In case you missed it . . .. . . here is an archive of our 7th grade team newsletters!
• We also have a twitter account that you can follow without an account at http://twitter.com/7thscience. • Photos and videos are located in albums on RJH's Flickr account. |
February 23, 2018February 2, 2018January 19, 2018 |
Link for the newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/7thFeb232018
Link for the newsletter - https://goo.gl/4y7pCC
We hope you are having a happy and healthy start to the new year! It certainly has been an interesting start to the year, weather-wise! Hopefully, the worst of the winter season is behind us.
As we move further into the second trimester, please know that the 7th grade team is here for both you and your child. If your child feels that he or she needs additional assistance outside of the allotted classroom time, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the team. We recognize that cold and flu season is upon us, so if your child is absent, we can work around your schedule to ensure that your child is caught up with any missed instruction. Curriculum Update Science We came back in January to discuss orbital velocity and related it to the spacecraft projects they finished in December. Many of the projects discussed gravity assist which was used to change the speed and direction of their spacecraft as it traveled in space. We are now learning about waves which will also tie into the boat project. We have used models, including the students, to describe and measure waves. We have tweeted some of our work out on http://twitter.com/7thscience and the rest will be available on my science class website at https://rjh7sci.weebly.com/waves.html. Language Arts In language arts, students are working on a literary argumentative essay. Through the use of graphic organizers and models, students are crafting thesis statements with a claim and evidence from the text to support their positions. Students are tasked with identifying a theme in the text and using direct quotes to back up their claim. At the end of this unit, students will have produced a five-paragraph essay that follows the traditional format of an argumentative paper. Students will properly insert and punctuate quoted material from the text and include literary terms. For this month’s independent project, students are making a cereal box dedicated to an African-American who helped to shape our nation. Students were given the directions for what each side of the cereal box must contain, and students must cite all sources used. These projects are due Friday, February 2nd. Requirements for this assignment can be found on our L.A. Google Classroom site. I look forward to sharing pictures of the creative pieces of student work! In an effort to help students with vocabulary acquisition, students will be given weekly assessments as a check-in to see how they are progressing with the list of terms distributed at the beginning of the school year. Each week, students are responsible for approximately five terms on the list. They need to know spelling, definitions, root words, synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and word origins. Quizlet is a great online resource to help students study for these assessments. Requirements for this assignment can also be found on our L.A. Google Classroom site. During language arts class, Mrs. Coombs invited students to the library for a book talk. There are some exciting and new books that the library just received, and Mrs. Coombs gave a brief overview of these texts. Students were able to check-out a book at this time. If your child was unable to find a book that fits with his or her interests, please feel free to reach out to me for further assistance! Math All students have completed chapter 3 on algebraic expressions. The focus was on simplifying, expanding, factoring, and translating algebraic expressions. Many chapter 2 skills such as integer, fractional, and decimal operations were applied during chapter 3. All of these skills will continue to be used throughout chapter 4 solving algebraic equations and inequalities. Prior to jumping right into chapter 4, we have spent some time reviewing one-step, two-step, and multi-step equations from 6th grade. As I have explained to the kids, some problems are easy to solve by inspection. However, developing a method to solve the easier equations will help them when solving the more difficult ones. For this reason, I require all steps (inverse operations) to be shown. This really lays a strong foundation for 8th grade math and Algebra 1. Next Friday, January 26, students will take the Winter Math STAR test so we can measure student growth. A reminder that I am available after school on Fridays until 3:30pm and other mornings/afternoons by appointment. Social Studies The students have switched sections and now have a different 7th grade teacher. Ms. Adams’ class is studying the Westward Expansion. Our story starts at the Treaty of Paris which gave us land west to the Mississippi River, doubling our territory after the Revolutionary War. We investigated the development of the two political party system by studying Hamilton and Jefferson’s views on government. In Mrs. Miller’s social studies class, students are exploring how Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie shaped the economy during the Industrial Revolution, as well as their lasting effects on the nation as a whole. Students are focusing on vocabulary terms and identifying significant events during this time period. At the conclusion of this unit of study, students will be making life-sized characters to display various business perspectives and lessons learned, so please save your cardboard! In Mrs. Harrington’s social studies class, students learned and discussed the differences between the north and the south prior to the Civil War. Students are currently working on a really fun Common Craft Video Project to demonstrate their learning and present information on their assigned topic. Each group was assigned one of the four major causes that led to the Civil War. They are working together to research their topic, write a script, and create paper props for their video. After they film their video next week, students will watch the videos in class and create a graphic organizer outlining the four major events that led to the Civil War! STEAM The seventh grade students are beginning to find their swing with building their rowboats! They are working hard, collaborating, problem solving, and making progress! Be sure to follow the journey at our “Finding Your Swing” webpage: https://sites.google.com/a/sau50.org/the-rye-rowing-regatta. Pictures of the entire process are being posted on this site and can be found within the links on the left sidebar. |
December 20, 2017 |
We hope you are all enjoying the holiday season! This month has certainly moved very quickly! In this newsletter, we have included some exciting updates about various activities and projects in our classrooms.
The 7th grade team would like to wish you and your family a joyful holiday break! We look forward to seeing you next year! Dates to Remember
Seventh graders are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our boat building materials! In the meantime, students are finding their swing using the scroll saws. Students have been practicing scroll saw cutting techniques on practice boards are now starting to make holiday ornaments and three dimensional organisms! Below is a sample of a 3-D reindeer that was made on the scroll saw! Please SAVE THE DATE! The Rye Rowing Regatta is officially set for May 31, 2018! More information will be forthcoming, but for now please visit the Rowing Regatta website and the Finding Your Swing webpage. Science Science classes have wrapped up their research project on unmanned spacecraft. We shared how the missions and our knowledge of the solar system changed over time. The posters are currently displayed in a timeline in the classroom. (Remember, we have drop-in mornings on Tuesdays (7:45 - 8 am), if you would like to take a look!) Students have noticed there was a gap in exploration during the 1980’s. Can you guess what may have caused the gap? We also participated in a worldwide effort to introduce students to computer science called Hour of Code. Students used coding to learn how they can make the computer work for their purposes and demonstrate that anyone can learn the basics. The students were asked to create a virtual pet. They were required to show movement and create a sound. Others created code to feed their pet and let it play. You can view some of the projects here on this list. Math
In blue class, students learned how to solve real-world problems using algebraic reasoning. We spent two days reviewing simplifying, expanding, factoring, and translating algebraic expressions. Students are now in the process of taking their Chapter 3 test. After break blue class will be starting Chapter 4 on Algebraic Equations and Inequalities. In green and yellow classes, students have learned how to simplify, expand, and factor algebraic expressions and have taken two quizzes. After break students will review those skills and continue Chapter 3 with translating and solving real-world problems using algebraic expressions. Their Chapter 3 test will be during the second week we come back from break. Students in all three math classes have been keeping track of their three stock market companies and for the majority watching their prices increase! They have also been following the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the milestones it continues to make. Some students predict it will reach 25,000 points before June! As it is, the DJIA just did something it has never done in its 121-year history. As 2017 comes to an end, the 30-stock average is now up more than 5,000 points in a year, marking its biggest annual-points gain ever. Language Arts It's been an exciting time in language arts class! Be sure to ask your child about all of the fun we have had this past week because I am sure your child has plenty to share with you! We finished reading Touching Spirit Bear and worked on answering our essential questions using text evidence. We will continue using this text for our written pieces that will resume following holiday break. The 7th grade was fortunate to have a guest speaker, Barry Dana of the Penobscot Tribe, spend the morning with us to help bring some authenticity to our reading experience. Students learned survival skills, such as making shelters and fires. Certainly the snow made our activities that much more interesting! Students roasted apples on the campfire in order to recreate a significant moment in our book. In order to connect with one of the book's themes, students wrote personal letters forgiving someone who had wronged them and symbolically let the anger go by placing the letter in the fire. At the conclusion of our time with Barry, he fielded questions from students about Native American culture, traditions, and ways of life that allowed students to identify connections in both their language arts and social studies classes. Please visit our Flickr page to see more pictures from the day. After completing our novel, we took on classic, short stories. Students read these stories in class and analyzed themes. They were tasked with making predictions about how the stories would translate from page to stage. We visited the Concord Center for the Arts to watch these stories come alive, and students came dressed to impress! After watching the plays, students were asked to evaluate the productions and how well the performances matched the actual stories. Students focused on symbolism during this unit. Using symbolic colors and items, students are designing an "ugly sweater" for one of the characters in the short stories and must explain why those symbols represent that character.
Social Studies - All groups are wrapping up their units. The teachers will switch classes in January as part of the Social Studies rotation. Ms. Adams’ class has been learning about the gold rush and its impact on the growth and development of the United States. The students participated in a Breakout activity to reinforce the curriculum. (The Breakout activity is similar to an escape room. The clues in the room need to be deciphered to unlock six locks on a box containing their reward.) Clues were worked out on the whiteboard as a group. One clue required the use of a blacklight flashlight to view invisible writing. The hasp on the box held 4 different types of locks. Students also had to use digital locks on the iPad and computer to solve the problem related to the gold rush. The students were successful in the time given for the activity. They recovered their certificate to prove their claim.
We also wrapped up the westward movement by simulating a trip on the Oregon Trail using the Wedgewood property for a bit of authenticity. Feel free to ask your child how he/she survived the trip!
In Mrs. Harrington’s social studies class students read primary and secondary sources as though they were historians about what life was like for everyone during the Civil War. They researched and we discussed the two famous speeches of the Civil War (the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address) and the impact they each had in the Civil War. We studied the lyrics and listened to two songs from the Civil War and students identified which song was for the Union versus the Confederacy. To help students review all that was learned during the Civil War unit, we played Jeopardy and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire! Today they will finish up their Civil War test that was started last Thursday and complete a survey for me about the class where they provide me feedback.
In Mrs. Miller's social studies class, students completed a fictitious profile of a person who immigrated to the United States during the Industrial Revolution. Students had to identify push and pull factors, as well as what life looked like for their person in various parts of the country. To end our unit of study, students have explored the working conditions during this time period and the rise of organized labor. On Thursday, students' final projects are due. They are to create a superhero or villain based on someone from the Industrial Revolution. In addition to using factual information to support the character's backstory, students will dress up like the character for the final presentation. This activity will certainly bring history to life! |
December 1, 2017
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Dates to Remember
Report Cards Report Cards for Trimester 1 will be sent home with students on Friday, December 8th. After reviewing your child’s progress, we ask that you sign and return the report card envelope to school on Monday. Please be sure to check PowerSchool regularly for updates regarding your child’s grades. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s grades for this term, please feel free to contact a 7th grade team member. We are happy to speak and/or meet with you in order to ensure that your child has a successful 7th grade year. Curriculum Update Math In math, students spent a week learning about the stock market, researching different companies, and picking three companies to “buy” shares. They will continue to update their stock market log once per week from now until May to track the value of their stocks. We are now in chapter 3 on algebraic expressions. Students will be able to simplify, expand, and factor algebraic expressions with decimal, fractional, and negative coefficients. Students will also be able to translate word problems into algebraic expressions. We will have the Chapter 3 test before the Holiday break! Term 1 Math Points on BuzzMath were due Wednesday, November 29. Term 2 BuzzMath assignments will be available starting Monday, December 4. Term 2 Math Points (10 gold stars) will be due by Wednesday, March 14. Language Arts In language arts, we are reading the novel, Touching Spirit Bear, and partaking in some highly engaging discussions. Students are tasked with examining sophisticated, essential questions such as, “Do external influences shape who we are? If so, to what extent?” and “How do we learn from negative experiences?” Throughout the novel, students will be acquiring new vocabulary, analyzing characters, using evidence from the text to support their claims, and making real-world connections during group discussions. Science The science classes have investigated the factors needed to stay in orbit. We took that knowledge and applied it to the early space programs starting with Sputnik. We did a quick history of manned spaceflight. The students are currently researching an unmanned spacecraft. Each student has a different spacecraft from a variety of space agencies. In small groups, we will compare and contrast the spacecraft, as some are from the past, present and future. How has technology changed over time and what have we learned from these spacecraft? We will place their work (poster) in a timeline and then eventually, create a book. Social Studies In Mrs. Harrington’s social studies class, students finished learning about all the major battles and events during the Civil War and the impact each event had on the war’s outcome. They also learned about Ulysses S Grant, Robert E Lee, and other significant people during the Civil War. Next, students will read primary and secondary sources to learn about life during the Civil War for both soldiers and civilians. They will also have an opportunity to create a picture book that focuses on the experience of people during the war. In Ms. Adams’ social studies class, students are accessing a new resource to learn about the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears. We are using Discovery Education’s Social Studies Techbook. Students have their own accounts to read articles, investigate primary sources and view video segments. We will be moving on to the Manifest Destiny and the trail west. In Mrs. Miller’s social studies class, students just completed their “Shark Tank” presentations, which were a huge hit! The students did a wonderful job researching their products and making their pitches to the “sharks”. You can view these presentations on Mrs. Miller’s website: https://rjh7ela.weebly.com/presentations.html (ask your student to sign into his or her ryesd account). Students are currently studying waves of immigration during the Industrial Revolution. Students are analyzing the push and pull factors of immigrants in order to create a profile of an immigrant using the computer program LucidPress. Next, we will examine working conditions in factories, child labor, and the rise of labor organizations. STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) During Trimester 2, the 7th grade students will have the opportunity to work with Dr. Ellwood in STEAM class. As you know from Open House, the students will be constructing two boats during the trimester. The boats are Tenderly dinghies. These boats will be used in a rowing regatta at the end of the year. We will also be raffling and auctioning the boats from all the grade levels. More information will be forthcoming, but for now please visit the Rowing Regatta website and the Finding Your Swing webpage. Language Arts Guest Speaker On Monday, December 11, Chief Barry Dana will visit RJH for the day to teach students about the Native American culture and the connection we have with land and animals. The intended purpose of this event is to bring authenticity to the students’ experience with the text, Touching Spirit Bear. During the day, students will learn survival skills and develop a further appreciation for what nature provides. Please be sure that students dress appropriately for the day as they will be outside for most of the morning. For more information about Chief Barry Dana, please visit www.uniquemainefarms.com/uniquemainefarms.com/Barry_Dana.html Field Trip On Tuesday, December 19th, the 7th grade students will be visiting the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord to see the Chamber Theater Productions Presentation of “Encore!!” The performance includes five stories from the collections of Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, W.W. Jacobs, Guy de Maupassant, and Mark Twain. We will depart at 8:30 am and return before 3:00 pm. These performances align with the language arts curriculum. For more information regarding these plays, please visit www.chambertheatre.com. We are asking that students dress nicely since we will be attending a theatrical performance. We will be stopping at McDonald’s on the way home, so if your child would like to purchase lunch, please send money with your child on the day of the field trip. Each student is responsible for keeping his or her own money and purchasing a lunch of his or her choice. If you would like to send a bagged lunch with your child, you may do that as well. The cost of the trip is $5 per student. This includes the price of admission. Students have already received the permission slip. We are asking that you complete the permission slip and have your child return it to the school no later than Friday, December 15th. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Miller. IXL As an added language arts resource, your child has access to IXL. IXL online language arts practice is a site that allows students to strengthen various literacy skills at their level. This adaptive program lets students go at their pace while working toward their specific, language arts goals. There are thousands of skills for students to practice, and students can earn achievements, which will serve as an incentive to practice skills at home to strengthen what was taught in class. All students have login ids and passwords (these logins are located on the inside cover of their agenda books). Mrs. Miller will receive valuable feedback from the reports so students’ progress can be monitored in a way that allows for appropriate intervention and enrichment activities. |
November 10, 2017 |
The 7th grade team would like to thank everyone who was able to make it to Project Safeguard and the breakfast beforehand. We understand that you have very busy schedules, so we appreciate you taking the time to spend the day with us. We will have other events throughout the year for both you and your child to attend.
Dates to Remember
Math In math, students have completed Chapter 2 Rational Number Operations! Chapter 2 Test grades should be posted on powerschool this weekend. Students will be learning about the Stock Market and researching companies in the Dow30. They will pick three diverse companies to “buy” shares in and will track these companies for the remainder of the year until we do a final stock market portfolio project in June! So don’t be surprised if they start asking you questions about investing, stocks, and companies! After the stock market rollout we will be starting Chapter 3 on Algebraic Expressions. Language Arts In language arts, we have completed our narrative writing unit and are moving into our whole-class book, Touching Spirit Bear. To celebrate the students’ hard work during this unit, we will be having a “coffee house” on Friday, November 17th, where students can share their writing. These readings will be livestreamed through a webcast that will allow you to view your child in real-time. More information regarding how to access this livestream will be sent home next week. If you are able to send a small snack or dish in with your child for our celebration, that would be greatly appreciated. Students’ independent project for this month is due on Monday, November 20th. Students were tasked with creating a marketing-type poster for a book that have read recently. The requirements for this assignment, along with the grading rubric, can be found on Google Classroom. Science We are continuing to meet the Next Generation Science Standards involving Earth and space. We finished up with a quiz on quia.com/web that you can review with your child. We are currently investigating the tools of the astronomers. This is typically when students want a telescope at home. The Rye Public Library has a Orion StarBlast 4.5" telescope that can be checked out with your library card. I also recommend using binoculars to view the night sky. They are more portable and easy to handle. Moon phases other than full are perfect opportunities to view the craters on the Moon. UNH also has public viewing sessions at their observatory. Information is located at https://physics.unh.edu/content/observatory. Upcoming sessions are Saturday, November 18 from 8 - 10 PM and Saturday, December 2 from 8 - 10 PM Social Studies In Mrs. Harrington’s social studies class, students worked in groups to represent one of the four Presidential Candidates from the Election of 1860. In each group, one student prepared answers as the debater/Presidential candidate, another student was the campaign manager, and two other students were supporters for their candidate. After students prepared, we held an Election of 1860 Presidential Debate! Students came in the next day and looked at the election results for both Electoral and Popular votes. They colored in a map and answered questions relating to the election. Next, students will complete a civil war casualty scavenger hunt. In Mrs. Miller’s social studies class, students built life-sized titans of industry and had to place information about their assigned figure’s accomplishments and lasting impact on American history on various parts of the cut-out. Students also tackled informational text examining the importance of the railroads and how they spurred economic growth, the role that shareholders, corporations, trusts, and monopolies played during the Industrial Revolution, and how certain inventions shaped the nation. Students are currently working on an Industrial Revolution “Shark Tank” project. With a partner, students will assume the identity of an inventor from the time period and present their invention to a panel of “sharks” in order to convince the sharks to invest in the product. Students must know the history of their invention, the targeted consumer, the cost to make the invention, and how they will use the sharks’ investment. In addition to knowing the background information of the product and its costs, students must create an advertisement for the invention along with a prototype. The students have shown much enthusiasm for this assignment and look forward to swimming with the sharks! In Ms. Adams’ social studies classes, we have been studying the Corps of Discovery led by Lewis and Clark. Each student researched a member of the corps and created a visualization of the person. They are currently on display upstairs in the hallway. The students also used Flipgrid to share their projects. (https://flipgrid.com/8968b4) It was interesting to hear their stories, especially how one of them shot another! We are currently discovering how the Corps interacted with various Native American tribes along their route. In order to recognize Veterans Day, we viewed a video from Discovery Education about the history of the day. After the discussion, we created cards for veterans. |
October 27, 20107 |
It has been a pleasure getting to meet you all at our parent/teacher conferences! We appreciate you taking the time to meet with the 7th grade team. It so nice to have an opportunity to brag about this wonderful 7th grade class! Please know that if you ever have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Dates to Remember
Prior to beginning of Project Safeguard, we would like to gather in the cafeteria at RJH to have a potluck breakfast. If you are able to attend, please bring a breakfast item to share. It can be a hot dish, cereal and milk, juice or whatever your family would be sure to eat. We will supply coffee and tea. This will be a great way to start our day together! Curriculum Update In math, students have been working on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers and fractions. They will continue next week with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals. Blue math class will have their Chapter 2 test on Thursday, November 2nd and that is also when their Chapter 2 Enrichment problems are due. Green and Yellow math classes will have their Chapter 2 test the following week. A reminder that students should be working on BuzzMath to earn at least 10 gold stars for Term 1. In science classes, we investigated Earth’s relationship with the Moon. We discovered why there are two high tides/low tides. We also reviewed the Moon phases. From time to time, we will be doing engineering tasks that will include VEX robots. They are a step up from Legos and can be run autonomously or by a controller. I plan to incorporate the robotics with our space unit, simulating a robot on a planet. In language arts, students are continuing their narrative writing unit by producing vignettes that require a great deal of self-reflection and discovery. Most recently, students were tasked with evaluating their name and if it fits and shapes them. Next, we explored finding value in a simple, good day. We are currently writing pieces where students have to examine a time where they greatly anticipated an event, yet when it arrived, the event fell short of their expectations. Overall, students have shown a tremendous amount of growth in their ability to think deeply about their own experiences and how to make them come alive in a short, poignant pieces. In Mrs. Harrington’s social studies class, students filmed their common craft video projects on Wednesday! Students watched the videos in class on Thursday and created a graphic organizer outlining the four major events that led to the Civil War! Watch the videos here: https://rjh7soc.weebly.com/civil-war.html Next week, students will interpret maps, graphs, and pictures to understand the tension between the Union and the Confederacy before war erupts. In Ms. Adams’ class, we are learning about the Westward Expansion. We are beginning the adventures of Lewis and Clark. We will do two projects by researching the individuals in the Corps of Discovery and the Native Americans they met along the way. In Mrs. Miller’s social studies class, we are focusing on how the titans of industry revolutionized modern society. We are making life-sized displays of these historical figures and using visual representations to reveal their approaches to business and their lasting impact on American history. Reading Book Recommendations If your child is looking for a new book to read at home that matches his or her interest and reading level, please visit the “Book Recommendations” section of Mrs. Miller’s website. Please encourage your child to read each night. If your child is unable to find a book that works for him or her, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Miller for suggestions. For next month’s language arts project, students will need to use a book that has been read within the past month, so it would be very helpful for students to have a book ready to use for this project. |
October 13, 2017 |
It seems that fall is finally upon us, and we are fully in the swing of things! We hope that everyone was able to recharge after the long, Columbus Day weekend! There are a lot of exciting activities occurring in the classroom and many more to come!
Dates to Remember
Tuesday mornings, from 7:45-8:00 AM, the seventh grade classrooms will be open for parents to drop in. Drop-in day is a way for parents to get a quick check-in or to get an idea of what their child’s daily environment is like. This is not meant as a formal conference time, but more of a casual discovery time. Team teachers will be available to discuss strategies to help students succeed. We are hoping to increase communication between school and home. Teachers available are: Ms. Adams, Mrs. Miller, and Mrs. Harrington. It is important to remember that content-area teachers are available for extra help. Students are encouraged to stay if they want help with homework, studying, organization, challenges, or make-up work. Teachers are available multiple days during the week with a heads up. Project Safeguard and Pot Luck Breakfast We would like to invite you to our annual Project Safeguard event that will be held on Friday, November 3rd. Project Safeguard is a program of speakers and workshops designed to help students and parents during the early adolescent years and the transition to high school. After many successful years we are pleased to be able to offer another varied program. Topics will include communication, conflict resolution, trust, goal setting, internet safety, and creating a positive attitude. Parent participation is a very important part of this project and we encourage at least one parent to attend per child. We are letting people know the date in advance so that work schedules can be adjusted. An employer letter is available on request to explain the program. If neither parent can attend, a grandparent or other significant adult for the child can attend. Prior to beginning the event at the Rye Congregational Church, we would like to gather in the cafeteria at RJH to have breakfast. If you are able to attend, please bring a breakfast dish to share. This is a great way to start our day together! Parent/Teacher Conferences It has been a pleasure meeting with you all to discuss your child’s progress in our classes. If you have not signed up for a time slot, there is still some availability. Please visit our Sign Up Genius page to reserve your space. If you are unable to meet with us during the remaining times, please feel free to contact a member of the 7th grade team to arrange a meeting. Curriculum Update In language arts, students are building upon their narrative, writing skills by crafting vignettes based on mentor texts from Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. Students were tasked with using their knowledge of figurative language to write about the feelings and memories that they have regarding their homes. There has been a strong emphasis placed on using concrete objects and characteristics to represent abstract thoughts and feelings. Students mostly recently completed a vignette about a physical characteristic of person close to them that evokes a sense of safety and comfortability. All of these pieces, and the ones to come, will be a part of the students’ own, coming-of-age book. For October’s independent project, students are getting into the Halloween spirit! Students are researching an American author or poet and creating a memorial in his or her honor. The memorial will feature a tombstone with an engraved limerick that is related to the author’s writings/life’s work. Students will also need to include three objects that are relevant to that author’s life and explain the significance of these objects. The finished products will be displayed at the Haunted Walk on Friday, October 20th. For more information about this assignment, the 7th grade language arts website. Science classes are working on some of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for middle school. We have investigated the effects of a tilted Earth on our lives. We started outdoors with our flagpole and several dots spray painted in the driveway. The students eventually figured out the dots represented the end of the shadow of the flagpole at different times of the year. Next time you are here, try to determine which marks were made on the solstices and equinox. The students have been contributing work to their Seesaw accounts and to their own blogs. We hope to have blogging buddies from different countries (Australia and Argentina) later this year. You are welcome to share the link of the blog with family members. To find the blogs, go to rjh7.edublogs.org and look for your child’s name on the right-hand side. In math, students finished chapter 1 and had their first test last week! This week they started chapter 2 on rational number operations. In this chapter, your child will learn about operations with rational numbers. Some of the skills your child will practice are: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers, fractions, and decimals; finding the distance between two integers on a number line; and using the order of operations with integers! A reminder that students should be working on BuzzMath to earn at least 10 gold stars for Term 1. In Mrs. Miller’s social studies class, we concluded our Constitution unit and just started exploring the Industrial Revolution. We are kicking-off this new unit by examining the growing industries in America during this time period and the influential powerhouses behind these businesses, such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Building this background information will certainly help students with their upcoming Shark Tank project. In Ms. Adams’ social studies class, we also have concluded the Constitution unit. We are continuing to investigate how our new country’s government formed and identify some of the key people involved, specifically with the development of our two party political system. Later, we will focus on the Westward Expansion. In Mrs. Harrington’s social studies class, we finished our Constitution unit and students did a great job on both the constitution projects and the test! On Tuesday, we started our Civil War unit! This week students learned and discussed the differences between the north and the south prior to the start of the Civil War. Students will be learning about the four major causes that led to the Civil War and doing a really fun Common Craft Video Project to demonstrate their learning and present the information! Contact Information Sheila Adams, 7th Grade Science/Social Studies, [email protected] Sarah Harrington, 7th Grade Math/Social Studies, [email protected] Jennifer Miller, 7th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies, [email protected] |
It’s hard to believe that September is almost over! It has been a pleasure getting to better know your children this past month. We have had a lot of fun these past few weeks both inside and outside of the classroom! In this update, you will find a wrap-up of past events and few more that are on the horizon.
Dates to Remember
International Peace Day Students worked with the group Up With People to create flags that represent peace and learned some fun new dances from various countries. It was wonderful to watch the entire school participating in these activities. Be sure to ask your child to demonstrate some of their new dances moves for you! Take Flight Adventures In which is sure to be one of the most memorable trips of the year, students of all grades participated in the ropes course at Take Flight Adventures. As a team, we could not be more proud of our 7th grade students’ attitudes and ability to persevere through difficult obstacles. They supported their classmates and cheered each other on as they maneuvered through the ropes course. The crew from Take Flight Adventures visited RJH this Friday afternoon to emphasize teamwork and collaboration. Parent/Teacher Conferences
The 7th grade team will be holding parent/teacher conferences starting October 11th. We will be sending out an online sign-up sheet to reserve time slots. Conferences will typically be held from 12:30 - 2:00 on various days throughout the week. If you are unable to reserve a spot during those times, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher, and we will certainly make arrangements to meet with you. Please look for the sign-up email next week. Curriculum Update In math, students have completed Chapter 1 on the real number system and have begun reviewing for their chapter 1 test next Tuesday! Students in green and yellow math classes will be assessed on Lesson 1.1 and Lesson 1.2. Students in blue math class will be assessed on Lessons 1.1 through 1.4 which includes irrational numbers. On Wednesday, we will begin Chapter 2 on rational number operations. In language arts, students are currently focusing on identifying and utilizing figurative language in order to make their writing more appealing. Students completed a jigsaw activity where they were responsible for reinforcing concepts to their peers. It was certainly enjoyable to watch students take ownership of their learning in order to help their fellow classmates further understand what was taught in class. The group demonstrations were quite creative! Students just completed a figurative language assessment to evaluate their level of mastery. Those who need supplemental support in this area will be given added assistance and instruction. In the coming week, students will be using a mentor text as a model to create short, vignette-style writing pieces. Students will be tasked with using the figurative language techniques learned in class in their writing. The Hispanic Heritage Month projects were a huge success! Thank you for your support at home! Students will receive another independent project in October. In science class, the students received accounts with ArcGIS, a geographic information system (GIS). Students will be able to collect, organize and display data (including photos) on maps. We are planning some projects involving Wedgewood and the Rye Harbor that we will be able to share with the community. Have you ever noticed the planet names on Washington and Wallis Roads? They are there (with permission)! We have been learning about distance and scale of our solar system. Students learned that the size and distances of the planets and Sun can not easily be displayed using the same scale, therefore, we moved outside. At the RJH sign, imagine the Sun the size of a beach ball. Where would the rest of the planets be and what would be their size compared to the beach ball/Sun? Spoiler - Earth is at the edge of the driveway and is the size of a pea. Take a walk or bike ride along the streets to see where the rest of the planets are located. In social studies, all three classes have been working on putting their knowledge of the United States Constitution into practice! Students were able to self-select from a list of projects that allows them to best demonstrate their understanding of the material taught in class. These projects include creating a constitution for Rye Junior High School, making a poster that shows the functions and responsibilities of the three branches of government, and a scavenger hunt of the Constitution. At the conclusion of the unit, students will be given a test on the Constitution that is directly aligned with the notes and activities from class. School News All students who have insured their chromebooks will be able to take these devices home on Monday, October 2nd. If you have not yet completed the insurance requirements, please visit the RJH homepage (http://rjh.sau50.org) for the form by Sept. 30. Contact Information Sheila Adams, 7th Grade Science/Social Studies, [email protected] Sarah Harrington, 7th Grade Math/Social Studies, [email protected] Jennifer Miller, 7th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies, [email protected] |
September 15, 2017 |
We hope you and your child are having a wonderful start to the school year! As a 7th grade team, we are excited to be a part of your child’s academic journey this year. We would like to keep the lines of communication open, so please feel free to reach out to the team or individual teachers if you need anything. Every other week, we will be sending out an email to give you a quick snapshot of what is occurring in each of the content areas, as well as keep you apprised of any school-wide events.
Dates to remember:
Project Safeguard Project Safeguard, a 7th grade only event, will be held Friday, November 3, 2017. This event takes place during the school day and is designed for students and their parents. Please save the date. A more formal description will be coming from Alison Dunn. Advisory During this Friday’s advisory class, we discussed our team expectations. There are four categories that encompass the behaviors expected from the students: manage yourself, respect people, property, and learning, cooperate with others, and act in a healthy, legal, and ethical manner. Students discussed what these behaviors look like with their advisors and how to best adhere to them in everyday situations. Curriculum Update The team has noted that students as whole are progressing well in the core classes! In language arts, students just wrapped up their summer reading discussions through the use of Flipgrid and a writing assignment related to their personal interests. These assignments will be posted to your child’s SeeSaw account. Students are currently working on an independent project for Hispanic Heritage Month that is due on Monday, September 25th. Next week, we will be moving into developing narrative skills by crafting vignettes. In math, students began the year by working on problem-solving skills by finding multiple solutions to two different Water Wonder Problems. From there, students completed a fact fluency benchmark and the STAR Math test in order to assess their current level of mastery with specific content. Students have begun exploring the real numbers system. The Chapter 1 Family Letter was sent home with your child today. In science, students completed a unit about the human eye. Students investigated how our eyes function and experimented with types of lenses. Their photos of their eyes and a reflection will be available on your child’s SeeSaw account. Next week we will venture into the Wedgewood property. Students should be dressed for the weather and possible mosquito conditions. In social studies, all three classes are presently exploring the anatomy of the United States Constitution. Students have examined the need for government and the varying viewpoints of the early political philosophers, different types of governments, and limitations on government. School News We would like to thank everyone who attended our Open House. We had an excellent turnout! If you were unable to attend, the information that was distributed that evening was sent home with your child. During Open House, Ms. Soucy discussed the insurance that is available to all students so they may bring their laptops home with them each day. Students who do not purchase the insurance will not be able to take their laptops out of the building. To purchase the insurance, please visit the RJH homepage (http://sau50.org/rye/rjh/) for the form. On September 21st, Up with People will be visiting the school to discuss International Peace Day with the students. Each student will partake in an activity to commemorate this holiday. For more information about this organization, their projects and hosting a member, please contact Mary Coombs at [email protected]. Contact Information Sheila Adams 7th Grade Science/Social Studies [email protected] Sarah Harrington 7th Grade Math/Social Studies [email protected] Jennifer Miller 7th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies [email protected] |