Weekly Update 9/10-9/14

Important Dates/Events/Reminders:
-Wednesday, September 19 at 6:30 is OPEN HOUSE. We would love to meet all of you.
-Every student needs to bring a box of Kleenex. This can be turned in to Mrs. Parchman for use throughout the year in our cluster.

English:
This week, students will continue to read silently in class everyday and complete daily reading journals in their composition books. It is imperative that all students bring a novel and a composition book to class daily, and a number of students still don't have these supplies. This is a grade, and I appreciate your assistance with this matter. We will also be focusing on symbolism and conflict this week and how it applies to Lord of the Flies (required summer reading). We will continue our discussions on characters and characterizations.
Upcoming important dates: Summer Reading Journals are due Sept. 26-27. This is also the day of their Summer Reading Test. The students have been assigned a get-to-know-you project called the Introduce Yourself Booklet. This is due on Sept. 17-18.

History:
Thank you for sending us your bright and interesting children; we will do our best to prepare them for high school. I have told the students this is a very important semester because their acceptance in the magnet programs for high school depends upon their test scores and grades from seventh grade and their academic and conduct grades for the first semester of eighth grade. We want them all to do well.
Most of the students submitted their summer mapping assignments on time. This is a big help for them to understand the location of the various countries, regions, and water bodies to which we refer in the study of history. The students furthered this study by completing family maps to help them understand their place in American History.
They followed this assignment by a scaled timeline of their lives. This was practice in preparation for more scaled timelines. Some are having problems understanding that each line segment must represent the same number of years on each timeline. If your student’s assignment was out of scale, he/she must do it over.
Please ask your student about his/her grades on the world map test. If the grade is low, your student needs to review and learn the material. This will be on future tests as well as in high school.
All the students have an assignment sheet for work due next week. This includes the following: Becoming familiar with the Five Themes of Geography and Six Essential Elements through two short activities for PreAP and one for the rest, a short reading assignment with questions to answer, a chart over the four early civilizations (Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, Inca), and a map of the physical regions of the United States. This is homework, but they have had some time in class on Thursday and Friday to work on these.
All students should be working on History Fair. The topic is Conflict and Compromise in History. We do not have time to work on this in class so most of the work will have to be done at home; please encourage your student either to work alone or select team members they can work with on weekends or after school. This is due October 22.
If you have any questions or wish to contact me, please send an e-mail. We do not receive telephone messages during the day, but I do check the e-mail frequently.

Science:
All Classes

TLW: 1) Design and implement multiple scientific investigations where they will be required to identify and manipulate variables, interpret results using data tables and graphs and complete a written explanation of the results.

2) Complete “Checks Lab,” Come Fly with Us”, and Scientific Method Practice activities from Laying the Foundations lessons.

3) We may be starting atomic structure and the parts of an atom if students can handle the pace.

4) Complete reflection cards for the week (more about these later)

IPC students must return parent acknowledgment form signed on both sides ASAP

Math:
Algebra 1:
Students will continue to develop their understanding of functions, with on representation of functions. Students will learn how to create tables of data from linear patterns, symbolically describe the pattern, and graph it. In addition, students will learn what is and is not a function. Students will be working on sections 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 in their textbooks, practice workbooks, and note taking guides. Students can expect a quiz covering decimals, fraction, and percent conversions, an ongoing topic we will revisit throughout the year.

Pre-Algebra:Students will continue their study of the real number system, with continued emphasis on integers. Students are studying sections 1-7., 1-8, 1-9, and 1-10. Students will finish Chapter 1 early next week (the week of September 16th) and will have an cumulative assessment covering chapter 1.

Knitting:
Students in knitting have learned to roll a ball of yarn, and to cast on using two different methods: backward loop and knit cast on. Students have also learned the knit stitch and will be practicing throughout the week. Students need two sets of straight size 8 needles and worsted weight yarn. Dark colors and textured yarns are discouraged at this time. Students need to be able to see their stitches. Dark and textured yarns make this difficult.