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Driscoll- Humanities
This week students learned a new root: phon. They also learned about nonfiction text structure and we had an in-depth exploration of cause/effect texts, looking at multiple articles and finding causes/effects within them. Students also learned about transition words and phrases and how writers use them to connect ideas/paragraphs. Students began adding transitions into their chocolate milk opinion essays. The final groups of literature circles met for their first discussions and students continued working on their center work. The week ended with an awesome presentation from an author/researcher who shared his 10 year journey about uncovering the co-creator of Batman! Have a wonderful weekend, stay warm!
Tem-STEM
This week we have finished our Matter unit. We ended the unit modeling atoms and looking more closely at the periodic table. The students voted to have the unit test on Wednesday. The students have a study guide, a list of what will be tested, and a wonderful notebook. Please use these resources to talk with your student about the test. We will be moving in Light and Sound when we return from Winter Break. In math we have continued exploring geometry, looking more closely at quadrilaterals. So far we have covered angles, triangles and quadrilaterals in our unit. All these topics are very vocabulary heavy and making/studying flashcards is strongly encouraged.
Casalengo-Humanities
This week in Humanities we continued with our Literature Group responses. In writing we wrote about a cancelled school day because of snow (a common wish among all students!) We reviewed our Ancient Civilizations chapter and the study guide went home today with all of the chapter assignments for practice. Next week we will wrap up that unit and our focus on main idea, and begin a unit on figurative language. Have a wonderful weekend!
Walker-STEM
Happy Friday Again! This week in Everything Fractions and Earth Science Unit (The crust and below) we learned more about plate boundaries and what causes volcanoes, and earthquakes and practiced comparing and ordering fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals. In Science, students have been working on a plate tectonic webquest. Students use links to websites to find information about plate tectonics. At the same time, students began to write their scripts for their plate tectonic video segment. Students will began recording next week. This videos will be included in our final project which is due January 26, 2018. Students will be creating a fun and engaging science video (like Bill Nye the Science Guy) as their final project. The projects will be available for parents see at the end of the quarter. Look out for an invitation to our Presentation of Learning Exhibit. In Math, students have continued to compare and order fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers. Students started a new Menu (3) of activities to complete in class. Student assignments grades are listed under google classroom. Students are creating a budget for a end of the year party (Reviewing Decimals) and they are creating a board game that includes all their fractions skilled they have learned. Please email me at adrion.walker@apsva.us if you would like to set up a meeting or have a question. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sanguino-Humanities
This week in humanities, students continued to read their novels and complete their jobs in preparation for their lit circle meetings next week. In social studies, students read about three social scientist (archaeologists, historians, and geographers) and how all three are like detectives who investigate the past. Students continued to research their organisms, and this week’s focus was the ecosystem (specifically the layer(s) of the rainforest) where their organisms live. They also learned about the producers, consumers, and decomposers found in their ecosystem. Lastly, students continued to read a variety of nonfiction articles and applied reading comprehension skills (making inferences, compare/contrast, identifying the real-world problem and possible solutions, finding the main idea). Next week will be packed before the long break!
Gallion- STEM
Students have been working hard to add, subtract and multiply decimals. They have been continuing to practice rounding by getting an estimated answer before starting their computations. The goal is to make sure their answers are reasonable and place values aren’t lost or mixed up while they are doing the math. Next week, we will incorporate these operations into word problems. In science, students have continued to becoming experts of their living thing. They researched the rainforest ecosystem and started exploring what role their living thing plays in the ecosystem’s food chain. Next week, they will begin creating the backdrop to their rainforest and begin to plan the creation of their 3-D living thing. Enjoy your weekend!
