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.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. We had an exciting weekend full of scorpions! After six months being scorpion free, we found two this weekend.

We have a busy week ahead of us with Picture Day on Thursday and Grandparents’ Day on Friday.

Be sure to have your child check the due dates board in the classroom. Our regularly scheduled assessments are there, as well as big assignment due dates.

Our week in learning

This week, students will learn about the idiom “Eureka”. 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. “Some Opposites”, will be recited on 9/26.

Students will continue learning Greek and Latin roots, learning theos, deus, divinus, and homo. Students will have a weekly quiz over these roots next week. This is the last week of new roots. Students will start reviewing for their 25 root test at the end of the quarter.

In Literature, we will read through chapter 14 in “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”. We will focus on summaries and identifying and defining vocabulary words from the chapter. Please note that not all classes will be in the same part of the chapter every day, but should end the week on the same chapter.

In Writing and Grammar, we get to start descriptive writing. For this, we will describe a sandwich using our five senses. Students will also get to draw an imaginary creature from Narnia, write a descriptive paragraph about their character, exchange descriptive paragraphs and have another student draw their creature based off their paragraph. We will explore how the paragraphs could have been improved to make the drawings more similar.

This week in science, students will begin the Chemistry that will last until the end of the quarter. Students will discuss the concept of matter using a hands on demonstration, and then begin studying the Periodic Table. Students will then learn about atoms and how they form into molecules and compounds in preparation for an exciting lab this week. There will be a short vocabulary quiz on Friday covering the vocab learned throughout the week.

This week in History we will continue with our unit on the Renaissance. Students will learn about the cities of Florence, Rome, and Venice and their role in the Renaissance. Students will also discuss the Popes and their role during this cultural shift in the West. We will finish on Friday by studying the artist, Leonardo da Vinci. In U.S. Geography on Wednesday, students will be quizzed on the States in the regions of the Midwest and Great Plains. We will also discuss the Rocky Mountain region, covering the States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.

In math, we will finish our new unit on “More Calculations with Whole Numbers”. We will practice dividing by 2 digit numbers, complete word problems with division and multiplication, and review for their unit test, which will be on Thursday, September 20th. We will be using graph paper, so feel free to use graph paper at home to help keep students organized. 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.