Monday, November 28

I hope that everyone is recovering from their Thanksgiving feasts and celebrations. It's wild to think that we are making our way into December this week!

During projects we have come to the end of our heredity and genetics studies with a focus on asexual reproduction and epigenetics. On Thursday we will take the final exam.

7th Grade Reading has been busy reading about the periods after the Civil War with the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. The class has had excellent discussions about the tycoons; Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan, and how much control they had over the country. Making their fortunes on the backs of the working class.

Writing- This week we started sentence diagramming. It was a bit of a struggle at first, but once the class saw these diagrams like a picture of a sentence and treated them more like puzzles, they actually started having fun with it. We have also been studying the eight parts of speech, which will be tested on Thursday. Narrative writing in the works as well. The topic is “A Day in the Life of _____”. So far their brainstorming ideas have been hilarious and I can't wait to see the stories they come up with.  

8th Grade Reading block has continued to make its way through the Middle Ages. This week we have been focused on reading and studying the Black Plague, effects of the Crusades, as well as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the novel, King Arthur’s and his Knights of the Round Table.

Monday, November 7th

This week in projects we are continuing to make our way through the world of DNA, chromosomes, genes, and Punnett squares. The class has shown a ton of interest and curiosity about this subject. It is so neat to see those “aha” moments when they realize how and why we are they way we are.

In reading we worked on Flocabulary today, getting up to date with our current events and yes, counting down to election day. I was impressed with how correct our group was with their predictions on this week’s topics. We are also planning on finishing up our Two Miserable Presidents this week as we read the last chapter, “A Bloody Road to Richmond.” The class will receive a study guide for their final test so that they can study over the weekend if they choose.

We are honing in on our arguing skills this week. The class is working on including background knowledge, a claim, reasons, evidence, and a counterclaim to create a good argumentative essay. I am loving the research these kids are using to support their claims.

8th Grade Reading- This week the class will learn about the Middle Ages and various aspects of it by reading and discussing one of the greatest legends of all time in the novel, King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. Wednesday we will work on poetry,  reading a poem and annotating it to apply critical thinking strategies and gain deeper meaning.

Monday, October 31

Happy Halloween!

I made it back to the states after a wild adventure with polar bears, and to no surprise my 7th graders were awesome while I was gone. Today was so fun telling the class about the arctic ecosystem and showing them my photos of the polar bears and other denizens of the north.  

Just a quick reminder, there is no reading or math homework tonight. Enjoy the time out with your kiddos and be safe out there! I also wanted to thank everyone that supplied treats for both the middle school dance and our party this afternoon. You guys rock.

I’m happy to see that so many of you have already signed up for our parent/teacher conferences on Friday. If you haven’t had a chance to sign up, there are still quite a few open slots. Also, if you have any questions or need a different time/date, please do not hesitate to contact me.

This week….

We are starting a new project this week focusing on heredity. This week the class will be studying dominant and recessive genes as well as Mendel's theory of inheritance.

This week in reading we are continuing to move our way through the novel, Two Miserable Presidents and dive even deeper into a few of the 10,000 battles of the Civil War. I love how well the class has done with tracking the parallels between Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln during this time of war.  

During writing, the class is honing in on their argumentative writing skills. So if you find that you kiddos is backing up their arguments with reasons and evidence, give them a high-five for me!

8th grade reading is taking off on Middle Ages. We will be beginning our King Arthur novel soon. I am excited to see what the class already knows about this exciting time in history.

October 10th

Welcome to the last week of the quarter! I’ve got a couple announcements for you.

*Thank you so much to those of you that have already signed up to bring treats to our Middle School Halloween Dance. You guys are seriously such an awesome group of parents, I don’t know what we would do without you.

*We’ve got auctions on Wednesday. Please have your kiddo bring in something that they would like to make available to the class to bid on with their class cash/dojo points.

*It’s Fall Break next week! No school October 17-21

*Mrs. Byrd- In Canada the week after fall break photographing polar bears. We have Mrs. Swan as our amazing sub that I have no doubt will take excellent care of your kiddos while I am out.

*Middle School Dance - October 28th Oasis 6:00-10:00
Costumes $5 / No Costume $7

Projects- We are continuing with our research of endangered species. The groups are really becoming experts on their animals and coming up with great plans on how to get them closer to getting off the endangered list. They will have the Monday we return from Fall break to practice and rehearse their presentations, then the real deal will be on Tuesday the 22nd.

7th Grade Reading- We are continuing with our Two Miserable Presidents novel, this week the focus has been on why both the Northern president Lincoln and the Southern president Davis were indeed so miserable.  

7th Grade Writing- The class is finishing up their three causes of the Civil War cause and effect essays. At the end of the week we will research an animal and compare and contrast it to a family member, example: My Grandmother is a Sea Turtle.

8th Grade Reading- The 8th grade class is finishing up the quarter with reading and researching world religions, Students will work in teams to create presentations that identify and describe the five key world religions: Christianity, Hindu, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism.

Monday, October 3rd

Hello October! We have a busy week ahead of us as we make our way into the end of the first quarter.

Projects- We are moving deeper into ecosystems and researching endangered species as teams. Each group will work as research scientists to educate themselves about an endangered species and determine what has caused to be on the endangered species list. Next they will take what they have researched to develop a plan of recovery to present to “Congress.”

7th Grade Reading- This week the class will move further into our Two Miserable Presidents novel, focusing on a few of the key leaders for the Confederate and Union armies.

7th Grade Writing- Students will use the book Two Miserable Presidents to cite evidence for writing about three causes of the Civil War. Through using their cause and effect reading and writing strategies, students will compile their informative essays.

8th Grade Reading- Our 8th graders continue to respond to critical thinking questions and class discussions about the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. At the end of the week, they will have a checkpoint to assess their knowledge of ancient civilizations and their societal, religious, political and technological influences on modern society.

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.