Another beautiful fall week went by in Middle School. It was a Community Service week, so our 6th and 7th graders visited their younger peers in their classrooms. 8th-grade Leadership led their first tour of the school for a visiting Admissions Director from the Canterbury School and baked about 100 snickerdoodle cookies for this weekend’s Oktoberfest. Hope to see you there!

Here’s the rundown of what went on in classes this past week:

Humanities

6th grade Humanities students began their first novel, Becoming Naomi Leon, by Pam Munoz Ryan. This book takes place in Southern California and Oaxaca, Mexico, so students began to learn about the region. Cultural and geographic lessons will continue as students read the novel. They also completed their first book discussions and reading assignments and learned about the parts of the plot. Additionally, students wrote their first On Demand piece, a “show-me-what-you-know” writing assessment, to establish individual writing goals.

7th-grade Humanities classes finished and presented their research of the Chinese Dynasties spanning almost 4,000 years!  Then, they looked at the history and significance of the Great Wall of China. Finally, 7th-grade students continued reading their class novel, Ties That Bind, Ties That Break.

8th-grade students spent a few classes presenting their first round of current events. Topics covered a variety of topics and issues, and the students had respectful conversations offering perspective to each other. Next, in continuing our unit on the Indigenous perspective of US history, they have developed their own unique way of studying and demonstrating knowledge surrounding the effects of European contact. Beginning with the Powhatan Confederacy, the class is creating a graphic book that demonstrates their research. They have decided what information should be researched to create a comprehensive Indigenous perspective, as well as the roles each class member will play in completing the work. Finally, the students worked on analyzing a primary source journal entry from the UK National Archives and answering questions about its content.

Math

Pre-Transition: This week, students concluded their learning on Chapter 1 and wrote the first Unit Assessment. They reviewed concepts such as ordering integers, graphing simple fractions on a number line, and interpreting positive and negative situations. They will begin learning Chapter 2 next week, “Decimals and Percents.”

**Don’t forget to join us at FWM’s Annual Oktoberfest on Saturday 10/5 from 4-6:30 pm.**

What a great week! While it did bring our first rainy, indoor day of the school year, we ended the week flying in the trees at the Adventure Park at the discovery Museum in Bridgeport. It was also great to see those of you who could make it to Curriculum Night. It was nice to have conversations with you and discuss your wonderful children.

Here’s what went on in classes this week:

Humanities

In 6th through 8th grade Humanities classes, students completed their identity maps, which are artistic representations of what they want the community to know about what defines them this year. Anyone can view these in the Middle School area outside of the Humanities room.

6th grade Humanities began the week with another activity to help students listen and speak to each other with respect. By completing a personal shield with some information about themselves, students sat in small groups and were asked to choose one piece of the shield they wished to elaborate upon to the group. They each had 60 seconds to speak about this while the rest of the group members quietly and actively listened without responding. Additionally, the 6th grade class completed a writing lesson reviewing the components of a well-developed paragraph, composing a group example and an independent one. Students had their first chance to workshop writing with the class, and most of them took advantage of the opportunity. Next week, students will begin their first class novel, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan.

7th grade Humanities classes began the week with their first current events presentations. Next, they continued to read Lensey Namioka’s Ties That Bind, Ties That Break as part of their China unit of study. The book surrounds the Chinese Revolution occurring in 1911-1912 that ended the Qing dynasty and creating the Republic of China. Students completed research surrounding Chinese dynasties and will present this next week. The 7th grade students also read Pablo Neruda’s, “Ode to the Apple” and completed drafts in his style about an inanimate object. Students received a round of feedback, completing second drafts before the week’s end.

8th grade students discussed early America, particularly Mesoamerican civilizations. They began by watching a visual representation of human migration, beginning from the first Homo sapiens over 200,000 years ago to present day. This may not sound like the beginning of US history, but it is important to understand that while the United States is a “new” country, the land has been long inhabited. Next, their reading from the young adult version of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, had students focus on the significance of corn to the history of both Mesoamerica and the land that is now the United States. It also reminded students of the complex societies and nations living on the land that had established governments, road systems, trade, agriculture, etc. before Europeans entered the picture. Stewardship was also an important component of Indigenous life mentioned in their reading this week, so students wrote about who the stewards of today might be. Finally, the class completed an independent essay in class to help establish some writing goals.

Science