IMPORTANT REMINDERS/EVENTS:
A new six weeks is underway. Report Cards for CYCLE 4 will be sent home with your children on Wednesday, Feb. 27th.
English:
We are continuing our TAKS practice in class. For additional help, targeted students have been placed in TAKS Reading tutorials held during advocacy daily. TAKS Court was “in session” Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 20-21 and will continue Monday/Tuesday of this week. We are having a good time! Students are working hard, and I feel confident they will feel prepared for the 8th Grade Reading TAKS on Wednesday, March 5!
We didn’t quite finish 12 Angry Men yet, so we will continue to work towards that. Students will receive a project-like assignment over motifs and 12 Angry Men. All work will be done at home and will require a variety of media formats. Students will receive an assignment sheet with all the details. Due date: T.B.A.
Our second literature circle discussion group was held on Friday, Feb. 22. At this point, they should be completely done with their book, and beginning to think about their projects. Due date for project is below. They have some time to do it, so I am expecting some very nice, well put together projects and presentations!
INDEPENDENT BOOK UNIT: Biography, Autobiography, and Memoirs
PROJECTS are due March 26-27(this is AFTER TAKS and SPRING BREAK) and will be presented in class.
History:
The students have received their assignments on Chapters 11 and 12. Chapter 12 includes a timeline which is due on March 3. I have told the students that all writing drawing, etc. must be horizontal. The only vertical lines on the entire timeline are the lines representing the years.
In addition, each student is to select a term or name from the Chapter 11 assignment and write a question relating to that. For instance, one of the terms is mudslinging. A type of question could be, “Give an example of mudslinging in the current political campaigns.”
Many of the students are not reading their text material. It is critical that they read the material so they can participate in class discussion. Some obviously are just looking for answers and sometimes not in their books. Please tell them that Wikipedia is an unacceptable source of accurate knowledge.
The students have an opportunity to do extra credit work in this class. This is a social studies class and I feel very strongly that students need to get out and experience the world. Some of these assignments already have been offered. However, each assignment must be accompanied by tickets showing admission, brochures, and a lengthy explanation of what the student learned and a description of what he/she saw. It would be nice to have a picture of the student with the exhibit if permitted.
The teacher interview previously given may also continue for the rest of February and the Law Day announcement previously posted follows.
Also, as a part of Black History Month, the students may attend a concert at the Hobby Center on February 28. This A Black History Musical. There is announcement posted in my room. It is “A dramatic musical performance that will take you form Africa across the Merciless Atlantic Ocean, the slave trade of the Americas and the rise to prominence again. This one-in-a-kind production is filled with dramatic singing of musical selections in Opera, Jazz, Broadway, Folk Songs, Gospel, Chants, Spirituals and Much More! ! !”
There is an admission fee of $10 to $20. The student will have to include a program, the ticket, and a detailed review with impressions of the music. I do not know anything about his, but it is at the Hobby Center and was on brochure that came from a school office. The sponsors are the Ambassadors of Houston/Prairie View A&M.
I am including again the OPTIC assignment for analyzing historical paintings at one of the art museums.
OPTIC:
Mnemonic for a variety of activities in studying historical paintings and photos.
Each letter should have a thorough answer. Pay attention to details. Three different paintings must be in the assignment and you must hand in a copy of the painting with the assignment. The period of time that the paintings may cover is 1760 through 1876. However, you may include the Remington paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts.
O: Conduct a brief overview of the picture. What is happening? Describe it in detail.
P: Key in on parts of the painting. Note any elements or details that seem important. Look at all the people, what they are wearing, what items do they have in their hands, what they are doing.
T: Read the title so that you know what the subject is. You probably should do some research on this unless there is something next to the painting describing the reason for the painting.
I: Use the title as the foundation and the parts of the painting to detect and specify the interrelationships between the people portrayed in the painting and the environment.
C: Draw a conclusion about the painting as a whole. What is the overall feeling of the painting? Was this an everyday event or an event filled with drama? Do the people seem happy and proud or anxious and desperate?
From: Linking Early U. S. History to World Geography
Law Day Poster Contest:
The Houston Bar Association is sponsoring the following poster contest for students in elementary and middle school. The theme is “How Rules Promote Fairness and Opportunity.”
Instructions:
1. “All posters should represent the students’ interpretations of this theme.”
2. All posters should be on standard size poster board.
3. All entries become the property of the Houston Bar Association
Due Date: Monday, March 3.
Prizes:
$50 to $200 for winning plus an invitation to an awards luncheon and the display of the entries at the Family and Civil Courthouses.
Pin Oak had eight entries which advanced to the Regional History Fair at Houston ISD. Of those, five, all from House C, won awards. They are:
Individual Exhibit: Drew McMillian
Individual Performance: Scott Shelton
Individual Documentary: Darius Altman
These students all won second place in their respective categories and all advance to the State History Fair.
In addition, Chris and Joaquin Buitrago won Honorable Mention.
A sixth grade group exhibit placed third.
This is an excellent showing for Pin Oak and, particularly, for the House C Eighth Grade. Congratulations to all and good luck to those at State.
Science:
All Classes; The next week we will be completing a different rotation of lab activities using Cambridge Physics equipment. We will be doing experiments using inclined planes, Lever systems, pulleys and wheel and axle systems to investigate the role of work and power as it applies to mechanical advantage of systems.
The students will complete investigations relating to force and mechanical advantage using levers, gears, and pulley systems.Students will be expected to apply the correct mathematical formulas under experimental conditions. Many of the objectives covered will inter-relate and be repeated throughout the next week.
TLW:
1. Define force mathematically and describe its relationship to motion
2. Compare and contrast the three types of friction
3. Predict the results of balanced and unbalanced forces in experiments
4. Describe and apply Newton’s three laws to examples of motion
5. Relate the force of gravity to free fall, projectile motion and orbital motion
6. Explain the relationships between gravitational force, mass, and distance and mass to weight
7. Define and apply work in terms of force and distance
8. Describe power as work over time
9. Demonstrate mastery of all the mathematical formulas and units of measurement for work, force, Mechanical advantage of inclined planes and levers.
Math:
Algebra 1:
Students will continue in Chapter 7. Tuesday, the focus will be on mastery of Section 7.6, “Systems of Inequalities”. Students will also enhance their study of algebra with the Carnegie Software during class time on Tuesday and Friday. Thursday brings a review of Chapter 7 with the Chapter 7 Review in class. Students will also take a quiz over Objective 5 material on Thursday. Their Objective 6 Packets are due on Thursday as well. The following Tuesday, March 4th, brings the Chapter 7 Exam.
Pre-Algebra:
Students will continue in Chapter 6. They will learn about congruent polygons and symmetry. The sections to be covered are 6-4 & 6-5. Students will have the Objective 5 Packet quiz on Friday, February 29th. Objective 6 Packets are also due on the 29th.
Knitting:
Students are working on knitting samples, demonstrating understanding of two important stitch combinations: knit and purl. Students should be working on their stockinette stitch swatches with garter stitch edges. They are due next week (Thursday).
Foreign Language Department BLOG: See link below
http://pomsfl.wordpress.com/
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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