Ellsworth MS Newsletter
Here's what's happening in MS this week!
March 18, 2019
Dear parents,
It’s the last week before spring break. Spring is in the air at school! Thanks for sharing your kids with us.
ENGLISH
6th Grade: The students have finished their poetry books that they put so much work into! This week we will continue reading and annotating informational texts, language and spelling activities, and starting M-Step practice. These activities will continue, along with a whole-class novel unit after Spring Break!
7th Grade: We just finished a chapter in our grammar book so we will wait until after break to start the next one. We will focus on reading The Giver and working on a DBQ (Document Based Question).
8th Grade: We will finish reading The Outsiders on Monday and then start an essay on the novel. We will not start a new chapter in our grammar book until after break.
SOCIAL STUDIES
6th Grade: We are wrapping up our study of Ancient Greece. This week we will be reviewing and preparing for a test on Wednesday or Thursday.
7th Grade: We are wrapping up our study of Ancient Greece. This week we will be reviewing and preparing for a test on Wednesday or Thursday.
8th Grade History: Students finished their unit and assessments on the War of 1812, then we completed PSAT practice. Next week, we will do more PSAT practice, so students are familiar with question types and strategies for test taking. This will also involve timed practice for a portion of class.
MATH
6th Grade: The 6th graders had their test last week on percents. This week we will focus on exponents and prime factorization.
7th Grade: The 7th graders had a quiz on special angle pairs and using a protractor last week. This week we will finish our chapter with a test on Wednesday.
8th Grade: 8th graders will take a practice Math PSAT on Tuesday. The PSAT will be April 9, the week after we return from spring break. Students have been performing transformations of objects on the coordinate plane. There will be a quiz on Wednesday over reflections and translations..
SCIENCE
6th Grade: We will be exploring what students know about potential and kinetic energy this week. We will be using a program designed by everfi.com and sponsored by the Red Wings called Hockey Scholar. Students will be receiving a handout with details Monday. Let me know if you would like more information about this program.
7th Grade: We will be reviewing what we learned about fossils and using that to guide our study of geologic time. We will be learning about the different eras of life that existed.
8th Grade: We are studying the layers and characteristics of the atmosphere. We will have a quiz Monday on the layers of the atmosphere.
ART
Middle school art: We will be finishing up our pastel unit. The students are creating either animals or landscape with oil pastels. They picked the mediums they wanted to use during this marking period. Later in the marking period we will be doing watercolor, Gouache painting, acrylic paint, scratch board and possible silk scarf and drawing with graphite.
SINCERELY,
The Middle School Team
7&8 English: Amanda Terryberry aterryberry@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6&7th Sci, 6-7th SS: Sue Goslee sgoslee@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6th ELA, 8th History Olivia Speicher ospeicher@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6-8 Math: Erica Stuck estuck@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
8th Science: Clayton Faivor cfaivor@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
Art: Kurt Zimmerle kzimmerle@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
Music: Ashley Ford aford@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
PE: Laurie Yost lyost@ellsworth.k12.mi.us