Classroom Update: Quarter 4, Week 3

Hello Parents!

I hope that everyone has had a restful R&R Weekend!

Our tests and quizzes this week:

Monday, April 6:

None!

Tuesday, April 7:

Math Quiz (Unit 10, Chapter 2)

Wednesday, April 8:

Literature Quiz (Chapters 1-6 in The Little House on the Prairie)

Thursday, April 9:

None!

Friday, April 10:

Spelling Test (30 Words)

Science Test (Astronomy)

Here is what we will be doing this week in 3B:

In Literature, we will be continuing our progress through The Little House on the Prairie. There will be a quiz on Chapters 1-6 on Wednesday. To help prepare your student, please go over the questions and vocabulary words on the chapter worksheets with them each night. There are still many volunteer spaces open for our reading groups. If you are interested and have a Fingerprint Clearance Card, please sign up! We would love to have you in the classroom! In Grammar, we will be working on creating opinion paragraphs. In Writing, we will continue with our typical narration and summary exercises. In Spalding, we will cover another 30 words and have a spelling test on Friday. Our poem this week is "The Cow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Our idiom for the week is "The show must go on!".

In Math, we will continue our units on fractions. We will be focusing on comparing and ordering fractions. There will be a chapter quiz on Tuesday. Later in the week, we will focus on adding and subtraction fractions.

In History, we will be starting our final unit on the 13 original colonies! We will begin with the Southern Colonies this week. The Third Grade Team would like to let you know that during week 5 of the quarter we will be having a class discussion regarding the slave trade. This information will be presented in a manner that is appropriate for third graders, but we wanted to let you know when we would be talking about this in case there were conversations you would like to continue at home on the topic. We are including a link to a Google Doc that has the information that your students will be reading in class on the subject. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

In Science, we will continue our astronomy unit. On Friday, we will be having our first test that will cover what we have learned so far. 

As always, please contact me if there are any questions or concerns!

Best,

Ms. Sexton

Classroom Update: Quarter 4, Week 2

Hello Parents!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend! Quarter 4 is off to a great start!

Our tests and quizzes this week:

Monday, March 30:

None!

Tuesday, March 31:

None!

Wednesday, April 1:

None!

Thursday, April 2:

Spalding Assessment

History Test (Explorers)

Friday, April 3 [NO SCHOOL]:

None!

Here is what we will be doing this week in 3B:

In Language Arts, we will be starting one new unit and continuing the other units. In Literature, we will be beginning our final book of the year, The Little House on the Prairie. Please let me know if your student needs to borrow a copy from the school. Here is where you can sign up for our last set of reading groups. In Writing, we will continue working on reading comprehension and question sentences. In Grammar, we will continue with practicing our dictionary skills, as well as, applying what we have learned in written grammar to how we speak verbally. In Spalding, we will continue with another 30 words this week and then an assessment on Thursday. This assessment will be used as a gauge to see how our students are progressing through our word lists. There is no poem or idiom this week due to not having school on Friday. 

In Math, we will be continuing our fractions unit. This week we will be discussing equivalent fractions. We will also be learning how to multiply and divide them. By the end of the week, we will be discussing how to express fractions in their simplest form. 

In History, we will be finishing up our unit on the Explorers. There will be an in-class review day on Wednesday and then the final test will be taken on Thursday. 

In Science, we will be focusing on Kepler and his additions to our understanding of the solar system. We will also begin to focus on gravity and how it affects our world.

As always, please feel free to contact me if there are any questions or concerns!

Best,

Ms. Sexton

Classroom Update: Quarter 4, Week 1

Good Morning, everyone!

I hope that everyone had a restful break! We are beginning our last quarter!

Our tests and quizzes this week:

Monday, March 23 [No School]:

None!

Tuesday, March 24:

None!

Wednesday, March 25:

None!

Thursday, March 26:

Literature Quiz ("Rikki-tikki-tavi, "Toomai of the Elephants", and "Her Majesty's Servants")

Friday, March 27:

Math Quiz (Unit 10, Chapter 1: Fractions)

Spelling Test (30 Words)

Here is what we will be covering this week:

In Language Arts, we will be finishing up some of our units and continuing with others. In Literature, we will be finishing up The Jungle Book on Thursday with our final chapter quiz. Tuesday and Wednesday will be used as review days in preparation for our quizzes. In Grammar, we will continue with our dictionary lessons as a way of preparing for our Arizona state testing in April. In Writing, we will continue identifying the central narrative thread of passages and then writing our own summaries for them. In Spalding, we will continue with another 30 words this week with a test on Friday. Our poem for this week is "At the Zoo" by A.A. Milne. Our idiom for the week is "rule the roost".

In Math, we will be introducing fractions! We will be working on them for a while now. We will spend the week learning and reviewing fractions with a chapter quiz on Friday.

In History, we will be continuing our Explorer's Unit with learning about De Soto's march, the Search for El Dorado, and two English explorers.

In Science, we will be beginning our unit on Astronomy!


As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.


Best,
Ms. Sexton

Classroom Update: Quarter 3, Week 10

Hello Parents!

I hope that everyone is having a good weekend! This is the last week of the quarter! I cannot believe that we are almost three-quarters of the way done with our first year here!

Reminder: Athletic Field Day is on Thursday, March 12th. Please be sure to send your student to school with a water bottle. Students may come dressed in athletic attire.

Our tests and quizzes this week:

Monday, March 9:

None!

 

Tuesday, March 10:

None!

 

Wednesday, March 11:

Science Test (Light and the Eye)

 

Thursday, March 12 [ATHLETIC FIELD DAY]:

History Essay Due Today

Math Test (Cumulative Units 1-9 Test)

 

 Friday, March 13 [HALF DAY]:

Spelling Test (30 Words)

 

 

Here is what we will be covering this week in 3B:

 

In Language Arts, we will be continuing as usual. In Literature, we will be starting a new chapter on Monday. We will have some parents in to read "Her Majesty's Servants" and "Parade-Song of the Camp Animals". We will be finishing up The Jungle Book after Spring Break with our last quiz on Wednesday, March 25th. There will be a study sheet completed in class on Thursday and then it will be sent home to use as review over Spring Break. In Spalding, we will continue with our usual 30 words and then a test on Friday. In Grammar, we will be working on writing our final drafts of our friendly letters and then we will be moving onto honing our dictionary skills in preparation for the AZMerit testing that we will be taking in April. In Writing, we will continue to work on identifying the central narrative thread of a passage and summarizing passages. There is no idiom this week due to the half day on Friday. Our poem this week is "Bed in Summer" by Robert Louis Stevenson.

 

In Math, we will be finishing up our unit on money with our cumulative unit test on Thursday. On Friday, we will briefly introduce fractions, which we will be beginning to study after Spring Break.

 

In History, we will be taking a close look at Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de Leon. Please remember to double check your scholar's essay for spelling mistakes and formatting mistakes before having them turn it on Thursday.

 

In Science, we will be spending the week reviewing for our Light and Eye test on Wednesday.

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

 

Best,

Ms. Sexton

Typed Explorer Essay: Due Thursday, March 12th

Good Afternoon, Parents!

I wanted to let you know that your scholars have finished writing their essays in class. I am so pleased with how diligently all of them have been working! Students are bringing their packets home this evening with the complete essay written in them. Typed essays are due Thursday, March 12^th. I encourage all of you to help your student format the paper according to the guidelines in the packet, as well as review spelling with them.  

If printer access is an issue, please have your student type his or her paper in the proper format and email it to me, I would be happy to print the essay here at school. Please do reach out to me with any questions.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Best,
Ms. Sexton

Atheletic Field Day: March 12th

Hello Parents!

We are excited to announce Archway Arete’s Field Day, which will take place on Thursday, March 12^th.  Field Day activities will be based on the original Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, events will be held for half of the school day.  Each class’s team name will be an ancient Greek city-state. Our city-state is Croton, whose symbol is the tripod! If you are interested volunteering, please contact Coach Rubino and sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054dacab2fa6f85-athletic.

 

Students are invited to come to school in athletic wear for the day. They are welcome to decorate their shirts with their team’s shield, but this is not required. Students will be eating lunch in their class room on Field Day, so please send sack lunches only. This means no food that needs to be microwaved. Thank you so much for your understanding. I’m including the school’s guidelines on the athletic wear students are able to wear for the day:

 

Non-uniform Dress Code for Special Events Athletic Practice and Outdoor Field Day Dress Code Just as Archway provides guidelines for dress code in the classroom, it is important to project the image of professionalism in our athletic attire as well. All shirts worn for athletic practices and field day should be modest, loose fitting, in good repair (no holes, torn sleeves, etc.), should be worn either tucked in or well over the waist of the pants/shorts if not tucked in. No midriffs may be shown. T-shirts are preferred – no tank tops, camisoles, or sports bras may be worn as outer garments. Short should be modest, in good repair (no holes, torn sleeves, etc.). Shorts should be worn at the waist and should be no shorter than mid-thigh, and no-longer than just below the knee. No short-shorts or long baggy shorts may be worn. No undergarments may be visible. Shorts should be longer than the student’s fingertips when standing. Tennis skirts, Soffe shorts, and other similar items are no permitted. Attire should be free of logos and messages, with the following exceptions: sports team logos (e.g., Diamondbacks, Bears, ASU), and apparel brand names (e.g., Adidas, Nike, Abercrombie) are acceptable provided they do not make inappropriate allusions (as do some skateboarding/snowboarding brands). These guidelines also apply to sweatshirts and jackets that students may wear. Footwear should be athletic in nature: no sandals, open-toed, or platform shoes. Hats and sunscreen may be appropriate if the students will be in the sun.

 

 

Please do reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

 

Best,

Ms. Sexton

Classroom Update: Quarter 3, Week 9

Hello Parents!

I can't believe that we are only two weeks away from finishing our third quarter here! I hope that everyone is ready for a jam-packed two weeks before taking a much need break during Spring Break.

Our tests and quizzes this week:

Monday, March 2:

None!

 

Tuesday, March 3:

None!

 

Wednesday, March 4:

Math Test (Units 1-8 Assessment)

 

Thursday, March 5:

None!

 

Friday, March 6:

Spelling Test (30 Words)

 

 

Here is what we will be covering this week in 3B:

 

In Language Arts, we will be continuing most of our units and starting a new focus in our grammar lessons! In Literature, we will continue on with our reading of The Jungle Book. This will include comprehension questions, as well as class-wide discussions about the events in the story. In Spalding, we will continue this week with our usual 30 words. In Writing, we will be working on reading comprehension and narration exercises. In Grammar, our focus will be on writing letters this week! We will be covering thank you letters and friendly letters. Our poem for this week is "The Song of Mr. Toad" by Kenneth Grahame. Our idiom is "one rotten apple destroys the whole barrel."

 

In Math, we will continue working with capacity using gallons, quarts, pints, and cups. We will be taking our unit test on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday and Friday, we will start our new unit which will focus on money.

 

In History, we are still working on our explorer essays. This week we will begin to write sentences that will eventually be typed for the final draft of this research essay. We will be paying close attention to the writing process and sentence structure. Our scholars will be working in small groups and seem to be greatly enjoying the focus on different explorers!

 

In Science, we will continue our light unit. This week we will be using magnifying glasses, as well as convex and concave mirrors to show students the ways of light!

 

As always, if there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me!

 

Best,

Ms. Sexton