Welcome to Olson! I am very excited to be your child's 4th grade Language Arts teacher. This is the beginning of my 7th year of teaching. Previously, I had spent several years at home with my 3 children Joshua, Carah and Mikaela. Before returning to teaching full time, I worked part time as a contracted tutor for Allen ISD with students in grades 3rd through 6th. Three summers ago, I attended a 3 week Writing Institute Professional Development Course during the month of July, through Allen ISD. I was trained to help young writers build and develop their writing skills in order to be able to express themselves more confidently. I am thrilled to be teaching many of the new strategies that I learned to your very capable writer. Writing is a process and takes a lot of practice to develop, and I feel confident that your child will become very excited about what they write this year! Last summer I attended the Abydos Reading Week through Allen ISD, and I will continue to implement several of the strategies I learned during our Reading lessons this year. I want to make sure that your child's reading level increases this year by having them read "Just Right Books" at their current level, so that they will continue to build and improve upon their reading level throughout the year. My challenge to each student is that they learn to read books from each of the genres that we will discuss at the beginning of the year and that they continue to do so throughout the school year. Please look into getting them a library card to use at the Public Library to enhance their reading at home and school.
This August I completed a Professional Development Course - Implementing Technology Into The Classroom in the 21st Century. This will include many new and engaging Smart Board activities during lessons, use of the school set of laptaps within the classroom for both Reading and Writing assginments, and of course continued use the of the computer labs at school. My goal for each child I teach is that they leave 4th grade loving both reading and writing so that they will be able to continue building upon these life skills in the future. Please contact me through email if you ever have questions or concerns. Thank you for the privilege of teaching your child. | 
