January/February 2021
We've made it through 4 months of school! It has been great to have the students in person. South Bristol School is ready to go remote, should we need to. Resources and assignments will also be available to students when they are absent via Google Classroom.
5/6 Homeroom
When students arrive to school, they pass in homework and unpack for the day. They then either go to breakfast or stay in the classroom for a brainteaser puzzle. After breakfast, we do the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom. Following that, we do morning meeting. This is a chance to check in with one another, share stories, connect, and we frequently enjoy a fun game together. Cam Miller, an educator in residence from Camp Kieve, has been joining us again this year and will help with some of our morning meetings on Fridays.
On Fridays, briefly on Thursdays, and during other small windows of time, we do read aloud in the 5/6 classroom. Our 2nd read aloud of the year was Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. We are now on our 3rd book: Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck. This book takes place in Indiana in 1910. A few of the characters fought in the Civil War. Eleanor "Peewee" McGrath is our main character. She is a strong-willed 14 year old who doesn't care much for school but loves to fix automobiles- a new way of travel in 1910. Her rural upbringing and her beliefs are challenged and molded when a group of 4 young, urban, wealthy, educated women come to town to serve as librarians. The girls in our class asked for a strong female lead in one of our books. This certainly fits the bill. There will be another strong female lead in a science fiction novel later in the year.
On Fridays, briefly on Thursdays, and during other small windows of time, we do read aloud in the 5/6 classroom. Our 2nd read aloud of the year was Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. We are now on our 3rd book: Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck. This book takes place in Indiana in 1910. A few of the characters fought in the Civil War. Eleanor "Peewee" McGrath is our main character. She is a strong-willed 14 year old who doesn't care much for school but loves to fix automobiles- a new way of travel in 1910. Her rural upbringing and her beliefs are challenged and molded when a group of 4 young, urban, wealthy, educated women come to town to serve as librarians. The girls in our class asked for a strong female lead in one of our books. This certainly fits the bill. There will be another strong female lead in a science fiction novel later in the year.
7th Grade on Fridays
The students and I brainstormed at the beginning of the year possible projects and activities for our time together on Fridays. We ensured the activities were strongly connected to science and/or math.
So far this year, we have done a few projects. First, we designed and created paper skyscrapers designed to withstand a heavy wind load (from a floor fan). The students worked in teams to create the best tower they could. After testing the towers, we decided to redesign and rebuild our towers to make them even better, learning from our past mistakes. We did a 2nd engineering project where we created pumpkin cars for a derby. The students really came through by bringing in supplies, working hard, and even cutting down a small tree to make wheels from. Our cars ended up not working (the wheels were too small). We plan to try this again in a future class period. Another thing we have done on Fridays is go on two nature walks- one where we tried to find and photograph a wide variety of insects (we found a lot!) and a 2nd where we collected a wide variety of barks and seeds. We ended up planting some of the seeds to see if we could grow them in the classroom. We have also watched two films: The Journey to the Center of the Earth (an Earth science sci-fi film based on the book from the 1800s) and Searching for Bobby Fischer (a movie about chess and about character). We will continue to do engineering projects and science lessons during our time together on Fridays. Our next project is to create the marble roller coasters we were planning to do last spring. We can finally bring last year's force and motion unit/simulation to a conclusion.
We meet for 30 minutes before lunch and for another hour in the afternoon each Friday that the 8th graders are at the boat shop in Bath.
So far this year, we have done a few projects. First, we designed and created paper skyscrapers designed to withstand a heavy wind load (from a floor fan). The students worked in teams to create the best tower they could. After testing the towers, we decided to redesign and rebuild our towers to make them even better, learning from our past mistakes. We did a 2nd engineering project where we created pumpkin cars for a derby. The students really came through by bringing in supplies, working hard, and even cutting down a small tree to make wheels from. Our cars ended up not working (the wheels were too small). We plan to try this again in a future class period. Another thing we have done on Fridays is go on two nature walks- one where we tried to find and photograph a wide variety of insects (we found a lot!) and a 2nd where we collected a wide variety of barks and seeds. We ended up planting some of the seeds to see if we could grow them in the classroom. We have also watched two films: The Journey to the Center of the Earth (an Earth science sci-fi film based on the book from the 1800s) and Searching for Bobby Fischer (a movie about chess and about character). We will continue to do engineering projects and science lessons during our time together on Fridays. Our next project is to create the marble roller coasters we were planning to do last spring. We can finally bring last year's force and motion unit/simulation to a conclusion.
We meet for 30 minutes before lunch and for another hour in the afternoon each Friday that the 8th graders are at the boat shop in Bath.
5/6 Math |
7/8 Math |
The 5th grade math group has been adding and subtracting decimals. In chapter 6, they'll multiply and divide decimals. And in chapter 7, we be studying patterns and expressions that represent those patterns. This group is so focussed and doing a great job taking charge of their learning. I am very impressed.
The 6th grade math group has been working on multiplying and dividing fractions. Next, we will be working in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane (graphing!). Then we'll submerse ourselves in algebra- starting with writing, interpreting, and manipulating both numerical and algebraic (has variables) expressions. The 7th grade math group is in chapter 5 working on expressions. They are writing them, simplifying them, and adding and subtracting them. In chapter 6, they'll be writing and solving equations and inequalities. In chapter 7, they'll be working with angles, triangles, scale drawings and cross sections of geometric shapes. All three math groups do math games once every two to three weeks even, if we go remote. Students have 45 minutes of aleks.com to do each week. This 45 minutes needs to be completed between Monday at 8AM one week to 8AM on Monday morning the next week. The students get to choose which topics to try to master each week, which helps them review concepts and allows them to try math topics we'll cover in the future. I am using Unified Classroom/PowerSchool to keep track of work completion in math and to keep track of assessment scores. My goal for each student is to score a 3 or better on each mathematics standard. This score indicates mastery of the standard. Students will also be scored on the Habits of Work (engaged learner, responsible learner, and respectful learner). You can login to Unified Classroom by going to classroom.powerschool.com. You login using your child's gmail account. He/she can show you how to do this and how to navigate around the site. |
The 7th grade math group has been working a lot with fractions: adding and subtracting them and multiplying and dividing them. They have also been converting between measurement systems. In chapter 5, the students will be working on expressions. They will be writing them, simplifying them, and adding and subtracting them. In chapter 6, they'll be writing and solving equations and inequalities.
The 8th grade math In chapter 4, we've been learning about functions. They are recognizing them, graphing them, constructing them, and learning about linear, nonlinear and quadratic functions. After functions. well move onto geometry. We'll start with triangles and the Pythagorean Theorem. In chapter 6, we study transformations: translations, reflections, rotations, and dilations. The Algebra I group is just finishing chapter 5: linear inequalities. We are solving them and graphing them. In chapter 6, we'll be solving and graphing systems of equations and inequalities. In chapter 7, we learn about exponents and exponential functions, including scientific notation. Each week, the 7/8 students have work to complete on aleks.com. Those who have mastered fewer than 50% of the topics are required to master a minimum of 8 topics/week. Because the material gets harder as you increase the percent of topics mastered, those students who have mastered 50% or more of the topics are required to master 5 topics per week. The students get to choose which topics to try to master each week, which helps them review concepts and allows them to try math topics we'll cover in the future. Both math groups do math games once every two to three weeks even ,if we go remote. I am using Unified Classroom/PowerSchool to keep track of work completion in math and to keep track of assessment scores. My goal for each student is to score a 3 or better on each mathematics standard. This score indicates mastery of the standard. Students will also be scored on the Habits of Work (engaged learner, responsible learner, and respectful learner). You can login to Unified Classroom by going to classroom.powerschool.com. You login using your child's gmail account. He/she can show you how to do this and to navigate around the site. |
5/6 Science |
7/8 Science |
We are in the midst of our space unit. The students have learned why seasons happen on Earth. They've been tracking the moon each night and recording their observations in their moon journals. We are now formally studying the moon phases and connecting our observations to what changes happen in the moon during a month. We are very close to finishing up our space unit.
Our next unit will be Earth Systems. In this unit, we will study many things. These include the phases of matter, volume, density, the water cycle, where water is naturally distributed on Earth, proving that invisible things do exist, rock types, the rock cycle, erosion and weathering, fossils, the Earth's structure, and we'll be using Moh's hardness scale. I am using Unified Classroom/PowerSchool to keep track of work completion in science. Students will also be scored on the Habits of Work and attendance is taken for each Zoom class. You can login to Unified Classroom by going to classroom.powerschool.com. You login using your child's gmail account. He/she can show you how to do this and how to navigate around the site. |
The 7/8 students are finishing up their space unit. They are wrapping up with a study of the moon and then doing a research paper about a galaxy.
Out next unit is force and motion. We'll study Newton's laws and how gravity works. We'll play with collisions and with pulleys. The students will design and construct/print a CO2 car to race against their classmates in a friendly competition. After force and motion, we'll study energy. More on that in the next newsletter! I am using Unified Classroom/PowerSchool to keep track of work completion in science. Students will also be scored on the Habits of Work and attendance is taken for each Zoom class. You can login to Unified Classroom by going to classroom.powerschool.com. You login using your child's gmail account. He/she can show you how to do this and how to navigate around the site. |