NMS Grade7 Team 2
Quarter 1 Newsletter
Welcome to Grade 7, Team 2!
Meet the Team 2 teachers
Mrs. Hovden - Social Studies
Mrs. Kuehl - English
Mrs. Kuehl has been teaching English for 10 years (9 at NMS). She lives in Northfield with her husband and dog. Both of her adult sons graduated from Northfield Schools. In her free time she enjoys yard work, reading and attending soccer games.
Mrs. Allin - Science
Mr. Dunkelberger - Math
Mrs. Weis - Health
Lisa Weis has become a paddle board enthusiast. She lives in Northfield with her husband, two boys, her mom, and two crazy cats. She started her teaching career about 1996 after working full-time for the Girl Scouts and a short stint in the Peace Corps Yemen. There is nothing more rewarding than working with teens on their social, emotional,mental, and physical health.
English - Mrs. Kuehl
Welcome to Mrs. Kuehl’s English 7 Class. This year we will be exploring reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar using a variety of texts including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama.
Contact information
· Email is a fast and effective way for parents and guardians to communicate questions & concerns or to request a personal phone call: hkuehl@northfieldschools.org
· Students are encouraged to speak with Mrs. Kuehl directly while at school. However, they may also feel free to leave a message on Schoology when they are absent and have a question.
English 7 Units of Study
- Elements of fiction and Short Stories
- “My Best Traits” Essay
- Grammar
- “Gratitude” Essay
- Drama-A Christmas Carol
- Poetry
- Whole Class Novel-Refugee
- Narrative Essay
- Revising writing for publishing
- Persuasive Non-fiction Essay
- Independent Novel Choice Book Clubs
- Reading Plus
Grading
· Students’ grade for each quarter are meant to be a reflection of their learning. Students are instructed to ask questions and keep me informed if they are having difficulty completing assignments. Please remind your student that I am available to help!
· Students who submit their work on time will have an opportunity on most assignments to re-do or correct their work to ensure understanding and improve their grade. Any work that a student wishes to have re-graded must be submitted with the original assignment and rubric within 2 school days of receiving it back from Mrs. Kuehl.
· Late work that is submitted after the unit is over will not be graded.
· I update Skyward regularly and indicate when an assignment is missing as soon as possible. If your student believes they have turned in an assignment, and Skyward shows that it is missing, please ask your student to discuss with me.
Reading Plus
We will be using the Reading Plus program as a tool to increase our reading skills.
“Reading Plus will help you become a stronger, more confident reader. You will learn to read faster, recognize new words, and comprehend what you have read. Becoming a stronger reader will enable you to read textbooks, novels, articles, blog posts, and other pieces of text more easily. . .
SeeReader gives you reading practice that will change the way you read. As you read in SeeReader, you will be able to choose stories and articles that interest you the most. . . SeeReader uses a Guided Window to help train your eyes to move smoothly and quickly across the text. . . After you read a selection, you will answer questions. These questions will help you think carefully about what you just read, remember the most important information, and connect what you just read with what you already know.”
--Excerpt from Reading Plus Explained to Students
Scholastic Book Orders
Mrs. Kuehl puts in a Scholastic book order many times throughout the school year. I will have paper book order forms available in the classroom, but you can browse the Scholastic website at any time to order books as well. The classroom code to have the books delivered to our classroom is P9H6D. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Social Studies - Mrs. Hovden
This year we will learn about United States history (post Civil War and beyond), as well as some civics, citizenship, local history, and more! Quarter 1 will be centered around these two units:
Unit 1 - Historical Interpretation: Our classes will examine what history is, how it can be interpreted, and what sources historians use. We will also discuss "Defining Moments" and how they shape the society and people we've become.
Unit 2 - Civics and Citizenship: We will examine the Bill of Rights, look at how elections work, conduct a mock election, learn about how the U.S. court system functions, and participate in a mock trial.
Work and Grading:
Students should work to complete their assignments on time. Completing the work on time makes the learning relevant and meaningful. Late work that is submitted after the unit is over will not be graded.
Please use Skyward grade book to determine a student's grade. I update grades very regularly.
I'm looking forward to this school year!
Contact Information:
Lisa Hovden
Science - Mrs. Allin
Dear Parents, This year middle school students have a new science curriculum, Open Sci Ed. The instructional model of this curriculum is new to your teachers. This is an overview of the model:
Since students are expected to reach a consensus and figure things out together, we are spending several days at the start of the year building collaborative communities. We want a classroom culture where students feel comfortable taking risks and sharing ideas. It will be important for all students to both voice their thinking and listen to their classmates.
Our primary life science unit for quarter one is Ecology. We will use eagle poisoning as a lens through which to study how living things and their environment impact each other. Students will engage in lab activities, field studies, readings, and discussions throughout the unit.
Since this curriculum is new to us, we appreciate your patience as we and the students learn to collaborate in a new way. We look forward to a great year of learning!
Sincerely,
Amy Allin
aallin@northfieldschools.org
Math - Mr. Dunkelberger
Welcome to Mr. Dunk’s Math 7 class.
Seventh grade is an important year for mathematics students. They will move from the concrete and computational math from earlier grades, to more abstract and higher order math they will see later in algebra and more advanced math classes. Highlights of the course include work with graphing linear relationships, integer/rational number operations, solving multi-step equations, geometry of three-dimensional figures, and ratios/proportions.
Unit 1 will be focused on developing student’s number sense. Students will be working on mental math skills incorporating integer operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing negative and positive numbers. This will be a foundation for the rest of student’s math education.
Unit 2 will be a continuation from 6th grade math focusing on operations with rational numbers, which includes adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions/mixed numbers and decimals. Unlike 6thgrade, this will incorporate operations with both positive and negative rational numbers.
Grading:
Student’s grades will be weighted and consist of three categories:
- Assignments: 15% of the math grade. Each lesson will include an assignment that will be graded out of 4 points. I provide an answer key for most assignments in Schoology, which is available for students to check their answers before submitting each assignment.
I will be using this rubric as I’m grading each daily assignment:
o 4 points - Showed all your work and gave best effort.
o 3 points - Missing some work and/or skipped some problems. Didn’t give best effort
o 2 points - Incomplete, poor quality and needs fixing.
o 1 point – Poor quality, showed no work/effort and needs fixing.
- Quizzes: 15% of your grade. For each assignment/worksheet, students will input 4 to 5 answers into a Schoology Quiz and receive points for correct answers. If a student receives less than a 100% on their first attempt, the expectation is to work through incorrect problems and retry the quiz to show mastery and improve their grade.
o I expect assignments and quizzes to be completed by class time on the due date, which is typically the next day of class. I will allow late work up until the end of the unit to start off the year. This policy is subject to change during the year.
- Tests: 70% of your grade. At the end of each unit there will be a unit test to assess student’s mastery of the unit standards/skills. There will always be a unit study guide assigned on a review day, that students will be expected to work through in order to prepare for their unit test. If a student does not do well on the first attempt of the test, they will be given an opportunity to improve their grade through a retake. If a student fails a test, I will be expecting that student to retake the test. Retakes can be completed during a study hall in my classroom or during work time in class.
I’m looking forward to an excellent school year!
Contact Information:
Brent Dunkelberger
Health - Mrs. Weis
I am Lisa Weis, 7th-grade health teacher. Our health curriculum is designed to build skills and knowledge around all three sides of the Health Triangle, including Social, Physical, and Mental/Emotional Health. Students will have access to our new health book Health Skills for Middle School, our SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Second Step curriculum, and most Wednesdays (2 per month) we use the Ramp-UP curriculum for career and college readiness. This works very well since there is overlap between all these curricula.
First Health unit is Taking Charge of your Health and Wellness
Understanding Health and Wellness
Good Personal hygiene
First SEL unit is Empathy and Communication
Working in Groups
Disagreeing respectfully
Negotiating and Compromising
Giving and Getting Support
Building Classroom norms and PRIDE
First Ramp-UP Lessons are
Growth Mindset
Habits of Success (planners, organization, SMART goals)
I am looking forward to this school year. And I am excited to get to know each student in our learning community. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
lweis@northfieldschools.org or call 507-414-8837.
BE WELL!
Lisa
PBIS
Read more about it in the letter below.
Planners
Students are expected to have a system of organization in which they write down and keep track of deadlines and due dates. We hope they share that system with you!
FLEX study hall teachers use a document called "Daily Lesson Highlights" to teach students how to fill out their planner. This document is projected on the screen each day in study hall and students should be copying down their assignments. If your child's planner is empty, please encourage them to get back on track with organizing and planning. Thanks so much!
Schoology
Interested in donating to our PBIS program?
Looking for a way to support PBIS? We always appreciate donations! We will accept any NEW items that you think a student may enjoy receiving as a prize. Items could be school supplies, gift cards, games, fidgets, healthy snack and/or drink, a Northfield hat or t-shirt, etc. These items can be turned in to Mrs. Rose (Math Teacher Team 1) or give to the office and let them know it is for the 7th grade school store. We will also accept monetary donations that will allow for teachers to purchase prizes for the school store or for their own classroom store. Here is a link: https://northfieldschools.revtrak.net/middle-school/ms-donations/#/list