Hendricks High School Happenings
November 27- December 8 2017
Social Studies
he sixth graders created replicas of Fort Snelling for MN Studies, and are currently investigating how MN transitioned from a territory to a state. The fifth graders will be starting a book report on life in colonial America in the upcoming weeks. The seventh and eighth graders wrapped up a unit on the Jacksonian era, and are now studying the early 19th century reform movements as well as the lead up to the Civil War. In high school, the eleventh and twelfth graders completed the unit on colonization and settlement in America which involved the in-depth study of numerous primary sources, a mock movie script, and the interpretation of historical data. Lastly, the ninth and tenth graders scratched the surface of ancient Rome and Greece, analyzed the Roman Empire through 40 different maps, and are now creating a project of their choice on a world belief/religion.
-Mr. Thoresen
Science
The 5th graders have turned into bird brains! We have been studying endangered/threatened birds of Minnesota, and the students designed bird sanctuaries to protect our feathered friends. After dissecting owl pellets (see pictures below!) we are learning how energy travels through our birds' ecosystems by creating food webs.
The 6th graders studied density by learning about why some items float while others sink. We have now turned our attention to a design challenge: who can build a rescue tower out of only spaghetti noodles, string, and tape?
The 7th/8th graders have started dissection. First, we looked at the digestive, nervous, and circulatory system of an earthworm to see how it differs from our own. Next we move on to perch and frogs.
The 9th/10th graders have started a virtual lab to measure the leg length, body length, and foot size of anole lizards in the Caribbean islands. How do these characteristics help these lizards to survive in specialized habitats? What happens to these lizards when their habitats are changed?
In 11th/12th grade, we have one student finishing up a chemical reactions unit, 2 students finishing a soil chemistry unit, and a third group of students analyzing bullet chemical residues. Stay tuned for the next round of projects.
Owl pellet dissection!
An anole lizard...
Bullet trajectory science...
English
9/10: students are reading classic short stories from authors form the Realistic era of literature. Their reading of the short stories is also being tied to TEA short responses which are improving their academic writing skills.
7/8: students are completing novel studies. Expect to see your students reading a novel of their own choice.
Speech: Speech class is getting ready for their final speech for the semester, a 7-9 minute persuasive speech.
Video Production: students are working on their last project for the year. They have decided to make a short movie about a "Manchurian Candidate" type plot that also has pirates and assassins.