7 White Newsletter
February 2016
What's happening on 7 White?
We have also participated in many spirit days, from flannel Friday, athletic day and purple day. In fact, 7 White was the Lancer Points champion for Term 2!! This is our second victory this year!!! Way to go 7 White!
Seven White students have continued with the Accelerated Reader with great success!! At the half way point, students have earned over 5,900 points - well on our way to our year end goal of 13,000 team points! Our team read-alouds have included Wind Rider and the Maze Runner. Thematic days followed the completion of each novel (see Maze Runner Day article). Students then voted for our next read-aloud novel.....Scorch Trials the second book in the Maze Runner series, won easily!
Reminder: Don't forget our team Symbaloo page! This page is updated often. You can find useful curriculum links, links to schoolbrains, edline and accelerated reader.
2016 Geography Bee
Term 2 Lancer Points Champs
Accelerated Readers
English
7 White English students have just begun a unit on poetry. They will be learning about various poetic devices and applying them to different poems. They will also be asked to discuss and analyze poems, and they will eventually compose their own poems, such as narratives, limericks, sonnets, and haikus.
Students have also been watching video clips and identifying poetic devices in pop culture, such as movies, commercials, and song lyrics. Students should be on constant look out for metaphors, simile, personification, imagery, hyperbole, etc. They were surprised to see how often figurative language occurs in the world around them in their daily lives.
We will continue to work on open responses and My Access prompts in order to prepare for MCAS and eighth grade. Students should always be encouraged to dedicate 3-5 nights per week (10-20 minutes each night) to revising submissions for My Access.
MCAS 2.0 will be coming up in March; 7W students will be ready!
Poetic Devices
English Students BYOD (bring your own device)
Similes and metaphors in pop culture
Social Studies
We’ve been busy in Room 224!
We’re about halfway through our unit on Ancient Egypt--always popular! Since winter vacation students have been working on a number of creative projects that not only demonstrate their own learning, but can also serve as instructional resources for other students. Don’t believe me? Check out the DBQ interview projects available on Google Classroom! I had no idea students had such a knack for video editing...and could do such spot-on impressions of the Kardashian family.
For the rest of the month of February we’ll focus on Egyptian religion and its impact on ancient Egyptian culture. This includes mummification!!! We’ll look at the religious significance of the process of mummification, the meaning of paintings on tomb walls, and we’ll try to mummify something ourselves (it could get a little smelly in class...I’ll stock up on some air fresheners!) You can expect to see some study guides for the test on ancient Egypt towards the first week in March.
Egypt isn’t only popular here in Norton, but we have a lot of ancient Egypt in the news right now! From the hunt for Nefertiti’s tomb to the prosecution of 8 museum employees who broke King Tut’s mask last year (yikes), if you need to take a break from the 2016 Presidential Race coverage there are plenty of articles available. Here are a few links to get you started:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/24/africa/king-tut-broken-mask-charges/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151126-nefertiti-tomb-tut-egypt-archaeology/
After Egypt we shift our attention West to ancient Greece. Stay updated with student work on Google Classroom, my Weebly page, and through my Twitter account.
Want daily facts and weekly schedules? Follow me on Twitter at @MrsGonetNMS!
Science Updates
Bald Faced Hornet Larvae
Bald Faced Hornet Hive
Bald Faced Hornet Hive
Insect Nest Exploration
Dissecting the Hive
Hive Cross Section
Science Updates cont.
Water Cycle Projects
Water Cycle Projects
Water Cycle Projects
Solar Cooker Project
STEM presentation
Question and Answers
For updates, pictures and enrichment articles follow me on Twitter! @MrsDalzellNMS
Curriculum Update; Mr. Manske's Math Class
We have just completed Chapter 6 which includes sections on ratios and rates, proportions, similar figures and scale drawings, probability and odds, fractions/decimals/percentages, proportions and percents, and percent of change including discounts and mark-ups. Next, we will learn how to solve multi-step equations, equations with variables on both sides, and two-step inequalities. We will also learn about transforming equations.
7 White Celebrates Maze Runner Day
Tips for Studying and Meeting with Success in School
We have now made it to the middle of the school year. This is a good time to review how you are doing this year and come up with ways to either continue to do well or improve your grades for the end of the year. The following is a list of basic tips for meeting with success in school. Please read this on your own or with your parents to remind you of ways you can do better in school.
Bring some form of agenda to school daily that you can use to write down all your daily assignments. Make a point of writing down your assignments during class when the teacher tells you to or during ICE when you have more time. Write down what your homework is accurately and neatly so that when you get home you know exactly what you need to get done. If you do not have an agenda, print out a weekly agenda sheet from edline. (click on: Department/ 7White teachers/ Mrs. Cannata/ homework helpers)
Be sure that you have everything you need to take home at the end of the day so that you can do your homework. Have a folder for any worksheets you may get. Look at you agenda when getting ready at the end of the day and be sure you have any books or binders you may need to complete your homework. Use a check off list if necessary to help you remember to bring the items you need home. (you can find a weekly check off list on edlline under: Department/ 7White teachers/ Mrs. Cannata/ homework helpers)
COMPLETE all your homework. Prioritize what homework is the most difficult or most time consuming and decide if you should do that first or last. If you get frustrated on an assignment, put it aside and work on something else then go back to it later. Do your best but don’t forget, homework is just practice to see if you know what you are doing. Even if you are not sure what to do, TRY IT. When we go over it in class, if you have tried it, you will be able to see where you made your mistakes and can fix them. IF you choose not to do any of it, you will have nothing to work with when we review. Homework lets the teacher know what students still need to work on, and what they know. If you do not even attempt homework, teachers do not know if you didn’t understand it, or if you just chose not to do it.
If you do not understand something that the teacher is teaching, you need to ask for help from a. the teacher, b. the learning specialist on the team, c. another student who is getting it, d. your parents, or if you are uncomfortable asking for help e. look up the information on the computer and see if that helps. (there are YOUTUBE videos to teach almost anything) Teachers are here to help you. Take advantage of ICE period, and before and after school extra help sessions to review. (ESPECIALLY before tests and quizzes.)
STUDY for tests and quizzes. Use the tools that the teacher has provided for you as well as the following tips for studying.
study guides (fill them out and if you don’t know something on the study guide and can’t find the answer in your notes, ask for assistance/clarification)
Keep all worksheets and old tests and quizzes to study by.
Keep your notebooks organized so it is easy to find the material you need to study.
Make flashcards for vocabulary of any type, or use QUIZLET if the teacher has been nice enough to put the words on it.
Come for extra help sessions offered by your teacher to review.
Create your own quiz of the important information and have someone quiz you
At home, take short breaks if you are studying for a long period of time. It helps you remember the material better. 1
Find a quiet place to study with good lighting and few distractions. 1
When studying a large amount of material for a test, or a long list of vocabulary, it is best not to wait until the night before to try to memorize the material. We remember better when we try to learn small chunks at a time. Study a little each night the week before the test and you will do better.
Make sure you understand the material and are not trying to just memorize everything and you will do better. 1
6. Be an active listener. Listening to the teacher in class and participating in the class discussions help you to better learn and understand the material in the first place.
7. Start off your day with a good breakfast to get a good start to the day. We do not learn well on an empty stomach. We need fuel to learn.
8. And finally, come to school with a positive attitude ready to learn. We are all learners. Some of us learn more quickly and more easily than others but we are all able to learn. However, learning and retaining that learning takes practice. A brain surgeon was not born knowing how to operate on a brain. He had to go to school for many years and do lots of practice before he was ready. A basketball, baseball, or football player does not become a pro by not studying and practicing. No matter how good he/she gets, they have to continue to practice and learn to be able to be the best and beat their opponents, who are practicing and learning new ways to beat them. We become better at learning when we come into school with a positive attitude and a willingness to do the work to learn. The rewards for working hard are great!
By Mrs. Cannata
1 http://www.testtakingtips.com/study/index.htm