Lauren Alvarez

Updated 03/12/2026

Weekly "Newsletter" From Ms. Alvarez:

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope it was fun or restful or both! We are now on the final countdown to our favorite break... Summer Break!

We officially start Quarter 4 this week, and I can’t believe we are already in our last quarter of 3rd grade! The end of the year can always get a little busy, but it is also one of my favorite quarters because we have so many fun things planned for the rest of the year. There are a lot of exciting learning opportunities and activities ahead, and I’m looking forward to making the most of these final months together with your students!

Over the next two weeks, we will be learning about Native American Regions. This is a short but very informative unit that helps build students’ background knowledge before we begin our upcoming Early Explorers unit. Students will learn about the different regions, how geography influenced the way people lived, and some of the unique cultures and traditions of Native American groups across North America.

CMAS testing is also coming up soon. Third grade will be sending out an email with more information about what to expect during testing week, which will take place on April 14th, 15th, and 16th. In that email, we will also be asking for some snack donations to help keep students energized and focused during testing.

I’m excited for a great final quarter together!

With Love,

Ms. Alvarez

Upcoming:

3/13 -3/22: Spring Break

3/23: Quarter 4 begins

3/27: Quarter 3 Grades posted

3/27: Free Dress of Choice

4/10: Spirit Wear Day

4/14-4/16: CMAS Testing

4/15: Pay for Dress

Homework:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Math	x	Lesson 95 Odd Probs Pg. 664	Lesson 96 Even Probs Pg. 669	Lesson 96 Pick your own 20 Probs Pg. 676	x
Reading	Comprehension Questions & Spelling 8.1	Comprehension Questions & Spelling 8.1	Comprehension Questions & Spelling 8.1	Comprehension Questions & Spelling 8.1	HW Due & Spelling Test 8.1

Language Arts:

CKLA Unit 8: Native American Regions

Students will be working on the following grammar concepts: Learning about Native American Artifacts, Plural Possessive Nouns, Suffixes, and listening to Read Alouds about Native American Regions.

Homeroom Read Aloud: Holes (Ms. Alvarez' absolute favorite)

Reading:

CKLA Unit 8: Native American Regions

Reading Skills: Vocabulary, Story Maps (Character, Setting, Plot, and Mood), Central Messages of texts, and Cause and Effect.

CKLA Read Aloud: Native American Stories

Spelling: "uh" sound; Spellings -a and -e

Students reading homework this week consists of reading about Native American's Totem Poles and answering 10 comprehension questions about the text. This is not to be read as fluency, but used as a way to find the answers in the text.

In class, students are working on adding understanding the "mood" of story by using keywords and pictures to help them understand the story.

Math:

Lessons covered this week: 94-97

Concepts: Two Step Word Problems, Fraction of a Number Word Problems, Average, and Mean, Median, Range and Mode. We will spend some time doing several activities wither Average, Mean, Median, Range and Mode.

One of the students assignments this week is to pick 20 problems of their choice - I will encourage them to pick problems of skills that they need to work on!

History/Science:

Science: Weather

This week we will be covering: Atmosphere, Air Pressure, Wind Patterns, Using Data to Predict Weather, and Patterns of Weather.

Students will start a Weather Log this week, where they pick a US City of their choice and watch the weather over 5 days. Be sure to ask them what city they chose and what the weather is like there!

SPECIALS Schedule:

Monday	Spanish
Tuesday	Character Education
Wednesday	Library
Thursday	PE
Friday	Library

STEM Schedule:

Red Week	STEM
Orange Week	Music
Green Week	Technology
Blue Week	Art

Bolded Week is what we have for the week.

Daily Schedule - 3rd Grade

Time	Subject
8:00-8:20am	Unpack & Morning Work
8:20-9:00am	CKLA (Grammar/Writing)
9:00-9:25am	W.I.N Time & Intervention
9:30-9:55am	Math Block 1 (Skills Group)
10:00-10:45am	Specials
10:45-11:25am	Math Block 2 (Skills Group)
11:30am-12:10pm	Lunch/Recess
12:15-1:25pm	CKLA Reading (Skills Group)
1:30-2:15pm	STEAM
2:20-2:40pm	Recess
2:45-3:25pm	History/Science
3:25-3:30pm	Pack Up/Dismissal

Meet the Teacher - Letter from Ms. Alvarez

I’m so grateful to be part of the AVA community! This is my sixth year of teaching and my fifth year here at AVA. I truly love this school, our students, and the amazing families I get to work with every day. I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Teaching is my passion, and being in the classroom with your children is genuinely my happy place! I care deeply about your child’s well-being and am committed to creating a learning environment where every student can thrive. I’m here to partner with you to support your student’s success—please never hesitate to reach out.

I’m looking forward to the BRIGHTEST year yet!