MS Newsletter
Here's what's happening in MS this week!
April 17, 2017
ENGLISH
6th Grade: After gathering resources last week, we will be using them to write our research papers on cellphone use in school. This week, we will write first drafts and participate in revision activities to produce final, polished drafts.
7th Grade: We took a vocabulary quiz last Thursday, and we will add to our word lists this week from our reading of The Giver. By the end of the week, we will be near the halfway point in our reading of the novel.
SOCIAL STUDIES
6th Grade: We have been learning about government in Ancient Greece this past week. Next we are exploring the Persian Wars and the differences between the city-states of Athens and Sparta.
7th Grade: We have been learning about government in Ancient Greece this past week. Next we are exploring the Persian Wars and the differences between the city-states of Athens and Sparta.
8th Grade: The students read some devastating stories of slavery this week. Any way we looked at the stories, analyzed them and discussed them, there was nothing good about slavery. A big question by the students was, “If there were so many slaves, why didn’t they revolt?” We did read about some revolts but they never ended well for the rebels or the rest of the slave population. Next week we will learn about the Underground Railroad and legislation that eventually led to the breakdown of the Union and the Civil War.
MATH
6th Grade: We finished up our unit test last week. If needed, corrections are due this week. This week we will be learning how to write algebraic mathematical expressions learning about variables and constants.
7th Grade: We continue to look at cross sections of 3D shapes and we are beginning to explore different types of angle relationships. A few that we will be studying are vertical, complementary, supplementary, and adjacent angles. We will have a quiz towards the end of the week.
8th Grade: 8th graders will have a quiz Monday on substitution. We’ve been working hard learning how to substitute variables for each other and then solving equations. Next we will explore how elimination helps us solve systems of equations.
SCIENCE
6th Grade: We have learned about different ways fossils are made and what they can tell us about the past. We are moving on to learning about specific prehistoric (extinct) animals and where they fit in the Geologic Time Scale.
7th Grade: We took our quiz on Human Uses & Water. Agriculture, Industry, and Municipal sources are the main users of freshwater. We will be taking the NWEA in science on Monday and then we will be studying the atmosphere and its layers.
8th Grade: We took a quiz on Layers of the Atmosphere on Thursday. We are now studying the three types of heat transfer in the atmosphere: conduction, convection, and radiation. On Wednesday, we will be doing a Save the Cube! Challenge to see what group can prevent an ice cube from melting most effectively.
SINCERELY,
The Middle School Team
6-7th English: Nic Dziadosz ndziadosz@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
8 English: Amanda Terryberry aterryberry@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6 Science, 6-7th SS: Sue Goslee sgoslee@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
8 SS: Michele Hinkle mhinkle@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6-8 Math: Erica Stuck estuck@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
7-8 Science: Clayton Faivor cfaivor@ellsworth.k12.mi.us