a test on the last day. Reading lessons will usually last 5 days. If we have a short week, I will adjust. In Reading, Science, Social Studies and English, we do a lot of discussion and try to start on any assignments that are given. I do try to give time at the end of each class for the students to work on assignments that were given. However, if they don't finish during the given time they will need to finish at home.

Grading Policy
I use total points. I feel this is the fairest way to grade my students. Example: 5 point paper = 5 points (not 100%). One missed point would be calculated into the total points for the 9 weeks.

I may offer extra credit under special circumstances. Extra credit work would be made available to the entire class. I do not offer extra credit to students who do not do the original assignment or show a complete lack of effort on the original work.

I feel it is important to give feedback on completed work as soon as possible. In my classroom we do trade papers among the students for correction purposes. I read the answers, and the students correcting can ask for repeats. We hand the papers back, and the students look over their papers with a chance to ask questions (either for the answer or to do the problem on the board). Once the papers are handed in I try to scan them over and check for any mistakes on them.

The state standards drive the 5th grade curriculum. As we complete each section we will have a test. Generally, this is a paper and pencil test, but it may be a project. For paper and pencil tests, I try to go over the information they will need to study for the test. If the students participate in class and study the information they should do well on the tests.

Schedule
We have Reading, Math and English daily. Science and Spelling are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Writing and Social Studies are on Tuesday and Thursday. We work on Character Education during all our class periods.

Contact Information
If you have a question or concern, please call me at school (495-4183) between 7:45-8:05 a.m. or 3:25-3:45 p.m. If we need more time, we can set up a conference. You can also contact me by e-mail at robin.moody@k12.sd.us.