DECEMBER TEAM NEWS
by M. D-P.
What do graphs, spit and movie posters have in common? For Silver Team students, they're all in a day's work.
For several Silver Team students, the day begins this way. First period they have Math with E. B. They work in a book called VARIABLES AND PATTERNS. In this book, published by Connective Mathematics, students spend their time working on graphs and seeing different patterns and formulas. Students answer questions about graphs. Then the bell rings.
Next they might have science with P. P. They had a test on mass, density, volume and properties. Students are also working on making microscope slides, which is a three-part project. Step one is finding a translucent object, such as lint or animal fur. Step two is writing a 50-word observation on what it looks like without a microscope. The the final step is to wet the object and put it on a slide.
Then the bell rings again. Time for social studies with T. M. In this class, students will take out their GIS (geographical information system) packets and open this fascinating program that teaches students how to read different kind of maps, and how to make their own map using any theme at all (like world population or world phone lines.)
For the third time the bell rings. Time for Language Arts, withJ. C. In this final class, the students have just finished reading their fantasy book, and have made a imaginary movie poster. Like P. P.'s, this long-term project has three simple steps. The first is to read a fantasy book. Next the students have to create a movie poster for the book that includes the names of actors and reviews. The third and final step is to write a paragraph on why, or why not, the book should become a movie.
The final bell rings. That means....SCHOOL'S OUT!
by M. D. and B. G.
Of what we are we made up is the common question in Red Team science lately. The team is studying cells, their insides and their properties in the month of December. There is also an immense project that the team turns in on December the 23rd. All students, working in pairs, or working solo, are required to assemble a diagram of a cell. The project was assigned on November the 29th and lasts four weeks. All projects are colorful, and measure one foot in diameter.
From Cleopatra, to King Ramses II, Red Team social studies will cover the topic of ancient Egypt. In addition, their full-blown research paper is being started in December. At least 60 note cards are due on December the 23rd, although J. K. assures students that they will have many more than the bare minimum. On another note, the first social studies test was on December the 3rd.
The Red Teamers will be finishing the book, ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY. The students will discuss the meanings of the names of the characters and their own names. The book shows a great deal of racism, students will go over the Black hatred that existed in the South.
In math, students are completing their unit on number theory with the greatest common factor and the least common multiple. Before winter break classes will begin “Measurement and Estimation,” which includes the metric system and scientific notation.
by A. G. and M. V.
At the moment, M. L. is substituting for T. F., Platinum Team math teacher. He and his students are covering the connected mathematics book, VARIABLES AND PATTERNS. The book is divided into investigations. M. L. ’s favorite investigation in this book is 4.1, because, “It introduced a concept of relating variables with an equation.” Now his classes are working on graphing and graph interpretation.
Platinum Team English Teacher, J. D. is going to have a busy December. Last month he held a funeral for Winifred Foster Jackson, the main character in TUCK EVERLASTING, by Natalie Babbitt. Each student chose a character from the book out of 4 choices in the Tuck family. They wrote a eulogy for Winnie from Tuck’s perspective. On the day of the “funeral”, the kids dressed in black and read the eulogies they had written to their classmates. And once again this month J. D. is dimming lights and lighting candles. In this activity, students are given a note book. J. D. plays a song on the piano and the students brainstorm about anything they want, but they aren’t allowed to stop writing for the whole period. The books are private, but their final result may be shared with the class.
For homework this month, students work 30 minutes a day on time lines for the lives of the Tucks, a family that could never die. Besides being accurate, the only restriction to the assignment is that they cannot look normal, like basic time lines. J. D. has a very unique way of grading this, which he created to reward extra work put into a project. It is a scale of 1 to one million. Pretty crazy or great idea, it’s in the eye of the beholder, but one million is a good goal to try to reach. “A” projects are usually in the 500,000’s, and no one has ever received 1,000,000, but it is not completely unachievable. Some things that get you points are pride, commitment and energy, among many others. “Explore beyond the usual boundaries,” advises J. D. This grading system would definitely earn a high score on the creativity scale. J. D. looks forward to every lesson this month, and as he says, “...would I be any other way?”
The Brazilian conference has been the thrill of social studies for many students in M. H.’s room this year. In this conference, the Platinum students break up into several different interest groups that reside in Brazil and debate land ownership. In addition to the conference, the students have just completed the big unit test on Central and South America. Currently, the students are trying to commit to memory the names of the 52 countries in the African region and the locations that go along with them. “This is hard,” Mr. H. would admit, “Because of the many countries in Africa, it is hard to memorize them all”. Social studies has been fun and frustrating for the students on Platinum Team.
Science in J. R. ’s room this month will impact the way the students on Platinum Team look at phase changes, crystals and energy. At this time, the students are being taught how to grow alum, salt and sugar crystals. J. R. ’s room is remarkably dry and the crystals should only take a few days to grow in that habitat. Before the crystal project, the students will be studying the phase changes of different substances and conservation of mass. After the crystal project the students will be taking up the study of energy. Some examples of what they will be studying are potential energy and kinetic energy. J. R. says, “I think, with the equipment delivery that is coming soon, [the team] will be in for an exciting few months.”
by A. S. and J. R.
Orange Team students this month will be starting many new things. In social studies, the classes will be playing a game called “Empire”. This game is “...based on the triangular trade”, says Orange Team social studies teacher J. C. During December, the classes will also be learning about the causes of the American Revolution.
In English the students will continue to read “Inherit the Wind”, a play based on the Scopes trial in Tennessee where a man is jailed for teaching a class about evolution. In the first scene of the play, characters are introduced that are based on actual people tied to the event that the play is based on. One of these people is a lawyer, referred to as Brady, who is based on an actual lawyer, William Jennings Bryan, who ran for President three times, and lost each time. Also, Orange Team will continue to have their choco-lit chats. In these chats, students discuss a book that they chose to read with a group, while enjoying hot chocolate.
Science classes will be starting mineral chemistry. In this unit students will learn how to identify minerals using multiple techniques. The unit will start with a “quiz o’ fun”, says M. M., Orange Team science teacher. It will end with a “...hands on test where students will see how much they have improved,” says M. M.
by M. G. and J. T.
The Jade Team has started a new term with new subjects. A. R. has her class “...observing cells of all organisms, including we humans.” Cells are the hot topic in Room 214, and it looks as if new and similar topics will soon replace them. “Students will be investigating what makes up living organisms, and how these organisms reproduce,” A. R. comments.
D. S., Jade Team English teacher, is continuing the short story unit for a little while. Then his students will be starting the first reading book of the year, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, by Avi.
In math, B. M. is starting number theory. B. M. will also teach factor games, prime number games, and composites. He will review square numbers, and move on to geometric constructions.
J. O'C., the Jade social studies teacher, will next be starting Ancient Greece, which will be a longer than an average unit. The Jade Team will cover the rise of city-states and impact of Greece upon the USA.
by E. G.-M. and V. P.
Rolling into the month of December, the Green Team is continuing to work their hardest while taking on new assignments. Students are beginning new units, books, and projects.
In social studies, the Green Team just recently finished their simulation, “Empire”. In “Empire,” students affiliated with groups of people who traded goods in colonial times. The groups traded goods with each other to get the feeling of how it was handled. Now, the social studies classes are going to the computer room to research events leading up to the American Revolution.
In science with J. H., students recently began a project about topographic maps, which will be due in mid-December. After they finish with the topographic map unit, students will commence a unit on earthquakes and volcanoes.
Students are getting in the mood for the holidays in English class with A. C. The students were assigned a person to interview, preferably a grandparent. With the information they gathered, each Green Teamer will be writing a poem about their grandparent’s life. This will serve as a warm holiday gift! Also, students just finished reading a novel called, CHERNOWITZ, which is a book about anti- semitism. They will be reading other novels and doing literature groups with their classmates. Last, but not least, students will be touching up their grammar, as well as tackling some new grammatical concepts.
All three algebra placements are progressing into new units. Accelerated algebra is studying inequalities and graphing. Algebra classes are commencing Chapter 2, and studying solving equations. Pre-algebra groups are working on a statistics unit and hopefully a project involving that subject.
by B. H.-M. and Z. P.-C.
In the month of December, all 7th graders will attend an assembly on ancient Egypt. P. M. will be teaching students more about ancient Egypt today. Also, students on Coral will be continuing to study Egypt in social studies with S. D.
Coral students will finish sharing their wonderful paper bag book reports, according to S. S. Some of the students, such as N. B. and A. B., dressed up as their character. N. B. said, “It [the symbols] were hard to build, but it was fun.”
A. B. says, “I had a lot of fun doing it, and I had fun dressing up.” Next they will be starting the drama unit, where students will read out loud and act out plays. Of the three plays that S. S. will have students act out and read , the longest one is “The Miracle Worker.” Students had a ‘Pajama Day’ in english on Wednesday, November the 24th. Students brought in their favorite childrens’ book and read it aloud to their table mates. Some students brought in hot chocolate and desserts, so the food and drink made a ‘cozy’ setting.
In accelerated math, S. C. will have students finish chapter three, which is on rounding. Afterwards, S. C. will “jump” to chapter ten, which is on number theory. In pre-algebra, S. C. and students will finish chapter two and also ‘jump’ to chapter ten; they will be doing chapter three later. In introduction to pre-algebra, S. C. will teach students how to do percents and applicational percents. S. C. will teach this by using word problems.
On the science front, students will learn about viruses and how they attack cells. R. B. will be reviewing and looking over the 3-D cell projects that students turned in on December the 3rd. R. B. will also teach the cell process, how the cell works. She will take the curriculum from November and add more detail to the students’ understanding of cell structures.
by M. G. and A. R.
In J. R.'s math class, students are currently finishing up a variables and patterns book, and did a pattern activity the week of November the 29th. They also practice how to find mathematical rules for each pattern. To do that, the kids use symbols along with numbers. In class, J. R. reminds her class to use the obvious symbols such as “T” and “D” to represent words like “time” or “distance” as students continue to work with the book.
M. P. has just introduced the next book students will be reading in language arts called THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET, which is the translation of a story written by a Jew who had experienced World War II. The book takes place during World War II, so the students went to the library to research the different topics of the war. "I think students like doing this because they get to learn about the history of World War II and the survival story in the book," says Phaff. He also plans to work on some descriptive writing and visualization.
M. C.'s classes were very busy in November preparing for their two day Brazilian rain forest conference which was on November the 29th and November the 30th. Students received packets which contained information on different interest groups, which they then researched. Then with all the information, each group made a banner representing who they were and wrote an introductory paragraph for the conference. At the conference, M. C. read historical events and gave or took away tokens depending on some of the events. The students debated four proposals that were actually from Brazil. "Students like this conference because they enjoy the debate and they also get to share their ideas. Next, the classes will work on the GIS module for Latin America called ‘Running Hot and Cold’ with the computers. They will also move to studying Africa.
T. B. and his classes are finishing their long term scientist poster project and concluding their work with microscopes. The students' final result will be a report and a poster on the scientist they have chosen to research. "Students have increased their microscope skills and have also done drawings of various plants and animals. They enjoyed seeing things that aren't visible with the naked eye." says T. B. Afterwards, T. B. will introduce the unit called Fruitvale, where students will solve the mystery of toxic pollution, and will be doing some chemical testing.
by A. D.
In English, the students are working on theater. The students are in the middle of reading “Inherit the Wind” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E, Lee. “We will look at the way literature in general and theater specifically appears to be about one issue, but when we go deeper we discover the authors’ true meaning” says Blue team English teacher A. G.
In social studies, the students are learning about the events leading up to the American Revolution. The students are also learning about the Boston Massacre and Barter Day.
The science classes are studying the interior of the Earth. They will study Earth chemistry, and chemical reactions. They look forward to exciting new experiments with fire.
The accelerated math class is working on rate problems and inequalities. The algebra classes continue to solve multi step equations, and the pre-algebra class continues to study statistics and will soon study graphs.
The Blue Team is also doing a program called Read to Feed, where the students read books to earn money. The money that is earned goes to buying animals to give to families in need of money, food, and clothing. Last year the Blue Team was able to buy a whole ark of animals to give to different families.
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