Friday, October 21st Updates

Cluster 5

Cluster Announcements

Conferences

Sign up for student-led conferences using the link in your email from your child's advisory teacher. Dates and times are as follows:

Thursday 10/27

1-3 pm virtual

5-7 pm in person

Tuesday 11/1

1-3 pm in person

6-8 pm virtual

Star Students of the Week

Layla Hadad for Science
Victoria Kermanidis for Civics
Pedro Santana for Science

English/Language Arts

Oct 24th- Nov. 7th-

Fall is coming at us in full force and there’s nothing I love more than Fall in New England!

For the next few weeks in ELA class, students will be reading their first whole-class novel, Warcross by Marie Lu. Students will be expected to read some of the novel independently (at home). Please try to engage in conversations about the book with your 8th grader- and encourage reading some of the novel at home.

In class, students are engaging in mini lessons on targeted reading skills, and using sticky notes to show their understanding as they read. Students are engaged in thoughtful conversations about the book and are invested in the reading of the novel. We will pair our reading with building our skills around persuasive writing. As they read, the students are tracking "direct evidence" from the text. They combine this evidence with "reasoning" and will soon be using these to strengthen their writing.

-Click Here for a quick summary of Warcross on good reads.

-🔊Audiobook available for all students on SORA

- 💻📖 DIGITAL copy of the book available for all students on SORA (no more, “I forgot my book at school!” comments lol)

Take care and please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Science

October 21, 2022

Last week we learned about plate tectonics, a theory that ties together concepts from our previous weeks studying earth science. Next week we will learn about volcanoes and then begin reviewing all the content from the Earth Science unit (Unit 1 Learning Objectives), in preparation for a cumulative unit test and a project. The Earth Science Unit Test is scheduled for Monday, October 31st for all classes. Use this link to find additional study materials.

After the Unit Test, students will start the final activity in the earth science unit: the life story of a landform. Students will select a landform to research and then create a presentation to tell their landform's creation story and history. They will create a model to represent their landform.

Learning Objectives for next week (10/24-10/28):

Review content from the unit to prepare for Unit Test

Learning Objectives for after the Unit Test (11/1-11/4):

I can explain and create models to show how the Earth is a dynamic system.
I can explain how movement of tectonic plates created a specific landform.

Civics

October 21, 2022

Our Civics classes are well on their way to understanding the structure of government! We’ve learned about the big picture of government having three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) and three levels (federal, state, and local). Now, we’re diving in more deeply to each branch, learning about their unique powers and responsibilities.

Next week, we’ll apply our new knowledge of government to a non-partisan unit on the 2022 Elections. Students will learn election vocabulary, study what’s on the Massachusetts ballot (both candidates and issues), and research the candidates in the race for governor of Massachusetts.

Current Learning Targets:

I can name the powers of the legislative branch.
I can explain how a bill becomes a law.
I can understand the responsibilities and powers of the President.
I can understand the size of the executive branch and name some of the work it does.

Math - 10/21/22

During this week students have started to learn about dilations and scale factor. A dilation is when we make a shape bigger or smaller. This happens when the scale factor is greater than 1, which makes the shape bigger. If the scale factor is less than 1 then we are making the shape or figure smaller.

Next week, the students will get back their first test grade of the year and term. They will have the opportunity to retake this assessment. They will also have a quiz next week on Thursday or Friday depending on when I see them. This assessment will be on scale factor and dilations. All my grades and assignments are posted in PowerSchool so make sure you take a look to see how your student is doing.

As always if you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

English Language Development classes

Developing (ELD 3)

Over the past week we worked on prepositional phrases and how they act to connect ideas in a story. We also read fables together working in pairs while practicing making summaries of what was read. We learned about using the past tense to convey meaning and practiced irregular verbs. For next week, we look forward to beginning work on comparing and contrasting the structure and meaning of a work of fiction across texts.

Expanding (ELD 4)

After giving kind, specific, and helpful feedback to their fellow poets, students are working on their second drafts of their Where I’m From poems. Next week they will explore Kwame Alexander’s poem Here’s What I Remember to practice making observations and inferences–vocabulary and skills which they use in science and social studies. By the end of next week, students will finalize their poems and publish them in Book Creator, a multimedia digital book-making tool. We hope to be able to share them with you during conferences!