Weekly Update #3
Cluster 5
Cluster Announcements
- No School Monday, October 10th for Indigenous Peoples' Day
English/Language Arts
Oct 11th- Oct 21st-
Here’s to hoping everyone had a wonderfully long (and well-deserved) weekend. It’s always so nice to start the school week on a Tuesday!
So far, in ELA class, there have only been TWO writing assignments with grading values. Because of this, on the progress reports posted in powerschool, there is a comment and a grade range. As work begins to ramp-up in ELA, many more assignments will count towards the overall grade for the term, and thus there may be movement between the grade range for the progress report and the overall grade (five weeks from now) on the quarter one report card.
Students have mostly completed their second round of narrative writing. They were tasked with describing an experience in their life that defines them based on a family/cultural experience. The skill development embedded in their narrative writing for this round includes using dialogue to help tell a story. For instance, instead of writing to the reader, I woke up late and almost missed the bus, a strong writer may write, “Get out of bed,” screamed my brother from downstairs, “You’re going to miss the bus.” This will be a targeted skill that we try to reinforce in their writing throughout their 8th grade year.
Very soon, we will be starting our 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. Click Here for a quick summary of Warcross on goodreads.
Take care and please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Science
October 7, 2022
This week in science we were focusing on evidence for continental drift. We had the amazing opportunity to collaborate with Ms. Brenon-Hodas in the Makerspace to learn about the laser-cutter and begin a puzzle project where students will make a template of their specific type of evidence for continental drift on a template. That template will then be cut out in wood and engraved with the pattern they have chosen to represent fossils, landforms, or glacial scratches on the continents.
Here’s what coming in the next few weeks:
1.4 I can explain how the spreading of the ocean floor has created new crust and contributed to plate movement.
I can construct a model to show the process of seafloor spreading.
I understand that oceanic trenches are areas where old crustal plates are remelted into the mantle.
I can explain how mid-ocean ridges are locations where tectonic plates move apart and create new crust.
1.5 I can describe how different types of plate boundaries cause the formation of different types of landforms.
I can provide evidence and reasoning to support the theory of plate tectonics.
I can differentiate between the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics.
I can identify and describe different types of plate boundaries.
I can label plate boundaries on a map.
I can understand how different densities of crustal plates affect their behavior at plate boundaries and create a conveyor belt effect.
I can compare and contrast different types of volcanoes, and explain how they are each formed.
Civics
October 7, 2022
For the past few weeks, students have been learning about some of the basics of government. We’ve explored the purpose of government, the definition of democracy, and the relationship between democracy and community. Students also learned about the paths to citizenship, and the duties and responsibilities citizenship carries. They took a quiz on those learning targets, and learned the routine and procedure for how to retake quizzes and revise their work. My goal is for all students to get in the habit of regularly revising their work all year long to best show their mastery of our content and standards!
Now, students are beginning to learn about the levels and branches of government, which will prepare them for our non-partisan mini-unit about elections coming up in the next few weeks. Eventually, students will create a presentation about a member of government to share with the class.
Current Learning Targets:
I can define government and explain what its purpose is.
I can define democracy and reflect on its meaning.
I can explain how democracy and community are related.
I can explain the two ways people can become citizens of the United States.
I can name the duties and responsibilities of citizens.
I can name the levels and branches of government, and identify people who work in them.
Math -10/7
Next week, the students will have the option to retake their first quiz on Tuesday. This will be followed with their second quiz being graded. This quiz will be returned on Wednesday of this upcoming week. There will also be a retake available to all students who complete test corrections for this assessment prior to the retake day.
We will be wrapping up our first unit within the next week and the students will have their Unit one assessment the week of 10/17. This assessment will most likely take place on Monday October 17th.
As always if you have any questions or concerns please let me know.
English Language Development classes
Developing (ELD 3)
This week, our class learned more about the elements of fiction and how to identify them in a story. We also learned how to use cause and effect to express ideas about the plot and theme of the story. As we continue to work on our values unit, we will read folktales, learn vocabulary, continue to practice identifying the elements of fiction and begin to study prepositions and prepositional phrases.
Expanding (ELD 4)
This week students continued practicing their skills in making observations and inferences, and giving reasons. They began a critical exploration of the poem Where I’m From, and after sharing annotations and academic discussion, they will write their own “Where I’m From” poems.
Contact staff directly
Edward.Cafua@watertown.k12.ma.us - MATH
Karen.Kline@watertown.k12.ma.us - CIVICS
Sheila.Gilmartin@watertown.k12.ma.us - EL
Brian.Donato@watertown.k12.ma.us - SPECIAL EDUCATION / MATH
Daniel.Skop@watertown.k12.ma.us - ENGLISH
Christine.Sorenson@watertown.k12.ma.us - READING
Elissa.Willoughby@watertown.k12.ma.us - SCIENCE
Thomas.Cloherty@watertown.k12.ma.us - GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
Website: https://wms.watertown.k12.ma.us/