Another great week in Middle School! It was a Community Service week, and many of our students were also able to assist the toddlers in their annual fall festivities, including a wagon ride around the school and pumpkin picking in the zen garden. Below are some announcements and reminders before the weekly update:
- End-of-day on Monday, 10/21: Last chance to sign up for student-led conferences on 10/25 with subject area teachers. You can sign up on the MyFWM.org Dashboard!
- Friday, 10/25: Middle School Halloween Movie night 6-8:30 hosted by 8th grade Leadership. Don’t forget to respond to the Evite!* 8th grade (and siblings of 8th graders) should plan to arrive at 5 pm for set up!*
- Thursday, 10/31: Halloween! Come dressed in your costume! *Keep it not too scary for our younger peers.*
Humanities
Grade 6 Humanities students had a fun week. They are continuing to read their class novel, Becoming Naomi Leon, having lively discussions. It’s always fun when students have such reactions to the plot of a novel! As the 6th grade was told, this is the sign of a great author. They also continued their study of MesoAmerica with Ms. Sara, and they made tortillas from scratch. Finally, students are working on a descriptive writing unit titled Show! Don’t Tell! They have gone over the topics of word choice, figurative language, and imagery, reading and writing shorter examples. Next, they will identify these concepts in literature and begin writing longer pieces to demonstrate them.
In Grade 7 Humanities, the class wrapped up their unit on China this week. They explored the fall of the Qing Dynasty and drafted their final writing piece for the unit. This piece involves both the novel, Ties That Bind, Ties That Break, along with history learned over the last month specific to 19th and early 20th century China. Students were asked to write a letter from Ailin to her father regarding an unpopular cultural choice she made and how it affected her. An addition to the class has been starting a few classes with the Timeguessr app. This shows five pictures representing a moment in history from 1900 to the present day. Students have to guess where the event took place (without knowing what it is) and what year. By analyzing clues and using historical knowledge, this class is top-notch with these difficult pictures, guessing many precisely. Try it out! Finally, students are starting to think about their next current events presentations on 10/30.
8th grade students continue to work on their Powhatan Confederacy Project, which is an illustrated history book about the Powhatans, specifically looking at their lives before and after European contact. They have completed the research writing and their individual page layouts and are now editing/revising each other’s work. Also, the class began the novel If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth. This book takes place in 1975-76 on the Tuscarora reservation and surrounding areas. It surrounds a Tuscarora teen named Lewis and his journey beginning at a school off the reservation.
Science
*Please check in with your student about their weekly literacy lab homework. Each week, Ms. Pickard chooses an article that relates to class content. Literacy labs are handed out each Monday and due back by Friday of the same week.*
6th grade:
In science this week, 6th grade worked to revise and redo their original music labs. After conducting their first experiment last week, investigating if music helped to improve test scores, the class reflected on problems encountered while conducting the experiments. They were able to generate a hefty list of problems observed that could lead to potential sources of error in the testing. As good science students, 6th graders decided to reflect on their own experiments, make any necessary changes, and redo the testing. The class ended the week by beginning their first formal lab write-up to document their work.
7th and 8th grade:
Students spent the beginning of the week working to wrap up our graphing and analysis packets, making sure their graphing skills were top-notch. They learned when to use each type of graph, how to properly label axes, how to scale axes, how to properly plot points, when to use a best-fit line or curve, and how to create proper titles for their graphs.
Thursday and Friday were spent working on the second unit. 7th grade began talking about matter and began an investigation that focused on being able to identify compounds and mixtures. 8th grade began talking about cells and started a lab viewing different cells under the microscope. Students were happy to begin their first subject-specific topics and were thrilled to be performing a lab.
Pre-Transition: This week, students began their learning of Chapter 2, “Decimals and Percents.” They explored ways to identify place values in a decimal number and how to graph and read decimals on a number line. Students were eager to know and apply the Substitution Principle for decimals and percents and multiply decimals by 1/10, 1/100, and so on. Next week, they will continue learning about decimals and percents and will write the Chapter 2 quiz.
Transition: This week, students wrote their Chapter 1 test and confidently demonstrated their understanding of all Chapter 1 concepts. Then, they dove into Chapter 2, “Using Variables.” Students began exploring how to write descriptions of patterns using variables, how to represent a relationship between two variables using a table, and ways to write numerical expressions involving arithmetic. Next week, the class will continue learning by evaluating algebraic expressions and calculating variable expressions.
Algebra: This week, students began exploring Chapter 2, “Using Algebra to Explain.” The class practiced using the Distributive Property to expand and combine like terms and apply it to real-world situations. They also began exploring the use of Opposite Properties and how to test the equivalence of expressions using spreadsheets and technology. They will conclude the week by writing the Chapter 2 quiz.
Geometry: This week, the class discovered how to write the converse of a conditional statement, practiced and applied the properties of a good definition, and began using and interpreting union and intersection of two sets. They also became experts in using and interpreting Venn diagrams. Students will conclude the week by writing the Chapter 2 quiz.
