School Starts on Monday! It is going to be a great year!

Hi,

We will begin our fourth grade year with lots of activities to help us create our classroom community. This classroom will be a safe, accepting place for all students to share their ideas, ask for help, learn independently as well as in groups and to grow together. We will all respect each other and live by the HOWL motto.

H- honor yourself and others
O-own your actions
W-work toward your best
L-listen and be heard

I feel so lucky to be here to help facilitate this process!

We will also be setting up expectations and routines around the school(hallway, bathroom, lunch, recess, specials) and in our reading/writing workshop, math class, read aloud, and science/SS class.

Reading-We will be working on building our reading stamina using self-selected books. We will also read and discuss the characteristics of fiction books as a whole group as well as in small groups. We will discuss themes or author's message and make lots of inferences as we read. Writing reading responses will be done daily. Reading daily at home will be an expectation.

Writing-Writing about special people, places, and things will be our focus. We will do this in a personal narrative and personal essay format. Talking about our writer's notebooks and gathering ideas for writing will also be important this week and throughout the year. As always, writers are expected to write using capital letters, punctuation, and neat handwriting so that they can communicate thier thoughts effectively for others. We will be continuing to work on cursive writing throughout the fall.

Math-In math, we will be problem solving daily using multi-step problems and will be sharing strategies together. We will also be working hard to improve our math vocabulary and use math language daily. Our first unit of study will be numeration and place value. Playing games will help us practice. Working on facts will be an expectation as part of daily homework.

Social Studies-Texas history is our focus in fourth grade. We will begin learning about maps and the regions of Texas. Using the photos of students in areas of Texas will help us learn. We will also take a virtual bus ride through Texas using video clips and photos. Thank you for bringing in your photo!

Science-Science safety and tools will be our first unit. We will learn what to do in a lab and how to do it safely. We will also discuss the scientific process and practice some of those steps.

It is going to be a great first week! I am working hard to make sure that our classroom is ready for lots of engaging and interactive learning!

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns! Email is the best way to reach me.

Thank you so much! I will see you on Monday!

Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
pam_bartholomew@roundrockisd.org

Welcome to a new school year! 2013-2014!!! It is going to be a great year!

Hello!

I am so excited to meet all of our new Bartholomew Bats and welcome you to 4th grade.

The beginning of a school year is one of my favorite times of year. We all get to make new goals, meet new friends, and learn new things. I can't wait for us to all get to know each other, share our summer adventures, and get down to some awesome learning!

I look forward to seeing all of you on our School Supply Drop-off night on Thursday, August 22. If your last name begins with A-L, come between 4:00-4:30. If your last name begins with M-Z, come between 4:45-5:15.

See you on Thursday! This is going to be a great year!

Love,
Mrs. Bartholomew