Week of October 5, 2015

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We wrapped up our Chapter 2 unit by reviewing for a few days. Students worked on IXL to manipulate the number line to graph inequalities, and to practice balancing equations. We then had a jeopardy review game, which covered the whole chapter. On Thursday we had our chapter test, and then introduced exponents. Finally, we discussed scientific notation, and labeled planets’ diameters and distances from the sun using scientific notation.

Pre-Algebra III with Alex:

We began our review for Wednesday's Chapter 2 test (covering the solving and graphing of inequalities) by studying last week's quiz and completing a two-part chapter review both individually and as a class. Giving students a chance to work through examples while explaining their steps to the class has improved our group's confidence in justifying and communicating their solutions. As we introduced Chapter 3, students began their investigation of the coordinate plane using ordered pairs and had the chance to use technology to reinforce these concepts.

Algebra I with Molly:

After taking the Chapter 2 test on Monday, students worked on a project about bicycle gears. They used the transmission and bike travel equations to answer questions about the gears ratios. They created some very nice looking posters explaining their work. We began a new unit working with inequalities. So far we’ve reviewed solving for a variable using addition and subtraction. Students received their Chapter 2 tests back and will be turning revisions in for Monday. This is the last test they will be allowed to earn back ½ points on their grade. Of course, doing revisions on homework and assessments will continue to be done and will help them gain a better understanding of their mistakes.

Geometry with Holly:

This week we continued our study of parallel and perpendicular lines.  We began the week on Monday by discussing the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem.  On Tuesday, we discussed the concept of lines in other geometries, specifically in Spherical Geometry, and then on Wednesday the students took a quiz over the first half of the chapter.  On Thursday we discussed the Polygon Angle Sum Theorem, and then finished the week by reviewing the topic of lines from Algebra.

Language Arts with Jared:

This week students wrapped up their short story units. Sixth graders watched a brief cartoon clip featuring references to “A Sound of Thunder,” and seventh graders watched a Russian cartoon adaptation of “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Students then turned in their compare/contrast essays. We introduced our first novel unit on Egyptian mythology, and seventh and eighth graders read and discussed a myth about the origin of Ra, and began reading The Sphinx’s Princess. Students also took their third vocabulary quiz, and started reviewing for next week’s vocabulary test. Finally, seventh and eighth graders took their grammar test on prepositions, which the sixth graders will take on Wednesday.

World Studies with Alex:

This week in World Studies, classes continued their study of Sumerian life covering the fundamental transition from early humans to civilizations. 8^th graders enjoyed our Survival Activity, reflecting on the advantages and challenges facing an early civilization.

Our NHD research trip to Newman Library was a success! Students were able to navigate the Library of Congress system and check-out materials related to their topics. We introduced source citation and began developing a format for the upcoming weekly research checks. Families are encouraged to stay involved with this process as we will begin these research checks at the end of next week.

Life Science with Molly:

This week students released two butterflies per grade level and celebrated as the adult monarchs were released. We wished them a safe migration to Mexico. Students completed their final observation of the monarchs in their phenology notebooks and turned these in for a score. For the science fair, we discussed single variable experiments using scientific inquiry. Students have been asked to research and find three experiments they would be interested in doing for their science fair project. Anyone considering doing an experiment with plans must talk with me as soon as possible, as they need to begin these experiments very soon. Eighth grade students learned about the engineering design process and have been given the option to do a science fair project using either scientific inquiry or the engineering design process.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

Morning Spanish

We are alternating vocabulary lessons with verb conjugations. We started learning the verbs that mean "to be" in Spanish (ser/estar).

Spanish B

This week we worked with the two verbs that mean "to be" (ser and estar).  Both of these verbs translate to the same word in English, but one has to think about the context of what is being said to decide which to use.  One thing I am working with these students right now is moving away from translating into English.  It will not help them to get the grammar structures when they are trying to translate word by word. I have spoken with the students about this and given them examples. I suspect it will take time, but we will get there!   This week we also reviewed the vocabulary and the other verbs we have studied in this chapter.  We had a test on Friday. 

Spanish C

This week we reviewed the vocabulary and the grammar from this chapter.  We had a chapter test on Friday. We also started the next chapter by revisiting vocabulary for body parts and clothing.

Spanish D

This was a short week due to the half day on Friday.  On Monday we reviewed the grammar and vocabulary.  We played a game to review the vocabulary.  On Wednesday, we had a test on the chapter.

Spanish D+

We continue to work on grammar (past tense) and readings.

Art with Patti:

This week students had one day of art. They continued working on an artwork that incorporates both representational and non-representational elements. Some are finalizing that project and beginning work for the next one, color mixing with paint. 

Computer Lab with Holly:

Due to the field trip to the Va Tech Library on Tuesday and the half day on Friday, on;y the 7th graders had Computer Lab this week.  In honor of October being Cyber Security month, on Monday, the students researched Cyber Security topics and created reports.  Then on Wednesday, the students were introduced to our new topic which we will be studying for the next two months: we will be learning about MS Excel and spreadsheets by conducting a Stock Market simulation.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week 6^th grade students focused on the endocrine system and learned the function of each organ or gland in controlling functions throughout the body with the release and detection of hormones. They were split into gender groups, then diagramed and colored these organs and glands on the body. The independent group worked on completing a science sheet about hypotheses. The 8^th grade students worked in gender groups, and learned the function of each sexual organ. Independent groups made this month’s Micah’s backpack poster for collecting Spaghettios. 7^th grade students did not have Life Skills due to our half-day on Friday. Over the next two weeks each group will have a guest speaker from Virginia Tech who is training with the Philosophy Foundation. He will be introducing the students to philosophy through story-telling and Socratic discussion. Future topics are as follows:

6^th: Will be looking at how hormones initiate puberty, during which the students will be broken into gender groups.

7^th: Will be discussing acne.

8^th: Will compare the scientific names of the sex organs (of their respective gender) to the common and slang terms. We will also be learning the function of the sexual organs of the opposite sex.

Thank you from, The Purple Team

Week of September 28, 2015

Purple Curriculum Updates

FALL ELECTIVE UPDATES:

Yellow Room Helpers

Our Purple Room Pals have been assisting the Yellow Roomers in their learning about water and the weather cycle. PR students are working with different YR's (one PR to 1-2 YR's or two PR's to 3-4 YR's) to conduct science experiments, to observe and identify cloud types, and to correctly read thermometers. PR Pals have also read aloud to YR's. We love our Purple Room Pals!

Book Club

The students in the book club elective have been reading the Jaguar Stones, a four-part adventure book series based upon Mayan mythology. So far they have read Middleworld, The End of the World Club, and are almost finished with The River of No Return. While everyone has enjoyed learning about the Mayan legends and about the Death Lords, we collectively agree that the protagonist is annoying, and we're all rooting for him to suffer a violent death in book four.

Music Elective

We have experienced a variety of European and American folk music as well as Native American, African American, and Latin American music.  Upcoming topics include African, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian music.  Our two students have proved far more than satisfactory in this course so far and they make elective time the highlight of my day.

Children's Garden

This trimester the BNS students engaged in age appropriate play with children ages 4-5 years. We talked about modeling helpful phrases to initiate play ("hi! Can I play too?") and phrases that respect personal boundaries ("please stop that--I don't like it." Or "you can hold my hand but please don't pull on my clothes"). The BNS students played preschool "soccer," ran in foot races, built nests in our fairy garden, and jumped through hula hoops. On rainy afternoons, they worked with kids in small groups to build giant floor puzzles and sing songs.

HTML Elective

The students have been using Codecademy to learn how to create websites using HTML for structure and CSS for design.

Cooking Elective

So far in the elective, we have learned about kitchen safety; identifying fresh herbs; playing a card game about building sandwiches (these activities occur while the food is in the oven).  We have alternated sweet and savory recipes each week so that they experience cooking treats like fruit pizza but also full meals such as fish and veggies.  The popover cooking class even included some scientific concepts about the power of steam and temperature.

Stop-Motion Elective

Students have been creating background sets and characters in their choice of media. They will photograph their characters making small movements, then put the photos together using a movie program to make a video.

Red Room Learning Buddies

The Learning Buddies have been helping Red Roomers learn in small groups--much to the delight of the Red Roomers! They have taught matching games, made rainbow bead necklaces, and demonstrated hand shadows.

Geocaching & occasional Greenhouse Elective

We have enjoyed finding geocache locations near the public library and some near BNS. We've learned they're not always easy to find! We have "grabbed" some trackable geocoins donated to us by John McGee and plan to deploy these the next time we find a geocache. We spent one class at the Dollar Store finding good prizes to trade when finding the larger geocaches. The students have each made up their own medium sized geocache containers and have been scoping out locations near BNS to start their own geocache. We've spent a couple of days at the YMCA Greenhouse scoping out locations for the new geocaches and preparing our two BNS plots for use during the Winter Greenhouse Elective.

Backcountry Skills Elective

This week we continued developing our backcountry skills with another injury simulation (insect sting) and introduction to the "rule of 3's" and basic gear needed to survive in the wilderness. We also began our study of knots by learning the Siberian hitch and a modified figure-8 knot.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We started the week with 2-step equations, practicing re-writing each step, and showing all of our work. We then introduced inequalities, and looked at the similarities and differences between them and solving regular equations. We ended the week by working on 2-step inequalities.

Pre-Algebra III with Alex:

This week we extended our study of equations to solving and graphing inequalities. Students applied various solution strategies to word problems and evaluated their efficacy as a class. We completed a quiz reinforcing the week's concepts (sections 2-4 through 2-7) and will continue our review of Chapter 2 in preparation for next week's chapter test.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week in Algebra, students used geometry formulas to solve for different variables and answer questions. We finished the chapter with a focus on using data to find the mean, median, mode, and range. They also learned to create and read stem and leaf plots. We spent time reviewing the chapter and will complete the Chapter 2 test on Monday.

Geometry with Holly:

After finishing chapters on review and basic tools, this week we get into the meat of our study of Geometry.  So far this week we have studied the properties of parallel lines; proving lines parallel; and identifying parallel and perpendicular lines.  With this work, we are getting heavily into formal proofs.  These require a lot of logical thinking and attention to detail which the students may not be used to using.  Your students may become frustrated at first as I catch their mistakes, but remind them that this is the same as learning any new skill.

Language Arts with Jared:

Students spent a lot of time this week typing up their essays in class. Students wrote their full rough draft of their compare/contrast essays, and then we spent a class period working together in a "Thesis Statement Workshop" and another day in a "Concluding Paragraph Workshop." After working through their revisions, students are going to turn in their final drafts next week. We also finished reviewing their vocabulary unit (quiz on Monday), and students turned in the words that will be on their first individualized spelling lists.

World Studies with Alex:

Greetings Purple Room families! It has been an exciting first week at BNS and I'm eager to continue getting to know this enthusiastic group of learners. Thank you for making me feel immediately welcome in the community!

This week in World Studies we began our study of Mesopotamian civilizations with an introduction to the Sumerian culture. We also continued to develop our NHD topics and began researching potential sources for our trip to Newman Library next Tuesday. Students are beginning to refine their topics and relate them to this year's theme of "Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange." I'm looking forward to watching these projects grow and with them our students' connection to the material!

Life Science with Molly:

This week students continued to focus on insects and specifically our chrysalides. They drew and described the changes they observed in the chrysalides and many were lucky enough to catch a butterfly or two emerge from its chrysalis this week. They also compared the head of a caterpillar to that of the butterfly. 7^th & 8^th grade students took a quiz on insects this week and 6^th grade students will take a quiz on Monday. They learned about taxonomy and how scientists classify organisms. They came up with their own groupings for a collection of leaves and began making a taxonomic key for each group. They continue to practice scientific inquiry skills in preparation for science fair projects.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

Morning Spanish
We continue to work on verb conjugations. We had a quiz this Thursday.

Spanish B

We continued practicing the vocabulary we would use when we are at a restaurant.  We reviewed the verb "guitar" (to like) and learned another verb that has the same structure: faltar (to miss___). We also learned two other irregular verbs: venire and traer (come and bring).  Finally, we reviewed the verbs see and star.  These verbs are tricky because they both mean "to be", but each is used in a different context.  After reviewing the forms, we started talking about when to use each.  We will have a chapter test next Friday, October 9. I told the students that if any of them would like to borrow a textbook from last year to review vocabulary, they are welcome to do so.  Just let me know!

Spanish C

We continue talking about extracurricular activities.  We revisited and practiced  the structure of comparative sentences, and added statements of equality. We learned how to tell/ask someone for how long they have been doing something. We will have a chapter test next Friday, October 9. The students also have a writing assignment du on October 14.

Spanish D

We continue talking about the great outdoors! We continued practicing command forms and giving directions to a group of people.  We also learned usage of the preposition "poor".  We read about El Yunque, a tropical forest in Puerto Rico. We also watched a video about it. We learned about la cotorra  (Puerto Rican parrot), an animal that is very endangered, and the preservation efforts to save it.  We will have a chapter test on Wednesday, October 7.  The students have their cooking project.  Their top choices for what to cook are due to me on Monday Oct. 5, so that I can assign each of them a different dish.  Projects are due on October 23. Please let me know if there are any questions about the project.

Spanish D+

We continue to work on grammar (past tense) and readings.

Art with Patti:

Students continued working out their compositions for an artwork that included something that was representational with something non-representational.  They are all coming up with individual ideas. We have been having a lot of discussion about how artists work, and how we can better implement that process in the classroom.

Computer Lab with Holly:

This week we finished our unit on Cyber Security and the student demonstrated their skills with two written activities.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week 6^th & 8^th grade students focused on learning the basic techniques of calligraphy writing. We will occasionally take breaks from our sex-ed lessons and focus on calligraphy. 7^th grade students will get to do this another week, as I was out for their class on Friday.

Future topics are as follows:

6^th: Will be looking at how hormones initiate puberty, during which the students will be broken into gender groups.

7^th: Will be discussing acne.

8^th: Will be learning the function of each sexual organ.

Thank you from, The Purple Team

Week of September 21, 2015

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We spent this week with variables, and introduced the unit with an activity using m&ms as variables. We then plugged in various numbers into expressions, to see what it final value we would have. Later in the week we moved into solving one-step equations by adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. We took a short quiz on this, before introducing two-step equations on Thursday.

Pre-Algebra III with Emily:

Students practiced solving multi-step equations, writing equations and drawing diagrams to solve word problems, and started working on solving inequalities. They also took a quiz, worked on quiz revisions, and did a bit of review from the first section of this chapter – simplifying algebraic expressions. I know that Alex will do an excellent job teaching pre-algebra.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week in Algebra, we learned to apply the distance formula in a variety of ways, including one way travel, round trip travel, and two vehicles traveling away from one another. They now seem to have a good grasp of how to write and solve equations for a variety of situations. At the end of the week, students learned to solve for a single variable in formulas with multiple variables. 

Geometry with Holly:

After learning about the rules for logic and reasoning last week, we finished Chapter 2 by learning how to apply these skills to solving Geometry based Algebra problems on Monday.  On Tuesday, the students were also introduced to their first Theorems and proofs by learning how to prove angles congruent. We reviewed on Wednesday, and then took the chapter test on Thursday.

Language Arts with Jared:

This week students discussed their final short stories in our short story unit, and began work on planning a compare/contrast essay. Sixth graders read "A Sound of Thunder" and will be comparing it to the EC Comics adaption of it. Seventh graders read "There Will Come Soft Rains" and will be comparing it to the EC Comics adaption of it. Eighth graders read "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and are comparing it to the French short film (aired as an episode of the Twilight Zone). We discussed a lot about the requirements of compare/contrast essays (using a keyhole essay format), and students made general outlines of their essay.  We also continued working on wrapping up their grammar unit on prepositions, and on learning their new vocabulary words.

World Studies with Emily:

This week was a combination of Alex and I both teaching – me teaching and Alex observing, Alex teaching, and some team teaching too. We both feel confident with the transition. I think the students are excited about a new and different energy and voice! Thank you all so much for your kindness and support thus far this year; I will miss your children and you all too! In World Studies this week, we began with an archaeological dig outside in the sandbox where classes were pretending to be a team of archaeologists from 3015 studying the 21^st  century American civilization. Classes will finish up this activity with Alex next week with some discussion. We finished covering the material from our Early Humans unit on Wednesday and reviewed for the test, which all classes took on Thursday. Students gave brief summaries of the current events they read and wrote about, and 6^th and 7^th graders played the first round of our geography game, focusing on the continent of Africa (to correlate with our Early Humans unit – Africa being the cradle of mankind). Everyone enjoyed themselves! Students have another week or so before they need to choose an NHD topic. All of Purple will be going to the VA Tech library to check out books the week of October 5th - 9th.

Life Science with Molly:

This week students focused on the life cycle and anatomy of the butterfly, learning about the details of how these amazing animals mature through metamorphosis. They also measured and drew one of the monarch chrysalides we have in our classroom for their phenology notebooks. 7^th grade students continue to collect data on their mummified meat. Soon we will take a look at the data and draw some conclusions from our observations. Students read about and answered questions about insects. They will take a quiz on insects by the end of the coming week. They continue to practice scientific inquiry skills in preparation for science fair projects.

Spanish with Olga & Corinne:

Morning Spanish

We are still working on verb conjugations. We will have a quiz next Thursday.

Spanish B

This week we learned words to describe what we look like (hair color, height, age).  We are also studying vocabulary that we use in restaurants, other than food (plates, napkins, asking for food, etc). We revisited the verb "SER".

Spanish C

We continue talking about words to describe extracurricular activities and things we enjoy doing on our spare time.  We revisited the sentence structure for making comparisons of inequality, and learned to make sentences to compare similar things (as__ as....)

Spanish D

We are learning about more traditional Hispanic dishes.  We revisited command forms, and learned a new one: the plural commands.  Today I assigned a project that is due on October 23. A part of the project involves cooking a dish.  Please talk to your Purple Roomer about the project.  I will post all the documents on Edmodo, but the students have hard copies. Let me know of any questions or concerns.  This week we also returned to reading a few pages of Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal.

Spanish D+

We have been looking at the past tense and practicing grammar.  We joined the group reading Harry Potter.  Today I assigned a project that is due on October 23. A part of the project involves cooking a dish.  This project i s OPTIONAL for Spanish K.  Please talk to your Purple Roomer about the project.  Let me know of any questions or concerns. 

Art with Patti:

This week in art Purple Room students started a new project. They are to incorporate something that is realistically represented, and have an element that is non-representational as well. 

Computer Lab with Holly:

We continued learning about Cyber Security this week.  The students enjoyed learning about how to protect their passwords by studying some of the ways hackers try to steal passwords, such as through email scams and by convincing us to just give up the information.  We also learned about what makes passwords weak and how to create strong passwords.

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

This week all groups discussed puberty (6^th together) or sex ed. (7^th & 8^th split into gender groups) topics, as follows:

6^th: Watched and discussed a video about the science of the endocrine system, those hard working hormone messengers, in the human body. This will lead us to our next sex ed topic looking at how hormones initiate puberty, during which the students will be broken into gender groups.

7^th: Read about and discussed how we develop new kinds of sweat glands during puberty. We discussed where these sweat glands are, body odor resulting from these new glands, and how to manage the body odor. Our next sex ed. topic will be to discuss acne.

8^th: Discussed the video we watched last time on the reproductive system, while labeling male and female sexual organ diagrams. Our next sex ed. topic will be to learn the function of each organ.

Thank you from, The Purple Team