Dear 5A,

Thank you for such a wonderful semester! Ms. Vaughn and I would like to thank you for your generous presents. We feel so loved and appreciated this season. One of my favorite holiday traditions is taking all of the presents from students home and putting them under our tree. With Paul (Mr. Lynch) working as an assistant in 3C, our tree was overflowing!

The students left our classroom in beautiful condition. I hope everyone has a joyous and restful Winter Break! We will be traveling to Montana to visit Paul’s family. Have a wonderful and well earned break!

Best,

Brianna Lynch

Updates and announcements

What a wonderful time of year! I hope everyone’s weekend was restful and fulfilling. This weekend, the fifth grade teachers got together and made the kids holiday presents. They will be passed out today at the end of school.

This Wednesday, we will clean out the students’ desks and put the contents of their desks in a bag so the cleaning crew can move the desks easier for carpet cleaning. On Wednesday, please send in either a reusable grocery bag or 2-3 plastic grocery bags for students to put the contents of their desks in.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Read between the lines”.

In Literature, we will finish the year with a poetry unit. Students will learn about different literary techniques, such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphors, personification, and symbolism. They will also find these literary devices in poems.

In Writing and Grammar, students compete with a fun diagramming wars activity.

We are finishing up our unit on plant and animal cells this week as the quarter draws to a close. Monday will be a hands on review day-students are very excited to build their own plant or animal cells out of candy components! Tuesday, students have a quiz over the plant and animal cells. Because it is so close to the holidays and this was a short unit, this quiz will be open notes. Students may use any of their study materials in their own science notebooks. If they are missing any notes, students should be sure to find a friend whose notes are complete before Tuesday.

This week in History, students will finish presenting their State Brochure projects. It has been a joy to hear those who have presented already, and we look forward to hearing from the remaining students.

In math, we will have our test over the unit on perimeter, area, and surface area on Monday. We will play review games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was full of candy making and eval writing. One of my favorite parts of the season is making candy for my private violin students and co-workers. I can tell the students are excited for the holidays coming up.

Check out the wish list! We are running very low on hand sanitizer and kleenex.

Please continue to let me know if you student will be out of school. My goal (same as every year), is to have my evaluations done before we all leave for Winter Break. My biggest obstacles are make-up assessments and we are all caught up as of today! I love getting to write about your children and I want to make sure they are a true reflection of your children’s hard work this year.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “A penny saved is a penny earned”.

The roots test over #26-50 will be on 12/12.

In Literature, we will finish the year with a poetry unit. Students will learn about different literary techniques, such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphors, personification, and symbolism. They will also find these literary devices in poems.

In Writing and Grammar, students will take their mid-year grammar test on Tuesday, 12/4. Throughout the week, we will finish our fun essay “Wait, wait, don’t shoot!”. The students will take on the point of view of a turkey around the holidays who is trying to convince the farmer to eat something else for dinner. Students will hand write their final drafts in class, then type them. Students will also have their first writing workshop of the year. On Wednesday, students will spend most of the day going through the writing process and getting feedback throughout the steps. This is in preparation for AZMerit, where students will be expected to write a 5 paragraph essay in one sitting in April.

Students will continue studying cells this week. We will learn about the organelles in the plant cell and how it differs from the animal cell, and learn about how cells divide in mitosis. On Thursday, students will do a cell cycle activity in to help solidify the steps of the cell cycle. Due to how short this unit is, students will have an open notes assessment on the 18th. We are looking forward to seeing all our families at the 5th grade science fair on Wednesday, December 12th from 5:00PM to 6:30PM in the Arete gym to display all of the 5th grades science projects!

This week in History, students will present two times. On Monday and Tuesday, students will present their group projects on feudal Japan. Chapters 1-3 will present on Monday, and chapters 4-5 will present on Tuesday. Wednesday there will be no History, as it will be a day for an extensive writing workshop. On Thursday and Friday, students will present their State brochure projects, which are all due on Thursday.

In math, we will continue our unit on Perimeter, Area, and Surface Area. We will look into the area of a parallelogram, and the surface area of rectangular prisms. The final test of the quarter will be on Monday, 12/17. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. There will be no math groups this week.

Updates and announcements

Can you believe we only have 2 ½ weeks left before Winter Break? Wow! Our students have grown so much and still have a lot to accomplish before then! If there are any planned absences, please let me know and I will accommodate tests for students to make up before they leave.

With the season of giving upon us, students in the past have enjoyed exchanging Secret Santa gifts. While this is sweet for the students to do, it does cause problems for the functioning of our class. We end up with the presents crowding the backpack area, some hurt feelings when some students are not included, then a whole new round of gift giving to fix the hurt feelings! I kindly ask that if students choose to do a Secret Santa exchange, it takes place outside of school. If students would like to give a present to everyone in the class, they may do so during our party on Wednesday, December 19^th .

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Out of the frying pan and into the fire”.

Students will recite “The Snowstorm” on 12/5. We extended the due date due to the complexity of the poem and our Thanksgiving break in the middle. PLEASE NOTE: though it is not long, this is a tricky poem to memorize last minute because it does not rhyme. Students should work a little every night to memorize this beautiful poem. Students picked groups in which to recite their poems together.

The roots quiz for last week’s roots will take place on Wednesday. Students will turn in their 2nd Quarter Roots Study Guide on Wednesday, 12/5, and review it in class. The roots test over #26-50 will be on 12/12.

In Literature, we will finish reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Students will continue their journal entries. For every chapter, students will write one 5-6 sentence paragraph about a virtue a character showed during that chapter. Notebooks will be collected on Friday, 12/7, so all journal entries should be done by then. Please note, the last two chapters are very sad and we may have some weepy students after school. They grow so attached to the story and the beautiful characters.

In Writing and Grammar, students will take their mid-year grammar test on Tuesday, 12/4. Throughout the week, we will learn about persuasive essays and begin work on the fun essay “Wait, wait, don’t shoot!”. The students will take on the point of view of a turkey around the holidays who is trying to convince the farmer to eat something else for dinner.

We will begin our study of cells this week with a review of the differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, with a deeper dive into the characteristics of each. We will also study the layout of plant and animal cells, and learn what each of their organelles does. Students should pay careful attention to their in class notes, as they will be able to use them on their assessment on the 18th.

This week in History, students will learn about feudal Japan by completing a group project. This unit has 5 chapters, and the class will be split up into 5 groups. Each group will be assigned a chapter, and create a presentation to share with the class. Presentations will take place next Monday and Tuesday (December 10th and 11th). All work will be completed in class. Students have also been individually assigned one of the United States, and will create a brochure on said State to present in class. Students will have some research time in class to work on this assignment, including an opportunity to do research on computers. The brochure is due on Thursday, December 13th, and presentations will take place that Thursday and Friday, as well as the following Monday (12/17).

In math, we will continue our unit on Perimeter, Area, and Surface Area. We will look into the area of a rectangle, and explore the reasons behind the equation for the area of a triangle. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will continue our normally scheduled math groups on Wednesday, 8:00-9:15.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break! I had the wonderful opportunity to host my husband’s family, so my weekend was full of wonderful food and wonderful shopping.

As a whole, we have had a lot of absences in 5A in the past few weeks. It would be incredibly helpful if I could get a quick email letting me know if the absence is planned. Especially with the end of the quarter coming up, we need to stay on top of our make up quizzes and tests so my grades are accurate for writing evaluations, and I currently have 19 missed assessments to administer from the two days of school last week.

The spelling bee will take place on Thursday, November 29^th. Information went home a couple weeks ago.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “It’s never too late to mend”.

Students will recite “The Snowstorm” on 12/5. We extended the due date due to the complexity of the poem and our Thanksgiving break in the middle. PLEASE NOTE: though it is not long, this is a tricky poem to memorize last minute because it does not rhyme. Students should work a little every night to memorize this beautiful poem.

The roots quiz for last week’s roots will take place on Wednesday. Students will learn about the roots humus, folium, sal, and mare. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will continue reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Students will continue their journal entries. For every chapter, students will write one 5-6 sentence paragraph about a virtue a character showed during that chapter. We will read through chapter 17 by the end of the week. We will be looking out for foreshadowing and figurative language.

In Writing and Grammar, students will learn about dependent and independent clauses. We will pass our their mid-year grammar test study guide this week and their test will be on Tuesday, 12/4. On Friday, we will begin learning about persuasive essays and the difference between fact, opinion, and propaganda.

This week in science, students will have the opportunity to present their science fair projects to their peers. Students are expected to give a 3-5 minute presentation explaining the major components of their project to their class, as well as taking questions from their classmates. We will spend the rest of Quarter 2 studying differents types of cells, which will begin next week. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 5th Grade Science Fair, which is December 12th in the Arete Gym from 5:00-6:15PM. It will be a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase their hard work to their family and friends!

This week in History, students will finish their unit on England: Golden Age to Glorious Revolution. We will learn about the rule of Charles II of England, the “Merry Monarch”, and his brother, James II of England, as well as the Glorious Revolution. Thursday will be a review day, with study guides due that morning, and the test will be on Friday.

In math, we will finish our unit on Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Students will work on word problems that deal with fractions and review for their test on Thursday, 11/29. We will begin our unit on area, perimeter, and surface area on Friday. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will continue our normally scheduled math groups on Wednesday, 8:00-9:15.

Updates and announcements

I apologize for the late blog! I was out sick today, so I am just getting to this.

I hope everyone enjoys their break!

In an effort to provide a fruitful homework experience for our scholars, we rely on the feedback of our families. Parents, please share your feedback by completing this homework survey at your earliest convenience.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “A miss is as good as a milel”.

Students will recite “The Snowstorm” on 11/28. PLEASE NOTE: though it is not long, this is a tricky poem to memorize last minute because it does not rhyme. Students should work a little every night to memorize this beautiful poem.

The roots quiz for last week’s roots will take place on Tuesday, due to the long break. Students will learn about the roots agon, dromos, and mons. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will continue reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Students will continue their journal entries. For every chapter, students will write one 5-6 sentence paragraph about a virtue a character showed during that chapter. We will read through chapter 15 by the end of the week. We will be looking out for foreshadowing and figurative language.

In Writing and Grammar, we will finish writing narratives on a time the students showed courage. They will share their final draft papers on Friday. We will learn about interjections and possessive possessive words. There will be a short quiz on Friday.

This week in science, students will finish our Classification Unit with their unit test on Monday. Science fair essays are due Monday, and poster boards will be due Tuesday. Students will present their projects to the class the week after Thanksgiving break, and should be prepared to give a 3-5 minute presentation that covers all the major components of their project and answer questions from their classmates. We will begin our next unit on cells after Thanksgiving break-stay tuned for updates!

This week in History, students will learn about King Charles I, and Oliver Cromwell, who succeeded him as Lord Protector of England after the civil war. Tuesday will be a catch up day. We will be taking our test on England: Golden Age to Glorious Revolution next Friday, November 30^th. Study guides will be passed out on Friday, November 16^th and are due the day before the test, on Thursday, November 29^th. This will give students an opportunity to get caught up with what we’ve learned in this unit thus far, so they’re not tempted to do homework over our R&R Thanksgiving break. Students will also be given a writing assignment on Monday about King Charles I that is not due (in rough draft form) until Tuesday, November 27^th but, again, they are not expected to work on this over break.

In math, we will continue with our unit on Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Students will work on word problems that deal with fractions. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will not have math groups this week.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful three day weekend! I am almost officially done with my classwork, so I rewarded myself with some quilting yesterday. I have so many projects “in progress”, it will be nice to get some finished up.

Our winter concert is this Wednesday! See you there!

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Make a mountain out of a mole hill”.

Students will recite “The Road Not Taken” on 11/14. PLEASE NOTE: though it is not long, this is a tricky poem to memorize last minute because it does not rhyme. Students should work a little every night to memorize this. The students will learn about “The Snowstorm” and recite this poem on 11/28. The same note applies for this poem, it has proven challenging to memorize in the past, despite being short.

Students will learn about the roots cutis, cor, dorsum, and athlon. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will continue reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Students will continue their journal entries. For every chapter, students will write one 5-6 sentence paragraph about a virtue a character showed during that chapter. We will read through chapter 13 by the end of the week. We will be looking out for foreshadowing and figurative language.

In Writing and Grammar, we will finish writing narratives on a time the students showed courage. They will share their final draft papers on Friday. We will learn about interjections and possessive words. There will be a short quiz on Friday.

This week in science, students will review for their classification test. They will also go over how to write the science fair essay and be given some class time to work on it. Please note the project essay is due 11/19, and the poster board is due 11/20. The classification test is also on the 19th, so to avoid any stressful nights, your students should be studying some each night to prepare.

This week in History, students will continue our study of the Golden Age of England. We will discuss Queen Elizabeth I, England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the English Civil War. Since we have learned about all 50 States and had our location test last week, we will be having regular lessons on Wednesdays going forward.

In math, we will continue with our unit on Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Students will work on dividing a fraction by a unit fraction, dividing a whole number by a fraction, dividing a fraction by a fraction, and word problems. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will not have math groups this week.

Updates and announcements

The second quarter always feels like it moves so fast! We are already in week 4 and Thanksgiving is only a short 2 ½ weeks away!

Our 50 States Location test is this Wednesday. This site is a great resource for students (and adults ;) ) to quiz themselves: https://online.seterra.com/en 

5A is getting a little less time to work on the poem “The Road Not Taken”, so to make up for that, we will be reciting the poem together every morning before we go to our first special to give them class time to work on it.

The Fall Festival is on Saturday! I hope to see you there!

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Lock, stock, and barrel”.

Students will recite “The Road Not Taken” on 11/14. PLEASE NOTE: though it is not long, this is a tricky poem to memorize last minute because it does not rhyme. Students should work a little every night to memorize this.

Students will learn about the roots rhinos, cornu, and derma. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will continue reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Students will continue their journal entries. For every chapter, students will write one 5-6 sentence paragraph about a virtue a character showed during that chapter. We will be looking out for foreshadowing and figurative language.

In Writing and Grammar, we will begin writing narratives on a time the students showed courage. Toward the end of the week, we will discuss how we classify and diagram interjections.

This week in science, students will continue their study of classification. We will continue studying the Protist “junk drawer” kingdom, and students will be introduce to the bacteria in Kingdom Monera. On Thursday, students will have a chance to practice hands on with a live earthworm and make observations! It will be a fun chance to see science in action. Please make note of the due dates in the science fair packets-students should be finishing their experiment design and gathering materials this week so they can begin trials. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 12th from 5:00PM to 6:30PM, as this will be our 5th Grade Science fair! Students projects will be presented and judged in the gym that night.

This week in History, students will have two tests. Since we need one more day of instruction for the Reformation, our test has been moved from Tuesday to Thursday (11/8). Study Guides are now due Tuesday (11/6), instead of Monday. On Wednesday (11/7), students will be tested on their knowledge of the location of all 50 States. Please encourage your children to study multiple days in advance for each. On Friday, we will learn about King Henry VIII and his multiple wives, in preparation for Unit 5: England: Golden Age to Glorious Revolution.

In math, we will continue with our unit on Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Students will work on word problems that involve multiplying a fraction by a fraction, divide a fraction by a fraction, and divide a whole number by a unit fraction. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will have math groups this week, Wednesday, 11/7, 8:45-9:45. Note the change is due to our Winter Concert rehearsals.

Hello Archway Arete Parents and Students! It’s once again time for our annual Bard Competition, which means registration starts now! If your student is interested in trying their hand at this artistic form in this exciting and challenging competition,  please have them ask their teacher for a registration form, which must be turned in no later than Monday, November 5^th by the end of the day. Each student who registers will also receive a copy of the Poetry Out Loud judging guidelines to help them refine their performance for the first round of the competition, which will take place across November 16^th and 19^th at 3:05 after the school day. More details to follow. I am so excited for this competition to kick off and see what students we’ll be hearing from this year, so please don’t hesitate to register! If you have any further questions, please email Ms. Arce-Lindsay at carce-lindsay@archwayarete.org. I look forward to seeing our students perform! Happy poem hunting!

Updates and announcements

We are off to a strong quarter! Students are adjusting well to the block schedule and are excited by the challenge of switching classrooms.

The Maricopa County Library system has many free resources that can be accessed using your library card login. To do so, go to https://mcldaz.org/ and click on “My Account” in the top right hand corner, and log in using your family’s library card and password. From there, click on “Research” in the top bar and then “A-Z Resources”. The resources are organized alphabetically. The Britannica Library Encyclopedia and Student Resources In Context are both great sources for science fair research. You can also search for books that are available through the website.

This Wednesday is the Read a thon!

Friday is a half day. We teachers get the opportunity to learn in the afternoon.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “To kill two birds with one stone”.

Students will recite the poem “Narcissa” on 10/31, following the same two week schedule as last quarter. We will learn about “The Road Not Taken”. Students will recite that poem on 11/14. PLEASE NOTE: though it is not long, this is a tricky poem to memorize last minute because it does not rhyme. Students should work a little every night to memorize this.

Students will learn about the roots medicus, sanus, and holos. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will continue reading “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Students will begin their journal entries. For every chapter, students will write one 5-6 sentence paragraph about a virtue a character showed during that chapter. We will be looking out for foreshadowing and figurative language.

In Writing and Grammar, we will classify and diagram sentences with coordinate conjunctions. Students will have a quiz over this material on Friday.

In Science, students will continue their study of classification as they dive into the Fungi Kingdom, with a focus on comparing and contrasting with the animal kingdom. There will be a short quiz over the animal kingdom on Monday, and a short quiz over the fungi kingdom on Friday. Thursday will be a work day for science fair projects, and students will review how to correctly write a procedure for an experiment. Please be sure you are following the due dates in the science fair packet-by November 5th, students should have their experiment designed and nearly ready to start trials. 

This week in History, students will finish instruction in our unit on the Reformation, including lessons on the “Counter-Reformation” and a revolution in science. Students will be given study guides for their test on the Reformation on Monday, since they will be due the following Monday (November 5th), with the test on November 6th. On Wednesday, students will review all 50 states to prepare for their location test of all 50 states the following Wednesday, November 7th. Since these two tests are back to back, please encourage students to study multiple days in advance for each. 

In math, we will finish our current unit on Fractions. We will spend quite a while on fractions this year. This week, we will test on the current unit on Tuesday, October 30th. Starting Wednesday, we will begin our next unit on Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. Due to starting a new unit, we will not have math groups this week.

Updates and announcements

It was so lovely getting to meet with all of you last week. The support at home helps make our school year successful.

Our Read a thon is next week! Time is flying. Be on the lookout for an email from our class moms. Costume proposals went out last week and are due to me by Friday.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “The grass is always greener on the other side”.

Students will recite the poem “Narcissa” on 10/31, following the same two week schedule as last quarter.

Students will learn about the roots pais, schole, ludo, and iatros. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will start reading “Where the Red Fern Grows” on Tuesday, October 23rd. Please send in your child’s copy of the book by Tuesday. We will be looking out for foreshadowing and figurative language.

In Writing and Grammar, we review sentence diagramming and parts of speech. We will go over pronouns and the implied “you” subject in imperative statements or commands.

This week in science, students will continue their study of classification of the animal kingdom and begin their study of the fungi kingdom. We will take notes in class that will be used to study for quizzes and for homework assignments, so students should be coming home with their science notebooks often. Friday will be a science fair workshop day, with students receiving guidance on how to research their topics, as well as in class time with the computers to research. Science fair topic proposals are due by Friday, October 26th, but may be turned in earlier. Please review the list of due dates in the science fair packet with your child and be sure that the timeline works for your project. If you are planning to do a project that involves growing plants, you are encouraged to turn in your topic proposal earlier and begin experiments ahead of the recommended due dates.

This week in History we will learn about the spread of Protestantism, since we were not able to last week. On Wednesday, students will be quizzed on the States in the Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and West Coast regions. We will then learn about Alaska and Hawaii. Students can expect their quiz on all 50 States on Wednesday, November 7^th.

In math, we will continue with our unit on Fractions. We will spend quite a while on fractions this year. This week, we will convert measurement expressed as a mixed number to a smaller unit, convert a measurement expressed as a whole number to a fraction or a mixed number of a larger unit, and solve word problems that involve fractions of a whole. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will continue math groups on Wednesday, October 24th, 8:00-9:15.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fall Break! I accomplished many things, including finishing up two of my classes early!

This week, every day is a half day due to parent teacher conferences. If you have not already done so, please sign up for a conference. There are some slots still open on Wednesday. If none of those times work for you, please reach out and we will schedule a different day.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Forty winks”.

In poetry this week, students will learn about the poem “Narcissa”. Students will recite this poem on 10/31, following the same two week schedule as last quarter.

Students will learn about the roots anthropos, vir, and femina. There will be a roots quiz over these next Wednesday, following the same schedule as last year. Students should expect a similar roots quiz every Wednesday over the roots learned the previous week.

In Literature, we will start reading “Where the Red Fern Grows” on Tuesday, October 23rd. Please send in your child’s copy of the book by Tuesday.

In Writing and Grammar, we review sentence diagramming and parts of speech. Students will also practice their descriptive writing skills by writing short paragraphs for homework.

This week, students will begin their unit on classification. They will begin with a series of Socratic in class activities to help them understand how scientists classify and its importance in the study of living organisms. Students will use their science notebooks to help them study for short quizzes throughout the unit. There will be a short quiz next Tuesday over classifying and the animal kingdom.

This week in History we will begin instruction in Unit 4: Reformation. We will discuss how the Renaissance affected change in some religious views during this time, including the birth and spread of Protestantism. For U.S. Geography on Wednesday, we will study the Northwest.

In math, we will continue with our new unit on Fractions. We will spend quite a while on fractions this year. This week, we will compare fractions with the help of benchmark fractions, multiply a fraction by a whole number, and convert a measurement expressed as a fraction of a unit to a smaller unit. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. There will be no math groups or tutoring this week.

Updates and announcements

Can you believe how fast the first semester flew by? This is already my last post of the first quarter. I hope everyone has some exciting and/or relaxing plans for Fall Break! I’ll be getting ahead on my coursework (which will be a treat in and of itself), quilting, and hanging out with Cosmo and Gustav.

If you have a planned absence, please let me know as soon as possible so we can reschedule any assessments your child might miss.

On Friday, we will have our “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” party. Lunch is provided, so parents do not need to send a lunch this Friday.

Throughout the week, I will be inviting students to eat lunch with me to talk about how the first quarter went, and talk about friendship. Students will get their recess and I am really looking forward to a conversation with every student to wrap up our quarter.

Last week, we talked about prioritizing when the end of the quarter arrives and there are multiple assessments in a week. As a general reminder, study guides are always due before the test and we will go over the answers to the study guides in a review the day or two before the test. Students are welcome to ask questions about the study guide before it is due.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Few and far between”. We are done with poetry for quarter 2! In its place this week, we will have Socratic discussions about literature.

Students will have a test over the 25 roots learned this quarter on Wednesday, 10/3. We went over their study guides last week, so their study materials should be all correct. If there happen to be some missing, a quick google search will provide you with a root definition, origin, and derivative.

In Literature, we will have some guided discussion activities for “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”. On Monday, we will be playing a game where students place all of the events from the book in chronological order.

In Writing and Grammar, we will finish our imaginary field trip paragraphs by revising in class, writing the final draft in class, then typing the final drafts on Friday morning. Students will read their written final drafts on Thursday as part of our “publishing” step of the writing process.

In Science, students will be reviewing concepts for their chemistry test that will be Thursday. Study guides are due Tuesday, and we will go over the information as a class. Students are encouraged to make their own study aids-this is a great chance to try their hand at making a Quizlet if they haven’t done so already!

This week in History students review Unit 3: Renaissance on Monday and take their test on Tuesday. On Wednesday we will continue with U.S. Geography, covering the Southwest (which includes Arizona!). On Thursday and Friday we will begin Unit 4: Reformation, creating a foldable to use throughout the entire unit.

In math, we will continue with our new unit on Fractions. We will spend quite a while on fractions this year, as it is along unit that will go well into the second quarter. This week, we will add, and subtract fractions and mixed numbers, and multiply fractions by a whole number. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will continue math groups on Wednesday, 8:00-9:15.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! This quarter is flying by, and we don’t even have school on Friday!

As we gear up for the end of the quarter, we remind our students that, while there are multiple assessments coming up, they are spaced out. Study guides are due on different days and tests are not scheduled on the same day. It is important for us to explicitly teach prioritizing and time management in the classroom. We will also be reminding students of the online resource, Quizlet, to help them create study tools from their study guides.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Every Cloud has a Silver Lining”. As a routine, students will have two weeks to memorize their poems. This will be a regular rotation and the recite date will be on the “Due Dates” section of the board. The last poem of the quarter, “Some Opposites”, will be recited on 9/26.

Students will review all 25 of their roots for the quarter. The study guides are going home today and will be due Thursday, 9/27. The test will be on Wednesday, 10/3.

In Literature, we will finish reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

In Writing and Grammar, we will continue descriptive writing with a descriptive paragraph describing an imaginary field trip. We will work through the writing process (brianstorm, pre-write, rough draft, editing/revising, and publishing), ending the week by typing the descriptive paragraphs.

This week in science, students will continue their study of chemistry by exploring patterns in the periodic table, as well as the differences between compounds and mixtures. There will be a lab on Friday to help deepen their understanding of elements, compounds and mixtures. Study guides for the unit test will be sent home on Tuesday and will be due Monday, Oct 1st. The unit test will be Thursday, October 4th.

This week in History we will finish the instruction for Unit 3: Renaissance. The unit test will be next Tuesday, October 2nd, after a review day on Monday. Next Wednesday we will have a Socratic discussion around two passages that were written during the Renaissance period. Study guides will be given out this Monday, September 24th, and are due Monday, October 1st. This week, students will learn about Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, a few theorists from other Renaissance men on how to live, and lastly what the Renaissance was like in Northern Europe. There is no U.S. Geography this week. 

In math, we will continue with our new unit on Fractions. We will spend quite a while on fractions this year, as it is along unit that will go well into the second quarter. This week, we will explore the relationship between fractions and division, as well as adding and subtracting fractions. Please note that we will have frequent quizzes in math. When a “b” quiz comes home for homework, that means there will likely be a quiz the next day. This means there will be frequent, low stakes math quizzes. We will continue math groups on Wednesday, 8:00-9:15.

Good afternoon,

Thank you all for filling out the homework survey! Your comments are very helpful and are taken into consideration. The results for fifth grade were largely positive and what we hope for. Out of those who completed the survey, 83% spend less than the maximum amount of time on homework (90 minutes). Per the handbook, the maximum amount of time a student should spend on homework at the Archway is 90 minutes. In fifth grade, we aim for about 60-75 minutes of dedicated, focused homework, with no more than 90 minutes.

16.7% spend 30-45 minutes on homework.

37.5% spend 45-60 minutes on homework.

16.7% spend 60-75 minutes on homework.

12.5% spend 75-90 minutes on homework.

16.7% spend more than 90 minutes on homework.

(*percentages were rounded, so they will not add up to 100%)

If you are in the cohort whose child spends 90 minutes or more per night, please let your teacher know. Students should strive to finish a little bit of each subject if they are not able to finish everything in that 90 minutes. If homework was a struggle the night before, please make a note on the student’s paper and send the teacher an email letting them know. We will work with you to find a solution.

Please note that larger assignments and projects should fit into the allotted homework time each night. Students should complete these in small chunks each night, not saving it all for the night before it is due.

If you have any questions or would like clarification on anything, feel free to reach out.