Cluster 4 Update
Friday, March 17, 2023 CE
Cluster 4 Math Class with Mr. Martin (updated 3/16)
REMINDERS:
Charged Chromebooks
Bring a pencil and pen to class!
Hello Cluster 4 Families!
We finished the first half of Unit 5 and are almost finished with the second half of Unit 5. Students took a quiz to show their understanding of adding and subtracting both positive and negative numbers. In the second half of this unit, we learned strategies to multiply and divide both positive and negative numbers.
We will have practice/review days following the end of lesson 10, and then have an end-of-unit test on Friday.
Our next unit will be focused on algebra, writing expressions, and solving equations and inequalities.
Section 2: Multiplying and Dividing (Lessons 6–10)
Students extend what they learned in Section 1 to make sense of multiplying and dividing positive and negative numbers. Sections 1 and 2 prepare students to solve equations with positive and negative numbers in Unit 6.
Lesson 6 uses the context from Lessons 1 and 2 to interpret expressions like `3(-5)` as three groups of `5` anchors.
Lesson 7 introduces students to a new context for making sense of multiplying with negative numbers: distance, rate, and time on a number line. Students answer questions about what a turtle’s position would have been in the past (negative time) or if a turtle is moving to the left on the number line (at a negative rate).
Lesson 8 extends the context of distance, rate, and time to introduce division with positive and negative numbers.
Lesson 9 asks students to reason more generally about the sign and value of expressions that involve each of the four operations. Students order different expressions from least to greatest based on values for different variables.
Lesson 10 incorporates a similar puzzle element to Lesson 5 as students aim to use positive and negative integers to create the greatest possible value of an expression.Social Studies with Ms. Lorigan (3/17/23)
Social Studies students are engaged in a new unit on trade and commerce. Specifically, we are looking at the Silk and Maritime Routes of trade and cultural exchange. Learning is focused on answering the following questions: What would a traveler or trader on the Silk Routes experience? and What were the most important goods and ideas that moved on the Silk Routes?
Students are continuing to work on many important social studies skills: executive functioning, nonfiction reading, map-reading, using multiple sources, using a table of contents in a book, and extracting key information as it relates to the learning targets. Students are able to access the social studies content through complementary texts and videos on Google Classroom.
Learning Targets:
I can describe the purposes and features of exchange on the Silk Routes.
I can generate inquiry questions and identify sources and information relevant to answering them.
English Language Arts with Ms. McDonagh - updated 3/17/2023
As we move into the second half of our narrative writing unit, students are beginning the writing process for a second narrative. For each narrative, students are studying a mentor text, then emulating the author’s style in their own writing. Each story steps through the planning, drafting, and revision process. By working with peers, students are learning so much from each other as fellow writers. Each day focuses on a mini-lesson for writers’ craft including pacing, description, compelling introductions and conclusions, interior monologue, dialogue and word choice. Next up, students will choose one of their narratives to polish, edit and finalize and compile into a booklet. This year, our students writing is impressive! Ask to read your child’s story -- you will enjoy what they have produced.
Here’s a little taste of student’s favorite lines of description:
"I was transfixed by its tiny pitch black and green eyes that looked like a drop of paint in the dead of midnight."
“I saw huge, thrashing waves charging toward us”
“Just a small grey hairy lump with a long pink tail sprouting from the back.”
“But looking at the clear waves, which seemed to reach out to us as it splashed onto the shore”
“Big bold pearly whites as big as your fingers’
“Flick, Flick’ the cameras click”
“I could feel its claws on my shoulder like a butter knife”
“Hundreds of legs, brownish green exoskeleton, about the size of my index finger, and running across the floor”
“I watch the dog as it progresses further, barely hearing the sound of the dog's tiny paws going pit-patt-pit-patt as it scatters across the rough asphalt”
“Its coat was a dark, deep shade of black, similar to the sky at midnight"
Independent reading is a focus again this term. Every day, students' homework is to read for 20-30 minutes per day. With this pace, students usually complete close to 100 pages per week (which varies with how dense the text is on the page.) Students can use support at home with independent reading. Think about playing an audio book next time you have a long car ride. Remember, kids love to be read to…they are not too young to have you read to them at home.
Mentor Texts RL4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning, tone, or mood, including the impact of repeated use of particular images. RL5 Analyze how aspects of a literary work’s structure contribute to its meaning or style Independent Reading RL10 Independently and proficiently read and comprehend literary texts representing a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives and exhibiting complexity appropriate for at least grade 7.
Narrative Writing W3 Write narratives to develop experiences or events using effective literary techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured sequences. a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an appropriate narrative sequence. b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another. d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and figurative and sensory language to establish a mood that evokes an emotion, to capture action, and to convey experiences or events. e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. W4 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. W5 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. b. Demonstrate the ability to select accurate vocabulary appropriate for audience and purpose (as described in Language Standards 4–6 up to and including grade 7).
L1 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; retain and further develop language skills learned in previous grades. a. Use phrases and clauses to communicate ideas precisely, with attention to skillful use of verb tenses to add clarity. L2 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing a. Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., a fascinating, enjoyable movie). b. Spell correctly, recognizing that some words have commonly accepted variations (e.g., donut/doughnut).
Language-Based English Language Arts with Mrs. Sullivan (3/16)☘️
Vocabulary games ignited the class as they prepared to take the final Vocabulary Checkpoint assessment. Students practiced key passage vocabulary demonstrating an understanding of examples, non-examples, synonyms, and antonyms. Writing consisted of using student-generated two-column notes. Through text analysis, students could orally share key information, write a topic and concluding sentence, and write an explanatory paragraph. Other class activities included journal writing, poetry analysis, and Words Their Way.
The students are looking forward to the connections of science and reading as Unit 5 introduces the “big ideas” of toxic waste, pollutants, and the changing of our environment.
L 7.4: Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
W 7.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W 7.5: Develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing,rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Science with Ms. MacAulay - updated 3/17/2023
We continue to learn about chemistry principles in science class. Students have modeled and distinguished between atoms and molecules, learned how to name simple compounds and write some chemical formulas. We are currently engaged in the details of photosynthesis, which students have modeled using LEGO pieces and are using as a tool to understand the Law of Conservation of Mass.
Chemistry Learning Targets:
Recognize that there are more than 100 elements that combine in a multitude of ways to produce compounds that make up all of the living and nonliving things that we encounter.
Differentiate between an atom (the smallest unit of an element that maintains the characteristics of that element) and a molecule (the smallest unit of a compound that maintains the characteristics of that compound).
Give basic examples of elements and compounds.
Differentiate between mixtures and pure substances.
Recognize that a substance (element or compound) has a melting point and a boiling point, both of which are independent of the amount of the sample.
Differentiate between physical changes and chemical changes.
Explain and give examples of how mass is conserved in a closed system.