Cluster 3 Update
September 23rd
Math with Mr. Casciano
Hi Cluster 3 Families!
My name is Mike Casciano and I am the new 7th Grade Cluster 3 math teacher. I graduated from Endicott College in 2018, earned my masters degree in 2019, and taught as a 4th grade teacher at the Hosmer School in Watertown the last 3 years. I am very lucky to have many students I taught back when they were in 4th grade at Hosmer again this year in 7th grade! I am looking forward to a great first year at WMS.
It was great meeting some of you last night! This week we worked on scaling figures and exploring scale factors that make figures larger, smaller and stay the same. We also looked at how area is impacted when making scaled copies. Next week, we will take our first quiz and start to create scaled drawings. Our learning targets for next week are listed below:
Our current learning targets are as follows:
Use scales and scale drawings to calculate actual and scaled distances.
Determine actual areas from a scale drawing.
Create a scale drawing given the actual dimensions of the object and the scale.
Compare and contrast scale drawings of the same object using different scales, and describe how scale affects lengths in a scale drawing.
Calculate distances on a scale drawing when given a drawing with a different scale.
Determine the scale of a scale drawing.
Standards:
Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.
Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms.
Social Studies with Mr. Kirkcaldy
Learning Targets:
- I can determine if a source is physical, written, oral, or visual.
- I can determine if a source is primary or secondary.
This week in Social Studies we continued our focus on historical thinking skills, looking at different kinds of sources and what kinds of information they provide. We also learned about the differences between primary and secondary sources. We ended the week by thinking about how we decide what to believe. We practiced testing claims using four claim testers: intuition, authority, logic, and evidence. We'll be putting these claim testers to work by evaluating the claims some companies make about their products. Next week we will start focusing more on the geography of Asia and learning about ancient India.
English with Ms. Fitanides
English classes have started their first major unit, the Where I am From poem. Students will analyze George Ella Lyon's poem as they work to emulate the author in their own writing. They will make inferences, notice the author's style and format, and practice using similar strategies in creating their own Where I am From poem.
At some point, kids will bring home a brainstorm sheet to generate ideas for their own poem. It would be SUPER helpful if you could work with them to fill in some of the harder categories such as family values, beliefs, cultural traditions, family occupations, etc.
Learning Targets:
* I can read a text and notice/take notes of important details.
* I can make inferences about my observations in a text.
* I can participate in a class discussion of a poem using ideas and inferences I've made about the text.
* I can emulate the style, format and content of a model poem in my own writing.
Science with Ms. Smith
We have finished up 8 Characteristics of Living Things, with your student's first assessment. Please check with them to see how their assessment went. Next week we start the Classification of Living Things. I have attached last night's Back to School slides in case you didn’t make it, or if you were interested in looking at this year's curriculum for science. This week's learning Targets:
ESL Department
Entering (ELD 1)
This week, our students worked to present skits where they greeted people and held a conversation about what they liked or what they needed. They did a great job speaking clearly and confidently in English and we had a good time as students made us laugh together.
Ask your student questions like “How are you?” “Where are you from?” and “What do you like?” and see what they answer!
Next week, we will begin working on numbers in English and how to read and say mathematical vocabulary.
Emerging (ELD 2)
This week we worked on modals: have to, need to, may, might, and could with learning about careers and jobs of community members. We also have learned possessive pronouns and adjectives, and are shifting into subject and object pronouns next week. We are also talking about time, and introducing the concept of cause and effect through readings about life cycles.
Developing (ELD 3)
This week we continued our values unit and began working on fiction by discussing why people tell stories and reading fables. Our goal was to understand the author’s purpose by finding the moral of the story. We began to learn about how to tackle new vocabulary using context clues and practiced using a dictionary. Next week we will talk about the elements of fiction: character, plot, setting theme and conflict.
Expanding (ELD 4)
This week, students read, discussed, and wrote descriptions of why the US celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month, which began on September 15th in order to commemorate the Independence Days of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and, a couple of days later, the Independence Days of Mexico and Child.
Ask your student what they learned about the history of Spanish-speaking people in the United States!
Phonics
This week in phonics we learned when to use capital letters and have mastered naming the letters in the alphabet. We are working towards mastery of the sounds of the letters, and identifying them in nonsense words. I’ve been assessing each student’s current phonics knowledge so that the students and I can identify why they already know and what vowel patterns or digraphs they need to work on. Next week we will begin the short a sound and a new set of High Frequency Words.
Cluster 3
Andrew Allegro, Special Education
Keila Campos, ESL
Mike Casciano, Math
Ellen Fitanides, English
Jim Kirkcaldy, Social Studies
Heather Smith, Science