Gladewater Middle School
700 Melba Ave.
Gladewater, TX 75647
903-845-2243
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am so excited to be your child’s 6th Grade Math Teacher this school year. I am expecting your child to have a lot of fun in my class. During the course of the year, it is my hope that your child will not only learn math concepts but also be able to use them, and see how they relate to the world around us. I will use food, music, and lots of hands on activities to help your child find math exciting and fun.
The object of everything that we do is to help teach, learn, and most of all to MOTIVATE your child. I employ many strategies to motivate and help my students’ interests. Below are just a few of the motivational strategies I use in the classroom.
Motivational Strategies
Foods – Foods will be used in our leaning environment as manipulatives and as motivation. By doing this it adds fun and excitement into our math classroom. There may come a time that I might use foods from different cultures. Your child will NEVER be forced to try any food they don’t want to.
Music – Music will serve many purposed such as aid to help direct focus, motivate, energize, relax, and improve concentration in our classroom.
Videos – Video clips from documentaries off of national discovery, or even clips from movies will be used to introduce mathematical concepts, develop a desire to learn, show the importance of hard work, and to illustrate the importance of education.
Games – We will play games to develop and reinforce learning. Example of these games are Jeopardy, Deal or No Deal, Fear Factor, Tic Tac Toe, and Homeworkopoly.
Projects – Your child may be required to participate in several 6 weeks projects throughout the school year. He/She will be given plenty of time, encouragement and reminders to complete the project. The supply cost and parental involvement should be kept to a minimum.
Class Warnings - There are many rules and procedures that I have within my classroom. I do expect all students to go by these rules. I know at times we forget some of them and try to remember what classroom has what rules. That is why I give that one chance for them to remember. If there is a time that someone in the class forgets what they are to do I will simply say to the class “Class Warning.” This will just simply remind them that they are not to do that. After that class warning, and it happens again, then there will be other procedures that will be taken.
Photos – I take pictures during different activities and experiments conducted during math class. These photos may be used for school slide shows, displayed in the classroom, and school yearbook. If you do not wish your child’s photo to be displayed, please indicate this on the Parental Agreement sheet.
Contact Information: The school number is 903-845-2243 My email address is . You can schedule a conference with me by calling the front office and leaving a message for me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
In closing, I would like you to know that I treat each day like a new day. I try to let the student know that so they don’t think if something went wrong the day before that it will stay with them the rest of the year. I feel that math should be fun and exciting, that every student should love to come to math class. I feel that I am responsible for motivating your child’s life to help them to become whatever it is they would like to do when they are older. In order to reach your child we will do many unconventional strategies to catch and hold their attention. If at any time in the year you have any concerns or questions about your child’s learning or progress in class, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Tracy Cates – 6th Grade Math
Parental Agreement Form
I ______parent or legal guardian of ______
(Print parent or guardian’s name) (Print Student’s name)
Have read and agree to Mrs. Cates’s classroom policies including:
Motivational Strategies
Projects
Class Warnings
Photos
Contact Information
X______X______
Parent or Guardian Signature Student Signature
Turn In Parental Agreement Form to Mrs. Cates