Cluster 4 Update
October 25, 2023
See more pics on Instagram @wmscl4!
Book Fair!!
The book fair is next week (10/30-11/3)!
Our general book fair schedule is as follows:
- Monday - 6th Grade ELA
- Tuesday - 7th Grade ELA
- Wednesday - 8th Grade ELA
- Thursday - ELD, Connections, LB English, LSP, Reading
- Friday - Half day for students who forgot money. Fair will be packed up second half of day
Students, families, and teachers can shop the fair online as well using our school fair’s homepage. The online fair will be open for an additional week.
eWallets
Please consider donating to a school-wide eWallet that will go towards ensuring all students are able to purchase a book at the fair. If you know of any particular students who would benefit from this fund, please let me know. Book fairs should be a fun, exciting experience and we want to ensure no students feel left out. Please disregard where it says 7th grade in the link (Scholastic makes you choose a grade). This is to benefit all grades.
Please make sure students have pencils & notebook paper!
SCIENCE with Ms. MacAulay
We have delved into the digestive system to learn about food breakdown, and now are investigating the nutrients that are in our food and how our body uses these. As students learn about these essential biomolecules, they are finding out what elements thay are made up of as well as what foods they are found in. Students are connecting specific nutrient molecules to cell parts to better understand how our bodies are made.
Our next focus is the circulatory system. Along with learning the workings of that system, students will explore how the circulatory system interacts with the digestive system and other body systems.
Biology standards
6.MS-LS1-3. Construct an argument supported by evidence that the body systems interact to carry out essential functions of life.
8.MS-LS1-7. Use informational text to describe that food molecules, including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, are broken down and rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support cell growth and/or release of energy.
Meet Mrs. Annmarie Carey, Cluster 4 Instructional Assistant!
Mrs. Carey is an avid reader, always with a compelling recommendation to share with her colleagues. She spends time outside of school with her three (soon to be four!) grandchildren. Fun facts are that her favorite color is purple and during her high school and college years, she was a swimming instructor and lifeguard at Crystal Lake in Newton. Thank you Mrs. Carey for all your help with Cluster 4 students!
Social Studies with Ms. Lorigan
We have embarked on our first history unit of the year: South and Central Asia!
The essential questions -- which truly connect across geographic region and historical time period -- are as follows:
How does where you live influence how you live?
How do belief systems reflect and influence society?
How much influence do leaders have over the success of a society?
The four sub-sections of this unit are as follows:
I. Geography of South and Central Asia
How do geography and climate influence the development of societies and the lives of people in South and Central Asia?
II. Harappan Society
If you were a curator, which three artifacts would you choose to communicate what is most important about Harappan society?
III. Post-Harappan Developments in South Asia
What are the origins and essential beliefs of the religious traditions that developed in ancient South Asia?
IV. Kingship and Golden Ages in Ancient India and Central Asia
How did the Mauryan Empire use philosophical ideas and belief systems to guide its leadership?
Who created the Golden Ages of India and Central Asia?
So far, we have made maps of both Central and South Asia, played multiple geography games of the region, done a brief compare and contrast mini case study of the Aral Sea and Ganges River, and experimented with a LOT of cause-and-effect language in short writing pieces.
MassCue 2023 WMS Presenters
Last week, Kerri Lorigan and Sarita Spillert, presented at MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer-Using Educators) at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. After presenting, they were invited to also submit the same presentation to SRIA (School Redesign in Action Conference in March).
The Beauty of Blended Learning
Overwhelmed by the range of students’ knowledge and skills? Come hear how self-paced, blended learning can engage students. Learn how to structure Google Classroom and create instructional videos and hyper docs to teach content and create independent and reflective learners.
Cluster 4 Math with Mr. Martin
Hello,
We’re two months into the school year and we’ve been working a lot with scaling and proportional reasoning. We have created scale models, read maps, and learned how to connect proportional stories, tables and equations. Creating equations has made our math look a little different since we have introduced variables. Our next unit will focus on the circumference(proportional) and area (non-proportional) of circles.
Student Goals in Unit 2 - Proportional Reasoning
- I know that two paint mixtures will look the same if the ingredients are in equivalent ratios.
- I can use equivalent ratios to generate the same color paints.
- I can identify patterns in tables that represent proportional relationships.
- I can use a table to calculate unknown quantities in a proportional relationship.
- I can determine the constant of proportionality from a table and explain what it means.
- I can use the constant of proportionality to calculate unknown information in a table.
- I can justify whether a table represents a proportional relationship or not.
- I can explain where to find the constant of proportionality as a value in a table.
- I can write equations to represent proportional relationships.
- I can connect each part of an equation of the form 𝑦 = 𝑘𝑥 to the situation it represents.
- I can use an equation to solve problems involving a proportional relationship.
- I can explain what reciprocal means and how it is related to constants of proportionality.
- I can write two equations for the same proportional relationship.
- I can explain why a relationship is proportional or not by looking at the equation.
- I can explain what a proportional relationship looks like when represented with a graph.
- I can justify if a graph represents a proportional relationship or not.
- I can interpret points on the graph of a proportional relationship.
- I can identify the constant of proportionality from a graph of a proportional relationship.
- I can write an equation of a proportional relationship from a point on a graph.
- I can compare related proportional relationships based on their graphs.
- I can create four different representations of a proportional relationship (description, table, graph, equation).
- I can model a real-world situation by deciding what information is important and making assumptions.
- I can use proportional relationships to answer a question about a real-world situation.
Scale factor & proportional relationship test review!
Scale factor & proportional relationship test review!
Scale factor & proportional relationship test review!
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS with Ms. McDonagh
Our “Where I’m From” final showcase is a highlight this week as we wrap up this poetry unit. This is the publishing stage of the writing process and it is a wonderful leap of courage for our blossoming writers!! I am so proud of them. During our showcase, students will read and are coached to respond to each other's poems with kind, specific, and helpful feedback. The goal of the poem was to emulate the original poem by George Ella Lyon, to practice annotation and figurative writing skills.
As a final culmination, Writing their favorite lines in chalk on the sidewalk, students will make their words welcome and inspire those who are entering our building.
Thank you all for your help and support as your students interviewed you for their “Memory Hunting” assignment. Having your memories, words, and recollections gave our student-writers very helpful support to gather ideas for their poems. Next up: Short Stories.
Our daily homework for ELA is to read! Get in the habit of reading 20-30 minutes a day of a book of your choice! This is usually the only homework for ELA. Each Friday, students need to bring their books to class for a book check. Every 4-6 weeks, I tally their progress for an assessment grade. If students are reading prose books, they should aim for about 50 pages per week. If they are reading graphic novels or books in verse, they will need to read more. Every student needs to read at home daily. Please support your student by helping them set aside time at home to read, helping them get books, and talking with them and or reading with them.
"Where I'm From" Poetry Showcase!
Students practiced sharing "Kind and Specific" feedback.
"Where I'm From" Poetry Showcase!
ELA with Mrs. Sullivan
The class continued with drafting “Where I’m From” poems with the use of writing rubrics. Students were scored on emulating Lyon’s poem (structure, style, and specific word choice), with details from their own life. Here is the original “Where I’m From’ poem by George Ella Lyon. (Lyon's Poem)
Language Live has been focused on word identification that has multiple functions (nouns and verbs) in sentences and with identifying adverbs and prepositional phrases in sentences. Reading and analysis of informational texts is ongoing. As a reader or listener, one needs to constantly monitor their understanding of a text. Students are practicing asking questions based on informational text to determine if their questions have been answered. Students will continue to practice this skill working toward automaticity. Word of the Week, Real World Grammar, and The Weekly Quote challenges students to note, notice, and connect with the world around them.
Learning Targets
Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole. Produce clear and coherent writing in which development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
Megan E Freeman, Author of 1S1B, Alone
Megan E Freeman, Author of 1S1B, Alone
Megan E Freeman & Cluster 4 ELA teacher and 1S1B Champion of 19 years, Lisa McDonagh!
Message from Kraig Gustafson, 8-12 Social Studies Coordinator
This year, we have chosen to pilot instructional materials from Investigating History, a series of new curriculum units developed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in collaboration with Primary Source, a global education nonprofit based in Watertown. These units are aligned with the Massachusetts History and Social Science standards and are designed to develop students’ critical thinking skills through engaging, inquiry-driven, resource-rich activities. Each Investigating History unit has gone through a rigorous, three-year design and development process that included subject-matter experts, experts in social studies teaching, and practicing Massachusetts educators before being ready for use in your child’s classroom. Our teachers will also participate in ongoing professional development focused on the Investigating History materials throughout the year.
As part of the curriculum implementation process, some teachers may be participating in an independent, third-party evaluation conducted by Tufts University to better understand how the curriculum is working and how it can better serve all students and educators across Massachusetts. As a result, your child’s classroom may be observed and images of their work may be shared with researchers. Some students in grade 6 may also be asked to take a short, computer-based, non-evaluative assessment to measure student learning related to the curriculum. Rest assured that this assessment will not impact your students’ grades nor will students be photographed or their work identified except as being a part of the cohort of students in Watertown. Teachers will have access to the aggregated data at the conclusion of the school year as part of their work to refine the units for the coming school year.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact your child's teacher or the SS Coordinator (kraig.gustafson@watertown.k12.ma.us).