Math News Week of January 18th

This week we will be continuing our learning about inequalities. On Monday and Tuesday we will focus on writing and solving one-step and two-step inequalities. Thursday we will be taking our winter STAR Math Test. Here is a list of upcoming assignments.

Due  1/19      Pg 409-411 #1, 3, 7-15 odds, 27-33 odds

Due  1/20      Pg 413-415 #1, 3, 7-15 odds, 27-31 odds

Due  1/25      Pg 421-422 #1-13 odds, 17-35 odds, 39

ELA News week of Jan. 18

Nightly homework:  Students should be reading their January one pager book.

Monday: In-class peer editing of biography research paper, collaborative discussion (graded) on Scope magazine articles
Tuesday: Creating bibliography for research paper
Wednesday: STAR reading test
Thursday: Socratic discussion (graded) on paired text set (Theme: how does a person overcome adversity?)
Friday: End of quarter/ Keva or Movie trip

Science News- Week of Jan 18th

I can't believe that this is already our last week of science this semester! We will be wrapping up by doing our final plant project and plant test.

Monday: Final Plant Project, Plant Study Guide

Tuesday: Final Plant Project, Plant Study Guide

Wednesday: Review, Plant Test

Thursday: Finish Missing Work, Review Portfolios, Science Reflections, Reward Day

Friday: Middle School Field Trip!

Social Studies News: Weeks of 1/4 & 1/11

This past week in Social Studies we started really getting into our unit on the origins of Islam and the culture of the Middle East today.  This is an especially applicable unit based on recent current events.  We had 3 assignments that we worked on in class this week to help in our understanding:

 * Middle East Google Map Assignment (looking at some of the sites in the Middle East that are important to followers of many world religions.)
 * Middle East Conflict Video Q's (students were emailed a link to a short video explaining some of the reasons for the tension and conflict in the Middle East)
 * Ch. 25 Sec. 1 Assignment

In addition, we started analyzing historical maps of the Middle East and looking at how the borders have changed over time and some more of the reasons for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Next week, we'll continue looking at the culture of the major religions living in this region of the world. We're lining up to have our  Middle East unit test early the week of 1/18.

Science News Week of Jan. 11th.

As the semester is coming to a quick end, we are finishing up our plant unit. The students have been growing their own plants and have been recording observations each day. We will continue with this this week and begin learning about plant and animal cells. 

Monday: Pollination/Flower Notes, Honeybee Article/Write-Up

Tuesday: Honeybee Article/ Write-Up, Plant Partner Quiz

Wednesday: Final Benchmark Assessment, Cell Video/Activity

Thursday: Plant/Animal Cell Notes, Practice Activities

Friday: Plant/Animal Cell Practice Activities, Cell Analogy Poster

ELA News week of Jan. 11

Nightly homework:  Students should be reading outside of school as their homework. They have a January one pager book to read.

Monday: Students will finish their biography paper body paragraphs and conference with the teacher for feedback. Students will be discussing their biography topics in small groups and being scored with the discussion rubric.
Tuesday: Students will write introduction paragraphs.
Wednesday: Students will conference with the teacher to get feedback on their introductions.
Thursday: Students will write conclusion paragraphs.
Friday: Students will conference with the teacher to get feedback on their conclusions.  Students will read short articles on both sides of an issue (if kids should be paid for doing chores) and then engage in a collaborative discussion.  They will be scored with the discussion rubric.

Math News Week of January 4th

This week in math, we will be diving back into our units focused on algebra. After doing some review activities on Monday, we will begin Chapter 7, which focuses on functions, inequalities, and absolute value. Here are a few of our upcoming assignments.

Due 1/6      Lesson 1A        Pg 369-370 #5-13 odds, 18-19, 21, 23

Due 1/7      Lesson 1B-C    Pg 375-376 #1-11 odds, 15-17 odds

Due 1/8      Lesson 1D        Pg 380-382 #5-9 odds, 13, 15, 25-35 odds

Due 1/11    Lesson 1E         Pg 385-387 #1-15 odds, 27, 29 (Challenge - #25)