Week of May 2, 2016

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with Bina:

We have completed our math end-of-year assessment. Beginning next week, we will continue reviewing concepts like fractions, percent, and problem solving using puzzle problems in class. This will reinforce concepts the Blue Roomers have learned throughout this year and prepare them for new concepts next year.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

This week we wrapped up our graphing unit by looking at how students can use graphs to solve word problems. We then reviewed all the different types of graphs we covered in this chapter, before taking our chapter test. On Friday we introduced probability, which the students were very excited about.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:

We used rules to graph linear functions, and then wrote linear function rules from words, tables, and graphs. We related graphs to events by interpreting and sketching graphs. Students took a quiz on the first four sections of chapter 12. Then they began learning about nonlinear functions by graphing and writing quadratic functions as well as graphing other nonlinear functions.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week students practiced using the quadratic equation. They then learned to use the discriminant to find whether there are two, one, or no solutions to a quadratic equation. At the end of the chapter, students learned to write an equation by choosing a linear, quadratic, or exponential model for the set of data. They will review and take the chapter test next week.

Geometry with Holly:

This week the students discussed the concept of a locus of points on Monday, then reviewed the last half of Chapter 12 prior to taking a quiz over that materiel on Thursday.  The finished the week by reviewing for the Chapter test which they took the following Monday.

Language Arts with Jared:

We spent this week working on reading and understanding "Macbeth," one of William Shakespeare's famous tragedies. To approach this in a way that students can figure out the text, we look at the play from a variety of angles. I showed students a graphic novel adaptation of the scenes they are reading, in order to understand the general storyline. Then students take turns reading through the play aloud, with us pausing to discuss the meaning of what they just read. Then we watch segments of a Globe Theatre performance of "Macbeth," to see how the acting and stage direction (which are missing from the text) complete their understanding of the scene.

World Studies with Emily:

Students worked all week on finishing their research, writing their scripts, and finding the best images and music for their documentaries. On Friday, when we don’t have access to the laptops, sixth graders worked on drawing the perimeters of the world’s countries on continent maps and labeling them.

Life Science with Molly:

We began the week working on mulching the rain garden. We did a great lab where students extracted DNA from strawberries. It was quite successful and exciting! Students began learning about evolution and natural selection this week.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

Morning Spanish
We spent the week working through a study guide in preparation for the end of year assessment next week. The exam will be May 10-12, and will be graded and returned to students the following week.

Spanish B/C/D/K

After a final review on Monday, we spent the rest of the week taking our end of year assessments.  They will be graded and returned to students, who will then place them in their portfolios.  We will have a little "fiesta" on May 20 before and during lunch- I will provide more details soon.

Art with Patti:

This week students penciled in a composition using the rule of thirds for a watercolor painting, as well as talking about a few watercolor techniques using mingling or plastic wrap. Students continued to work on their projects, focusing on the element of art “space”, or finishing up their artist inspired project.

Computer Lab with Holly:

The students continued working on their Zoo Project catalogs, and should have finished most of the plant and animal entries.  They also took a typing test.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week we continued working on plans and preferences, such as roommates and lunch choices for the DC overnight field trip. In coming classes, students will prepare for the overnight field trip, prepare for end of year conferences, and if time permits: 8^th grade students will split into gender groups and learn about the sexual anatomy of the opposite gender. 6^th &7^th grade students will continue on their focus of changes during puberty.

Thank you from, 
The Purple Team

Week of April 25, 2016

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with Bina:

We have studied for the end-of-year test throughout this week. The students will be taking this test in four parts. I have split up the test so that the students are not overwhelmed. They will take the first part of the test on Monday, May 2nd, and take the final part of the test on Thursday, May 5th. Friday, the 6th, will be a math game day.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:TH

We began the week by talking about box-and-whisker plots and stem-and-leaf plots. Then we took a math quiz on seven different types of graphs. Afterwards, we discussed how to get random samples of populations, and how to present unbiased questions. On Friday we discussed how people can use graphs to mislead, and we looked at dozens of examples of graphs used in the media, and what "correct" versions would look like.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:

Students found the odds in favor of one of the options compared to another option from their survey question as well as the probability that their described population would choose the sample population’s most commonly answered option. Before starting chapter 12, we reviewed some key concepts from chapters two, three, and seven. Then we started Chapter 12: Algebraic Relationships. Thus far, we have studied sequences, functions, and linear functions. We will learn about and practice working with non-linear functions next week.  

Algebra I with Molly:

This week we focused on solving quadratic equations using the zero-product property, then by completing the square. We spent the week practicing solving these accurately. We learned the quadratic formula. Students heard it sung to the rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel and other tunes to help them remember it accurately. They have now learned 5 ways to solve quadratic equations. They made posters to help remember the methods and when to use each one.

Geometry with Holly:

This week we continued our study of Chapter 12 and circles.  On Monday and Tuesday we discussed the topic of inscribed angles followed by angle measures and segment lengths on Wednesday.  On Thursday the students took a quiz over the first three sections, and on Friday we discussed circles in the coordinate plane.

Language Arts with Jared:

This week we worked on wrapping up our unit on Greek mythology and students worked individually on essays based upon the novels that they read. We also introduced our Shakespeare unit on Macbeth. Students watched some fun songs about Macbeth, watched a stick-figure summary of the play, and signed up for roles for our own production. 8th graders also read a detailed analysis of the play, and took a vocabulary quiz.

World Studies with Emily:

All classes continued working on their student-led documentary projects, focused on either Maya, Olmec, Inca, Aksum (Eritrea, Ethiopia), Wagadu (West Africa), Zimbabwe, Jomon and Yayoi, or Heian (the last three from Japan). The students are doing a fantastic job researching, either independently or coordinating with their partners, and most have begun writing their scripts. We will continue working on this project all of next week. Then we will watch the documentaries the following week. I am quite excited to see all of these projects; there is going to be such a range of styles. J

Life Science with Molly:

This week students learned about genetic mutations and diseases, then about advances in genetics, such as cloning. We reviewed the unit and took a test on Thursday. We worked on the rain garden on Friday.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

Morning Spanish
This week we began reviewing for the end of year exam. We are working on vocabulary from the beginning of the year, and will be starting a study guide next week to work on grammar. The exam will be on May 10 and 11 (written) and May 12 (oral).

Spanish B, C, D, D+
All Spanish classes continue working on review packets for the end of year assessments. We are working on practicing verbs, reviewing vocabulary, and preparing for oral assessments. The assessments will be On May 4 (written part) and May 6 (oral part).

Art with Patti:

Students continued to work on their projects, focusing on the element of art “space”, or finishing up their artist inspired project. Some glazed ceramic pieces. We also had tie dye day!

Computer Lab with Holly:

The students continued work on their "Zoo Projects",and most are nearly half way done.  They have been working hard researching their biomes and creating a professional looking catalog.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week 7^th & 8^th grade students learned about our plans for the DC overnight field trip. 6^th grade students had an extra science class in preparation for our test. In coming classes, students will prepare for the overnight field trip, prepare for end of year conferences, and if time permits: 8^th grade students will split into gender groups and learn about the sexual anatomy of the opposite gender. 6^th &7^th grade students will continue on their focus of changes during puberty.

Thank you from, 
The Purple Team

Week of April 18, 2016

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with Bina:

The Blue Roomers completed chapter 12 on two-step equations, inequalities, and the Pythagorean Theorem on Friday. In the coming week, we will review for the end-of-year test in class. The Blue Roomers will take this test in the following week.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We finished up chapter ten, and took our chapter test. Then we began exploring all sorts of graphs. We looked at line graphs, frequency tables, bar graphs, histograms, line graphs, and Venn diagrams. We spent a lot of time on the computer, manipulating graphs, creating graphs, and interpreting graphs.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:

The class practiced sampling different populations and determining biased versus unbiased questions. They took the second half of the chapter quiz, completed the chapter review, and each student chose a practice sheet to do from the section that s/he felt was the most challenging. Students took the chapter test on Thursday, and on Friday worked on a “real-world snapshot” activity that simulated scientists’ capture-recapture method of estimating populations in the wild.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week students learned a new way to graph quadratic equations, by finding the axis of symmetry and the vertex. After that they are able to find the y-intercept and an addition point before easily mirroring the points across the axis of symmetry. They reviewed computation with square roots and found the solutions of quadratic equations by solving for x for the x-intercepts.

Geometry with Holly:

This week we finished Chapter 11 and started Chapter 12 and the study of circles.  The students began the week by reviewing on Monday and then taking the Chapter 11 Test on Tuesday.  Wednesday had the students learning about  Unit Circles and how to use them with trigonometric functions.  We began Chapter 12 on Thursday by studying tangent lines and finished the week by learning about chords and arcs.

Language Arts with Jared:

Students finished their in-class novels, and began working on their final essay projects. Sixth graders read the Greek myth Orpheus and Euridice, of which their novel Night Tourist was a modern adaptation, and will be working on comparing the two. Seventh graders read the short story "Thunderbolt," which served as the basis of their novel Nobody's Princess. And eighth graders are looking at the role of hospitality or women in "The Odyssey" for their choice of essay. We also worked a bit on our grammar unit on nouns.

World Studies with Emily:

This week I introduced our next project, which is making a documentary about a civilization. Students ranked eight different civilizations/empires in the Americas, Africa, and Japan in order of preference. They also got to choose whether they wanted to work alone or in a group. I then assigned everyone a civilization to research (everyone received their third choice or higher) and group members when applicable. For sixth and seventh graders, I showed six different short videos (or sections of videos) before they ranked their choices in order to provide an overview of the civilization - that way their choices were based on some knowledge. Showing the documentaries also provided examples of very different styles of portraying research via video. Eighth graders did not get a chance to do this because of Authors’ Tea practice, but they had a fun and useful lesson at the end of the week about critically evaluating a website. All classes had two periods this week to research their civilizations, as well as share summaries of their current event write-ups. 

Life Science with Molly:

Students finished their Alien DNA Double Helix posters this week and they are up in the science room. They began learning more about human inheritance and understanding alleles that are carried on sex genes, such as those that pass on the trait for color blindness. Some time was spent this week practicing for Authors’ Tea. There will be a unit test on Thursday next week.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

Morning Spanish
This week we are finishing up our unit on the preterite conjugation of regular verbs. We will begin reviewing for the final exam (May 10-12) next week.

Spanish B, C, D, D+
All Spanish classes are working on review packets for the end of year assessments. The assessments will be On May 4 (written part) and May 6 (oral part).

Art with Patti:

We have been focusing a lot on creating dynamic compositions. This week we have been exploring the use of “rule of thirds”. Students will be doing a warm up using the rule of thirds rule for their compositions, and will also explore the use of some watercolor techniques as well.  Students also continued working on their projects.

Computer Lab with Holly:

The students continued working on their Zoo Projects  This week their focus was on adding to their catalogs the plants which populate their zoo islands.  By this time, the students have become adept at designing styles to make their catalogs visually consistent.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

8^th Field Trip did field trip research. 6^th worked on science topics and their zoo project. 7^th had a study hall, as I was on the way to the VA History Day competition.

Thank you from, 
The Purple Team