May 7th Grade Newsletter
Language Arts
We are in the last leg of the year. Students are working hard on their Poetry Presentations spending time both analyzing and writing their own. We had poets come in to work with our students and this was a big hit. They enjoyed learning from real world, published authors. The poetry presentation is the last unit for this school year. We are bringing the creativity and art back to Language Arts. Make sure to look for links at the end of the year to the presentations. Our last event will be a Poetry Slam- after SoUL Night.
Discussion Topics:
Ask to see your student’s poetry. We have a great and creative group of 7th graders.
Try your hand at writing poetry.
Social Studies
Students started their last unit of the year this past week, Globalization. In this unit, students will explore how our choices impact the world. We’ll look at the natural resources, societal values, and human experiences in different Eastern Hemisphere countries. We’ll then explore the true cost of a cell phone and fashion by looking at natural resources around the world. We’ll read personal stories from people working in factories in Cambodia and children mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Students will end the unit by creating an informative visual highlighting one country and issues this country faces as well as ways we can take small steps to reduce negative impact on the world.
As always, please reach out with any questions to e_occhiuto@dpsk12.net. Thanks so much for a great year!
Math
Pre-Alegbra
Integrated I Math
We have one last unit before we prepare for the Gr 8 Math placement test! This unit is called Data associations, and it is about reading scatterplots, drawing and interpreting lines of best fit, identifying the slope in context by using the labels on the x- and y- axis. Students will also use data to make predictions to analyze how a model does or does not accurately represent the true data set. The year will end with the Gr 8 math placement test, which is the same assessment given to all 8th grade students. We will spend time reviewing 8th grade content the last week of school prior to taking this assessment.
Science
Students are in our final unit of the year, Environmental Issues. In this unit, students will learn about the systems and structures which make up ecosystems. We will explore how matter and energy cycle through an environment and how food web relationships change as the population of species ebb and flow. From there, students will select an environmental issue which creates harm to a particular ecosystem or our biosphere as a whole. They will research what human behaviors have caused this issue and the effect it has on the abiotic and biotic components of our planet. More importantly, students will create a ‘call to action’, informing community members about necessary steps we can take to address these issues. These informative projects will be presented at SoUL night on May 23rd.
If you are involved in any sustainability-oriented initiatives and would be interested in speaking to our students or giving feedback about their project, please reach out to me at max_geimer@dpsk12.net. Thank you!