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.”
Transition: This week, students explored how to use scientific notation and practiced solving problems with order of operations. They wrapped up the week with a chapter review and completed the self-test in the UCSMP textbook to review key concepts. Ms. Sutherland encourages all students to prepare for their first chapter assessment, scheduled for Tuesday, October 8th.
Algebra: Students discovered the difference between mean and mean absolute deviation this week. They worked through a variety of problems that included graphing ordered pairs, evaluating absolute values, and determining equivalent expressions. The Algebra class has officially learned all the Chapter 1 concepts and will start investigating Chapter 2 next week.
Geometry: This week, students worked through the first few lessons of Chapter 2 titled, “Language and Logic of Geometry”. Students can now determine the difference between convex and non-convex figures, write conditional statements, and use and interpret Venn Diagrams. They will write the Chapter 2 Quiz on Thursday, October 10th.
Science
Students in all grades were given their first literacy lab this week. This weekly homework assignment is handed out on Monday and expected back by Friday. Be sure to ask your student for the details.
6th grade students completed their experimental design packets this week in class. They have learned the basics of the scientific method and how to design a scientific investigation. Next week, students will use this knowledge as they design their first experiment, using an observation already made in class.
The 7th and 8th grade students conducted their very own experiments this week. They were provided with an observation: some students listened to music while working and reported performing better on assignments and exams. Students were then asked to use their previous week’s learning to design and conduct an experiment of their writing, investigating this observation. They spent the beginning of the week testing their peers and the latter portion of the week compiling and analyzing data to begin writing a formal lab report.
