Two Teacher Friends: A Peek Inside

August 29- September 2

We cannot believe it is already September! Time flies when you are having fun:) Last week was our first week to switch classes for Reading and Math. It went great! Be sure to ask your child whose class they are in for each.

This week's story is On the Banks of Plumb Creek. We will be covering this story for the next two weeks. The vocabulary words are: badger, bank, bristled, jointed, patched, ruffled, and rushes. Currently we are taking our reading tests with paper and pencil, eventually, they will be taken on our chrome books.

Spelling words for the week are coming from list 3. (Remember, if your child has a shortened list, they will have the first 10 words.) Please be sure the spelling words are being practiced at home!

again
edge
bread
ever
ready
never
echo
energy
heavy
friend
health
guess
breakfast
fence
stretch
weather
yesterday
desert
sweater
again

Have a great week!

-Mrs. Reinhart & Mrs. Patterson

August 22, 2016

What a great start to school we have had! Students will get their spelling words in their agendas on Friday's before they come home. This allows weekend practice if time permits. Students may also get onto spelling city at home to practice their words. This week's list is lesson 2~Words with Long A. If your child has a shorter list, he or she will always have the first 10 words.

awake

chase

paid

eight

mistake

plain

trade

weight

waste

afraid

neighbor

taste

trail

plane

wait

waist

space

break

state

shape

Please be checking the Independent Learning Logs nightly. This is your child's homework for the week. There will not be any homework on Fridays. On Friday we will collect their logs and check to see they have completed what is in their agendas. If there are ever any question please contact your child's teacher.

The story for the week is Lewis and Clark and Me.

Have a great week!

~Mrs. Reinhart & Mrs. Patterson

November 9, 2015

This week in Rooms 409 and 410...

Friday, November 13, Fall Carnival

Reading: The Man Who Named the Clouds

Vocabulary: manufacturing, atmosphere, apprentice, pressure, chemical, scales, essay, club

Skills: Graphic Sources, Important Ideas, Multiple Meaning Words, Word endings -ed, -ing

Spelling: Words with Long o

clothes, total, oak, ocean, obey, throat, pony, poem, coach, coast, goes, almost, only, comb, motor, hotel, soap, zero, toe, program

Math:

Perimeter/Area

Measuring and Drawing angles

Multiplication

Word Problems

Social Studies:

We will be learning about the location of states and information about the Midwest Region of the United States.

Looking Ahead: Thanksgiving Vacation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 25 - Friday, November 27. School will resume on Monday, November 30.

November 2, 2015

Welcome to November! Our first nine weeks has flown by. Report cards have been delivered, and we are ready for a new nine weeks of learning.

We had a gorgeous day on our field trip to T.C. Steele. The students learned all about the history of his property, and about his life. The studio offered the students an amazing opportunity to get up close with his beautiful artwork. Later in the day we were able to enjoy his property by having a picnic and then sketching the nature that surrounded us.

This week in Room 409 and Room 410

Reading: So You Want to Be President?

Vocabulary: Constitution, politics, howling, solemnly, responsibility, vain, humble

Skills: Main Idea, Word Endings, Adverbs

Spelling: Words with Short O

hobby, wash, model, forgot, doctor, contest, object, o'clock, wallet, cotton, dollar, solve, watch, knock, problem, bottom, swallow, beyond, knot, hospital

Math: Geometry

Angles, Lines, Rays, Measuring Angles, Polygons, Multiplication, Word Problems

Social Studies: Midwest Region

Be sure to send in cans for our canned food drive for Provisions Pantry. The winning class receives a Pizza Party!!!!

Jackson's Fall Carnival is on Friday, November 13!!! Be sure to let us know if you would like to volunteer to help make our students' night a huge success!

October 5, 2015

A new week begins...as I write this on Thursday, October 01, 2015, I am looking forward to a Friday off and extra time with family. I look forward to the Oktoberfest and seeing some of my kiddos enjoying themselves at the rides! This week we will have our second round of Parent-Teacher conferences! Reminder notices will go home on Monday.

Our first Wacky Party will be held on Tuesday, October 13 after school, and our first field trip will be on Wednesday, October 21 to the home of T.C. Steele, a famous Indiana artist. Fall Break will be on Thursday and Friday, October 15, and 16.

Our reading story this week is Coyote School News. Our vocabulary words are coyote, roundup, spurs, bawling, and dudes. This story is in the genre of historical fiction. We will be learning about story structure and drawing conclusions.

Spelling Words are: Words with Long i

night, dry, mighty, tie, fight, flight, right, might, die, spy, midnight, tonight, supply, lightning, reply, highway, high, deny, bright, sight

In Math we will continue to add and subtract multi-digit numbers and subtracting across zeros. We will continue to learn multiplication facts. We will also be learning about multiplying by 10 and 100.

Please remember, as always, to have your child read for twenty minutes each night and to practice spelling words and math facts.

Everyone have a safe and happy long weekend with your family and friends. See you on Monday!

September 28, 2015

It’s Oktoberfest week! The kiddos will be buzzing and it will be hard to get any work done, but we will persevere! Please remember there will be no school on Friday, October 2. Maybe we will see you out at the fest on Friday!

Last week we had a visit with “Call Me Jim.” He does an amazing job talking to kids about bullying and how to be someone who stops it rather than becomes a part of it. It was amazing!

Our very own Gabby was selected to help our presenter!

This week we have Parent Teacher conferences on Tuesday, September 29. Reminder notes will go home today about your scheduled time.

Those of you not scheduled for this week, will be scheduled for the following Tuesday, October 6.

We are busy getting ready for PT conferences! Come check out what we've been doing!

This week in rooms 409 and 410...

Reading: What Jo Did

Vocabulary: rim, hoop, jersey, fouled, unbelievable, marveled, speechless, swatted

Skills Practiced: Activating Background Knowledge, Cause and Effect, Prefixes

Math: Multiplication facts, Subtracting across zeros, Multiplying by 10, Perimeter/Area

Spelling: Words with short I

quick, deliver, gym, different, picture, middle, interesting, village, written, bridge, guitar, thick, picnic, inch, begin, pitch, itch, chicken, building, package

September 21, 2015

Please look for forms to come home for Parent Teacher Conferences. There are two different dates for conferences. All translating service conferences will be held on September 29 from 4-7:30. All others will be held on October 6 from 4-7:30.

This week in the classroom:

Reading: Letters Home from Yosemite

We will be learning about the genre, expository text.

Vocabulary words are: wilderness, preserve, species, naturalist, slopes, glacier, impressive

Reading Skills: Main Idea/Supporting Details/Text Structure

Math: Patterns/Adding and Subtracting Multi-digit numbers/Multiplication facts/Word Problems

Spelling: More long words with long e with spelling patterns “e”, “y”, “e consonant e”, “i consonant e”:

People, easy, every, police, radio, zebra, evening, body, family, piano, copy, busy, ski, city, pizza, angry, plenty, hungry, sorry, secret

This has been a very busy week. We began our Acuity testing with language arts and will finish it next week with math. We had our pictures taken this morning (Thursday), and we get to participate in an anti-bullying campaign tomorrow (Friday). Forms for Wildcat Pride and Student Council were turned in this week, and Habitat Club had their first meeting today (Thursday). Jackson is a busy, booming, amazing place to be!

One of our new class pets. Both Room 409 and 410 have a habitat created and are enjoying watching these interesting creatures.

Mrs. Reinhart's reading group playing a game to practice compound word skills!

Mrs. Patterson's reading group playing a game to practice compound word skills!

September 14, 2015

This week in Rooms 409 and 410

September 15 Last day for fundraiser

September 17 Picture Day

September 22 Parent Info Night 5-6:30

Spelling:

Months, Days, and Titles

We will be looking at syllables and capitalization of proper nouns.
October, February, Friday, March, Thursday, December, July, May, Dr., August, Sunday, June, Monday, September, Tuesday, January, November, Saturday, Wednesday, April

Reading:

We will be reading The Horned Toad Prince. It is a modern fairytale. We will be studying the elements of a fairytale.

Vocabulary:

bargain: an agreement to trade; deal

favor: act of kindness

lassoed: roped; caught with a lasso

offended: hurt the feelings of someone; made angry

prairie: a large are of level or rolling land with grass but few or no trees

riverbed: a channel in which a river flows or used to flow

shrieked: made a loud, sharp, shrill sound

Skills: Author’s Purpose, Story Structure

Math: We will be working on regrouping within the operations of addition and subtraction. We will continue to study place value and will be working on story problems.

September 7, 2015

Welcome back from a long and much needed holiday weekend! We are up and running and ready for the new week!

Here’s what’s happening in rooms 409 and 410 this week:

Spelling: Words with Long e using ea and ee

season, knee, queen, scream, reason, between, sweep, sweet, speech, beach, seem, teach, means, speak, freeze, leaf, treat, squeeze, peace, please

Reading: We are introducing class pets to our rooms this week and will be studying them in our reading selections. We will have a nonfiction story learning all about Hermit Crabs.

Science: We will be studying he habitats and habits of Hermit Crabs. We will continue to study Rocks and Minerals.

Math: We will be continuing multiplication, and place value. We will begin studying adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

September 17 Picture Day

September 29 and October 6 Parent Teacher Conf. Days

October 2 No School

October 15-16 Fall Break

August 31, 2015

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela

Where did August go? We are already stepping into September and the evenings are already gifting us with a chill to the air…my favorite time of year! I’ve been spending more time walking in the evenings with Mr. Reinhart and our fur babies. This is my very favorite time of the year! I start thinking about mums, pumpkins, and beautiful colors.

Mrs. Patterson and I have been working on grouping students and have found it to be extremely successful. Everyone seems to be getting what they need and our assistants are able to focus their attention to the right places.

We started learning about rocks and minerals this week and will continue into next week. If your child seems to have some extra weight to their backpack, it’s because many are enjoying sharing their rocks with friends and trying to figure out what kinds of rocks they have at home!

Mrs. Patterson and I would love to share a glimpse into what we are doing in the classroom from time to time. We would love to share photos of your child and to celebrate accomplishments on line. We will be sending home a form asking if you would prefer your child’s photo not appear. We are also in the process of setting up a flicker account so that we can share those photos with you. Look for the letter to come home next week.

Reminder: No school on Monday, September 7.

Spelling: Words with short e

Spelling patterns e, ea, ai, ie, ue

again, edge, bread, ever, ready, never, echo, energy, heavy, friend, health, guess, breakfast, fence, stretch, weather, yesterday, desert, sweater, against

Reading: On the Banks of Plum Creek

Genre: Historical Fiction; Comprehension Skills: Literary Elements, Background Knowledge

Vocabulary:

badger: a hairy gray mammal, larger than a weasel, that feeds at night and digs holes in the ground to live in

bank: a shore or the ground bordering a river, lake, or other body of water.

bristled: made fur stand up straight

jointed: the place at which two bones or other parts are joined together

patched: mended, pieced together

ruffled: gathered into a ruffle to trim a garment

rushes: grass like plants with hollow stems that grow in wet soil or marshy place

MATH

We are continuing our work on math facts. Please, please, please support this at home by asking your child to take the time to practice for fluency and memorization.

Next week, we will be working on place value, adding multiple digit numbers with regrouping, word problems, and perimeter and area.

That’s it for now! Have a safe and blessed weekend with your family. I know we are planning to. Mrs. Patterson’s one year wedding anniversary is this weekend and it is my son’s 26^th birthday. We are both looking forward to celebrating the ones we love this weekend!

Loads of love!

Mrs. Reinhart along with Mrs Patterson

Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Patterson!

Happy Birthday Josh!

August 24, 2015

Week Three

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence” Denis Waitley

We have had an amazing first couple of weeks. We have gotten to know our students academically and on a personal level. They are learning our expectations and we are helping some become acclimated to the rigors of fourth grade curriculum and behaviors.

We started switching classrooms for math this week and will do the same for reading next week. We will be working on the same story, same skills, and same spelling words. However, some students will receive different assignments than others so keep in mind if your child’s homework doesn’t match a friends, there is a good reason. We are trying our best to individualize instruction to challenge those that need to be challenged and to bring others up to where they need to be.

Our story for this week will be Lewis and Clark and Me We will be teaching students the strategy of questioning. We will also be teaching author’s purpose. We will do this using the text book, but additionally, using smaller passages from a variety of genres to expose students to a wide variety in order to peak interest. Vocabulary words for this story are as follows:

pioneers, traveled, settlers, territories

Our spelling words are as follows:

awake chase paid eight

mistake plain trade weight

waste afraid neighbor taste

trail plane wait waist

space break state shape

We will be working on the long a sound. We will be learning these words for not only sounds, syllables, but for meaning within context. We try to go beyond the simple spelling of the word, so if your child asks you what one of these words means or how it can be used in a sentence, please assist them and encourage it. You can practice with your child at home by helping them log onto spellingcity.com . Students know their user names and passwords.

For math: We will continue to work on multiplication and place value. Please, please, please help your child memorize his/her math facts each evening. Even fifteen minutes a night will work wonders.

Please contact us with any questions you may have. We are off to a great start and look forward to a fantastic year together!

Lots of love,

Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Reinhart

Welcome Back!

INTRODUCTION:

We are so excited to start the new school year with a new group of kiddos. We met several of you at Open House and can’t wait to meet the rest of you. This is where you can check each week to see what’s happening in Rooms 409 and 410. We have been working on getting our rooms ready and preparing curriculum for the coming weeks.

Please understand that we are both very approachable. We love teaching and we love our students. It is important to both of us to be aware of changes at home, things your child is dealing with, and issues that arise in the classroom. We try to be aware constantly of what is happening. However, it is impossible to know every situation. If something arises, please let us know ASAP. We want to handle problems as quickly as possible. We are a community and spend a lot of time together these 180 days. It is important for all of us to work together! Please don’t hesitate to contact us. We work hard, but we are human. We make mistakes just as our students do and ask that you let us know of classroom issues.

Schedule

The tardy bell rings daily at 8:45 and class starts promptly at that time. Recess is daily at 11:50 and lunch is at 12:15. Lunch ends at 12:45. Early bus is dismissed at 3:05 daily. Car riders are dismissed at 3:10 and late bus is dismissed at 3:25. If there is a change in the way your child goes home, please call the office or write a note in the agenda. Safety is our number one priority and communication will help us make sure your child is going home in the safest way possible.

Our specials schedule is as follows:

Mrs. Patterson Mrs. Reinhart

Mon.: 9:40-10:20 Library 9:40-10:20 PE

Tues: 9:40-10:20 Comp. Lab 9:40-10:20 Library

Wed.: 9:40-10:20 Art 9:40-10:20 Comp.Lab

Thurs.: 9:40-10:20 Music 9:40-10:20 Art

Fri.: 9:40-10:20 PE 9:40-10:20 Music

THE FIRST TWO WEEKS

The first couple of weeks we spend a lot of time getting to know one another. We go over routines, routines, and routines. We lay out our expectations, expectations, and expectations. We learn about the ways each child learns, where they are academically, and talk to them A LOT! These first two weeks are pretty important to the success of the entire school year. It sets the tone of what we expect from them and what they can expect from us. We do a lot of “get to know you” activities. We start teaching critical reading strategies and help students get to know us as individuals, not just as teachers. Included in this first two weeks, we will begin a spelling list in order to teach the routines that go with spelling. We will also begin our first novel.

Here’s some info to keep you on board:

Spelling List

past match ask snack stamp

magic pass laugh happen answer

travel plastic grass aunt began

crack glad branch half banana

With this spelling list, we will be teaching the short a spelling pattern using “a” and “au.” We will also be teaching these words for meaning using analogies and context clues.

The first novel we will be reading is Because of Winn Dixie. Your child will be learning the skill of sequencing and summarizing. Your student will also be working on reading with fluency.

In math we will begin the year by reviewing...a lot! We will also hit multiplication very heavily. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE work with your child at home on these multiplication facts. They are critical to fourth grade success. We will also begin working on place value understanding.

AGENDAS

Fourth grade is a year of learning a lot about growing up. Students are expected to gain a great deal of independence and responsibility. One way to show responsibility is for each student to write in his or her agenda every day. They are given plenty of time each day to do so. They are expected to bring their agendas home so that you can see their homework/news from the day. Please sign your child’s agenda acknowledging that you have seen it. It shows us that they are keeping you aware of their classroom work.

Sending smiles and hugs through cyberspace!