We are hoping for school as usual, but be prepared for some asynchronous classes. Teachers receive their second Pfizer vaccination shot next week beginning on Tuesday. Teachers who aren't experiencing severe side effects will be teaching RLA synchronous classes as usual, but those who feel bad and are unable to teach will have asynchronous work prepared for students. Teachers will let students know where to find asynchronous work just in case!
We are continuing to focus on critical thinking strategies when deciding what information to trust. Students are analyzing, discussing and categorizing articles, ads and videos into the following 6 primary purposes: to document, to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to provoke and to sell. This week we focused specifically on the differences between persuasion, using sound logic and credible evidence, and provocation, using inflammatory tactics to manipulate strong emotions in an effort to get the reader to think less clearly and believe distorted information.
During this short week, we continued with our Greek root focus; this week's root was "plac" which means calm, pleasing. We did a few activities to help learn this root and took notes on some vocabulary words that include this root. Additionally, we have finished "officially" gathering/analyzing text evidence for our person of interest project and have begun to share what we've learned about our person in small groups so that others can learn about them, too! Our next steps will be discussing the draft process and what must be included in that (central idea/theme, transitions, citations, etc.)
We are wrapping up our study of the ATMOSPHERE with an open-notes test on Tuesday, February 23. The multiple-choice portion is worth 38 points, and the essay question portion is worth 10. Students will have 2 attempts for each part, and the final submissions will be due Friday, February 26. This unit of study explored layers of the atmosphere, air pressure, heat transfer, air pollution, and wind.
We are continuing our study of the atmosphere! Students created drawings of the atmosphere using temperature data and density modeling. We will begin to study air pollution this week as we examine historical cases of air pollution disasters. Students will be detectives in 1930s Belgium as they try to unravel a mysterious tragedy. Students will "interview" several experts in the area, including a geologist, meteorologist, doctor, chemist, and industrialist, to see what is causing this tragedy. Students will need to ignore bias as they synthesize evidence to create a claim for why the tragedy occurred.
I was quite impressed with the scores from the quiz over the Rise of Islam that we had last week. Their preparation and hard work were evident. We are now moving on to Africa.
This week, we had fun finishing up a simulation for the Dark Ages - imagining that we are in Europe during a Zombie Apocalypse! The students worked in breakout rooms to determine where they would settle a kingdom, what their flags would showcase, and what laws they would be governed by to maximize safety. It was great to see the kids getting creative and working together. Next week, we'll dig into feudalism and the manorial system. There will be a quick check next Friday over new material!
We have been exploring 3d objects and their Volume and comparing Pyramids to Prisms.
Click the link to view my daily agenda. Mrs. Yang - Math 7 Daily Agenda
To see what's happening in Algebra, click HERE to view the daily agenda.