Monday, September 19, 2016

**Mrs. Byrd’s Class Picture Day - Wednesday, September 21st @ noon**

Projects- All of that studying of the body systems paid off today, as the class completed their final assessment. The remainder of the week will be dedicated to learning about photosynthesis and how it

7th Grade Reading- This week we will continue to make our way through Two Miserable Presidents. The class has done an excellent job of discussing the reasons that set up the US for the civil war in the first place. I was also extremely proud of the class for using format matters while answering comprehension questions and summarizing the current events of our world today during Flocabulary. I hope that their dinner conversations at home are just as great as the ones that they have in our class discussions.

7th Grade Writing- We are finishing up our Electoral College essays this week. We also started quick writes with prompts. I sure have missed listening to the kids share their work. Today we heard from two students that wrote about role models and not surprisingly, they both wrote some really great pieces about their family members.

8th Grade Reading- Ancient Egypt will be our reading topic this week. The class will be making the connections as to how this ancient civilization helped with the foundation of today’s.   

Wowzers, we are officially half way through the first quarter. Here's to another week full of learning and exploring.

Projects:

These guys are rocking the Body Systems project. Their posters are looking great! I’ve got a couple pictures of the kids working on them in our ClassDojo Story, be sure to check them out! We’ve got one more day to work on finishing up the organs, labels, functions, diseases and disorders. Thursday the groups will present their posters to the class, explaining the ins and outs of their assigned body system. Then Monday, we will have our final assessment.

Reading:

We are starting Two Miserable Presidents; The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War by Steve Sheinkin this week and the class couldn’t be more excited. (Okay, I’m sure they could be, but I’ll take what I've got!) For the first chapter, we will be focusing more on the reasons the country was being torn apart and how it wasn’t only due to slavery. We will also continue our work on annotating poems, paying close attention to the mood and tone that is created.

Writing:

Has your kiddo come home with questions about the Electoral College? If not, ask them about it. We have been and will continue working on informational essays explaining the role and purpose of the Electoral College in a U.S presidential election. This has been a tough topic and really working through the entire writing process from reading information, making lists, informal outlines, and rough drafts has been essential.

8th Reading:

This week is all about ancient civilizations! We have been reading information texts about the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas Empire. The class has been quite intrigued by their religious practices, cultures, and economy. Just as an FYI, during our read to self time, the students will need to have an actual book. Unfortunately, reading from their phones is no longer an option. Thanks for understanding.

Week Four

I hope that everyone is having an excellent end to a fun and extra long weekend! I am excited to get started on week four. I can’t believe we are nearly halfway through the first quarter already!

Class Dojo!

As many of you already know, we are using ClassDojo in our room this year to encourage important skills, like working hard and participating. I’m also working on using it to better communicate with you: we can instantly share messages, updates and photos from that happenings in our classroom. Most of our parents have already signed up to join. Thank you so much, you guys seriously rock! I just wanted to make sure you also knew that there is a free mobile app for iOS and Android that might make it even easier to use. :)

Tomorrow we will dive deeper into our Body Systems project. The class has been assigned their group members and body system. This week groups will be researching the organs, their functions, and disorders and diseases related to their body system. Eventually groups will be putting all of this information onto life sized posters that will be used to teach the rest of the class.

This week we are reading and annotating passages that give a snapshot of the life and economies of the north and south in the years leading up to the Civil War. One idea that we have really found interesting is how the Southern states had become increasingly more dependent on slave labor while the Northern states came to depend on a commercial economy. From the readings this week, the class should come to understand why more than half of Ireland’s population came to the US, the impacts that diseases like cholera, typhoid, and yellow fever had, and the rise of labor unions in the North.

During our writing block, we will continue to work on our informational essay to the prompt; What is the electoral college? Explain its role/purpose in a U.S. presidential election. We are focusing on writing strong thesis statements, that will set up the essay. We will also center our attention on setting up an organization chart that will help keep the facts the kids want to use in their essay straight.

Our 8th graders have made their way through history, reading about the lives of hunters and gatherers and how they developed into early farming societies. We’ve been focusing on pulling out  just the main idea and important details while taking notes and annotations. This week we will continue practicing these skills as we read passages and complete notes on the Incas, Aztecs and Mayas.