Team Update: Week of February 19th

Team Update: 

No School Monday, February 19th!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students worked incredibly hard this week! This was the final week in which we spend time on Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Students started their final performance task on Thursday and will wrap it up Tuesday when they come back. This performance task will demonstrate their mastery of the lasting legacies of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Science:  This week we looked more closely at predator and prey interactions.  We started to investigate competition.  Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.  Next week we will continue looking at different interactions.  On Tuesday, we will have a Guidance Presentation during science class.

Literacy:  What a week! We were fortunate to have the chrome books in Literacy class this week to begin the work on their Historical Fiction projects!  I collaborated with Ms. Scotti to have the kids select historical fiction books for the February IRP for English, so that I could have the kids research an actual historical event that took place during the same time period!  They're all working very hard, and should try to complete their reading this long weekend!  We'll be in the Library on Tuesday, and if we're very, very efficient, schedule the Latin 9 test for Friday.  Happy long weekend!

English:  We continued working on the persuasive essays this week. The students are working hard and are really challenging themselves to become better writers! It has been slow going on this essay, but we should finish up very soon. Next week we will be taking a break from the essay and doing some work with word choice, peer editing, and conclusions. Don't forget that February Independent Reading Projects are due on Friday, February 23rd!

Math: Last Wednesday we quizzed on inequalities to finish up our equations unit.  The students did very well overall.  We then started our geometry unit by learning about circles.  We talked about circumference, radius and diameter at the end of last week.  This week we are going to learn about area of circles.  The Go Figure is on Friday, February 23rd!  Time management is key, don't wait until the last minute. It's exciting to see that many students have already turned in their projects. I have started to stamp kids agenda's daily to ensure they have written down the homework.  We do have homework most days and they can always be working on their long term projects. 

Team Update: Week of February 12th

Team Update: 

Please return your progress report envelopes to your advisor.

Class Updates:

Social Studies: This week we wrapped up our unit on Classical Civilizations. Students investigated what caused the Roman Empire to collapse and what caused the Byzantine Empire to succeed and live on. Students will be assessed on this material Tuesday following a major review on Monday.

Science:  This week we figured out five different interactions that organisms have with other populations.  We watched video clips to observe these interactions.  On Friday we started looking more closely at the predator and prey interaction.    Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.  Next week we will continue looking at different interactions.

Literacy:  Students took a serious look at Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech in an effort to unlock the rhetorical devices used by each of the orators, and to learn to analyze the more complex passages to understand the messages delivered.   We ended the week with a mastery test on Latin Unit 8.  In the week ahead students will be introduced to the research and presentation project based upon the historical fiction book they are reading for the February IRP in English class!  We're lucky to have the chrome books in class for most of the week! 

English:  This week in English we continued working on our persuasive essays. The students finished up their outlines and ended the week by beginning to write their essays. Next week we will continue to work on the essays and workshop them in class. Students should be working on their independent reading projects that are due next week!

Math: Last week we learned how to solve one-step and two-step inequalities. February's Go Figure was handed out and January's was graded and returned.  For the upcoming week, we are going to learn how to graph inequalities to wrap up the topic.  There will be a quiz on Wednesday, February 14 on inequalities.  To end the the week we are going to start our Geometry unit. 

Team Update: Week of February 5th

Team Update: 

Progress reports will go home on Tuesday!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Students completed their Roman research projects this week. Be sure to check the gradebook to see how you scored! This upcoming week will be the final week that we cover the Roman Empire. We will learn how the Roman Empire collapse and will start preparing for upcoming assessments.

Science:  This week we figured out that resource availability affects populations.  On Monday we pretended that we were deer looking for food, water and cover.  We studied the populations of June suckers, Mountain Plovers and Hummingbirds.    Click HERE to see more about what we are doing in class.  Next week we will start answering our questions about interactions between organisms.  We will start of the week with a quick assessment on how resource availability affects populations.

Literacy:  Students learned about intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation when we looked at Omnictionary slides on Monday!  Those who understand intrinsic motivation will take the constructive comments offered by classmates to improve their slide shows!  We saw some great ideas!  We also discussed rhetoric - and the devices that are used in famous, powerful speeches.  We viewed a couple of very interesting performances of Rap - including the oldest one on record, Ya Got Trouble from The Music Man, set in 1912.  Students later analyzed Lincoln's Gettysburg Address!  Next week we'll tackle MLK's dream speech and get ready for Latin 8 test on Friday!

English:  This week in English class the students continued working on their argument essays. Thesis statements were finalized early in the week, and then the students worked on their outlines to plan out their essays. The students also did some work with counter argument to learn how to strengthen their arguments by refuting the other side. The February independent reading project was assigned; this month we are focusing on historical fiction! Students should begin reading their historical fiction books over the weekend to get a jump on this project!

Math: Friday we wrapped up our equations unit.  Anyone who didn't turn in their January Go Figures needs to do so quickly! Next week we are going to learn about inequalities! It's similar to equations but a little different.  We will also be handing out February's Go Figure on Monday.  It will be due Friday, February 23rd.