Last week of December

Hello, Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying your last week of school! On the agenda this week:

All Week:
I will be completing Reading Assessments: Fluency (How much your child can read in a minute) and comprehension (Do they understand what it is they are reading?)

Wednesday:
8:30 - depart Spring Hill for Bob Bullock
9:00 - arrive at Bob Bullock
11:45 ish - return to Spring Hill for Lunch

Friday:
10:45-11:45 Christmas Party
Please see your child's sign up sheet for the item they volunteered to bring in.
We will be decorating cookies, making ornaments, and playing games. :)
EARLY RELEASE AT 12:00 Please make plans to get home early ;)

I hope you have a fabulous, restful vacation. I will miss you all!

Welcome, December!!

I'm so glad to see December, aren't you?! We have a busy couple of weeks upon us.

Dec. 10th is Cocoa with Santa- make sure to turn a slip into Mrs. Switzer if you plan on attending. This will be my first year missing this event. My sister is arriving in Houston from Australia with her family, and I will be there to greet them.

Dec. 14th is our field trip to the Bob Bullock Museum. Parents, please make sure you have filled out a background check if you plan on attending. Also, the fee is $11 for the entry and movie.

Dec. 16th will be our class Christmas Party. It is also an early release day. Please make arrangements for your child to get home this day. :)

Science Fair projects are under way. We will be working on them each day in class for the remainder of December. Please use this site for additional Science Fair links if you'd like. I'm going over packets now, and they look great! I can't wait to get back with the kids about this on Monday. :)

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

As always, if you have any apps to recommend for the iPads that are educational, please let me know!!!!

Have a great December!

Progress Reports Updated....AGAIN....

It has come to my attention that progress reports are due out tomorrow. Some classes sent theirs last week, but due to Gradebook having difficulties, it is stressed to us that we may want to wait until tomorrow in case there are some glitches with the grades. I appreciate your patience with this! :)

Progress Reports update

I wanted to let you know that Progress reports will not be going home until Monday. I apologize for the delay, but I became ill Thursday morning and will be out Friday. I apologize for the delay as they should have been out this afternoon.

November Newsletter

Hi, All!

I hope you are enjoying this cooler weather.

Science
November has shown us some great weather thus far - just perfect for outside observations of weathering, erosion, and deposition. :) I'll be posting our iPad projects here for you to see (The students are tweaking some of them this week). We will have a test over this topic on Thursday. Please review your study guide that went home tonight. :)

Spelling
Spelling test will be Friday. This is going to be an oral assessment. Last week's test was using our spelling words in an editing passage. We will alternate between the different tests. You can find updated lists on http://www.spellingcity.com/.


Writing
Students will be introduced to expository writing this week. So far this year, we have only written personal narratives. I will be sending home copies with a rubric so you can see how your child is performing and what areas need to be addressed.

Reading
In Reading, we are discussing headings, captions, and illustrations. Students are looking at three things when reading new text:
I know....
I predict...
I wonder...

Math
Please work with your children on their basic multiplication. We are working on 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication problems this week. Our next step is solving them in word problems and multi step word problems.


Social Studies
We will continue our study over Spanish Missions in Texas.

News
Please have children wear the color blue on Friday. We will be taking an aerial school wide photo, and each grade level will represent a certain color for Veteran's Day.


Race for the Cure is this Sunday, November 13th! Put on those running shoes, and come out for a nice jog or walk!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. :)

Learning.com and spellingcity.com

We have been learning about keyboarding during our computer lab time. In order for students to access their learning.com account, please have them log in like this:
7#
CROWNIT (all caps)
PFLUGERVILLE   ISD

Spelling city has our new spelling lists. I've decided to keep a running list so students can continue to practice old lists.

Have your child work on their assigned list (either square or rhombus).

They can find me by searching for a teacher and clicking on cardiel. You can also click here: http://www.spellingcity.com/pcardiel/

This week's list is over the /oi/ and /ou/ sounds.

Have a great week!!!

Change to Homework Packets

Just a notice. There has been a change to the homework assignments. You may have noticed that I am no longer sending home weekly packets. The first nine weeks, we sent home a weekly packet. Starting the 2nd nine weeks, I will be sending home daily assignments. Students have been utilizing their agendas, so please check them to see when homework is due.

Early Release, CBAs, and Pops Rally

Congrats, everyone!

We have finished 2 of 4 district assessments. Monday and Tuesday we completed Writing and Reading. Wednesday, we will have our Math assessment, and Thursday will be Science.

We are also completing our first formal writing of the year. Students have been given a prompt which they drove through the Writing Process. I'm so excited to see the outcome! We have really pushed sentence lifting in our editing and revision stage. These guys are doing a wonderful job. Keep it up. I can't wait to see the final products and show them off!!!

Please remember, Wednesday is an early out day. Students will be released at 12:00. Please make arrangements for kiddos to get home at this time.

Friday is our first POPS rally! It will be at 1:45. Hope to see you there!!!

Newsletter: Week of Oct. 17th

Hi, Everyone!
I hope you are enjoying your weekend! I was so happy to see so many of you show up to the Fall Luau this weekend. I know my kiddos had a blast. They were not too happy to leave. I think the inflatable slide really captured their hearts. :)

This week, we will start TEA time. This is going to be a Math focused TEA time. We will be switching classes for 30 minutes to focus on a particular objective. Every one of us is unique. Therefore, we will all be split into different classrooms.

Math

We also have a District-wide Math assessment on Friday. This is a test all fourth graders in Pflugerville will take. It will cover the past nine weeks. We will be reviewing the following concepts this week:
comparing and ordering numbers
written, standard, and expanded form of numbers
decimals
subtracting and adding decimals and whole numbers
increasing and decreasing temperatures
comparing temperatures
perimeter
area
measurement
arrays
multiplication
word problems

ELA
We will continue to compare and contrast characters and analyze characters.
We will continue editing and revisions to our sentences and writing. 
Our spelling pattern is /yoo/.
Daily five packets will come home on Mondays with graded assignments. Please keep an eye out! ;)

Science
The Water Cycle

Social Studies
Present Native American Projects
Introduction of European Settlers

I hope you have a fabulous week!!! 

Student Holiday

Hi, Everyone,

Just a reminder: There is no school on Monday due to parent conferences. Please check your child's folder for your set time. There was a confirmation sheet that went home.

There is also no school on Tuesday for teacher professional development.

I will see you on Wednesday. Have a wonderful time off. Here are the topics we are discussing in class.

Writing
Staying on topic
Sentence lifting

Social Studies
Native Americans of Texas - research projects

Science
Weather

Math
Arrays
Mulitiplication

Don't forget to read this weekend. You will still be responsible for turning in a reading log on Wednesday.

See you soon!!!

Tour Texas

We have begun our trip around Texas!

So far, we have identified the four regions of Texas...can you identify all of them?

High _____________
Central ___________
Gulf _____________
Mountains ________

We've also discussed major cities and rivers in Texas. Can you name some of the cities and rivers? Which major river runs through Austin?

Let's take a tour of Texas....
http://www.tourtexas.com/texas_maps_regions.cfm

If you have pictures you would like to submit from around Texas, please feel free to email them to me and we will post them here. Please make sure you are in the picture!!! :)

SPELLING CITY!!!/ Newsletter

Hello!
I just wanted to let you know that I have activated our Spelling City link. Just click on student and search for your teacher's name. Then, you can play games with your spelling words!!! Pay attention to what list you are looking at. List b has been entered for PFLEX.

Also, here is a run - down of what we are currently studying in class :)

Math
Continue with addition and subtraction of decimals
Reading and recording temperatures on thermometers

Social Studies
Texas Regions
What are the four regions of Texas?
What states surround Texas?
What bodies of water are located in and close to Texas?

Science
The Moon Phases
Tides

ELA
Spelling - long e
The writing process - brainstorming

Review Subject/predicate

Subject/verb agreement


On a side note, our ipads have been cleared for take off! Mrs. Cardiel will be loading apps this week. We should have access to them any day now. Sorry for the delay (we had to take care of the paperwork!).

Moon experiment

We experimented this week with the moon phases. Here are some pictures from our lesson with Ms. DC. Did you ask mom and dad what a self shadow is???










-Mrs. Cardiel. :)

See you Tuesday

I will be out Monday, so please show the sub what great helpers you are! Your new jobs were posted by the door in Friday. Please make sure to check them out! I hope you are able to enjoy some rain this weekend!


-Mrs. Cardiel. :)

Test


-Mrs. Cardiel. :)

Spelling Words

Here is the Spelling list for the week of 9-12.
Unit 3 - Long a: a, ai, ay

holiday
paper
station
able
favor
trailer
lady
nation
relay
raido
aim
crayon
flavor
lazy
brain
anyway
remain
rail
grayest
fail

Gas help

Can you help me? I'm trying to gas up, and I need your help. Can you help me decide which is the least expensive gas!? Explain how you know it's the least. Does place value matter? I see the second number has a one in it, which is the smallest digit. I'm leaning towards that one. Am I correct?



-Priscilla :)

Our Soldiers

Here are some of our pen pals that we will be communicating with this year. :) Get ready!!!

Spelling words

Here is our list just in case....
Huge
Case
Alone
Beside
Became
Awhile
Wife
Drove
Surprise
Invite
Wise
Rise
Cube
Fame
Blame
Chose
Tire
Spoke
Scale
Alive


Don't forget..... Three tests tomorrow.
Spelling
Math
Science

Don't forget to show Mom and Dad your book study test from today!!

News - Week of Sept. 6th

Hi, Everyone!

This week is a short week but full of lots of learning ;) 

A few reminders:

Friday is Picture Day!!! Wear your favorite shirt and your best smile!!!

Also, please bring a box decorated for your buddy by Friday. We will be delivering these to them to keep at home for their home libraries. We completed an all about me book last Friday. Use this information to help you decorate. Unfortunately, our schedules are tight this week, and we are unable to decorate them in class. 

Studies this Week

Math

Friday we will have a bundle assessment over the first three weeks of school. This will include place value, rounding, and estimating as well as comparing numbers.

ELA/SS

This week, we have started our first book study, Sarah, Plain, and Tall. Students are working on summaries, character studies, and setting. We are also focusing on vocabulary. 

We will have another Spelling test Friday. Great work last week!

We are also studying the Compass Rose in SS.

Science

We are continuing to study Science tools. We will also have an assessment on this Friday. (Don't you love Fridays)

Help for Fire Victims

Hello, Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day Holiday. I know our neighbors were hit pretty hard in Bastrop and Steiner Ranch as well as our own Pflugerville. We have a wonderful parent, Cheryl Tramp, who has been collecting clothing for victims as well as bottled water, Gatorade, and goodies for the volunteers and firemen. Our kids are writing thank you letters for all of the firemen, rescuers and helpers.

I am asking if you have ANYTHING to contribute, please send it with your child. If it is monetary, please label it as a donation for the fire victims. We are accepting anything from clothing to books and toys. Some of these families lost everything. Lets keep them in our thoughts, please.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Today, we started reading the historical fictional book, Sarah, Plain, and Tall. I want you to predict what this book is going to be about. Make sure your prediction is at least two sentences long. Include capitals and punctuation.

Place Value

Just a review:

Standard form is NUMBER FORM. Example: 8,565,943
Written form is a number written in words. Example: eight million, five hundred sixty-five thousand, nine hundred forty-three.
Expanded form is finding the value of each digit and expressing it as a sum.Example:
8,000,000+500,000+60,000+5,000++900+40+3

Kayelin's Birthday

Happy birthday to our Kayelin...here is her picture from Monday. Yum yum!



-Priscilla :)

Week of August 29th

Thank you to all of our wonderful families who have graciously donated items to our classroom! They are very much appreciated!

Homework
Students received a new spelling list this week. Please check the homework packet. Homework is due Friday, and the spelling test will be on Friday.

Reading logs are due on Mondays. Please include 100 minutes and a 3-4 sentence summary about your favorite part in a book you are reading. Students went to the school library today. All students have a book to read at home. If they borrowed one from our class library, please make sure to return it.

Here is what we are studying in school this week:

Math - place value - written, standard and expanded forms
comparing numbers

Reading - Because of Winn- Dixie - discussing plot structure including character, setting, and summary

Writing - personal narrative - write about a time you made a new friend (related to the story Because of Winn-Dixie)

Science - Science Safety and Tools (Test Tuesday)

SS - Map Skills - Texas on the map, compass rose

Reminders
No school next Monday due to the Labor Day holiday.
PTO meeting is Sept. 13th @ 6:30. 
Please have a water bottle every day - it is a scorcher outside!!!
Please make sure to check your child's behavior and reading log each day.
Book orders are due next Tuesday, Sept. 6th.

Have a wonderful week! 

September Book Orders

Book orders go out today. Please look in your child's take home folder today. Orders are due on Tuesday, September 6th. Please make checks out to Scholastic. If you want to order online, please click here.
You will need activation code GT7TX. Just a reminder, points gained from orders help us fill our classroom library! :)
Happy ordering!

Birthdays

Yesterday, we had our first birthday of the year. Kayelin turned 9 years old! I want YOU to tell me (in a complete sentence) about your best birthday ever in 2 -3 sentences. Please include your first and last name and number!

Great first week!

We had a grrrreat first week! I'm currently writing on one of our new iPads. I plan on taking them out next week for our class! I hope you enjoyed your first week!
Please remember to check that the following items have been signed and returned to school:
Monday - reading log
In addition: registration forms
Science notebook contracts
Volunteer forms
Student compacts

Also, we are putting together reading book boxes for our Kinder buddies. Please search for a box that you can decorate for them. It can be a shoe box, or something close in size. Students will be meeting their buddies this coming week to get to know them. Then they will decorate their boxes accordingly.

I can't wait for another wonderful week! Get some rest this weekend!

Parent Orientation

Just a reminder:

Parent Orientation

Thursday, August 25th

6:00 PM

Rm. 402

Change on how to make a post

I have made a change to our blog. Students who do not have access to an account can make a post as an anonymous user. However, please make sure they include their name in their post so I know who made the comment. Thank you so much!!!

Great First Day!

We had a super first day! I was so happy to see all of our friends. We have 19 wonderful kiddos in our classroom so far this year. Below, you will see the first blog assignment for the year. Today we read along on Tumblebooks and saw First Grade Jitters. You can watch it online at home and use this to help your child respond to this week's blog (listed below under "First Assignment"). Students have until Friday to respond.

There are many papers for you to sign this week. Please have them turned in no later than Friday. I know the office would really appreciate it.

Just a reminder, Parent Orientation is Thursday at 6PM. We forgot to put this in agenda alongside our PTO meeting. The first PTO meeting will be Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30. The rest of the meetings this year are at 3:00.

I look forward to a wonderful year! Thank you for making this such a wonderful first day. Hugs to all my great kids!!!

First Assignment

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging!!! I hope you have enjoyed your first day at school. I know we are talking a lot about procedures, rules, routines, expectation, and so forth. HOWEVER ---- I would like you to make an entry about YOUR thoughts and feelings for the year to come. You can tell me what you are excited to learn about or something you are looking forward to doing this year. I look forward to reading all your responses! Get a good night of rest, and I will see you in the morning! :)
Mrs. Cardiel

SCORE!!!

Well, Friday night was Midnight Madness. In attempt to get our rooms prepped and ready, we stayed up as long as we could and worked ourselves mad! It's always so much fun! I was so excited to see that I won the first door prize - ME! Wow - I can't say that has ever happened to me. I was so excited to find out that it was an itunes card. Yay! I'm forking it over to my kiddos so we can purchase some more apps for our iPads. I can't wait!!

Tomorrow is Meet the Teacher from 3:00-4:00. I can't wait to see all of my new babies! I will be posting one of your first homework assignments right here! Be sure to stay tuned! :)

Technology, data, and more

I'm very excited about this school year. I've been attending trainings all week for Technology, our new Spelling adoption, and GT Writing. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to having the children work on the Promethean board and iPads! In this day and age, children are using SOME kind of handheld device. If it's not a cell phone or DSI, it's an iPod or Gameboy. I think Technology will really grasp their attention. Plus, we have the technology to take mini assessments in just minutes (pretest and post-test), which allows us to gather data on every child. Apple will have a new app in September which will allow children to download to their own ipods/nanos a program that acts like a remote to answer questions posted on the Promethean board. Every child can then have their own remote instead of sharing. I think this would be great for assessments. 

This year, we are on a 9 week reporting period. Students will be receiving two progress reports each reporting period. I plan on having a lot of progress monitoring on my students. I already have my binder up and ready to go. Plus, we have a new program at school which allows us to use Scantrons and collect data on all of our math bundle assessments. These will be given every three weeks. I know it sounds like a lot of data, but data is important. It helps me know what your child needs and helps you understand where your child is at.Together, we will make a great team!

It's Coming!!!!

Can you believe it? The start of the new school year is already upon us. Just two short weeks, and we will be hearing the sound of the alarm clock, the crunch of the morning breakfast, and the door shutting behind us as we get off to school. I'm very excited about this year. I have a new room with a Promethean board. I am in the 4th/5th hallway, now. That means I will get to see more of my babies from last year! I miss them so much! There should be a lot of adventures to hear about.

Right now, the teachers are working frantically to get the rooms just right. Some have switched rooms, grade levels, and even schools. It will be different this year, but wonderful to say the least. I'm working on the blog to help with student writing, parental communication, and as a supplement to our curriculum. I hope you find it helpful!

Sight Word Practice

If you brush up on your sight words, your comprehension will only improve. Here are some flashcards for the fourth grade Dolch list. Have fun practicing!!!

Welcome! And...Summer Practice

I've had many attempts at keeping communication online with blogs, Shutterfly, and even my own website. However, I think this will be the best attempt yet. I'm planning on providing information for current students, students past, and even teachers.

I'm sending this link to many of my students from last year in attempt to provide a little practice over the summer. I hope you have enjoyed your summer thus far.

Today, I'm going to provide some links to help you out on the computer. One will be for Language Arts, the other will be for Math.  I'm also writing a paragraph that needs some proofreading. Can you help out? Good luck!

Please feel free to leave any messages! I will be checking in weekly (hopefully a couple times a week).

I miss you all and can't wait to see your wonderful faces!!!!!

Proofreading
Can you combine sentences to create compound sentences (using and, but, so, or, etc)? Are you also able to find any capitalization, usage, punctuation or spelling mistakes? (CUPS!)

This summer was so kool! I have a great time playing with my frends and I even made sum new friends. i'm anxious to start the new year? i will be a fourth grader this year. can you beleve it? I just love school. only one month left of summer i can't wait

Language Arts  and Math Link:
Internet 4 Classrooms

Math Link:
Place Value  - We start the year off with a lot of place value. Please practice!!!!

Enjoy and have a great summer!