November, 2016
In our continued efforts to keep families informed and updated about the curriculum at Blake, each month we will be 'highlighting' updates from the different departments. We hope this will help facilitate conversations at home and maintain a bridge between home and school. Below please find the updates for the month of November, 2016.
Art
6th grade artists are translating their two-dimensional ideas into form. They are are designing paper models of their houses and then creating the final draft in clay. They are looking at significant buildings for inspiration and discussing the purposes of different types of architectural structures and how they can affect and reflect the values of a community. Here is a video that shows the community effort needed to maintain the world’s largest mud structure. They are also learning about slab construction in clay while taking on the considerations of working on sculpture in the round.
7th grade artists are continuing their exploration of self portrait. They just completed their expressive self portraits and are now learning how to work from a grid for accuracy. They looked at the artist Chuck Close, who is known for creating large, photorealistic portraits of himself and friends.
8th grade artists are working with the human figure, studying proportions and creating compositions of the figure in motion. Using repetition, color, and abstraction can create visual movement and help to create a dynamic composition.
Art Opportunities after school:
Set Design with Mrs. Deveno---Get involved in the Drama program by working on the set design crew. This group meets after school. See Mrs. Deveno for details.
Blake Open Studios---- The Blake Art room will be open after school on Thursdays, until 3pm. All students are welcome to participate in studio activities of their own choice. Ms. Deveno and Ms. Jones will be on hand to provide materials and informal instruction.
There will be no formal registration, it is on a first come, first served basis and limited to 15 students. We are looking forward to seeing you in the Art studio, room 208 !
English
Grade 6:
Teachers in Grade 6 English and social studies recently collaborated on a writing assignment. The genesis for this initiative came about in a recent professional day “Ed Cam,” where teachers shared their excitement for having students receive writing skills instruction and practice using the same terminology in both disciplines. After many hours of enthusiastic collaboration, English and social studies teachers created a graphic organizer and rubric to be shared in each discipline. This was an exciting professional initiative that sends a strong message about collaboration and gives hands-on meaning to the phrase, “writing across the curriculum.
After the Thanksgiving break, the sixth graders will have a chance to embed some of the elements of fiction they learned, such as characters, setting, plot, mood, style and conflict, within a personal narrative. Keep an eye out for our writing warm-ups. Would you be able to write a story in just six words? Could you use visual thinking strategies to focus on a moment within a scene? Grade 6 teachers will also be providing instruction and practice with strong adjectives and vivid verbs. Students will also have an up-close-and important look at ways punctuation, most notably commas can and do manipulate meaning within a sentence.
Grade 7:
Fresh off their unit of instruction and practice with the critical thinking and writing skills making text-based claims, finding evidence to support these claims, and platforming to valid analysis connecting the two, Grade 7 students will continue to practice these important skills in other units of study throughout the year. Currently, seventh graders are reading Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. They will be strengthening their imagery and figurative language analysis skills learned in the last unit while also exploring how these same elements contribute to mood. The Christmas Carol unit also includes a trip to the North Shore Music Theater to see the story performed live.
Grade 8:
Like Grade 7 students, eighth graders have spent valuable classroom time understanding the relationship between making literature-based claims, prioritizing the most cohesive textual evidence and scaffolding the two into solid critical writing skills. Instruction and practice with these skills help students move from text-based summary to text-based analytical essays.
After Thanksgiving break, Grade 8 students, armed with claim-evidence-analysis skills from the first unit will begin class discussion and reading of Fahrenheit 451. Written in 1953 by Ray Bradbury, this dystopian novel has important and very timely themes about the value of ideas and literature in a technological world.
Guidance
November 10th marked the end of the first rotation of guidance classes, so we are currently at the beginning of the second rotation. The 6th Grade Group Guidance class are learning the value of "Reflection": Experience + Reflection = Wisdom. 7th Grade Group Guidance continues to look at mindfulness and stress relief techniques. The students in 8th Grade Group Guidance completed their resume writing portion of class. We have now moved onto completing a Learning Style Inventory on Naviance. After they complete the survey we will be working on matching various study habits to their specific learning styles. Lastly, the students in Embracing Diversity are examining Maurice Ogden's allegory "The Hangman" and discussing the fundamentals of "Discrimination".
Library
The Blake Summer Reading Pizza Party - the final event in our 20th annual edition of the Blake/Dale Summer Reading Program – took place last Tuesday, November 22. Each summer, our students are given the opportunity to read a variety of great books for both academic connection and pleasure. The cornerstone of the program is the all-school reading book. This year’s choice was Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus. All students also read a minimum of one additional book from their grade level list. Students also had the opportunity to read a total of 5 books (Heart of a Samurai plus four others from their grade list). Those who did this and also created a short video, podcast, comic strip or a short written review on one of the four additional books they read (not Heart of a Samurai) qualified for our big pizza party. Congratulations to these students on a job well done!
Mathematics
Now that our 6th grade mathematicians have fine tuned their ability to break apart numbers into factors and build them up into multiples, students are in the process of examining all sorts of fractions. We are all exploring the why behind the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division algorithms. “Why is it important to find a common denominator when adding or subtracting?” Time is given in class to examining that questions both theoretically and visually. Then, students are all presented with the common, standard algorithms used to work with fractional arithmetic. These methods will be what they use for good.
7th grade students are beginning a foundational unit in math classes: proportional reasoning. Building on the fraction skills learned through 6th grade, students are examining equivalent fractions and now include including variables or unknowns. The ability to think proportionally allows students to solve many types of science problems (distance & rate ones, for example). It also gives them an awareness of how money grows (or doesn’t) in their bank account...it certainly does not grow on trees:-)
In 7th grade, student delve into proportional thinking with fractions and equations. It is really a time for them to think deeply about what it means to have equivalent rational expressions. 8th grade student are currently expanding on this notion with an examination of rational functions. Can we determine a function that allows us to predict how long it will take us to reach 94th floor of a building given that it takes us 5 seconds to travel 105 feet? The answer is yes! Using rational functions, student predicted it will take them 34 seconds to do this. You may wish to try standing still for 34 seconds as some of our students did...you’ll be surprised how long it feels!
Music
Excitement is in the air as the 6th Grade Chorus is amping up for their first performance of the year on Thursday, Dec.8th. They will be singing their own music selections and combining with the 7th and 8th grade Chorus for a grand finale. Please make sure your child's concert attire is all set to go. Girls must wear all black---black shoes, hose/socks, pants or long skirt, black top. Boys will wear white dress shirt, tie of choice, and black pants/shoes/socks.
The Blake Jazz Choir is performing at the annual Celebration of Voices Assembly on November 23. They will be performing "Let it Be" by the Beatles, accompanied by Liam Nedell, Aidan Clarke, Kelly Morrison, and Tristan Boyer on guitar. Additionally, the Blake Jazz Choir has their first gig on Dec. 2nd. They will be performing carols at Brothers Marketplace for the Holiday Stroll. Stop on by between 4-5pm and support our young musicians.
November has been a time of preparation for our choral department at Blake! The Blake Middle School Choral Concert is coming up in 2 weeks on Thursday, December 8th at 7:00 pm.. The students have been working hard and have a wonderful program ready to perform. The 6th, 7th and 8th grade Choruses will be featured singing their own music selections. The concert will conclude with a grand finale combining all three Blake Choruses.
The Blake Jazz Choir, which is a newly formed 6th, 7th and 8th grade vocal ensemble, performed this month for the first time at the Celebration of Voices Assembly. They have their second "gig" on Dec. 2nd. They will be performing carols at Brothers Marketplace for the Holiday Stroll. Stop on by between 4-5pm and support our young musicians.
Grade Six General Music with Mrs. Stover
Students recently finished a unit on timbre completing a small group composition project to demonstrate their learning. Students chose a ‘soundscape’ to recreate using a minimum of three contrasting timbres. In addition each composition had to have two contrasting sections. Some of the soundscapes that our sixth grade students chose to recreate included: Starbucks; Salem at Halloween; fishing on the ocean….
Grade Seven Arts Rotation - Music with Mrs. Stover
Students recently finished up their grade seven music rotation “The History and Evolution of Rock and Roll.” The culminating project consisted of a research project. Students could choose between researching and presenting an interview with Paul McCartney of the Beatles or David Gilmour of Pink Floyd or to research a performing artist of their choice.
Grade Eight General Music
Students recently concluded the arts rotation on ‘The American Musical.’ For the culminating project students worked in small groups to propose an idea for an original musical that reflects a contemporary social theme or event. Students prepared and performed one scene from their musical along with a musical selection to support the action in the scene. Some social themes explored included bullying, gender equality, animal rights and immigration.
Science
Students in 6th grade were excited to learn how to define and demonstrate the difference between elements, molecules, mixtures, and compounds in November. Students used nearpods, virtual labs and games, created their own videos, and participated in group projects and hands-on labs, to investigate and develop an understanding of what makes each of these unique and important in forming the matter of our world/universe. Students had fun with a mad mixtures lab activity in particular and learned which tools are used to separate out various components in a mixture; tools included - magnets, screens, filters, and evaporating dishes! Our 6th graders are now learning how to discern the difference between a physical and chemical change. Using vinegar and chalk student partners demonstrated the main characteristics of each type of change. Ask them to show you their video! Leading up to Thanksgiving students will discuss and conduct an Endothermic and Exothermic Reaction lab during which they will measure and record the release and absorption of heat.
We have entered the microscopic world in seventh grade science. Students have been learning about the function and structure of cell parts. After creating cell organelles out of playdoh, students learned about the structure and function of each as well as their location within the cell. This activity allowed us to also compare plant and animal cells by looking at cell shape and comparing internal organelles. Students also prepared and looked at a variety of different cells as we continued to examine the difference between plant and animal cells. We examined; frogs blood, cork, onion, aloe and our own cheek cells! We could identify the nucleus, cytoplasm and cell membrane/cell wall in each cell. We will continue to study the organelles within the cell but our focus will shift to the function of each while we observe the differences between plant and animal cells in more depth. Students will be presenting what they have learned in the Explain Everything Cell Organelle Project. This is a very engaging and productive way to wrap up our study of cells. We are excited to see the finished projects!!!
Grade 8 science students are currently working on measurements in science, and the properties of matter: mass and volume. This unit features several hands-on “traditional” labs, as well as various technologies as tools for students to demonstrate and articulate their learning. This unit of study places a strong emphasis on the scientific method and data analysis, as these are processes and skills that are fundamental to the students’ current and future studies in STEM.
In the Introduction to Engineering course, students are making excellent headway in the construction of their solar cars. Utilizing the universal engineering design process, they have moved through conceptualizing their cars and are now experiencing the challenges of implementing their concepts through use of hand tools. For many students, this is the first time that they have constructed anything from “scratch”, and they have shown much growth over the past few weeks.
Social Studies
In sixth grade World Geography classes, students are learning about various mountain ranges of the world. The students learn not only their location, but they are conducting research to learn why mountains are important to people and the natural environment. As part of their assignment, students are engaged in a design thinking project where they must propose a solution to a problem facing a mountain in the world. Using selected mountains in addition to news articles and the UNESCO World Heritage Site website, students work in teams to explore the issues and propose a solution. This unit will run until mid-December when students will start investigating rivers of the world.
7th graders are well into their Ancient Civilizations unit on ancient Egypt. Egyptian civilization developed near the Nile River, a source of life in an otherwise geographically barren area. Students completed a 'pyramid builder' challenge where they learned about the various factors that go into the construction of a massive Old Kingdom pyramid. They have also studied Egyptian religion. Some people see the Egyptians as being obsessed with death, but in a way, they were really obsessed with life--the idea of eternal life after death. It is for this reason that the Egyptians invested so much time and resources into preparing tombs for their pharaohs and going through the mummification process. This unit will take students to the Thanksgiving break, and students are very much engaged in learning all sorts of new information.
In 8th grade World History I classes, students are now studying Islamic Empires. They will look at how governments develop such as the process of transferring power, and study the development of a theocracy. Students will study the advancement of technology in navigation and the military including the use of gun powered with cannons, early gun technology, and the influence of Islam in the world today such as the use of Arabic numbers. Finally, students will make connections between this unit and current events. 8th graders will have a stronger grasp on the origins and meanings of vocabulary words such as Shari'a, Sunni, Shii'a and jihad. These are just a few items which appear regularly in the news today.
Wellness
Health:
6th graders are finishing up the unit on accessing information. Students are learning how to access Accurate, Credible and Current, Easy to Use, and Supported information. Students today have a tremendous amount of information as well as misinformation at their fingertips. 6th graders are learning what to look for when accessing information that will allow them to effectively evaluate websites and choose the best ones to use in their research.
7th grade students have been working diligently on their 'ACES' research project. In this unit, students have been refining their ability to access reliable information online, while researching a variety of injuries and illnesses. All sources used during research must be Accurate, Credible & Current, Easy to access and Supported. Research has been done in small groups and organized into Google Presentations. All groups will present their findings to their class, emphasizing appropriate prevention strategies for all injuries and illnesses.
Students in 8th grade have been working on accessing mental health information and services using the ACES formula (Accurate, Credible/Current, Easy to Use/Understand, Supported.) Building on this skill from 6th and 7th grade Health, the objective is for students to analyze the validity of health information and services related to mental health issues and to determine the accessibility of trusted, reliable services and support systems that enhance that mental health of adolescents. Students demonstrated this through project-based activities.
Physical Education:
6th graders have begun fun new units participating in team handball and yoga. For four classes students are learning the rules and skills of handball through both practice drills and game play. Focus has been placed on developing student ability to dribble, pass and receive; familiar skills applied in a new setting. In the yoga studio, students are learning a variety of yoga poses over four classes which increase in complexity with each additional class. Balance has been the common skill emphasized throughout all poses and classes.
In 7th grade, students learned lacrosse and practiced yoga. In lacrosse, the emphasis was on throwing, catching, fielding ground balls and the concept of give and go. In yoga, students have been introduced to the etiquette of yoga as well as beginner poses and basic sequences.
8th graders have just participated in our annual Turkey Bowl football tournament. Nearly 100 participants brought in a non-perishable food item to support Medfield’s food cupboard! In the spirit of empathy, we discussed that there are less fortunate people who need help to feed themselves and their families during the holiday. This event is a great way to come together as a community as we end our unit on football, and to reinforce our theme of empathy.
Consumer Science:
The second rotation is officially underway, and we have welcomed a whole new group of students to consumer science classes! We are learning and reviewing how to prepare for cooking, to follow a recipe, to work together as a group, and to clean up after cooking. Students have prepared fruit smoothies, pancakes, French toast and waffles.
World Language
Sixth grade:
French students just wrapped up a unit on their likes and dislikes by creating a video presentation and sharing with their classmates. We enjoyed watching each others' videos and offering praise and ideas for quality boosters that can make our presentations even better in the future. Students are now beginning to learn their numbers all the way through soixante (60), and how to ask for and tell the time of day.
Chinese students finished Unit 1 lesson 3. At the end of the lesson, students can 1) gain a basic understanding of Chinese names and 2) identify more pinyin symbols.
Spanish students just finished their first Explain Everything presentations about classes that included everything from the time the class meets to the teacher's name and to how interesting/boring/easy/hard/strict/nice and fun the class and teachers are!
Seventh grade:
French students are beginning the France project. Each student will research one of the regions of France, as well as learn about the flag, Bastille Day, and the map. Students will present their regions in groups and gather at least two facts about the regions presented. Vive la France!
Mandarin students finished Unit 4 lesson 3. At the end of the lesson, students can 1) ask people how they are doing and 2) respond to people’s compliments in a culturally appropriate
way.
Spanish students did a wonderful job each presenting a famous Latino to their class. Their ability to express likes, dislikes, nationalities and other pertinent information impressed their peers and teachers!
Eighth grade:
French students have just finished a unit on the family, where they learned to identify and describe relatives. Students created family photo album books, with a short written and oral narrative about each family member. They will be presenting their albums to each other before we begin our next unit centered around the topic of food.
Mandarin students finished Unit 9 lesson 2. At the end of the lesson, students can 1) identify hobbies and express personal preference about them and 2)learn about Chinese musical instruments, songs, dances, and martial arts
Spanish students have been describing how they get ready in the morning. Currently they are creating commercials for personal hygiene products, for which they developed fun, new company names. They are demonstrating great creativity with their marketing skills, with some students even writing and singing jingles in Spanish!
In our continued efforts to keep families informed and updated about the curriculum at Blake, each month we will be 'highlighting' updates from the different departments. We hope this will help facilitate conversations at home and maintain a bridge between home and school. Below please find the updates for the month of November, 2016.
Art
6th grade artists are translating their two-dimensional ideas into form. They are are designing paper models of their houses and then creating the final draft in clay. They are looking at significant buildings for inspiration and discussing the purposes of different types of architectural structures and how they can affect and reflect the values of a community. Here is a video that shows the community effort needed to maintain the world’s largest mud structure. They are also learning about slab construction in clay while taking on the considerations of working on sculpture in the round.
7th grade artists are continuing their exploration of self portrait. They just completed their expressive self portraits and are now learning how to work from a grid for accuracy. They looked at the artist Chuck Close, who is known for creating large, photorealistic portraits of himself and friends.
8th grade artists are working with the human figure, studying proportions and creating compositions of the figure in motion. Using repetition, color, and abstraction can create visual movement and help to create a dynamic composition.
Art Opportunities after school:
Set Design with Mrs. Deveno---Get involved in the Drama program by working on the set design crew. This group meets after school. See Mrs. Deveno for details.
Blake Open Studios---- The Blake Art room will be open after school on Thursdays, until 3pm. All students are welcome to participate in studio activities of their own choice. Ms. Deveno and Ms. Jones will be on hand to provide materials and informal instruction.
There will be no formal registration, it is on a first come, first served basis and limited to 15 students. We are looking forward to seeing you in the Art studio, room 208 !
English
Grade 6:
Teachers in Grade 6 English and social studies recently collaborated on a writing assignment. The genesis for this initiative came about in a recent professional day “Ed Cam,” where teachers shared their excitement for having students receive writing skills instruction and practice using the same terminology in both disciplines. After many hours of enthusiastic collaboration, English and social studies teachers created a graphic organizer and rubric to be shared in each discipline. This was an exciting professional initiative that sends a strong message about collaboration and gives hands-on meaning to the phrase, “writing across the curriculum.
After the Thanksgiving break, the sixth graders will have a chance to embed some of the elements of fiction they learned, such as characters, setting, plot, mood, style and conflict, within a personal narrative. Keep an eye out for our writing warm-ups. Would you be able to write a story in just six words? Could you use visual thinking strategies to focus on a moment within a scene? Grade 6 teachers will also be providing instruction and practice with strong adjectives and vivid verbs. Students will also have an up-close-and important look at ways punctuation, most notably commas can and do manipulate meaning within a sentence.
Grade 7:
Fresh off their unit of instruction and practice with the critical thinking and writing skills making text-based claims, finding evidence to support these claims, and platforming to valid analysis connecting the two, Grade 7 students will continue to practice these important skills in other units of study throughout the year. Currently, seventh graders are reading Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. They will be strengthening their imagery and figurative language analysis skills learned in the last unit while also exploring how these same elements contribute to mood. The Christmas Carol unit also includes a trip to the North Shore Music Theater to see the story performed live.
Grade 8:
Like Grade 7 students, eighth graders have spent valuable classroom time understanding the relationship between making literature-based claims, prioritizing the most cohesive textual evidence and scaffolding the two into solid critical writing skills. Instruction and practice with these skills help students move from text-based summary to text-based analytical essays.
After Thanksgiving break, Grade 8 students, armed with claim-evidence-analysis skills from the first unit will begin class discussion and reading of Fahrenheit 451. Written in 1953 by Ray Bradbury, this dystopian novel has important and very timely themes about the value of ideas and literature in a technological world.
Guidance
November 10th marked the end of the first rotation of guidance classes, so we are currently at the beginning of the second rotation. The 6th Grade Group Guidance class are learning the value of "Reflection": Experience + Reflection = Wisdom. 7th Grade Group Guidance continues to look at mindfulness and stress relief techniques. The students in 8th Grade Group Guidance completed their resume writing portion of class. We have now moved onto completing a Learning Style Inventory on Naviance. After they complete the survey we will be working on matching various study habits to their specific learning styles. Lastly, the students in Embracing Diversity are examining Maurice Ogden's allegory "The Hangman" and discussing the fundamentals of "Discrimination".
Library
The Blake Summer Reading Pizza Party - the final event in our 20th annual edition of the Blake/Dale Summer Reading Program – took place last Tuesday, November 22. Each summer, our students are given the opportunity to read a variety of great books for both academic connection and pleasure. The cornerstone of the program is the all-school reading book. This year’s choice was Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus. All students also read a minimum of one additional book from their grade level list. Students also had the opportunity to read a total of 5 books (Heart of a Samurai plus four others from their grade list). Those who did this and also created a short video, podcast, comic strip or a short written review on one of the four additional books they read (not Heart of a Samurai) qualified for our big pizza party. Congratulations to these students on a job well done!
Mathematics
Now that our 6th grade mathematicians have fine tuned their ability to break apart numbers into factors and build them up into multiples, students are in the process of examining all sorts of fractions. We are all exploring the why behind the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division algorithms. “Why is it important to find a common denominator when adding or subtracting?” Time is given in class to examining that questions both theoretically and visually. Then, students are all presented with the common, standard algorithms used to work with fractional arithmetic. These methods will be what they use for good.
7th grade students are beginning a foundational unit in math classes: proportional reasoning. Building on the fraction skills learned through 6th grade, students are examining equivalent fractions and now include including variables or unknowns. The ability to think proportionally allows students to solve many types of science problems (distance & rate ones, for example). It also gives them an awareness of how money grows (or doesn’t) in their bank account...it certainly does not grow on trees:-)
In 7th grade, student delve into proportional thinking with fractions and equations. It is really a time for them to think deeply about what it means to have equivalent rational expressions. 8th grade student are currently expanding on this notion with an examination of rational functions. Can we determine a function that allows us to predict how long it will take us to reach 94th floor of a building given that it takes us 5 seconds to travel 105 feet? The answer is yes! Using rational functions, student predicted it will take them 34 seconds to do this. You may wish to try standing still for 34 seconds as some of our students did...you’ll be surprised how long it feels!
Music
Excitement is in the air as the 6th Grade Chorus is amping up for their first performance of the year on Thursday, Dec.8th. They will be singing their own music selections and combining with the 7th and 8th grade Chorus for a grand finale. Please make sure your child's concert attire is all set to go. Girls must wear all black---black shoes, hose/socks, pants or long skirt, black top. Boys will wear white dress shirt, tie of choice, and black pants/shoes/socks.
The Blake Jazz Choir is performing at the annual Celebration of Voices Assembly on November 23. They will be performing "Let it Be" by the Beatles, accompanied by Liam Nedell, Aidan Clarke, Kelly Morrison, and Tristan Boyer on guitar. Additionally, the Blake Jazz Choir has their first gig on Dec. 2nd. They will be performing carols at Brothers Marketplace for the Holiday Stroll. Stop on by between 4-5pm and support our young musicians.
November has been a time of preparation for our choral department at Blake! The Blake Middle School Choral Concert is coming up in 2 weeks on Thursday, December 8th at 7:00 pm.. The students have been working hard and have a wonderful program ready to perform. The 6th, 7th and 8th grade Choruses will be featured singing their own music selections. The concert will conclude with a grand finale combining all three Blake Choruses.
The Blake Jazz Choir, which is a newly formed 6th, 7th and 8th grade vocal ensemble, performed this month for the first time at the Celebration of Voices Assembly. They have their second "gig" on Dec. 2nd. They will be performing carols at Brothers Marketplace for the Holiday Stroll. Stop on by between 4-5pm and support our young musicians.
Grade Six General Music with Mrs. Stover
Students recently finished a unit on timbre completing a small group composition project to demonstrate their learning. Students chose a ‘soundscape’ to recreate using a minimum of three contrasting timbres. In addition each composition had to have two contrasting sections. Some of the soundscapes that our sixth grade students chose to recreate included: Starbucks; Salem at Halloween; fishing on the ocean….
Grade Seven Arts Rotation - Music with Mrs. Stover
Students recently finished up their grade seven music rotation “The History and Evolution of Rock and Roll.” The culminating project consisted of a research project. Students could choose between researching and presenting an interview with Paul McCartney of the Beatles or David Gilmour of Pink Floyd or to research a performing artist of their choice.
Grade Eight General Music
Students recently concluded the arts rotation on ‘The American Musical.’ For the culminating project students worked in small groups to propose an idea for an original musical that reflects a contemporary social theme or event. Students prepared and performed one scene from their musical along with a musical selection to support the action in the scene. Some social themes explored included bullying, gender equality, animal rights and immigration.
Science
Students in 6th grade were excited to learn how to define and demonstrate the difference between elements, molecules, mixtures, and compounds in November. Students used nearpods, virtual labs and games, created their own videos, and participated in group projects and hands-on labs, to investigate and develop an understanding of what makes each of these unique and important in forming the matter of our world/universe. Students had fun with a mad mixtures lab activity in particular and learned which tools are used to separate out various components in a mixture; tools included - magnets, screens, filters, and evaporating dishes! Our 6th graders are now learning how to discern the difference between a physical and chemical change. Using vinegar and chalk student partners demonstrated the main characteristics of each type of change. Ask them to show you their video! Leading up to Thanksgiving students will discuss and conduct an Endothermic and Exothermic Reaction lab during which they will measure and record the release and absorption of heat.
We have entered the microscopic world in seventh grade science. Students have been learning about the function and structure of cell parts. After creating cell organelles out of playdoh, students learned about the structure and function of each as well as their location within the cell. This activity allowed us to also compare plant and animal cells by looking at cell shape and comparing internal organelles. Students also prepared and looked at a variety of different cells as we continued to examine the difference between plant and animal cells. We examined; frogs blood, cork, onion, aloe and our own cheek cells! We could identify the nucleus, cytoplasm and cell membrane/cell wall in each cell. We will continue to study the organelles within the cell but our focus will shift to the function of each while we observe the differences between plant and animal cells in more depth. Students will be presenting what they have learned in the Explain Everything Cell Organelle Project. This is a very engaging and productive way to wrap up our study of cells. We are excited to see the finished projects!!!
Grade 8 science students are currently working on measurements in science, and the properties of matter: mass and volume. This unit features several hands-on “traditional” labs, as well as various technologies as tools for students to demonstrate and articulate their learning. This unit of study places a strong emphasis on the scientific method and data analysis, as these are processes and skills that are fundamental to the students’ current and future studies in STEM.
In the Introduction to Engineering course, students are making excellent headway in the construction of their solar cars. Utilizing the universal engineering design process, they have moved through conceptualizing their cars and are now experiencing the challenges of implementing their concepts through use of hand tools. For many students, this is the first time that they have constructed anything from “scratch”, and they have shown much growth over the past few weeks.
Social Studies
In sixth grade World Geography classes, students are learning about various mountain ranges of the world. The students learn not only their location, but they are conducting research to learn why mountains are important to people and the natural environment. As part of their assignment, students are engaged in a design thinking project where they must propose a solution to a problem facing a mountain in the world. Using selected mountains in addition to news articles and the UNESCO World Heritage Site website, students work in teams to explore the issues and propose a solution. This unit will run until mid-December when students will start investigating rivers of the world.
7th graders are well into their Ancient Civilizations unit on ancient Egypt. Egyptian civilization developed near the Nile River, a source of life in an otherwise geographically barren area. Students completed a 'pyramid builder' challenge where they learned about the various factors that go into the construction of a massive Old Kingdom pyramid. They have also studied Egyptian religion. Some people see the Egyptians as being obsessed with death, but in a way, they were really obsessed with life--the idea of eternal life after death. It is for this reason that the Egyptians invested so much time and resources into preparing tombs for their pharaohs and going through the mummification process. This unit will take students to the Thanksgiving break, and students are very much engaged in learning all sorts of new information.
In 8th grade World History I classes, students are now studying Islamic Empires. They will look at how governments develop such as the process of transferring power, and study the development of a theocracy. Students will study the advancement of technology in navigation and the military including the use of gun powered with cannons, early gun technology, and the influence of Islam in the world today such as the use of Arabic numbers. Finally, students will make connections between this unit and current events. 8th graders will have a stronger grasp on the origins and meanings of vocabulary words such as Shari'a, Sunni, Shii'a and jihad. These are just a few items which appear regularly in the news today.
Wellness
Health:
6th graders are finishing up the unit on accessing information. Students are learning how to access Accurate, Credible and Current, Easy to Use, and Supported information. Students today have a tremendous amount of information as well as misinformation at their fingertips. 6th graders are learning what to look for when accessing information that will allow them to effectively evaluate websites and choose the best ones to use in their research.
7th grade students have been working diligently on their 'ACES' research project. In this unit, students have been refining their ability to access reliable information online, while researching a variety of injuries and illnesses. All sources used during research must be Accurate, Credible & Current, Easy to access and Supported. Research has been done in small groups and organized into Google Presentations. All groups will present their findings to their class, emphasizing appropriate prevention strategies for all injuries and illnesses.
Students in 8th grade have been working on accessing mental health information and services using the ACES formula (Accurate, Credible/Current, Easy to Use/Understand, Supported.) Building on this skill from 6th and 7th grade Health, the objective is for students to analyze the validity of health information and services related to mental health issues and to determine the accessibility of trusted, reliable services and support systems that enhance that mental health of adolescents. Students demonstrated this through project-based activities.
Physical Education:
6th graders have begun fun new units participating in team handball and yoga. For four classes students are learning the rules and skills of handball through both practice drills and game play. Focus has been placed on developing student ability to dribble, pass and receive; familiar skills applied in a new setting. In the yoga studio, students are learning a variety of yoga poses over four classes which increase in complexity with each additional class. Balance has been the common skill emphasized throughout all poses and classes.
In 7th grade, students learned lacrosse and practiced yoga. In lacrosse, the emphasis was on throwing, catching, fielding ground balls and the concept of give and go. In yoga, students have been introduced to the etiquette of yoga as well as beginner poses and basic sequences.
8th graders have just participated in our annual Turkey Bowl football tournament. Nearly 100 participants brought in a non-perishable food item to support Medfield’s food cupboard! In the spirit of empathy, we discussed that there are less fortunate people who need help to feed themselves and their families during the holiday. This event is a great way to come together as a community as we end our unit on football, and to reinforce our theme of empathy.
Consumer Science:
The second rotation is officially underway, and we have welcomed a whole new group of students to consumer science classes! We are learning and reviewing how to prepare for cooking, to follow a recipe, to work together as a group, and to clean up after cooking. Students have prepared fruit smoothies, pancakes, French toast and waffles.
World Language
Sixth grade:
French students just wrapped up a unit on their likes and dislikes by creating a video presentation and sharing with their classmates. We enjoyed watching each others' videos and offering praise and ideas for quality boosters that can make our presentations even better in the future. Students are now beginning to learn their numbers all the way through soixante (60), and how to ask for and tell the time of day.
Chinese students finished Unit 1 lesson 3. At the end of the lesson, students can 1) gain a basic understanding of Chinese names and 2) identify more pinyin symbols.
Spanish students just finished their first Explain Everything presentations about classes that included everything from the time the class meets to the teacher's name and to how interesting/boring/easy/hard/strict/nice and fun the class and teachers are!
Seventh grade:
French students are beginning the France project. Each student will research one of the regions of France, as well as learn about the flag, Bastille Day, and the map. Students will present their regions in groups and gather at least two facts about the regions presented. Vive la France!
Mandarin students finished Unit 4 lesson 3. At the end of the lesson, students can 1) ask people how they are doing and 2) respond to people’s compliments in a culturally appropriate
way.
Spanish students did a wonderful job each presenting a famous Latino to their class. Their ability to express likes, dislikes, nationalities and other pertinent information impressed their peers and teachers!
Eighth grade:
French students have just finished a unit on the family, where they learned to identify and describe relatives. Students created family photo album books, with a short written and oral narrative about each family member. They will be presenting their albums to each other before we begin our next unit centered around the topic of food.
Mandarin students finished Unit 9 lesson 2. At the end of the lesson, students can 1) identify hobbies and express personal preference about them and 2)learn about Chinese musical instruments, songs, dances, and martial arts
Spanish students have been describing how they get ready in the morning. Currently they are creating commercials for personal hygiene products, for which they developed fun, new company names. They are demonstrating great creativity with their marketing skills, with some students even writing and singing jingles in Spanish!