Weekly Update: March 2nd

WELCOME BACK!  We hope you had a relaxing break!

NOTICE: 

We only have a few weeks left in the trimester!  Any missing or make up work needs to get completed as soon as possible!  We have many missing assignments from February.

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We wrapped up the Roman Empire the week before vacation. Students were assessed on the Roman Empire on Friday 2/21. When students return in March, we will have a massive review on Monday and Tuesday on Ancient Greece, Alexander the Great, and Ancient Rome. Starting Wednesday, students will begin to work on their Performance Task on Classical Civilizations. They will have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to complete it. It is an in-class, open-note writing assignment. 

Science: Students will use the spider simulation in a few more activities to review traits and reproduction in Darwin's Bark Spider. Students will then apply what they learned from spiders to running ability in humans. Students will write a final argument about running ability using the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning format.

Literacy:  Unit 8 is complete, so we'll dive right into the next unit of Latin roots on Monday, with the test to follow on Friday, the 13th!  We will also continue with our unit on the Art of Civil Disobedience, with another Teaching Tolerance movie and follow up writing assignment.  

English: Prior to break, students worked on the following skills within The Giver: simile, metaphor, personification, hook, cliffhanger, point of view, and allusion. Students will have a skills test on Friday, March 6th.  They have study guides as well as notes and extra practice from class to review.  Instructions for the March IRP will be going home this week. This month, students will be creating a "book in a bag" -- be sure to check in this week and ask what book they chose! 

Math: Before vacation we spent the week learning about finding surface area of rectangular prisms and triangular prisms through nets.  This week we will continue to work on surface area of triangular prisms and pyramids before ending with the week with volume.  Students will have a test Friday March 6th, the study guide will go home Wednesday March 4th.

Weekly Update: February 17th

Reminder: We have NO SCHOOL on Monday, February 17th due to Presidents' Day!

Many of our Badger students are still battling colds. We could use your help to replenish our classroom tissue supplies and Clorox wipes.  Thank you for the donations that have come in thus far.  If your child has missed school, they have missed work in all classes, and should plan to stay after school.

Another reminder about absenteeism:  Students are responsible for any and all work that was assigned and assessed in every class.  We are spending a great deal of time reminding kids to complete work.

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students spent the week working on an in-class research project. They were instructed to pick any topic relevant to Ancient Rome and research it. The end results should have been a slideshow displaying their research. Check the gradebook to see how your child did!

Science: In science we have finished through page 57 in the binder. This week we are moving onto chapter 3 of Traits and Reproduction. We will be reading articles about twins and the corpse flower as well as using the spider simulation to study sexual reproductions affect on genes.

Literacy:  We have begun Latin Unit 8, and the Mastery test is scheduled for Friday, February 21st.  Several students have spoken to me about taking the test early, as they will be out on Friday.  This is perfectly fine, as long as they cans stay on Thursday.  If not, they should be prepared to stay and  to take it on Monday, March 2. In honor of Presidents' Day, we will discuss the power of rhetoric this week, and learn to recognize the techniques used in some very famous speeches! 

English: Students are in the middle of reading The Giver right now and recently learned about literary hooks, cliffhangers, and allusions.  We also discussed point of view and how it impacts a text.  Next week we will continue reading and review similes, metaphors, and personification.  Ask your student what he or she enjoys most about the book!

Math: Students finished their test on Circles last Thursday!  We are moving onto surface area and volume of right rectangular prisms.  First we will begin discussing and creating nets of different 3-D shapes then move on to surface area.  Students will review rectangular prisms before moving onto triangular prisms and pyramids. 

Weekly Update: February 9th

Reminder: Progress reports went home Wednesday, February 5th!  Please review your child's progress report and return the signed envelope.

Many of our Badger students are still battling colds . We could use your help to replenish our classroom tissue supplies and Clorox wipes.  Thank you for the donations that have come in thus far.  If your child has missed school, they have missed work in all classes, and should plan to stay after school.

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We spent the majority of the week learning about Ancient Roman culture. Next week, we will begin an in-class research project. Students will be able to pick any topic about Ancient Rome and investigate it further and ultimately create a slideshow showing what they have learned. 

Science: We have been using the spider simulation in Amplify and K-nex to study and model how proteins create structure and genes provide instructions for building proteins. We have completed through page 43 in our binder and have read/annotated articles A and B in the back of the binder about spider silk and hemophilia.  Instead of collecting binders I will collect some binder pages each week to check class work progress. Students should be sure to complete all binder pages each week as assigned. 

Literacy:  These last two weeks have been jam packed in Literacy! We completed Latin Unit 7 and began our unit on the power children have had to change history. Our students watched an educational documentary The Children’s March this week and saw how brave the children of Birmingham, Alabama were in 1963! We read Alice Walker‘s short story called The Flowers, and kids did a fabulous job with Rapid Research of important terms! Ask your children what they learned! On to Latin 8, and more close reading about children in history! 

English: Students did a wonderful job creating and submitting their character change cartoon projects a couple weeks ago.  Their designs were creative and well executed!  We've switched gears a bit in English the last two weeks - moving from our classic literature unit to our science fiction unit, which focuses on The Giver. We are currently five chapters in and the suspense is starting to build!  

Math: We are finishing up our circles unit.  Students spent the past week learning about radius, diameter, circumference and area of a circle. This week we will continue on with learning about complex shapes.We have a test this Thursday, study guides will go home Monday.  

One of our team teachers celebrates their birthday on Monday, we lost track of the how old they are so we are celebrating age advancement instead!  Happy Birthday ….. 

Weekly Update

A message from the Badger Team!

Wow, it's been a tough week!  So many of our Badger students have been battling colds and the flu, and have just been feeling poorly. Hopefully everyone is feeling better! We could use your help to replenish our classroom tissue supplies.  If your child has missed school, they have missed work in all classes, and should plan to stay after school this week.

iReady Testing

All Badger students will take the winter iReady tests in Reading and Math beginning tomorrow.  To be well prepared, kids should get a good night's sleep and be sure to have breakfast.  Although we hope to complete testing during Monday and Tuesday, we have reserved Wednesday as well.  Kids will work on chrome books for this test, and there are many audio elements, so we recommend that kids bring their own ear buds.

Progress Reports

In other big news, grades close this week for Progress Reports.  Progress Reports go home Wednesday, February 5th.


Book orders are due back to Mrs. McGuire by Friday, January 31st!

Class Updates:

Literacy:  We began Latin unit 7 this past week.  All fourteen flash cards should be completed for Monday.  The mastery test has been scheduled for February 4th.

English: January IRPs are due Friday! Encourage your student to look at the example posted on Google Classroom.  Book orders are also due Friday! Flyers are being sent home Monday, January 27th.

Math:  We have a test Thursday on inequalities and expressions!  Study guides go home Tuesday. 

Science: Monday we are finishing a short traits lab and then we will be moving on to the spider simulation to see how traits are passed on to offspring.

Social Studies:

Weekly Update: January 19th

Reminder: There is NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 20th in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Since returning to school in January, we have been working through our unit on the Roman Republic. On Friday students were introduced to Julius Caesar and were able to investigate his legacy. We will continue learning about Caesar but ultimately how the Roman Republic morphed into the Roman Empire.

Science: We have completed the Metabolism Unit and all grades have been posted. Students can retake the written part of the test Wednesday after school if needed. This week we will start the new unit, Traits and Reproduction which focuses on the variation in flexibility of spider silk.

Literacy:  Teaching kids to reflect upon their own work is incredibly rewarding.  Asking them to examine their effort as well as their end products is what their most recent Google Classroom assignment did. Their Atlas Obscura Reflections were due this week.  Latin Unit 6 test grades will be posted tomorrow.  This week we'll tiptoe into a longterm adventure of learning about social injustice, and how children have brought about enormous change.  Have a wonderful long weekend!

English: This week we were in the library working on character change projects by using an online resource called "Make Belief Comix."  Students were able to plan and design a comic strip, illustrating Scrooge's character change from A Christmas Carol.  In addition to their comic, students wrote captions for each scene they created.  Next week students will shift focus a bit and start researching for their historical fiction projects, which are due at the end of the month.

Math: We are continuing this week on our inequality and expressions unit.  Students spent last week expanding and factoring the distributive property and will start combining like terms this week. Our second test of the semester will be next week, so make sure not to forget about inequalities.  

Weekly Update: December 22nd

The Badger Team would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a joyful New Year!  We hope everyone enjoys their break!  School resumes on Monday, January 6, 2020. 

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We wrapped up our unit on Alexander the Great this week. Students were assessed Wednesday; be sure to check the grade book! When we come back after our two week vacation, we will start a new unit: Rome. Have a great holiday!

Science: After the holiday break we will be finishing up the Metabolism Unit with two summative assessments, a paper and a test. For the paper students will compare claims and evidence about an athletic performance and write and argument to support their claim. The test will include multiple choice and short answer/essay questions.

Literacy:  Most students have completed and submitted their narrated Atlas Obscura projects.  We have dedicated the past two weeks to this in class, and for homework.  When we return from vacation, we'll present projects and get back to Latin Roots!  If you haven't finished your project, find some time during the holiday break to get to the library if necessary, to finish up!  

English: Students finished reading A Christmas Carol this week and completed their unit test.  We also watched the movie together on Friday and discussed similarities and differences among the book, play, and movie.  Students completed a graphic organizer that depicts the character change of Ebenezer Scrooge.  Following vacation, students will receive their January independent projects and work on a character change project in the library.  For now, ENJOY the next two weeks off!  Rest, relax, and spend time with friends and family!  Happy Holidays!

Math: We 

Weekly Update: December 16th

Pencils:  It is very difficult for students to do work in class when they come without a pencil.  Many of us had a set of five "loaner" pencils at the front of the class for a student to use for a class period.  All have disappeared from The Mansion.  Our students have become complacent about preparedness, and it's time for a reset.  Please ask your child if they have pencils in their string bags.  If they do not, or can't remember where they are, can you please purchase some good Ticonderoga pencils for them this weekend?  Personalize them as we do!  Ask your kids -  they'll know how we do this.  

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We are starting to phase away from Sparta and Athens and starting to shift our focus towards a new topic: Alexander the Great. Students questioned the life and legacy of Alexander the Great this past week. They will continue exploring Monday and will be assessed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Enjoy the holidays!

Science: Students will take a second look at the nervous system lab on Monday and then we are moving on to metabolism and an athlete. Students will apply what they learned about molecules through Elisa to how metabolism affects athletic performance.

Literacy:  Students learned how to do use the Chrome Extension Loom this week, so they can record the voice over narration for their projects.  Hopefully you have seen your children working on these projects at home.  They can't record until their research is complete, their images are selected, their slide shows are produced and their scripts are written.  Although they have been given every class period for two weeks, many remain far behind.  The project is due by Friday, December 20th. Extra help is available after school Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  

English: We are nearing the end of our Christmas Carol unit. Students have their final unit test on Wednesday, December 18th. We'll spend Monday and Tuesday wrapping up the remainder of the book and reviewing for our test.  We're also looking forward to watching the movie together as a team on Friday. 

Math: We are still working through solving equations.  This week we will focus on solving equations with negative numbers.  Students will have a test Thursday, December 19th on equations.  The study guide will go home on Monday.