Thursday, February 25, 2016

Week of February 16, 2016


Purple Curriculum Updates

WINTER ELECTIVE UPDATES:

Board Game Elective:
The Monday board game elective group finished a massive game of Power Grid. The Wednesday group played a few games of Tokaido, and the Big Book of Madness.

Philosophy:
This trimester, the students heard dramatized short stories pulled from Homer's "The Odyssey." After individual sections, the children discussed some of the philosophy embedded in the classic story. For example, is it better to be a happy pig or a sad human (Circe's Island)? How should we determine who has authority (Bag of Winds)? Is lying permissible when it protects people (Scylla and Charybdis)?

Red Room Learning Buddies:
The Red Roomers have enjoyed having the learning buddies read theme-related stories to them and play with them in the their "center time." They get excited when they see these students on the playground and around the halls. It's great for them to spend this time with kind role modes and it makes quite an impression on them. 

Python Programming:
In the Python programming elective this fall, the students used book, “Python for Kids”, to guide us through the basics of Python programming.  The students learned about calculations, strings, lists, if-then-else statements, loops, functions, modules, and classes.  They used turtle graphics to practice these concepts and to create interesting graphics.

Children's Garden:
Students assisted children in making a cat and cow mask, worked on large floor puzzles and played dancing games with children, and played with children during outside recess. They taught children yoga poses and played dancing games with children.

Stop Motion Exploration:
Students experimented with various media (clay, paper cut outs, paint, string, building characters and structures, and photographing themselves) to create stop motion videos. They collaborated or worked individually, and sometimes both, to create a wide range of videos. They used Movie Maker to edit their videos, add text and/or music. 

Autobiographical Comics:
We continued to make comics in class and do fun exercises. We've put most of our work together in a comics magazine that we'll be sharing later this week. The students each have their own copy, and then each grade (6th through 8th) will each get 2 copies that can be passed around.

Cooking:
The class has been an exercise in both cooking and cleaning up after yourself. We baked a lot of cookies, oatmeal and chocolate chip. We worked with eggs (scrambled, omelets, sunny side up), made shortbread and french toast. We made pizza dough and pizza sauce and have been trying different pizza recipes. We baked treats for purple room birthdays. We spent an entire class period peeling and slicing apples for apple crisp and another peeling and shredding carrots for carrot cake. We made light and dark chocolate brownies. We learned that butter left in the microwave too long will explode so you should cover it with a plate. 

Greenhouse:
The greenhouse students have two lovely green plots at the YMCA Greenhouse on Maywood Street. We have grown lettuce, swiss chard, kale, radishes turnips, and had some volunteer tomato plants appear. We've really enjoyed sampling our sugar snap peas. Hopefully the aphids don't take over before we can share the harvest with the community in the lobby.

Pre-Algebra I with Bina:
This week we have studied the area of rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, and the circumference of a circle. Next week we will be learning about three-dimensional shapes, volume, and surface area. The chapter 9 test will be given the week before spring break.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:
In Pre-Algebra II, this week we learned how to find the area of trapezoids and other irregular figures. We then looked at circles, finding both area and circumference. A lot of class has been spent working on how to show all of the steps for solving these problems (listing the formula, writing it again with numbers replacing variables, and then showing the answer with a proper unit). On Friday we took a quiz using the 5 equations the students learned, before we discussed square numbers and square roots.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:
We had another short week at BNS this past week. In PA3, students started Chapter 7: Exponents and Powers. We started by doing the “Diagnosing Readiness” exercises, then I provided a preview of the chapter for the students. Next, students reviewed scientific notation (as opposed to standard form), and practiced multiplying powers with the same base, multiplying numbers in scientific notations, dividing powers with the same base, and using zero and negative exponents.

Algebra I with Molly:
This week students reviewed for and took the test on Chapter 7, which was focused on solving systems of equations and inequalities. On Friday we moved on to Chapter 8 with a focus on exponents. Students reviewed basic operations with exponents and learned how to simplify bases with negative exponents. We will continue learning more operations with exponents through next week.

Geometry with Holly:
We began the week by reviewing for and then taking the Chapter 8 Test.  Then on Friday, we began Chapter 9, Transformations, by studying Translations.  The material in this chapter should be familiar for the students, as much of it was introduced in previous math courses.

Language Arts with Jared:
Students turned in the final drafts of their Norse mythology short stories, and then we turned our attention to Greek mythology. Sixth graders read the myth of Persephone, and seventh and eighth graders are working through a summary of the Trojan war. In our grammar unit, students continued learning different verb tenses, and will be taking a quiz next week on them. And finally, students received a new list of vocabulary words.

World Studies with Emily:
I checked in with students on their progress with their NHD projects this past week and we discussed trying to finish up over the weekend (2/20-2/21) instead of leaving a lot of work for the three school nights before BNS History Night on the 25th. In Ancient Civilizations, students worked diligently researching their chosen topics from ancient Greek - topics were focused on art, science, math, architecture, and philosophy – and making their posters for Friday’s presentations. I was pleased with students’ creativity, information, and presentation approaches. 

Life Science with Molly:
We only had two science classes this week, since we missed Monday and Tuesday. We dissected a boiled egg, which allowed us to see certain parts of the egg better than when we dissected the raw egg. We also dissected rather large earth worms. Students were able to identify many of the internal structures on the worms and the new preservation fluids don’t smell nearly as strong as the old style formaldehyde. Students also learned about cellular respiration and compared this with photosynthesis, as part of the oxygen cycle.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:
Morning Spanish

Spanish B
On Wednesday we had a test and on Friday we started the new chapter, where we will be learning words to describe vacations and fun times with family and friends. This chapter also includes the past tense of verbs ending in -ER and -IR
Spanish C
We started a new chapter this week. We talked about cultural differences in the way people greet each other, the way people celebrate special times, and what is considered good manners. On Friday, the students presented their posters about how they were when they were younger.  The students did an excellent job of staying in Spanish while presenting. I will display the posters on the Spanish board in the main building sometimes next week. We also read the first few paragraphs of Harry Potter in Spanish. We looked at the verbs and talked about the choice of tenses.
Spanish D and D+
We revisited the present subjunctive and learned new uses. On Friday we had a short quiz on the uses of subjunctive in nominal clauses. We also read a few more pages of Harry Potter in Spanish.

Art with Patti:

This week students watched an analysis of the painting “Las Meninas” by Diego Vela´zquez. This is great information when thinking about how artists compose the elements they use in their artwork, and something that students can think about and use as they are making artistic decisions. Students then continued working on their artist inspired projects.

Computer Lab with Holly:
We began the Landmark Game in full force this week.  The students researched clues for the landmarks from their assigned schools and sent out email questions to help them narrow down their guesses.  They also responded to emails about the Landmark their class selected.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:
Due to day off on Monday and Snow day on Tuesday, 7th & 6th grade Life Skills time was used for Computer Lab time for the Land Mark Games Challenge. 8th grade students watched a short section from a Skills for Healthy Living video about Analyzing Media Influences and specifically how food is marketed to us. We discussed the media influence on what we crave and what we choose to eat. We will continue our focus on body image in the media in future classes.

Thank you from, The Purple Team

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Week of February 8, 2016


Purple Curriculum Updates
Pre-Algebra I with Bina:
This week we learned about the metric system and unit conversion in the metric system. Next week we will continue chapter 9 on the metric system, area, and volume.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:
This week we wrapped up our unit with some review on Monday of word problems and circle graphs. Since we weren't having math class on Tuesday (initially due to a field trip, later due to the snow day), we discussed ways to review and study for Wednesday's test. Then we introduced area, and on Thursday we "proved" the formulas for parallelograms and triangles with a craft activity.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:
During this short week with snow days and field trips, we finished chapter six. We learned how to find a probability and a sample space. Students did a chapter review, which we then reviewed as a class, and then everyone took a chapter test.

Algebra I with Molly:
This week students finished the topics in the chapter as they learned to graph inequalities on a coordinate plane, shading above or below the line. They then learned to solve systems of inequalities to find the overlapping range of solutions. They also spent time practicing solving systems of linear equations as applied to real-world situations, choosing the appropriate method to use for solving, elimination, graphing, or substitution. They will review next Tuesday and take their chapter 7 test on Wednesday.

Geometry with Holly:
We finished the teaching for Chapter 8 this week.  On Monday we discussed angles of elevation and angles of depression, and on Wednesday we discussed vectors.  Then on Thursday the students took a quiz over the trigonometric functions and applications. They will take the chapter test next week.

Language Arts with Jared:
Students turned in the rough drafts of their creative stories about Loki, and will be turning in their final drafts after the long weekend. We then wrapped up our Norse mythology unit by viewing the movie "Thor" (though 6th and 7th graders just saw the parts relevant to the original myths we were studying). Next week we embark on to a new unit related to Greek mythology.


World Studies with Emily:

Students chose a topic from a list of people and genres from ancient Greek humanities and sciences and did independent internet research. Most students started making a poster to showcase what they learned about their topic. They will present their posters next week. 

Life Science with Molly:
This week students learned about the chicken egg as it represents a cell, although there is only one small part in the egg that is considered a single cell. We candled an egg, then they diagramed a raw egg and learned the specifics of each part. They also checked the density of each part of the egg in water. Students read about how photosynthesis works in a cell.
Spanish with Olga & Corinne:
Morning Spanish

Spanish B
We finished reviewing for our test, which will be our next class (next Wednesday Feb. 17). The test will include  the material from the book, but also numbers and the verb to go.  This is something the students need more practice on.  We also have been reading "La Gran Aventura de Alejandro" about a Mexican boy who visits Spain with his family- and learns many interesting things about culture and history.
Spanish C
We reviewed and had our unit test on Wednesday. The students have a project due on the 19th. They also have  ordering to do, paying attention to the verbs being used. This is in preparation for learning to differentiate between the two past tenses (preterite an imperfect) in Spanish.
Spanish D
We are revisiting the subjunctive!  We reviewed the forms and uses we had learned before, and added one more type of use.  We will have a short quiz on this next week, before looking at the past subjunctive.
Spanish D+
We have joined Spanish D in reviewing/revisiting the subjunctive mood.

Art with Patti:

This week we started to find our routine again in art after interjecting the collaborative art class auction pieces. Students were brainstorming, researching, sketching or composing their ideas for the Artist based project. I’m seeing a nice variety of ideas, and enjoying their connections to artists and styles.

Computer Lab with Holly:
This week the students prepared the clues for the landmark they are submitting to the Landmark Game, which begins next week.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:
This week Life Skills class times were used for Computer Lab classes that were missed on Tuesday’s snow day. We will continue our focus on body image in the media in future classes.

Thank you from, The Purple Team

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Week of February 1, 2016

Purple Curriculum Updates
Pre-Algebra I with Bina:
The students have completed chapter 8 on geometric naming. Next week we will begin chapter 9 on the metric system, area, and volume. The students will need to apply what they’ve learn thus far. Monday will be a math game day because they had their chapter 8 assessment on Friday, February 5th.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:
This week we wrapped up Chapter 7, by discussing parts of circles. Our unit culminated with the combination of all of the chapter's skills with the creation of circle graphs. I think students learned to appreciate how easily they can make pie charts on the computer after having to create one by hand. Next week we'll wrap up the unit by looking at word problems, before our test on Wednesday.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:
We almost finished Chapter 6: Applications of Percent this week in Pre-Algebra 3. Students solved problems involving markup and discount, wrote equations to solve a range of different word problems, wrote their own word problem for a classmate to solve, took a quiz, and found simple interest and compound interest for a variety of problems involving banking, saving, investing, borrowing, and consuming. We will finish the chapter with a section about probability and take a test early next week.

Algebra I with Molly:
This week students learned two additional methods of solving systems of linear equations. They learned substitution and elimination methods, both of which require careful manipulation of the equation and calculations. They applied these to word problems and are now able to choose the best method to use for a given situation.

Geometry with Holly:
This week the students discussed the relationships between the legs of 45-45-90 and 30-60-90 right triangles in preparation for learning about the basic trigonometric functions of Sine, Cosine, and Tangent.  On Wednesday, the students took a quiz over the material we had covered on the Pythagorean Theorem and special right triangles.

Language Arts with Jared:
In grammar students continued working on learning how to conjugate various verb tenses, and students also took a quiz on their vocabulary words. In literature, 8th graders finished reading Runemarks and 7th graders finally reached Ragnarok in their novel The Gospel of Loki. 6th and 8th graders took a test on their readings, and 7th graders will take theirs next week. Students will also turn in the rough drafts of their original Loki short stories next week, and then wrap up our unit on Norse mythology with the movie "Thor."

World Studies with Emily:
This week students turned in their NHD essays! J I am trying to read them and make comments as fast as I can; I’m almost done with the eighth grade. Students colored and labeled a map of ancient Greece, took notes (6th grade collectively, 7th and 8th grade independently) from a BBC site for kids, called “Who were the Greeks?”, listened while I read aloud a short piece and explained some PowerPoint slides, discussed current events, played a geography game, and watched a Discovery Education production called “What the Ancients Knew: Greeks”. Students will be working on a poster project about a topic of their choice from ancient Greek art, science, math, philosophy, or architecture next week during class.

Life Science with Molly:
This week we labeled a diagram of an animal cell comparing it to the plant cell we previously drew. I helped students complete a venn diagram comparing plant, animal, and bacterial cells. This highlighted the organelles found in one, but not the other. We continued to learn about osmosis and diffusion. On the microscopes, we looked for changes from osmosis of water with no salt and salt-water samples of elodia, onion skin, and potato cells. We continued to study earth worms this week. Each class cut a single worm in half and replaced the halves in an isolated container. We will observe the specimen once a week checking for changes and regrowth. 

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:
Morning Spanish
This week we reviewed for a test on Wednesday about affirmative commands and the present progressive tense. Students have a final draft of their food project due on Thursday.
Spanish B
We continue learning and practicing the past tense of -ar verbs, including some verbs with irregular spellings.  This week, we also talked about direct objects, direct object pronouns, and how to use them in Spanish. 
Spanish C
We continued learning the imperfect (past) tense.  For now, we are learning the form and using it to describe things we used to enjoy doing when we were younger. More uses will be introduced soon. I have assigned a project that involves a poster and an oral presentation. The students have the information on a handout, and I've also placed it on Edmodo. It is due on February 19. Finally, we have been revisiting indirect object pronouns and learning how to use two object pronouns with a verb.  We will have a chapter test next Wednesday, February 10.
Spanish D
We finished talking about the future: natural resources, nature, energy and future careers we might enjoy.  We reviewed the future tense of regular and irregular verbs. We had an assessment on this material on Friday.
Spanish D+
We are identifying areas where we might need more practice/exposure.  We joined the Spanish D students for singing and future tense practice.

Art with Patti:

This week students put finishing touches on their auction class collaboration artworks. They turned out really beautifully. I hope you had a chance to check them out at the Chocolate Party. Some students picked up where they left off with deciding on an artist to focus on for an artist inspired artwork. 
Computer Lab with Holly:
This week the students began a new project: The Landmark Game.  This is a competition between teams of students from all around the world where they try to guess landmarks given a series of clues.  This game develops the student's research skills and introduces them to proper email skills.  Each of our middle school classes is a separate team.  This week the students selected the landmark they wish to submit to the game.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:
We spent our Life Skills time discussing Nicole Lovell this week. Students questioned how she ended up in the situation she did and how anyone could murder another person. We talked about how putting yourself in a risky situation does not mean fault. We talked about keeping yourself safe online, in person, as well as communicating with and trusting your parents. We talked about a teenager’s desire for independence and their lack of brain maturity to make the best possible decisions. They were very healthy discussions and I hope they will continue these conversations with you at home. We will continue our focus on body image in the media in future classes.

Thank you from, The Purple Team

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Week of January 25, 2016


Purple Curriculum Updates
Pre-Algebra I with Bina:
I continued teaching lessons from chapter 8 throughout this week. Chapter 8 focuses on geometry concepts, such as measuring and classifying angles and polygons. Next week we will wrap up chapter 8, and I will send home a review packet on Friday, February 5th. This would normally be a math game day, but I am moving math game day to Monday, so that the students do not have to study over the weekend and take the test on Monday. The students need to study the vocabulary from this chapter and practice identifying/measuring geometric shapes. I suggest making flash cards for this test.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:
This week we began Chapter 7, and students were excited to learn about geometry, as it was a fresh change of topic. We went over tons of vocabulary, making sure they were familiar with all the terms (lines, rays, points, obtuse, acute, complementary, supplementary, etc.), and familiar with how to write and label them properly in their work. With protractors we practiced measuring angles, and with compasses we worked on bisecting line segments and angles. We had some simple math problems of figuring out the missing angle in a triangle, and finding supplementary and complementary angles. On Friday we went to the computer to work on math problems that were more challenging than those in the book.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:
The class took a quiz on percents and proportions on Tuesday. We practiced writing equations to find parts of wholes and whole amounts or percents, and we calculated percent of increase and percent of decrease, as well as solved problems involving markups and discounts. 

Algebra I with Molly:
This week we spent time reviewing for our Chapter 6 test. Students completed the test and began learning about solving systems of equations. Friday they related two equations by graphing them carefully to find their intersection point.

Geometry with Holly:
We began the week on Tuesday with a quiz over the last two (and most challenging) sections of Chapter 7.  Then after reviewing on Wednesday, the students took the chapter test on Thursday.  We finished the week by beginning chapter 8 and the study of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.

Language Arts with Jared:
Students began the week with a grammar test on verbs. We then began our new unit, which is focusing on verb tenses. Sixth graders finished their in-class novel (Odd and the Frost Giants), and seventh and eighth graders are nearing the end of their novels as well. Students are also close to finishing our their study of Norse mythology, with a look at the events that led up to Ragnarok. They also spent class time brainstorming in groups and working on typing up a rough draft of their own myth based upon Norse mythology.

World Studies with Emily:
We continued to spend our time on NHD essays and learning about ancient Persia. Students spent one class period reading, editing, and then discussing their classmates' essays; most students proofread three essays. We then spent three classes reading excerpts from books and watching a couple videos about ancient Persia in the third and fourth centuries BCE. We viewed some artifacts and ruins from the Persian Empire, and read about two of them including the Cyrus Cylinder--deemed the first declaration of human rights--and a golden chariot model found near the Oxus River. The videos also introduced ancient Greece, which we will focus on starting next week. 

Life Science with Molly:
This week students drew a plant cell step by step and reviewed the function of each organelle. Students learned about the cell in its environment and specifically how diffusion and osmosis play an important role in cell equilibrium. On the microscopes this week, students learned several methods to mount and stain cheek cells. We began learning about earth worms this week. I brought in a composting box with a healthy population of red worms.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:
Morning Spanish

Spanish B
We are learning the past (preterite) tense of -ar verbs.  We are also practicing how to use vocabulary in context.

Spanish C
We are learning the imperfect (past) tense of regular and irregular verbs.  We have been talking about things we used to do and play with when we were younger.

Spanish D
We continue working with the future tense and learning vocabulary to talk about things in the future.

Spanish D+
We continue working independently.

Art with Patti:

Collaboration! The students have been doing a great job in working with each other to create some beautiful art pieces which will be showcased and auctioned off at the Chocolate Party. The sixth grade has been working on a beautiful mosaic bench, the seventh grade has created a clever Wizarding World of Harry Potter chess set, and the eighth grade has been collaborating on a nature inspired kitchen set. 

Computer Lab with Holly:
This week the students continued playing the Game of Life and reviewing their spreadsheet skills.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:
This week each class focused on body image in the media. We discussed what we mean by “media” and what “body image” is. We watched a short video segment from the title Skills for Healthy Living Analyzing Media Influences. We spent most of the time discussing how and why we are affected by what we see and hear before and after watching the video. We will continue to focus on the topic of body image and the media in the coming weeks. During our class meeting, a student brought up the missing middle school student. Time was spent discussing the balance parents and teachers face when allowing middle school students more independence, while also keeping them safe.

Thank you from, The Purple Team