Happy Friday! We hope everyone had a great week. The middle school has been immersed in projects since returning from winter break. Across disciplines, they are working both independently and together to accomplish long-term goals. Project-based learning is an important component of the Middle School curriculum!
Humanities
All three Humanities classes are in project mode!
Grade 6 Humanities class has been busy getting themselves set up for success with their research project surrounding the theme, A Moment in History. They brainstormed two ideas that they discussed with the class and then selected their final topic. From there, they learned about writing thesis statements and developed one to guide their research. Next, they began writing questions that would be answered during the research process. They reviewed taking research notes, keeping track of their sources, and using reliable sources. Separately from their research, students are learning about Oaxacan art culture, stemming from their recent class novel, Becoming Naomi Leon.
Grade 7 Humanities class has also developed and selected their topic for their research project surrounding the theme, A Moment in History, and wrote their thesis statement to guide their research. Now, they are developing questions that will be answered during the research process. Concurrently, students have completed the class novel, The Giver, by Lois Lowery and are working on two items surrounding the novel. The first is a collaborative assignment called the Community Project that has students working to create a Utopia and considering different factors of society. The second is an independent writing assignment, having the students continue the novel and forming a more satisfying ending.
Grade 8 is set up for two upcoming projects: an Internship Project and an Expert Project. Internship Projects occur the third week of January and involve the students visiting a business, observing, and sometimes participating in the day-to-day operations. The students will submit daily journals, a written reflection, and a presentation for the middle school community upon completion. Next, the 8th grade selected topics for their Expert Project as well as wrote and workshopped their thesis statements to guide their research for the next several months. The end product is a 5-10 page research paper and a 15-20 minute presentation to the FWM community about their topic. They will even interview experts in the field as primary sources. This is the beginning of an exciting time for the 8th-year students!
Math
In the Pre-Transition math class, students began learning Chapter 4 in the UCSMP textbook, which covers topics about subtraction. This class learned how to subtract integer values, make a subtraction number sentence from a fact triangle, and illustrate subtraction on a number line. This class will have a quiz on Friday, January 19th, that will cover topics in lessons 4.1 – 4.5.
In the Transition math class, students started learning about transformations of shapes in space. This includes rotations, reflections, and translations of figures and points on a coordinate grid. As a general reminder, all students need to bring a protractor and ruler to class each day in order to participate in the hands-on learning opportunities. This class is excited to work with angle measurements, as well as parallel and perpendicular lines, next week.
In the Algebra math class, students explore the slope of a line and the different relationships of linear equations. This class has been making cluster note pages to help with studying and having a quick reference for key concepts. Students in the Algebra class can recognize the positive and negative slopes of a graph, calculate the slope from two ordered pairs, and identify the slope value in a y=mx+b statement. This class will write the chapter 6 quiz on Friday, January 19th, to summarize their learning of lessons 6.1 – 6.5.
In the Geometry math class, students discovered the difference between congruence and equivalent. This class has been learning about the CPCF theorem, ABCD theorem, and the Angle congruence theorem. Students practiced how to write a single-step proof statement with a conclusion and justification. They will continue exploring Chapter 5 next week by working with the Triangle-Sum, Quadrilateral-Sum, and Polygon-Sum theorems in order to determine angle measures.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility as the Math Carnival has been postponed to Tuesday, January 16th, from 2-3 pm. This will allow all students to participate in the event and showcase their understanding of probability. Can’t wait to see all our Middle School Families next Tuesday to celebrate the hard work of our math classes.
Make Joke: Why did the student wear glasses in math class?….. To help improve their di-vision.
Science
6th-year Earth Science students have begun writing their formal lab report on how density affects the movement of seismic waves. Earlier in the week, students represented a change in density and seismic waves using a shoebox, rocks, marker, and golf ball to simulate energy traveling through a medium while recording the waves on paper. Each student worked alongside a partner on this project while compiling their data and analysis individually.
7th-year Physical Science students have been working on their unit, Molecules. From this unit, students will be able to recognize that atoms and molecules are too small to be seen, identify examples of elements, compounds, molecules, and diatomic molecules, describe how the properties of a compound are different from the properties of the elements that form the compound; and, draw atomic diagrams of elements and compounds. Students did a great job presenting their research on an element of choice.
8th-year Life Science students have continued to work on their unit, Meiosis. The goal of these units is for students to explain when meiosis occurs and in what organisms, describe how chromosomes change and move at each stage of meiosis, determine the number of chromosomes in the gametes of an organism given its parental chromosome number, and explain why meiosis allows diversity of characteristics in offspring, whereas mitosis does not. Students represented their understanding of this unit by creating an artistic representation using a variety of mediums.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
