Week of January 9, 2017

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with MaryAnn:
We continued this week with solving proportions, scale drawings, and converting decimals to percentages and fractions in simplest form. The students have a quiz to complete over the long weekend. Next week we will move on to finding the percent of a number.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We continued working with percents. Students looked at how to solve percent problems from a variety of methods, including straight multiplying, using proportions, or using equations. They took a short quiz on this material, before continuing practicing these skills online.

Pre-Algebra III with Andrew:

This past week, we finished reviewing Ch.5 in preparation for our cumulative Mid-Year Assessment.  We spent a day on final reviewing, and then had our assessment on Wednesday.  On Thursday and Friday, we began studying Ch.6, which is looking at using percentages, decimals, and fractions to analyze growth and statistics.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week was spent reviewing and reinforcing linear equation skills. The students seem quite comfortable with using slope-intercept form and standard form. I introduced the point-slope form of linear equations by the end of the week. 

Geometry with Clare:

This past week we finished Ch. 6, took a quiz on it, and took the test! We have also been reviewing work from Ch. 1-5 in preparation for the mid-year test next week, probably Friday in view of the shortened work week. Because of the big test, I have postponed the due date of the bridge project until Monday 23rd, although we have had interesting discussions and demonstrations throughout the week.

Language Arts with Jared:

Students continued working on their novels, breaking off into smaller literature circles to discuss the reading. Eighth graders took a grammar quiz on their linking verbs. On Friday students took their vocabulary quiz, and then looked at the figurative language Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used in his "I Have a Dream" speech.

World Studies & Civics with Andrew:

During Civics class this week, we began planning out some of our NHD essay, and looked at an example essay that demonstrates some good and bad things for the students to notice about their own writing.  We began looking at the executive branch of government, with some focus on the President's job, and how George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson contributed to the development of the executive branch in the early United States.

Physical Science with Molly:

This week students continued working on their current event skit by choosing one story to focus on and doing additional research. We began a focus on the Periodic Table of Elements listening to the They Might Be Giants song and using the beautiful book by Theodore Gray. We began learning about the organization of the period table.

Spanish with Corinne:

Morning Spanish

Sunshine A

This week we began Chapter 2A, talking about school schedules and classes. This chapter also deals with how to describe classes.

Sunshine B

This week we reviewed for and took a test on Chapter 6A.

Spanish B

This week we continued working with Chapter 7A, talking about clothing, stores, and how much something costs. We learned about three new stem changing verbs (we worked with other stem changers last chapter) and what happens when you have one verb after another in a sentence.

Spanish C

This week we continued to work with the vocabulary in Chapter 2B, talking about clothes you bought. We also reviewed the preterite (past) tense from last year and will work more with it next week.

Spanish D

This week we continued working with the vocabulary in Chapter 8A. We also began learning about the subjunctive tense. This tense conjugates almost the same as some of the command forms we learned in the last two chapters, so students are familiar with how to form the verbs. We will continue working with the uses of the subjunctive next week.

Art with Patti:

This week students shared a warm up artwork during a class walk through. The significance of this type of artworks is that the students have a few minutes at the beginning of each class to respond to a specific prompt, building on an art piece. The way each of the students interpret the prompt creates a unique and individual piece of art. Students are also continuing to work and finish building clay pieces.

Computer Lab with Lauren:

6th grade: We learned about identifying high-quality websites and how to be cognizant about how "not everything on the internet is true"
7th grade: We learned about our digital footprint and how our online activity can follow us
8th grade: We learned about digital drama and drew parallels between the drama we encounter online and the drama that occurs in real life

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

8^th Grade students discussed information about entering high school, such as different diplomas and their requirements, SOLs, and exams. I will continue to answer questions for them in future classes.

7^th (science time to make up missing Monday)

6^th Grade students split into gender groups this week. In both groups we discussed overall changes that would happen during puberty and focused on the growth spurt. Next time, we will focus on the height growth spurt.

Thank you from, 
The Purple Team