Tuesday, March 28

Welcome to the 4th Quarter! I hope that everyone had an awesome Spring Break, and from the stories I have heard from your kiddos, it sounds like most of you did!

Just a quick reminder, we have Student-Led Parent Conferences this Friday. Please see the email I sent on the 16th for more details and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

In projects this quarter we are moving on in our Social Studies curriculum to World War II. This week we will focus on recapping the Treaty of Versailles and the end of WWI, then we will move into more causes that led the world into our second huge war.

In reading this week we will continue mastering root words, touch base on current events with Flocabulary, and work on some figurative language. The class is getting better and better at identifying these types of literary devices.

Writing this week has been so fun! The kids are practicing their evaluation skills by reading and writing their own reviews on books and films that they have recent experience with. They will also practice identifying propaganda techniques used in print ads.

Our 8th grade reading class finished up To Kill a Mockingbird just before we left for Spring Break. Yesterday we viewed the film and for the next week or so the kids will spend each reading block studying, arranging and formulating discussion points in preparation for our Paideia Seminar.

Tuesday, March 7th

Hello March! 

We sure are busy as we finish up this third quarter. The class has so many huge projects that they have been giving their all. I am extremely proud of each and every one of them. 

In projects we are finishing up our Great Depression websites this week. The last day to work on them will be the 14th, then on the 15th & 16th each student will have an opportunity to share their site to the class. Their pages sure are coming around, each kiddo has been working diligently on a collection of pages for their website that includes the causes of the Great Depression, daily life, the Dust Bowl, the role of government, as well as art and culture. I have been lucky enough to be keeping tabs on the sites along the way, but I am really looking forward for the kids to publish and share their hard work. 

Reading has been full of studying, arranging and formulating discussion points in preparation for out Outsiders  Paideia Seminar. I have been conferencing with students over the last handful of days and they have their topics of giving advice, theme, teen problems, and movie vs. novel down solid. On Wednesday and Thursday the kids will finally get to their chance to share their skills. I am looking forward to the discussions this group will have on one of our favorite books of the year! 

This week in writing we are powering through another state task. This time around it is an argumentative essay. The class will work together in groups on a collaborative essay this week, then an unassisted one next week using the skills we have practiced. A couple key ideas that we are honing in on with argumentative writing include making a claim, sticking to it, and supporting it with reasons and evidence. Another skill that they are asked to include in 7th grade is adding a counterclaim. So far they are rocking the assignment. 

8th grade reading has just about finished the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The class is getting better and better with having class discussions using habits of discussion. I am always impressed with the ideas and conversations they have about the topics of the book.