Week of January 19th

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with MaryAnn:

In Pre-Algebra I with MaryAnn, we did some extra work on solving proportions, then we moved on to scale drawings, learning how to convert fractions to decimals and percents and vice versa, and today we learned how to find the percent of a number. It looks like we will have an end of unit test next Thursday, along with a notebook check. I sent home some optional, extra practice worksheets.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

In Pre-Algebra II, we began the week with a shopping day. Students had $200 of pretend money to spend and some interesting coupons (72.5% off of electronics) and they went through newspaper ads to choose items they wanted and calculate their prices. We worked on solving percent problems by setting up a ratio, and then by setting up an equation. We also took some time out of the lessons this week to work on improving the organization of our work area on the page when students solve problems. We then continued working with percents by learning about tip, tax, and commissions. On Friday we practiced these skills online. 

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:

Students took a quiz on Tuesday, and did very well on it. They wrote equations to find part of a whole, a whole amount, or a percent. For example: Find 13% of 126; 16.38 is 13% of what number; and, what percent is 16.38 of 126? Students found percent of increase, percent of decrease, and solved problems involving markup and discount. We reviewed on Friday. Students will have their second chapter quiz on Tuesday.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week we continued our focus on linear equations. Students learned the standard form and the point-slope form. They’ve been needing to do quite a few revisions on their homework, so we’ve slowed down. Friday was spent reviewing when and how to use each type of equation, as well as practicing transforming between the different forms. There will be a quiz on Monday on 6-3 and 6-4.

Geometry with Holly:

This week we continued work on chapter 7, Similarity.  The corollaries regarding similarity in right triangles are challenging to keep straight, so on Tuesday and Wednesday, we spent extra time covering this material. On Thursday we discussed proportions in triangles, and finished the week with a quiz over this week's material.

Language Arts with Jared:

In Language Arts students took a grammar quiz on three different verb tenses (simple, perfect, and progressive). Then they continued in their verbs unit, with the sixth and seventh graders exploring transitive and intransitive verbs, and the eighth graders looking at phrasal verbs and the perfect progressive tense. In our literature unit, students are continuing to practice with reading aloud, and with habitually using complete sentences when writing answers to response questions. They will have a reading comprehension quiz on Tuesday on the weekend's reading assignment. Some students took their vocabulary quizzes this week, but because of the holiday, the rest of the students had an extra week to review and will take their quiz on Monday.

World Studies with Emily:

On Tuesday, students were given half of class to work on typing up their outlines for a first draft of their NHD essay. We listened to part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech called “Beyond Vietnam” from April of 1967, which contains several ideas about war and violence that are relevant today. We discussed this part of the speech and referred to it later in the week when we studied Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Point Peace Plan, and his adamant belief that punishing Germany would incite stronger feelings of resentment and hatred, which Wilson observed in the South after the Civil War.  We listened to a couple WWI war songs and looked at old photos from WWI as we discussed the end of the war. We will finish this topic early next week by talking about the Treaty of Versailles. For World Studies, we will be participating in a global geography challenge in February and March called the Landmark Challenge via Kidlink.org (led by a professor at Radford University); students brainstormed about possible landmarks for which they would write nine clues that would be distributed among other participating teams. Students played a WWI geography game, and we looked at some example NHD titles. It looks like BNS History Night will be postponed again to Tuesday, February 24^th so that we can have the event in the new building, which will be a wonderful showcase of the addition!

Earth Science with Molly:

This week we learned more about the lives of stars and the different progressions they make depending upon the mass of the star. 7^th and 8^th grade students learned more about star systems and galaxies this week. We watched a very informative Powerpoint about black holes and read a futuristic Icarus story about black holes. We took a close look at the study guide and spent time reviewing for next Tuesday’s test on the universe. Their final adapted alien species model and essay are due February 5^th. 

Spanish A with Rebecca:

The students continued studying and practicing making nouns and their articles plural. They also practiced creating their own sentences to describe where different classroom objects are located in the classroom, demonstrating their ability to apply the lessons and vocabulary from this chapter. The Test for Chapter 2B will be on Wednesday, January 28th. Monday will be a review day.

Spanish with Olga:

Spanish B

We reviewed the past tense of regular verbs and saw verbs that are irregular in the past: hacer, dar, ser, ir, and decir. We also saw the present tense of decir. We studied indirect object pronouns. We will have an assessment next Friday.

Spanish C

This week we continued using verbs in the imperfect tense to describe habits and give background information about things that happened in the past. We also revisited the indirect object pronouns. We reviewed how to use two objet pronouns with one verb, and what to do when both the direct and indirect objects are third person. We also saw how to place pronouns with command forms. We will have an assessment next week.  Finally, we watched an episode of En Busca de la Verdad, our new mini series. The students have a project due on February 4. I gave them poster board for their posters.

Spanish D

This week we reviewed for a test we had on Friday. We also read authentic articles about the environment and answered comprehension questions. The students have an oral presentation due on January 30.

Spanish D+

The students continue working on the grammar and readings. They had an assessment about the progressive tenses on Friday.

Art with Patti:

Students finished their isometric drawings. We also started talking about perspective this week. We reviewed one-point perspective as a sketchbook exercise, and started talking about two-point perspective.

Computer Lab with Holly:

This week the students began work on creating critical reviews of their restaurants.  These reviews are to be 700 - 1000 words, so the students will spend several class periods working on them.  Students were also given time to finish up any previous restaurant products which were still outstanding

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week (Friday and next Monday’s classes) was our social work focus and we worked on writing anonymous letters to elementary students and families who are dealing with lice. After reading Faith Ringold’s book My Dream of Martin, students created their own versions of the future related to improving social situations. They will also begin watching a documentary One Dollar a Day about living in Guatemala. The following week we will continue to focus on puberty growth spurts for the 6th grade students. 7th and 8th grade students will focus on puberty changes, then move on to female and male anatomy (girls will study girls first, then move on to boys, while boys will study boys first, then move on to girls). We will alternate between our social work focus and our sex ed focus over the next month or so.

Thank you from, The Purple Team