In 4 th Grade our goal is to know, love and serve God as we learn more about God our loving Father, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit, who guides us and leads us each day.

We will study a variety of subjects throughout the year. We will be reading novels, including “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe+, “Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims”, “the Best Christmas Pageant Ever”, a collection of Jan Brett books, “Who was Harriet Tubman?”, “Ramona Forever”, “Number the Stars”, The Magician’s Nephew”, and a collection of Fairy Tales, which we may perform in plays.

In Math, we study place value, (including decimals), rounding, order of operations, factoring, and prime numbers. We practice the 4 basic operations of: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (up to 3 and 4 digits). We study fractions, (using fractions in the 4 basic operations), comparing fractions, and converting fractions to decimals. We study points lines and planes, angles, ratios and percentages, polygons, perimeter and area. My husband will visit and teach cribbage every other Friday.

In Social Studies, we study map skills, and read biographies about Columbus, Squanto, and the Pilgrims. We study the 5 Regions of the United States, learning about their cultures, resources, topographies, and their histories. We memorize which states are included in each region and their capital cities.

In Science we study the systems of the human body, plant and animal classification, and our ecosystem. We study water cycles, weather, and storms, properties of matter, and electricity and magnetism.

Our Spelling is a weekly packet of words, definitions, phonics work, and a final weekly spelling test…all at each student’s spelling ability level. Our Grammar includes a weekly study packet of skills such as sentence structure, (subjects, predicates, compound sentences), parts of speech, (nouns, verbs, adjectives adverbs, etc.) figurative speech (idioms, similes, metaphors, etc.), correct use of commas, apostrophes, and capitalization, and letter writing, especially friendly letters. We practice Cursive writing throughout the year, as we write letters to our parents weekly, write to pen pals from another state, and practice writing Bible verses and journal prayers to Jesus.

In Religion we read Bible stories as we study the Holy Trinity, creation, the life of some of the old testament saints, (including Moses and the 10 commandments), the birth of Christ, and the life of Jesus here on Earth, His teachings (including the Beatitudes), His miracles, His parables, the call of his apostles, and His death and Resurrection We lean about the Holy Mass and we learn how to serve at Mass. We practice writing in our “Jesus Journals” weekly. We learn to sing Christian songs and even get to sing them at Mass from the choir loft. For our community Service projects, we will be walking to and singing at the Manor and the Staples High Rise… during Christmas season and close to Memorial Day. We will be making cards and sharing them while we visit with the residents.

In this classroom, all we do is toward this goal…

“that in all things God may be glorified!”.

Mrs. Odden

About Mrs. Odden

Hello! My name is Kristi Odden. I am the 4th grade teacher at Sacred Heart Area School. I have been a substitute teacher for Sacred Heart Area School and the Staples Motley School District for 6 years. I graduated from Staples Motley High School and then obtained my Bachelor's Degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead. I was born and raised in Staples. My husband Ryan and I have been lifelong members of Sacred Heart Church and both attended SHAS from 1st - 6th grade. Family and community are very important to us. We have been married for 15 years and have two amazing boys. Carter is 11 years old and Jace is 9 years old. We love to explore new places and spend time with family and friends. I love watching children learn and grow academically and spiritually. It is such a blessing to be able to share my love of learning and faith in God. I am very excited to be a part of Sacred Heart Area School!