Math:
The Marionettes started the week with a cut and paste activity to help practice the difference between opposites and an absolute value. That was their final topic for this unit, so they moved onto a review packet and then a final project. The final project involved making a timeline of their life with the year they were born being year zero.
The Saplings extended their rational number operations to multiplying and dividing. They started with multiplying and dividing integers, then moved onto fractions and decimals. They ended the week by finding errors in pretend student’s work and correcting the mistakes.
The Vroomshrooms had lessons over solving algebraic proportions and literal equations on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, they completed a “Math Lib” by solving literal equations.
All classes have their first check-ins next week. They’ve done a great job working through their first units!
ELA:
This short week was action packed! On Tuesday we held our weekly small group book clubs to discuss events and characters in the novel we’re reading, Nothing But the Truth. We also started the week by checking our P&P which was a great chance to deepen our understanding of helping and being verbs.
On Wednesday, students opened up their journals and listed the best restaurant along with three reasons why it’s the best. After sharing their answers with tablemates, they repeated the process about what they believe to be the best animal. Next they picked their favorite and used that topic to jump into the world of persuasive essay writing. They transferred their journal topic onto a graphic organizer then used colorful pens to label the paragraphs and each one’s necessary elements. While it was a valuable review for the Saplings and Vroom Shrooms, Marionettes learned new vocabulary like thesis, supporting detail, conclusion, and hook.
Finally, students worked as partners to read a student-written opinion piece about the drawbacks of zoos. This hot button subject was the perfect vehicle for debate–which they learned is needed for a strong thesis. The 7th and 8th graders began the job of deconstructing that essay using a color-coded system to identify and highlight the necessary parts. The 6th graders will do that next week. What fun to watch them all so engaged in this process–no small thanks to colorful felt tip pens!
Theme:
Theme took a turn to the Right this week. The BILL of Rights that is!
Students invested their time defining, debating, and evaluating the rights, freedoms, and privileges guaranteed in the first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. A lot of attention and discussion focused on how the rights protected by the Constitution apply to students, and how they are limited. This provided a lot of crossover into their ELA learning through their novels and activities focusing on defining our freedoms.
After immersing in the Bill of Rights, students paired up for their second mini-project for the Theme. Students identified one right, freedom. or protection they felt was MOST important to them. After making their decisions the student pairs created a “postcard” from the Bill of Rights, designing visuals with descriptions.
Student understanding of the Bill of Rights and the government was further enhanced by our first guest speaker of the school year. Constitutional lawyer and UT instructor Jeff Rowes, father of Gamma student Henry, and husband of Ms. Anne, stopped by to discuss various topics including limitations on free speech rights and cases he has participated in. During the presentation, students asked a variety of questions and showed their understanding of the government created by the Constitution.
Da Saplings work with various materials to create their mini-projects illustrating their interpretations of the Bill of Rights.
Delta students listen to Mr. Jeff Rowes, a Constitutional lawyer and instructor at the University of Texas, as he walks them through the complexity of the Bill of Rights and how the rights, freedoms, and protections of the document affect their lives. Student questions focused on the limitations of those rights and defining how their lives are impacted by them.
Theme students work with various materials to create their Bill of RIghts “postcards”, defining those rights, freedoms, and protections most important to them.
Vroomshrooms and Marionettes read the persuasive essay, “Zoos Should Be Banned.”
Marionettes share what they each believe to be the best animal.
Saplings discuss our novel during book club.
Saplings create a crossword puzzle about the book.
Da Saplings work on finding errors in pretend student work.
A Sapling pointing out the decimal is in the wrong spot.
Admiring each other’s snacks while working on the unit review.
