Weekly Update: Week of December 10th.

Report Cards:  Grades are closed!!! Report cards are going home on Tuesday.

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

OUR FIELD TRIP IS THIS WEEK!!  This is just a reminder we will be traveling to The Palace Theatre on Wednesday, December 12th to experience a live adaptation of A Christmas Carol.  Students are reminded to dress appropriately.  We can't wait!


Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We spent this past week researching and discussing Ancient Greek culture which included reading Greek fables, learning about Greek drama, and even learning about the original Olympic Games. Students took a test on Thursday in which they read The Boy Who Cried Wolf and answered a few questions about it. We will start the topic of philosophy on Monday!

Science:  We are so close to answering our phenomenon question.  Students have figured out how our digestive system works and are starting to understand the role of diffusion in our bodies.  Next week we will continue our investigations.  Ask your students this week about what we are doing with cucumbers, onions and celery.

Literacy:     If your student has not yet completed the Atlas Obscura recording, he or she should plan to stay after school in the computer lab with me and Mrs. Kauffman on Monday for assistance!  Latin Unit 6 is under way, and the test is scheduled for Friday, December 14th.  

English:  Students chose their December independent reading projects this week and will be creating playlists for the books they have chosen.  Songs must be school-appropriate and should relate directly to the book's plot, theme, or characters.  An example has been posted to Google Classroom. Just a reminder, students should be reading 30 minutes each night!

We have also begun reading A Christmas Carol in class and are in the middle of chapter two, which is when Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past.  Check out the giant web we created in class about Scrooge's character!

Math: This week we are going to continue working on combining like terms and review the distributive property.  Students will have a quiz on Thursday, December 13th.  

Weekly Update: December 3rd

Report Cards: The end of the trimester is quickly approaching.  Grades close Monday, December 3rd.  Students, please check the grade book and ensure your work is submitted. 

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Holiday Book Orders: Mrs. McGuire is collecting book orders next week to ensure they arrive in time for the holiday break!  Parents and guardians, if you would like to order books "secretly" for your student as a gift, please email me and we can make this happen!  Book orders are due no later than Wednesday, December 5th! 

SPIRIT WEEK is this week!!!  Students are encouraged to participate to show their school spirit!!  ALL OUTFITS MUST BE SCHOOL APPROPRIATE!

Monday: Advisory Day - dress similarly with your advisory
Tuesday: Vine Day - work with your advisory to create a six-word positive saying 
Wednesday: Character Day - dress up like your favorite character
Thursday: Pajama Day - wear your comfiest PJs
Friday: Color Wars - grade 7 is BLUE!

Food Drive: Grade 7 donations should be LUNCH items only.  Please bring in donations to advisory.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students question stormed about the Peloponnesian War on Monday, tied it all together Tuesday, prepared for an assessment on Wednesday, and then were assessed on the last three major topics that we've studied on Thursday. Please review that assessment with your child as grades are closing soon! Friday we spent class catching students up and allowing other students to go deeper into various topics. We will start Greek culture on Monday!

Science:  If you ate A LOT of carrots..... Would you turn orange?  There has been a lot of disagreement among the badger students.  Many think they will, many think they won't.  This week we will follow the carrot through the digestive system to figure out if it is even possible.  Check out the science blog here.

Literacy: It's been an exciting week in the computer lab with Mrs. Kauffman, learning fantastic, new technology tools!  The kids completed the research of their Atlas Obscura, and learned the best way to write their narration script notes. The most exciting moments were when they actually used either the headset microphone, or the fancy Snowball microphone to record the narration of their slide shows.  I'm incredibly proud of their hard work, but mostly of their desire to improve, and produce the best possible finished product.  The final submissions are due by Monday evening.  I suspect there will be many kids staying after school on Monday!  

English:  We started our character change unit this week!  It was an exciting week learning new background information relating to our unit.  Students also spent time in the library choosing their new December IRP books and working on contextual vocabulary.  Next week, we will begin reading A Christmas Carol.  We will focus primarily on the character change in which Scrooge shows throughout the novel.

Math: We are wrapping up our mini unit on writing and solving equations this week.  Students will be tested on Thursday.  Study guide will go out on Monday. 

Weekly Update: November 19th

Report Cards: The end of the trimester is quickly approaching.  Grades close November 30th.  Students, please check the grade book and ensure your work is submitted. You only have a few weeks left!

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Field Trip: Information went home this week with students regarding our upcoming field trip.  On Wednesday, December 12th, our team will be traveling to The Palace Theatre in Manchester to see a live performance of A Christmas Carol.  Permission slips and payment are due to Mrs. McGuire by Tuesday, November 20th!   Thank you to all students who have brought in their paperwork already!  We also appreciate the extra donations that have been made!  

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students did a great job this week researching the Persian Wars. Students discovered the main themes behind the wars and ultimately why the Persian invasion of Greece failed. We will be starting a new topic on Monday! 

Science:  We'll have our quiz on Tuesday.  Study the Levels of Life.  There are links to the Quizlet from the google classroom to study or you can study from your notes. 

Literacy: Students had a great week in the library with our amazing librarian, Mrs. Sand. They began the Atlas Obscura project from Google Classroom, went shopping in the Chrome Store for an extension for building bibliographic citations, and learned lots of new tech tricks.  Because of our unexpected snow day, we missed our day in the computer lab with Mrs. Kauffman to learn the narration tool for the projects, so schedules have been adjusted.  The Latin 5 test will be pushed to Tuesday, so that students will have time in The Mansion to work on projects with Chrome Books.  Students should check Google Classroom for announcements about a new due date for the project.  It's been pushed into Trimester Two!

English:  We continued working on grammar this week, focusing mostly on subjects, predicates, fragments, and different types of sentences.  The quiz originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 20th will be pushed back due to the snow day.  Please be aware that the November independent reading project deadline is quickly approaching.  Students should be nearly finished reading their books and moving onto the interview component.  An example has been posted on Google Classroom.

Math: Due to the snow day on Friday, our test on Multiplying and Dividing Rational Numbers will be on Monday, November 19th.  Be sure to look over the study guides!  We will be starting our Expressions and Equations unit when we get back from Thanksgiving break.

Weekly Update: November 12th

Reminder: There is no school on Monday, November 12th in observance of Veteran's Day. View our Pennichuck Band as they march in the parade downtown!

Report Cards: The end of the trimester is quickly approaching.  Grades close November 30th.  Students, please check the grade book and ensure your work is submitted. You only have a few weeks left!

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: This week we took a break from researching and discussing Persia and the Ancient Greeks and learned a little bit about Greek Mythology. Students spent the majority of the week writing their own Greek myth. This was due on Friday. Ask your child about it! Next week we will begin to answer the question: How did the Greeks successfully prevent a Persian invasion?

Science:  We finished our unit and answered our question..... Why are bones hard?  Ask your students to explain it to you.  Next week we will introduce our new phenomenon.  

Literacy: It will be a very busy, short week ahead!  Students will finish Latin Root 5 independently,  and prepare for the test on Monday, November 19th, while spending the week in the Library with Mrs. Sand and me, and in the computer lab with Mrs. Kauffman, learning some wonderful tech tools!  Students will begin their Atlas Obscura projects, using all the cool, new tools they learned!  

Meanwhile, to build upon our Growth Mindset Passport theme, ask your students about the Famous Failure stories on the Badger Board!  

English:  We shifted gears a bit this week and reviewed grammar exercises, specifically those relating to subjects, predicates, and fragments.  Next week we will continue practicing and expanding upon these skills.  Additionally, students should be reading 30 minutes per night for their November independent reading projects.  Ask them what they have to do this month on their projects! 

Math:  Last week we learned how to convert a fraction into a decimal. Students learned that decimals either terminate or repeat.  This week we will be reviewing multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals with negative numbers. The unit test will be Friday, November 16th, study guides will go home early this week.  Check the Google Class for extra help.

Weekly Update: November 5th

Parent/Teacher Conferences: Our second and final round of conferences will be taking place this week on Thursday, November 8th from 4-7:30 PM.  Please use the link below to sign up for a conference if you haven't already done so.

Parent Conference Sign Up Link

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students learned a lot about Ancient Greece's major rival: The Persian Empire. We did a lot of investigation and researching in class this week and capped it off by graphing the populations of Persia, Athens, and Sparta. Next week we will take a step back and focus on Greek Mythology. Students will spend a few days in class reading Greek myths and ultimately will create their own myth!

Science:  Check out students learning about cell membranes on our science blog.  Ask your student why we used bubble membranes to figure out what cell membranes are like.  Students will have a quick quiz on Monday on the 6 organelles that we've learned.  Quizlet will help them study.  We will put all of our investigations together next week and be able to answer our question, "Why are bones hard?"  This means we'll have our final test at the end of the week.

Literacy: Latin root Unit 4 is a wrap!  I'm quite pleased that students are finding that when they study the material, they do well on the tests!  We are continuing to read The Omnivore's Dilemma, and are discovering that we are all eating a great deal of corn and we don't even know it!  

English:  Students submitted their first independent reading project this week!!  There are still a few missing; please check to see whether your student turned it in!  Students visited the library on Friday and chose a new book for their next IRP, which is due on November 30th.  Be sure to ask what book they chose!  All project requirements can be found on their orange handout.  Lastly, students will have a quiz on Call of the Klondike and The Cremation of Sam McGee on Monday, November 5th.  Vocabulary words can be found on my Quizlet page!

Thank you for all the book orders that came in this week!  Orders were placed and should arrive within 7-10 days.  

Math:  Fri

Weekly Update: October 29th

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We continued our research and discussions about the two major Greek city-states Athens and Sparta. On Friday, students mapped Ancient Greece and described how geography impacted the way that Ancient Greeks lived. When students return on Monday, they will take an assessment on early Greek Civilizations with a focus on Athens and Sparta.

Science:  Check out student bone models on our science blog.  Students have come far since their initial models but still need to figure out why the bone cell has the shape that it does.  We'll jump right into the cell this week to figure out what is going on in there.

Literacy: Collaboration at its best!  We spent three days discussing the vocabulary associated with the roots from Unit 4. One word was prospect - as in pan for gold, and another was hyperbole, and another vacuole, a cell part! Perfect timing for English and Science! It was a fantastic week for Literacy, as my room got a huge make-over thanks to a donation from Brady & Sullivan here in Nashua. I have wonderful, gently used tables!  This means that all the tables in my room match, they're clean, and sturdy.  Thanks to Brady & Sullivan for the donation, and even more to our custodian for hauling out all the old tables, and assembling and moving the new furniture in to The Mansion!  Next week?  Latin Unit 4 test on Friday!  

English:  This week, students read an informational text called "Call of the Klondike" and a narrative poem entitled, "The Cremation of Sam McGee."  We discussed primary sources, text structure, personification, and hyperbole.  Next week students will continue working with these texts and their new contextual vocabulary words.  Just a friendly reminder, IRP projects are due on Wednesday, October 31st.  Book orders are also due that day!!  A Christmas Carol is on sale for only $1!  This is our next class text, so students may want to take advantage and buy their own copy!

Math:  Friday we tested on adding and subtracting rational numbers, overall the students did very well!  Grades are in X2.  This week we will be starting our new unit, multiplying and dividing rational numbers.  There will be a quiz on Friday for multiplying and dividing integers.

Weekly Update: October 22nd

Red Ribbon Week is this upcoming week!  This year's theme is "Life is your journey; travel drug free."  Students, please remember to wear RED on Wednesday.

Progress Reports will be sent home on Monday, October 22nd.  Please look out next week!

The Great Spaghetti Race: The race is on!  Our school is having a friendly competition to see who can donate the most spaghetti for our Spaghetti Supper, which will be held on Thursday, November 1st.  Students are encouraged to donate boxes of spaghetti and give them to their advisor during the month of October.  We appreciate your donations!

Conferences:  The first round of parent/teacher conferences will take place on Thursday, October 25th from 4 - 7:30 p.m.  If you have not yet scheduled a conference using SignUp Genius, please contact the main office.

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students spent this week learning about the first major Ancient Greek civilizations and how they ended. Starting next week, we will begin researching and investigating various topics about the Ancient Greek city-states Athens and Sparta.

Science:  Students will continue their investigations of bones this week.  They have figured out that bones are made of cells and they have three different layers.  Check out one of this week's investigations on our science blog.  Their next questions involve trying to figure out what bone cells are like and how they are different from other types of cells.  Students will have a quiz mid week so their homework is to study their notes.

Literacy: This week, using school Chrome Books, students used Newsela, an online informational text resource, to read about Groundbreaking Women.  Their writing response is due to Google Classroom by Monday evening.  Our team watched Akeelah and the Bee, a wonderful film about a 7th grade student who prepares to compete in the Scripps Spelling Bee.  She learns the importance of learning Latin and Greek roots! The Latin Unit 3 test was Friday, and grades will be posted by Sunday.  

English:  This week we discussed main idea, supporting details, and how to locate the main idea of a text.  Students practiced this skill with the last text we read, entitled "Barrio Boy."  This upcoming week, students will have a quiz on this text.  Using Quizlet as a resource is a great way to study the vocabulary words!

As a side note, students should be nearly finished reading their IRP books.  Although the project is not due until October 31st, students will need to finish the book this week in order to have enough time to finish the plot diagram and book review!  All requirements are listed on the purple handout.

Math:  Students quizzed on adding and subtracting integers on Friday.  Some classes are already in the grade book, the rest will be in on Monday.  Overall the team did a fantastic job, I'm very impressed.  Next week we will be learning how to add and subtract positive and negative fractions and decimals.  If your student is struggling encourage them to use the fractions help on the Google Classroom.  This is another one of those challenging topics!

Weekly Update: Week of October 15th

Badger Team Day:  We kept with tradition, and viewed the documentary film BULLIED, about a  teen who was bullied in school. After watching the film, students collaborated to investigate how kids feel if they are bullied.  In the afternoon, we continued working in Passports, writing academic goals.  Students did a fantastic job!

The Great Spaghetti Race: The race is on!  Our school is having a friendly competition to see who can donate the most spaghetti for our Spaghetti Supper, which will be held on November 1st.  Students are encouraged to donate boxes of spaghetti and give them to their advisor during the month of October.  We appreciate your donations!

Progress Reports will be sent home on Monday, October 22nd.  Please be on the lookout next week!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students began our major unit on Classical Civilizations by learning about early Greece and it's geography. We will continue this research throughout this upcoming week as we will learn about two early civilizations and what a "dark age" is.

Science:  This week in science the students are being introduced to a new phenomenon to figure out.  WHY ARE BONES HARD?  Students will begin their investigating by modeling their ideas and looking inside real bones.

Literacy: Students accomplished a great deal in such a short week!  We started the third Latin root unit, and students should be ready to study their flash cards, vocabulary match and be preparing for the test scheduled for Friday!  In the week ahead, we'll use Chrome Books to practice reading nonfiction, informational text online using NEWSELA!  There will be some reading and a little bit of writing!

English:  Students began a new text this week entitled "Barrio Boy," which chronicles a young boy  immigrating to the United States and starting school for the first time.  Students made connections as we read, and some even shared what it was like to move to a new country and begin school for the first time, without knowing anyone.  This upcoming week, students will continue discussing the story, interpret the main idea and supporting details, and define new contextual vocabulary words.  There will be a quiz on "Barrio Boy" on Monday, October 22nd.

As a side note, students should be nearly finished reading their IRP books.  Although the project is not due until October 31st, students will need to finish the book next week in order to have enough time to finish the plot diagram and book review!  All requirements are listed on the purple handout.

Math:  Students spent last week working on becoming faster with integer addition, trying to break away from using the number line, and doing more mental math. Next week we are moving onto integer subtraction.  There will be a quiz on adding and subtracting integers on Thursday, October 18th.  Check the Google Class for videos, extra practice, and Quizlet sets to help study.

Team Update: October 8th

The Great Spaghetti Race: The race is on!  Our school is having a friendly competition to see who can donate the most spaghetti for our Spaghetti Supper, which will be held on November 1st.  Students are encouraged to donate boxes of spaghetti and give them to their advisor during the month of October.  We appreciate your donations!

Columbus Day: There is no school on Monday, October 8th, in observance of Columbus Day.

Class Updates:

Social Studies: After completing our unit on World Religions, this past week we spent reviewing the three types of government and American government. Students will be assessed on this information Tuesday. Starting Wednesday, we will begin our major unit on Classical Civilizations by starting in Ancient Greece!

Science:  This week in science we have been very busy.  Students have completed their investigations and have figured out if the Mystery Matter is alive or not.  Ask them to tell you about it.  Next week we will wrap up our discussions and take an assessment on the science concepts that we have been learning about:  The Characteristics of Living Things.

Literacy: Your students were really challenged this week, with two mastery assessments!  We had some very active discussions surrounding the concepts of sustainable farming and industrial farming.  As important as the information presented, were collaborative note taking , the discussions and the review of notes in class as a study skill.  Next week will be a short week, with Friday dedicated to some team activities focused on Growth Mindset.  Enjoy the long weekend!

English:  This week students began using StudySync on the Chrome Books, focusing mostly on annotating and making inferences.  Students have access to StudySync at home (click here), and they also have the ability to download the StudySync app if they have a smartphone.  I encourage them to log in over the long weekend and work on some of the questions.  On Tuesday, we will complete the last section together, which is the essay.  

Students also visited the library this week and chose their independent reading books for their project, which was assigned Monday and will be due on October 31st.  Students are aware that these projects are meant to be completed at home.  Just a reminder: they should be actively reading each night for 20-30 minutes.

Last but not least, October book orders are now available in class and will be due on Friday, October 12th. As always, thank you for your support!

Math:  It's official!  We have wrapped up our first topic of study. Students should have received their graded tests.  If any student is interested in a retake they need to make an appointment to stay after school for extra help. Last week we learned how to play the Integer Game to kick off our Rational Numbers unit.  Although it looks like a bunch of fun, students are using the game as a tool to aid in developing an understanding of adding positive and negative numbers. Below are some pictures to see how we are learning integers. 

Team Update: October 1st

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students spent this past week learning about the world's five major religions and the cultures that they have. This was a true exploratory unit in which students did a tremendous amount of research. Starting Monday we will begin our mini review of government and how government works in the United States.

Science:  In science this week the students have figured out that there are 6 characteristics that all living things have.  They have decided to test the Mystery Matter for each characteristic in order to figure out if it is alive or not.  Check out our science blog for some pictures of the investigations in action.

Literacy: Be sure to ask your students to explain the difference between sustainable and industrial farming!  They have been collaborating to piece together the important details of FRESH, The Movie, and today began to build their study guides  We have also done the foundation work for Latin Unit 2.  Next week will be an important week as there will be a test on FRESH on Wednesday, and Latin Unit 2 test on Friday!

English:  Students read a new poem this week entitled, "Oranges," by Gary Soto.  Together we discussed sensory language and how the author's use in the poem affected the overall tone.  Students were also introduced to StudySync and should be logging into their accounts over the weekend.  Next week will bring our first Independent Reading Project (IRP)!  Students will also take a story quiz on "Oranges" on Friday, October 5th.  They may use their graphic organizer to review.

Also, book orders were submitted Friday and should arrive within a week or so.  Thank you SO much for the online orders!!  We ordered four new books for our class library, as well as two different six-book packs for other reading units.  October book orders will be sent home next week.

Math: We are finishing up our Proportional Reasoning Module this week.  Last week was one of the hardest topics students learn this year! If student's are struggling encourage them to seek extra help on Google Class or come after school for help. We have a test coming up on Tuesday this week, study guides went home Friday.  Wednesday we will start our Rational Numbers Unit.  

Team Update: September 24th

Thursday, September 27th, in the cafeteria!  

iReady Testing

Our Badger students completed their first round of iReady testing this week.  Our master scheduler created an amazing schedule that allowed kids to complete their Reading test on Thursday, and their Math test on Friday, and in the other blocks, we teachers were able to meet with each other class for one class period!  The kids were fantastic, and managed the unusual schedule very well!  

Class Updates:

Social Studies: We spent most of the week reviewing Geography as we prepare for our first Mastery Assessment on Monday. Starting Tuesday, we will begin our unit on World Religions! Students will learn how these religions started and where they spread to and ultimately what cultures these religions created.

Science:  This week the students were introduced to their first phenomenon.  Students observed some "mystery matter" and have been given the task to figure out if it is alive or not.  So far, they have figured out that living things are made up of cells.  They want to check the mystery matter under the microscope to see if it has cells.  Next week they will learn how to make a slide and check their mystery matter.  What they figure out will lead them into their next investigation.

Literacy: What a week!  Latin Unit 1 is complete!  Students survived the first test, and most did very well!  Ask your students about the Five R's of Note Taking!  As we dove into the first chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma, students began working with Cornell Note Taking templates.  We also watched FRESH, The Movie, which is the companion piece to the book.  Kids got a great look at what sustainable farms look like!  Next week brings Unit 2 of Latin Roots, as well as more note taking!

English:  We spent this past week reviewing some of the elements of literature, including: plot, setting, theme, characterization, and conflict.  Students will have a quiz on these terms and how they apply to the short story we read last week, entitled "Seventh Grade."  The quiz will take place on Thursday, September 27th.  

Our first round of book orders is due on Friday, September 28th!  Thank you to everyone who has placed orders so far!  Book orders can be ordered online here (code is HLB4Q) or students may bring order forms and payment to Mrs. McGuire.  Last but not least, the school book fair is taking place this upcoming week in the library.  Students will have time in class on Monday to check it out, as well as time during advisory and open house.

Math: We have made it half-way through our proportionality unit. There will be a quiz on Monday, September 24th on constant of proportionality (y = kx) and finding point (1, r) on a proportional graph.  Next week we will learn about complex unit rates, building on what students learned last year in 6th grade.  The test will be coming up shortly, please keep an eye out, study guides will go out later this week. 

Welcome to our Badger Blog!

Welcome back to school, Badger families!  

This beautiful mural of waving hands adorns the wall in the main hallway outside of Mrs. Tino's classroom.  The title, Let's Keep Moving Forward is the theme of our team this year.  We are promoting the concepts of Growth Mindset, where students learn the value of making mistakes!  It's so important for kids to know that they learn from their mistakes and failures.   

Class Updates:

Social Studies: We are off to such a great start in Social Studies. We spent all of this week reviewing geography and ultimately setting up for the start of our first major unit in a week or so. We will be setting up our Google Classroom on Monday and that is where students will find nearly all of their resources for the year. I'm looking forward to a great year!

Science:  We have spent some time learning about safety in the science lab and have moved on to the major tool of a biologist, the microscope.  Students are learning how to use and care for the microscope.  We will have a quiz on Tuesday to test their understanding.  Links to study materials including Quizlet are on our google classroom.

Literacy: Latin roots and The Omnivore's Dilemma are both underway in Literacy!  Your students should be spending time each day reviewing their flashcards for the first test of the year on Tuesday, September 18th.  As you've hopefully seen, 90% of their report card grades are based upon mastery tests, such as the unit test this week.  Students are also encouraged to use my Quizlet units to study.  There is a link to Quizlet from the Literacy page here on the blog, as well as from the students' Google Classrooms.  

English:  We're off to a great start in English this year!  Students have already reviewed Triple E Writing and will have their first quiz on Monday, September 17th!  This past week students also read their first short story entitled "Seventh Grade," by Gary Soto.  All students began crafting thoughtful reading responses during Friday's class, but will need to continue working on them over the weekend if they did not finish.  Next week, book orders will go home with students.  Although these are optional, they are helpful for building our classroom library!  Books make wonderful birthday and holiday gifts.  If you'd like to order online, directions can be found here. 

Math: Our first unit for the year is proportional reasoning.  So far we have learned to determine if a table or graph is or is not proportional. This week we will be working with the equation y=kx.  Click here for more information to support your student in class.  The image below is an activity the students did last Friday.  Each group was given a blank table and had to match a verbal description, table, graph, and equation for each situation.

Team Update: Week of June 4th

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Things are moving quickly in Social Studies! It seems like we just started our unit on the Renaissance but we only have a few days left. Students completed their assessments on the early part of the Renaissance on Friday. If your child was unable to take the test on Friday, then I am offering times after school next week to make it up. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Science:  This week we figured out that there is a lot of variation in organisms.  We are looking at the peppered moth history to figure out if variation between individuals matters.  Our online assessment will be on Monday.  Look for pictures of the genetics babies on my science blog!   Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.

Literacy: Lots of kids missed the test on The Omnivore's Dilemma on Friday, because of Trills and Thrills.  Like Mr. Santorsa, plenty of time after school is available for students to make it up.  Many students also need to make up Latin root tests as the final exam will be scheduled in the next couple of weeks.  We'll finish up with The Omnivore's Dilemma in the next week or so.  

English: This week students continued reading Freak the Mighty and analyzing the development of the characters. Students took their first test on this novel on Thursday, and on Friday students were introduced to the Hero's Journey plot structure. Next week the students will work on a project in class based on the Hero's Journey and continue with Freak the Mighty.

Math: W

Team Update: Week of May 29th

Class Updates:

Social Studies: We are moving right along in Social Studies! This past week we made quite the dent in our Renaissance unit. With this upcoming week being a short week (due to Memorial Day and Step-Up Day), we will still continue our research and discovery of the Renaissance and have an assessment on the early years of the Renaissance on Friday. 

Science:  This week we figured out that there are dominant and recessive genes.  Students enjoyed practicing this new discovery by making babies with their lab partners.  Look for pictures next week!   Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.

Literacy: WooHOO!  The twelve units of Latin roots are complete!  Your children have learned 158 Latin roots - a feat which will assist them from now on, as they navigate vocabulary!  Next week there will be a test on Part I of The Omnivore's Dilemma, so expect to see a study guide come home, and help your student prepare!  Have a wonderful weekend!

English: This week we continued reading Freak the Mighty and began exploring literary elements within this story. Next week there will be a test on the first half of Freak the Mighty; the study guides were sent home today! Students should start studying this weekend to prepare for the test on Thursday, May 31st. We will continue to read next week and explore heroism within literature and real life.

Math: We have spent this week learning about different types of angles.  Students should know the terms vertical angles, adjacent angles, complementary angles, and supplementary angles. At the end of the week we discussed how to use algebraic thinking to solve for missing angles.  Next week we will continue to work through more problems finding missing angles.  Our next quiz is on Friday, June 1st.

Team Update: Week of May 21st

HELP!  We all need tissues to help the kids with allergies!  Donations appreciated!

Progress Reports will go home on Monday, May 21! 

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students completed their Performance Tasks on the Middle Ages Tuesday and started our unit on the Renaissance on Wednesday. We will continue learning and researching about the Renaissance for the next few weeks.

Science:  We are currently trying to figure out if there are patterns to the way that traits are passed down.  Students have analyzed human pedigrees.  We will continue to observe plants that we have crossed and grown to figure out these patterns.   Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.  QUIZ THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE!  What should you study?  Look at the green anchor chart in your binder, everything that is on that so far will be on the quiz.

Literacy: There is only one unit of Latin roots left to conquer, and we'll complete it on Friday with the test!  The Omnictionary due date has been pushed to May 31st.  Students are plowing through the remainder of the first section of The Omnivore's Dilemma, and should expect a short writing assignment this week and a test on the overarching concepts of the first unit within the next week or so.  They will have lots of notes to study, and will be provided a specific study guide. 

English: This week students took their final test on The Giver, and then we dove right in to our unit on Freak the Mighty. The first mini-project for Freak the Mighty will be assigned this week and should be completed entirely at home. Students will continue to read Freak the Mighty this week, as well as other supplementary stories.

Math: Friday was our last day of percents!  Our next unit will be on angles (vertical, adjacent, complementary, and supplementary), and constructing triangles.  Students will learn to use compasses an protractors to create different types of triangles. There are lots of new topics and skills to learn this unit that student's haven't been exposed to in the past. 

Team Update: Week of May 7th

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students did a lot of reviewing this week in regard to the Black Death and the Late Middle Ages. Student took an assessment on those topics this Friday. Make sure that you check x2 for their updated grades!

Science:  This week in science we dissected flowers.  Thank you to Hannafords for donating one flower for each badger student!   Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.

Literacy: We are examining some of Michael Pollan's rules for eaters from his book Food Rules.  They thoroughly enjoyed comparing the nutritional labels on the variety of snacks that were in the room for the day, and I suspect more of your children will be reading the labels more frequently now!  The artists are working feverishly today to finish their Word Art, and I'm looking forward to posting some pictures of them as soon as they're all complete.  Latin 11 test Friday, May 11th. 

English:  Students spent this week continuing to read The Giver and are looking forward to uncovering some of the mysteries of the strange futuristic world in this story. Students also explored the writing style of Lois Lowry by writing their own personal memoirs. They were very creative in their figurative language use! Next week we will finish up The Giver and students will break down the ambiguous ending by writing their own final chapter of the novel. Remember that the last IRP is due on Monday!

Math: We are half way through our percent unit!  Most students did very well on the quiz last Thursday.  We will be spending this week learning about tip, tax, discounts, and markups. Just a reminder we do not have a Go Figure this month, yay.

Team Update: Week of April 23rd

April Break is here!

Students finished out the week with some Earth Day activities, including watching The Lorax to get some inspiration for their Earth Day bumper stickers. Check out the beautiful hallway display designed by Ms. Huckins!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students began to investigate the causes behind the Black Death and how it impacted the Medieval world. Once we return back from break, we will revisit the Black Death and start to wrap up our unit on the Middle Ages.

Science:  Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.

Literacy:  It was a very productive week in Literacy!  Kids composed, edited, typed, edited again, and produced wonderful work.  Most kids do their work on time, but there are some who have roadblocks.  The most satisfying moments for me were to see the pride on the faces of the roadblock gang, as they turned in well produced essays.  Being a productive student is hard work, but it is beautiful to watch.  After vacation, we'll finish the last two units of Latin roots, and return to our study of The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Here's hoping everyone returns refreshed and ready to work!

English:  We continued our unit on The Giver this week and students had their first test on Tuesday. The results were not quite where they should be, but we reviewed study skills and students who wish to retake should be reviewing their study materials over the break. Students ended the week by beginning to plan their snapshot memoirs to deepen their understanding of Lowry's writing style and to learn how to apply more figurative language in their own writing. After the break we will begin to finish up our unit on The Giver and continue developing those memoirs. Students should be working in their IRPs over the break, they are due on Monday, May 7th!

Math: We had a productive week in math focusing on the percent equation with a quiz on Thursday.  Many students did very well.  If you didn't please watch the videos and do some extra practice over vacation.  On Friday we had a crazy schedule, if you didn't get a chance to pass in your Go Figure please do that the Monday we get back.  This was our last one of the year, so finish strong! 

Team Update: Week of April 9th

Badgers will complete our state testing Tuesday through Friday of this week.  They need to be alert and well rested, so be sure they turn off the electronics, movies and games early, to get a good night's sleep.  Make sure to eat a good breakfast! We will have a new schedule this week and will be eating lunch later in the day, so bring a snack!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: We spent all of last week researching and investigating the impacts that the Crusades had on medieval times. Students began to make connections to today and started to realize how the Crusades shaped many aspects of our world that we live in. Ask your child about it!

Science:  This week we figured out that toxins can accumulate in the bodies of organisms and move through the food chain.  Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.  Next week we will complete our final assessment for the Trout Mystery.

Literacy:  We turned our sights to current events this week, to round out our discussion of social activism, and read about brave high school students marching to raise awareness about gun control laws.  Next week, students will be assigned a writing assignment about social activism, and will have one double class this week to begin.  The final product, revised and perfected is due April 20!

English:  Students began the week learning about sentence structure, and then on Tuesday they began to present their March IRPs. The students were very respectful of each other and came up with lots of interesting connections in their presentations. The students continued to read and analyze The Giver on their own as homework. The April IRP, which will be the last IRP, was assigned on Friday and will be due Monday, May 7th. This week the students will be continuing to read and analyze The Giver, and will be exploring memory preservation in our society and comparing it to Jonas's role as Receiver of Memory in  this story.

Math:  Last week the April Go Figure was handed out, it will be due Friday, April 20th.  Just a reminder students are welcome to pass the project in early, or have it checked prior to being passed in.  Due to testing we will have a light work week, don't expect much math homework!  The topic of discussion this week is Percents.