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About Ms. Finnerty:
The 2019-2020 school year marks my thirtieth year as a teacher! Although I have taught elementary, special education, and middle school math, science remains my favorite subject to learn about and to teach. I believe that all of us are born with a sense of wonder and the natural inner drive to test and investigate. Science is the summary of all human beings have found out and are striving to learn about how everything, including ourselves, works. Engineering uses this knowledge to solve problems and to create innovations.
Above: I am holding a Hercules beetle in Costa Rica!
Class Philosophy: Many eighth grade students have developed thinking and reasoning skills that enable them to think about and understand concepts at a higher level than they did in the sixth and seventh grades. Therefore the Littleton Middle School eighth grade science curriculum includes more advanced science topics and concepts, and is also designed to help students integrate and extend the ideas they have studied since entering the sixth grade. At the same time, I understand that some eighth graders need help with organization of time and materials. I have a lot of 'tricks up my sleeve' for helping students with these executive functions. I add information to my regular classroom instruction and am also available for after school help with these skills.
Differentiation: A major goal for the district and for the 8th grade science classes is to ensure that all students are appropriately challenged while maintaining high expectations and standards for all students. In order to meet this goal, some of the assignments and projects that students will encounter in this year will be personalized, either through my decision or through student choice. Assignments may be personalized to provide extra support, to provide enrichment, to appeal to students’ varied interests, to allow additional practice of skills, or to allow students to develop their strengths. I will work with the students to help them move towards understanding their own learning needs so that they can begin to make informed decisions that enhance their learning and accomplishments.
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