Muskego Lakes 8th Grade Newsletter
April 2022
Absent? 8th Grade Agendas!
Agendas are the tools students will use when they are absent to stay caught up. The expectation is that students access each agenda and complete the listed tasks for their classes. If your student is unable to complete the tasks for any reason, please have them contact their teacher directly to let them know. Click on the links below to check them out!
Literacy:
Math:
Social Studies:
Science:
CLASSROOM CATCH UP- LOOK TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN 8TH GRADE CLASSES THIS MONTH!
Literacy - Tome, Koeller, Lehmann
It’s hard to believe that 4th quarter is here already! We are wrapping up our argument unit. We’ve read several texts, analyzing how authors present their claims and back up their arguments with evidence and reasoning. We’ve looked at valid persuasive techniques, as well as some of the logical fallacies (errors in logic) that are sometimes used in advertisements and persuasive writing. Students are putting together everything they’ve learned and presenting their persuasive speeches.
In May, we work on cycling back through areas of focus as we continue to work on close reading strategies.
Also coming up in May is the last iReady diagnostic. We are excited to celebrate their growth over the course of the year!
Finally, be sure to check in with your child about their classic book. Students seem to be enjoying them, and we love seeing them work through great stories, meeting interesting characters, and working through some language challenges to comprehend high level text.
Looking forward to more success in the 4th quarter, finishing strong and preparing for the transition to high school!
Math 8 - Vogler & Michalski
April Recap:
Unit 7 → Exponents. Students will apply properties of integer (positive or negative) exponents to simplify expressions. The properties are…
Products and Products of Powers
Quotients and Quotients of Powers
Zero and Negative Exponents.
Unit 8 → Scientific Notation. Students will apply their learning about exponents to scientific notation. In this unit, students will…
Convert between standard and scientific notation while being able to compare numbers written in scientific notation
Perform operations with numbers in scientific notation (Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, and Dividing)
Upcoming:
Volume → Students will find the volume of the following shapes
Cylinders
Spheres
Cones
Composite Figures (figures that contain all of the above)
Statistics
Using a two-way table
Using scatterplots to predict data
Creating a line of best-fit for scatterplots
Reminders:
Please remind your child that they should be working on Math 20-30 minutes each night. If they are done with their practice, they should spend the time working on iReady.
Algebra - Vogler
To prepare for Forward Testing, we completed a math madness challenge where students reviewed their grade level material in order to help them feel more prepared for their Forward Exam. I spend time on this each year as students in advanced math often haven’t seen those concepts for 1 - 2 years, so it benefits them to have seen it recently, prior to the test. This week, we started our unit on simplifying radical expressions and will soon be switching to solving radical equations. Following this unit we have some geometric concepts and statistic concepts to round out our year!
Social Studies - Tsakonas & Koeller
April Recap
Forward Testing → Our students did such a great job. I’m so proud of them!
Civil War Interest Project Start!
Medicine and Medical Care during the War
Ships and the development of the Navy
Defense and Military Strategies
A soldier’s life
Women in the War
Key leaders
Other options too!
Skills:
Note-taking and annotation
Writing informational text + text structure
Coming up in May:
Students will finish their Civil War podcasts with their groups.
Civil War Class Elements:
Northern and Southern strategies
Battle of Gettysburg + Gettysburg Address
Lincoln’s Assassination
The beginnings of Reconstruction
Skills:
Speaking and listening skills - creating a podcast with a small group!
Political Cartoon analysis
Primary Source synthesis
Science - Goldberg & Tome
In April, we began a moon log that your child should be keeping track of daily. Ideally, they will seek out the moon in the sky and then draw what they see. However, there have been many cloudy days and they have several online resources for looking up which phase we are in. This log is due May 6th.
In May, we will be wrapping up our space unit by covering:
Craters on the moon and Earth
Origin of the solar system
Contents of the solar system
Scale models of the solar system
The search for water
Human impact on Earth’s systems
Exoplanets
Past and future space travel
At the end of May, we will begin projects for an Air and Space Museum that will be showcased during the schoolday. Students will work individually on a chosen topic. Expectations will include:
Research on chosen topic
Artifact or model
Presentation board
Oral presentation with notes handed in
Daily Assignments
8th Grade Syllabus
8th Grade Website
This is a website worthy of being bookmarked! This is a great tool to get your questions answered.
Here are some items that are found on our website:
- Syllabus for each core class
- Rolling Agendas
- Contact Information
- Daily Assignments (What your students should have in their assignment notebook!)
- Monthy Newsletter links
Encore Newsletter
Important Dates Ahead
- Spring iReady Assessment for Literacy- Tues. May 10- Th. May 12th
- Spring iReady Assessment for Math- Mon. May 16th- Wed. May 18th
- Band Concert at MHS PAC - May 19 at 7pm
- Best Buddies Friendship Walk- Sat. May 21st
- Choir Concert at MHS PAC- May 24 at 7pm
Tuesday Emails from Your Child!
1. Current grades in Core Classes
2. Missing Work Updates
3. Areas students are proud of
We hope that receiving this communication will help you stay up to date on what is going on in your students 8th Grade world. As teachers, we feel it provides such a great talking point and area for parents to follow up with students and truly feel more in the know! If you have additional feedback regarding the Tuesday emails, please reach out to your child's resource teacher! Thanks so much for supporting!
8th Grade Staff Directory
8th Grade Staff Directory
Need to contact your child's teacher? Look below for a complete 8th grade staff contact list.
Cassie Vogler - Math 8 and Algebra: cassie.vogler@muskegonorway.org
Brittany Michalski- Math 8: brittany.michalski@muskegonorway.org
Heather Goldberg- Science: heather.goldberg@muskegonorway.org
Carolyn Koeller - Literacy/Social Studies: carolyn.koeller@muskegonorway.org
Amy Lehmann- Literacy: amy.lehmann@muskegonorway.org
Laura Tsakonas- Social Studies: laura.tsakonas@muskegonorway.org
Nicole Stevenson - Learning Strategist: nicole.lowe@muskegonorway.org
Kristen Thimmesch- Spanish: kristen.modica@muskegonorway.org
Beth Brown- Speech: beth.brown@muskegonorway.org
Stacie Capstran- Spanish: stacie.capstran@muskegonorway.org
Mitch Hasey- Phys Ed: mitch.hasey@muskegonorway.org