What to Expect in Upper Grades at

Campbell

3rd Grade Schedule O Specials in the morning (unlike K/1

where academics are front-loaded in the day)

O Spanish is divided by skills (fluent/non-fluent)

O Lang. Arts- 2 hour blockO Piano for all 3rd graders at Campbell

3rd Grade AcademicsO Content- one unit at a time- either

science OR Soc. StudiesO Homework- mostly Lang. Arts/mathO First time taking SOL tests O Grades on report card are Ex, Acc,

Prog, Beg.O Cursive instruction

3rd Grade Culture O Homeroom identityO Lockers are still a noveltyO Day trip- Outdoor LabO Some additional afterschool

opportunities such as GOTRO 24 students- APS guideline for class

size

4th/5th Grade Schedules

O 1 hour 45 min. of Lang. ArtsO Both Science and Social Studies dailyO Students often have both teachers

on a given teamO Switching classes O After/before school academics- Book clubs/Reflex math for selected students

4th/5th Grade AcademicsO Report cards use 4,3, 2, 1 scaleO Homework might include Science/Soc. StudiesO Occasional long term projectsO Units in both Science and Soc. Studies going

simultaneouslyO Assignment notebooks (planners) are

introduced for students to keep track of assignments

O 4th grade- a lot of new material (long division) O Students type longer documents – Google

docs/laptops/chromebooks

4th/5th Grade CultureO Cohort mentality more than homeroom

cultureO More leadership opportunities- like patrols

and Community Meeting club, YES ClubO More music options- Chorus, Band

Orchestra- with concertsO More student choice/independenceO Preparation for middle school- 5th gradeO APS class size guideline – 27 students O Typing instructionO Group projects

In Summary….Upper Grades

O More individualized to students- not all schedules look alike

O More teachers working with your childO More coordination of assignments,

materials, etc.O More responsibility expected of

studentsO More opportunities for students to

pursue interests

Next Year at Campbell O Potentially two 4th grade classes and two 5th

grade classesO Staffing is not finalized until this summerO If 5 teachers can be obtained in grades 4

and 5, that is idealO Typically, we lose about 5 students between

4th and 5th grades due to families positioning themselves for middle school pyramids

O Grade levels have reading teachers, spec. ed. staff, and ESOL staff working with them

O Student to teacher ratio during math and Lang. arts around 1:10

Questions