We are back in the swing of our regular, academic schedule in Middle School. It felt great to return to the classrooms and hit the ground running with third trimester curriculum. The spring weather at the start of the week was energizing, and we look forward to bringing our classes back outside with the warmer weather.
Science
6th year Earth Science students have been working on the unit, Natural Resources. The objective of this unit is to inform students what a natural resource is and how to tell the difference between a renewable and nonrenewable resource. Students are also planning for Earth Day (April 22) by designing a 3D topographic representation of Fraser Woods’ trails. Their goal is to promote other classes to be outdoors on the trails to appreciate nature and all it has to offer.
7th year Physical Science students are on the unit, Refraction. Students have demonstrated how light refracts as it passes through different mediums (water, glass), resulting in an array of colors (rainbow). Students created stop motion videos beginning with white light and ending with the different spectrum of colors. We are also learning about how an image is projected when viewed through a concave and convex lens.
8th year Life Science students have finished their unit, Digestive System. Throughout this unit, students learned how the digestive system works, what it is made of, and what each organ is responsible for. Each student was asked to make a representation of the digestive system using clay that labeled and identified each digestive organ. The next unit will be about the endocrine system.
Math
In Pre-Transition class, students began the week with reviewing lessons 1-4 in Chapter 8 titled, Ratios and Proportions. This class is practicing how to divide mixed fractions, evaluate expressions containing fractions, and making connections to proportions in real life. This class will continue to work through this chapter for the next 2 weeks and should consider preparing in advance for the unit exam scheduled for Thursday, April 22nd.
In Transition class, students began the week with reviewing lessons 1-3 in Chapter 8 titled Multiplication in Algebra (introduction). This class is practicing how to multiply both positive and negative numbers, isolate the variable in an equation ax=b, and solve problems that combine percentages (discount and tax). Towards the end of the week, this class will begin to understand and demonstrate how to graph equations of the form ax=b on a coordinate grid.
In Algebra class, students are excited to continue their learning of the quadratic equations and functions. This class is beginning to understand equations of the form y=ax^2+b+c, how to solve for unknown values using the quadratic formula and can identify the maximum and minimum of the vertex on a parabola.
In Geometry class, students are learning about congruent triangles and the properties to prove congruency. This class can successfully draw triangles given specific restrictions, determine whether triangles are congruent, and apply the triangle congruence theorem to write a two-column proof statement. This class will have their first quiz for chapter 7 on Tuesday, April 20th.
As a general reminder, all math students are required to complete the daily textbook questions and lesson master assignments. Please check google classroom and myFWM for updates on assignments.
Math Joke:
What’s a math teacher’s favorite sum?…………..SUMMER!
What is a butterfly’s favorite subject at school?…………..Mothomatics
Humanities
This week, grade 6 Humanities classes wrapped up their unit about Ancient Egypt. They reviewed their reflections to the novel, The Egypt Game, and discussed the Ancient Egyptian social hierarchy before completing mini-biography presentations of a pharaoh. They also completed a unit of vocabulary.
Grade 7 Humanities students began the week reflecting on the memoir, Four Perfect Pebbles. that they completed in March. They wrote about how written accounts of something affect both the writer and the reader. Students also wrote about how knowledge about what they learned and read about the Holocaust will affect them moving forward. 7th graders then continued onto revolutions and Russian history, giving historical context for their upcoming novel, Animal Farm. 7th graders also completed a unit of vocabulary this week.
8th grade students are writing their expert project research papers that are due on Monday. They spent a portion of the week reviewing research writing techniques including interesting introductions to hook their readers, in-text citations, and using quotations effectively to support their thesis statements. They also met one-on-one with Mrs. Lamb to review progress and discuss any challenges with the writing process. Students have already completed their research as well as 2 expert interviews. For the last part of the week, 8th grade students reviewed the US policies surrounding the removal and westward relocation of Native Americans in the 1800s.
We hope you have a beautiful weekend!
