Post date: Nov 06, 2014 12:31:9 AM
Dear Parents,
I hope that all of you are having good times this weekend and that life is good overall.
Science: Just about the only science content for the past 3 weeks has been in the form of the "What I Wonder" slides that the kids have been doing all year. There should be 10 by now, each covering a different topic and containing two things that the kid knows about the topic, two things that they want to know, as well as a graphic. I scored each slide this week and gave each kid their printed version with my scores on it during class on Friday. I'm not sure why each kid didn't get 100% this time, but I bet that they will next time! By the way, one of the topics is the foundation of their "Personal Interest Maker Project" that we work on Monday afternoons.
Another science-ish thing that I've gotten the kids involved in is the use of TuVa Labs (www.tuvalabs.com) to explore, manipulate, and draw meaning from various sets of data. I'm consulting with SVEF and the entrepreneurs who have built the site because I see it as a very novel and very much in line with what we should be teaching kids -- great stuff!
English: I know that the kids have been very intrigued by Susan Leftwich's great lessons on Romeo and Juliet. Although the intensive ends on the middle of this week, I am hoping to live up to her excellence in ELA education through a unit on media literacy and informational graphics.
This week, for their vocabulary entries, the kids had the easiest one yet. They simply had to take 4 words from their weekly list and define them as well as list some synonyms and antonyms. On Friday the 21st I will be collecting their comp books and going through them over the week off and scoring each entry. In order to prevent grade-shock, it would be a great idea for each kid to make sure that each page is done and complete.
Social Studies: This coming week we will be getting back into history by getting an even better understanding of colonial life, political tensions, and the war for independence. The intensive on the Constitution that I've been doing with room 29 has gone well and I'm enjoying the topic and conversation/controversies that we are discussing.
The current events article that the kids should have read and written up last week and discussed with you should be on a non-domestic topic. I do know that most of the kids don't like this process but I haven't found an alternative that pushes them towards a wider world view and ability to discuss issues from an informed standpoint.
Trips: The plans for the SF trip are getting created and refined by the kids as well as the three of us 8th grade teachers. If you are keeping tabs on the San Francisco Trip page on my site, you may have notice that there has been a bit of a price drop which we hope to maintain. The daily agendas will be diverse and reflect the interests of the kids, but also live up to the educational purposes of the trip.
Another upcoming overnight experience coming soon is the Age of Sail adventure. I'll be sending a letter home about that next week, but if you have any interest in being a "Tall Sailor" (chaperone) on the trip, please send me an email. It is an amazing experience for all. Links to more info about both of those trips are in the list below
Updated Calendar:
November 11: Veteran's Day (no school)
November 24-18: Thanksgiving Break
December 8: Parent Meeting #3
December 11-12: Room 25 to Balclutha, Age of Sail
December 22 - January 9: Winter Holiday
January 13: High School Information Night (parents and kids)
January 20-23: SanFrancisco Trip
January 23: Middle School Dance
February 6: Selectives end
February 6: Family Dance
February 26: Exploratorium
April 28: Levi Stadium Tour
June 3 to 5: Rafting the South Fork American River
Thanks for reading and reply if you would.
Chris