Week of May 16, 2016

Elective Updates
Songwriting
The students composed three songs over the course of the trimester.  With the first song they created their chord progression using only four basic chords in the key of C major, then composed their melodies and finally the lyrics.  With the second song we flipped the process, composing first lyrics, then melodies and accompaniment.  At this point students were invited to use other keys and chords.  Some worked in pairs.For the final unit we learned about protest songs and each student (or pair of students) composed their own protest song.  Throughout the year we took turns bringing in songs that we like to share with the class and dissect how they are put together.  The students are looking forward to sharing some of their compositions with the school at the Fine Arts Night!


Red Room Learning Buddiesxxx
The Purple Learning Buddies worked 1:1 with Red Roomers on educational matching games about money and fractions. They also helped them practice their Authors' Tea stories and played with them during center-time. The Red Roomers looked forward to seeing the Purple Learning Buddies every Monday. Thank you!


Cross Stitch
In this elective, the students learned how to read and stitch using counted cross stitch patterns.  After learning the basic cross stitch, outline, French knot, and lazy daisy stitches, the students have been working on completing individual cross stitch projects.


Stop Motion
Students explored different ways to create stop motion videos using materials such as clay, cut paper, drawings and photographs. They used Movie Maker to create the videos. 

Cooking

This time around we worked with ideas students came up with that probably wouldn't work so well, so students learned what to do when things don't turn out as planned. It was interesting, we made guacamole pizza, very thin mint cookies with purple runny filling, pasta with homemade salty sauce, and watermelon pops that they wanted to add the outer white edge to. We had fun and hopefully they learned what not to do!

Lit Mag

In the literary magazine elective, students have been working hard to try to get the magazine back on schedule. Their idea for the cover design took more time than anticipated, but the results look good, and include art from every student. They also spent a lot of time collecting photos of each of the students, and sorting and organizing submissions.

Greenhouse Elective

This enthusiastic group of 6th grade students enjoyed the bounty of greens in the greenhouse this spring. Each week we weed, prune, harvest, and water the plants. It was a treat to enjoy the moist and warm tropical environment on cold days this spring.

Philosophy and Stop Motion
This trimester students have used age-old thought experiments and contemporary stories to explore questions such as: What makes a friend? Can computers think? What is the right thing to do? What is real? What can we be sure we know? And so many more. Their hard work and collaborative discussions is culminating in a series of stop motion videos expressing some of the students' favorite stories, each with a hint of philosophy embedded within to inspire critical thought for the audience. I'm not sure all three groups will finish with only one more elective class, but we'll see!

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with Bina:

This week we continued to focus on reinforcing adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing mixed numbers. The students have also practiced solving word problems and logic puzzles. These puzzles will reinforce concepts the Blue Roomers have learned throughout this year and prepare them for new concepts next year.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We began the week with review of the year's topics we've covered in math. On Tuesday and Wednesday we did a brief review, reminding students of the types of problems they've seen this year, and touching briefly on the challenges certain problems had posed for them. On Thursday and Friday they took their end-of-year assessments, covering the material in PA-II, as well as looking at the material in PA-III, in order to see what prior knowledge they have for next year.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:

On Tuesday we reviewed the Chapter 12 quiz that students took last week, and reviewed the whole chapter. We spent the rest of the week reviewing Chapter 4 and 5. Our end-of-the-year cumulative assessment will be on Tuesday, the 24th. I have encouraged students to review on their own as we will not be able to sufficiently review in class.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week we worked with radical expressions. Students practiced adding, subtracting, multiplying, and rationalizing radical expressions. We then learned how to solve radical equations and graph square root functions. At the end of the week, we explored our final topic, standard deviation. Next Monday students will take an end of year assessment, which is a practice SOL test.

Geometry with Holly:

We continued reviewing the year's material, and the students were given a take-home SOL which they should be working on independently.  Beginning on Thursday, the students began working on their final year-end projects; they are designing a monument and preparing scale drawings and a 3D model to show off the design of their monuments.  This project is designed to tie in many of the geometry skills they have learned this year.

Language Arts with Jared:

We finished reading and discussing Act IV of "Macbeth," as well as finishing the first half of the Globe Theatre's video presentation of the play. Sixth graders made a few more daggers, learned how to put grommets in canvas, dyed paper with tea, and worked some more on crowns. Seventh graders painted mortar/highlight/shadow lines on their stone wall, and painted grass/sky/trees on another canvas. Eighth graders continued working on organizing costumes and ran through their lines.

World Studies with Emily:

Students watched a couple more student-made documentaries, filled-out a NHD reflection questionnaire, and read two essays: "Who Are the Muslims" from  The Muslim World by Richard Tames and "Sharing Knowledge" from The Arabs in the Golden Age by Mokhtar Moktefi. Sixth and seventh grades had excellent discussions about the reading. Sixth graders shared oral summaries of current event articles they read. Seventh graders played a short geography game. 

Life Science with Molly:

This week we dissected owl pellets and learned more about owls. We extended this study by learning more about birds of prey, specifically focusing on their senses. At the end of the week, students finished presenting their Zoo/Biome Projects.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

This week we made preparations for our Fiesta.  We learned about authentic salsa and guacamole, and made some in our classes.  We continue to practice the song that we will sing during the end of year art show. The Latino Fiesta was on Friday, May 20. Thank you to those who sent food.  We had a wonderful time.

Art with Patti:

Students are working on finishing their art projects.

Computer Lab with Holly:

This week the students presented their Biome Zoo projects to their classmates.  The students have done a wonderful job using their MS Word skills to create some very interesting zoos.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week students were updated on the current field trip schedule. We also discussed field trip behavior and etiquette. We also watched an introductory video about the Capitol.

Thank you from, 
The Purple Team