April 13, 2012

PLEASE VISIT THE PTO LINK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE!

Early next week I will be updating the blog and sharing information regarding the next steps for our journey into Standards Based Report Cards.

Please join us this Wednesday, April 18th at 7p.m. in the Woodlawn Gym for an information night on Standards Based Report Cards.  Myself, Twin Principal Heather Friziellie and District Office Administrators will present and answer any questions you might have.  This would be a great event to attend so that you have the most accurate information regarding standards based reporting.  If you have any questions, please call me at 847-353-8500.

Here are the classroom updates for April...

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Social Studies: This month we will continue our unit of Egypt and finish off the unit with a project that will require the students to research a particular Pharaoh and build an Egyptian tomb for their Pharaoh.  After we complete this task, we will begin our units on ancient India and China.

Science:  In science we are continuing our Geology Unit. April will consist of continuing learning about Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks. After our test on Rocks and Minerals on Friday, April 13 the students will be learning about the layers of the Earth and tectonic plates.  We will also be studying volcanoes and earthquakes. The Geology Benchmark is scheduled for the first week in May.

Math:  At level and advanced level students will be studying ratio/proportions and percents. Please keep an eye out for our extra credit tip assignment. The honors class will be applying number theory to their pre-algebra knowledge.

Reading/LA: We are starting our persuasive writing unit.  We will be discussing how writers consider the demographics of their audience to persuade them, and will also learn about the three forms of persuasive appeals: emotional, authority, and logical.  From there, the students will begin writing a multi-paragraph persuasive essay, using a graphic organizer to organize their ideas.  All classes will also be starting a novel unit, which was very popular with many of the students in the fall.  The students will either be reading Maniac Magee or Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

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Science: Science students are  currently studying rocks in our geology unit. They have learned how to identify rocks as sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous . Earthquakes, volcanoes , layers of the earth and tectonic plates are just some of the topics they will learn about as they continue their journey in  geology. Students had the option  ( due April 12 )to make a rock friend for extra credit in fourth quarter! The geology benchmark will be  the last week in May.

English/Language arts:  We are starting an exciting persuasive unit where students will learn how to appeal to an audience through different persuasive appeals.  Students will be applying audience purpose and appeals through persuasive activities and their writing.  All classes will also begin a novel unit this week: Roll of Thunder-Hear My Cry, Maniac Magee, or Tuck Everlasting, depending on their English class.

Math:
Honors:  We are finally finishing up our Geometry unit.  We will then be moving on to Factors, Fractions and Exponents.

Advanced:  We have just started our unit over Ratios, Rates and Proportions.

At Level:  We have just started our Ratio, Rate, Proportion and Percent Unit.





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Math:  In at-level math we will continue to investigate rates, ratios, and proportions.  In accelerated math, we will study exponent rules and begin to examine the graphs of linear functions.  In honors math, we will be completing the unit on exponential functions and beginning our study of quadratics.

Reading/LA: In at-level R/LA, students are learning the different forms of the oral tradition. In honors, the students are studying the different forms of drama, and they will participate in a variety of presentations. Both levels are also beginning to view and write persuasive pieces. We are continuing the study of the parts of speech until the end of the year.

Social Studies:  Students will research the various reform movements in the mid-nineteenth century and present their findings to the class in the form of a “glog,” or virtual poster.  We will then examine the abolitionist movement in nineteenth-century America by role-playing various abolitionist figures and by taking a virtual “field trip” on the Underground Railroad.  Classes will then study the social and economic differences between the North and the South and the causes of and events leading up to the Civil War.

Spanish:  Students are working in Unidad 3, Etapa 1.  They have been practicing with accepting and declining invitations and answering and talking on the phone.  This week students are creating and performing skits using all the vocabulary and grammar points in this chapter.



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Reading and Language Arts/Russell (7th- Honors)
Students have begun a unit in drama where they will participate in a variety of dramatic presentations that include The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, The Diary of Anne Frank, and more.  In our ongoing study of grammar and the parts of speech, students are learning about coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and interjections.  WOW!  During the remainder of the month, student-generated topics for the benchmark persuasive essay will be shared and students will begin drafting their compositions.  All work and research relating to the persuasive benchmark writing assessment will be completed entirely in class and submitted using Google Documents.



Reading and Language Arts/Russell (8th - At Level)
Students are currently composing literary analysis essays on the novel, The Call of the Wild, by Jack London; this writing assignment will be completed entirely in class and submitted using Google Documents.  Students will then begin a drama unit where they will refine their character/conflict analysis skills through the experience of reading and discussing The Diary of Anne Frank.  This unit will culminate in students bringing Anne’s story to life by participating in a small scale production of the play in our classroom theater.

Social Studies (7th):  In Mrs. Miller’s 7th grade Social Studies classes, students will be investigating the causes of the Civil War.  We will begin this unit by exploring the institution of slavery and the growth of the abolition movement, including a virtual trip on the Underground Railroad.  We will then continue through history, focusing on the series of compromises over slavery that increasingly polarized the North and the South and ultimately led to the great tragedy of the Civil War.

Social Studies (8th):  In Mrs. Miller’s 8th grade Social Studies classes, students will investigate the Kennedy assassination and draw their own conclusions as to whether Oswald acted alone or whether there was a greater conspiracy at hand.  Could there have been a “magic bullet”?  Was it the mob?  The Communists?  LBJ?  The mystery remains alive and well in the public eye as well as at Woodlawn!  We will also explore the domestic policies of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, followed by the Nixon presidency and his demise due to the infamous Watergate scandal.

Science (7):  Spring has arrived early this year and we will begin studying weather to see if we can figure out why.  For the first couple weeks we will be learning about Earth’s atmosphere and how and why air moves around the planet.  Next we explore fronts, severe weather, the differences between humidity and relative humidity, dew point, and the causes of various types of precipitation.  There will be some focus on understanding el nino/la nina and jet streams to help explain what might be causing this year’s unusual temperatures. The unit wraps up with reading weather maps and making weather forecasts.

Science (8):  Astronomy is the current topic in 8th grade.  We’ll spend time in the beginning studying different types of waves and their parts.  Exploring light waves will lead us to an understanding of the life and death of stars and the characteristics of galaxies.

Spanish
It’s hard to believe we are already in the 4th quarter and that it’s spring! In 7th grade we began a new unit on Puerto Rico and learned a few facts about “Borinquien” or “la isla del encanto” as the natives call it. Did you know that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and that they use the U.S. dollar?  They also have a representative in Congress called the Resident Commissioner. There is also a beautiful rainforest in Puerto Rico called El Yunque. Their national symbol is the coquí, a tiny frog that sings. We are now working on free time activities such as going to the movies, playing sports etc. and also verb constructions to help students talk about the past.
 
8th grade students are in etapa 2 of the Barcelona Spain unit and are discussing chores and work in the home. They are diligently working on the preterite tense (the past tense) which they must master before moving on to high school. Our Tomatina fight was a big success and the students followed all the official rules from Spain. Our next planned cultural event is Flamenco dance so stay tuned....we are all going to dance!!


7th Math - At Level
We are presently working on ratios, rates, and proportions, converting customary units of measure and metric unit of measure.  We will also be solving scale drawings and similar figures.    We will continue on to percents where we will find percent of a number, use the percent proportion and percent equation.  Solve problems involving percent of change, sales tax and discount, and simple interest.  


7th Math - Accelerated
We are presently working on Chapter 9 - Powers and Nonlinear Functions where we will cover powers, prime factorization, multiplying and dividing monomials, zero and negative exponents, scientific notation, powers of monomials, and compare linear versus nonlinear functions.  We will then continue on to working with graphing linear equations.

7th Algebra I - Honors
We are working on Exponents and Exponential Functions.  We are applying exponent properties involving products and quotients, define and using zero and negative exponents, scientific notation, and write and graph Exponential growth and Decay Functions.  We will work problems that involve exponential models in the real world.  We then will continue on to Polynomials and Factoring where the students will learn to add, subtract, and multiply polynomials, find special products of polynomials, solve polynomial equations in factored form, as well as learn how to factor polynomials in the form x2 +bx + c and ax2 + bx + c completely.


8th Algebra I - Accelerated

We are working on polynomials at the present time, we are classifying, adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials.  We will find zeros of a polynomials, special products of polynomials, solve polynomial equations in factored form, as well as learn how to factor polynomials in the form x2 +bx + c and ax2 + bx + c completely.  We will move on to graphing quadratic functions and solving quadratic equations.  Students learn the effects of a and c on the graph of y = ax2 + c and y = ax2 + bx + c, solve quadratic equation by completing the square and use the quadratic formula to solve quadratic models that are not factorable.  




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English/LA
Honors classes are starting introductions to Shakespeare and his language. Students will begin examining Shakespeare’s shorter works to help transition us to the reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  
At-Level classes are working on writing their first literary analysis paper based on The Call of the Wild. After that, we will be starting our drama unit by reading the play The Diary of Anne Frank.

Social Studies
In Mrs. Shannon’s Social Studies classes, students will investigate the Kennedy assassination and draw their own conclusions as to whether Oswald acted alone or whether there was a conspiracy.  Could there have been a “magic bullet”?  Was it the mob?  The Communists?  The Cubans? LBJ?  The mystery remains alive and well in the public eye as well as at Woodlawn!  We will also compare and contrast the Presidencies and the domestic policies of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.  Finally, we will examine the complex Presidency of Richard Nixon, examining at his incredible ability to navigate foreign policy while at the same time harboring insecurities that eventually led to his downfall.

Spanish
This month we will be continuing our study of Barcelona, Spain.  We will be learning household vocabulary as well as more food words.  The most challenging grammar will be the irregular preterite.  This will require a lot of memorizing and practice.  We will also go back to the daily “no ingles” grade.  As usual, vocabulary and grammar can be practiced online (classzone.com and quizlet.com).  

ENCORE: We have begun our final quarter Monday, April 9!

ART
All grades are working on our first drawing and design projects in sketch books.  The 2 required free drawing dates for this quarter are April 24 and May 9, with a third optional one for extra credit due May 23rd.  These will need to be done for the most part outside of class as homework, so look for the green sketch books  to be coming home occasionally over the next few weeks.

Grade 6 is learning to shade and we will then go into a design project before we start our clay unit.
Grade 7 is working on the Letter Logo project and we will then start the wooden animal sculptures.
Grade 8 is currently working on the Word Design project and we will then move on to the clay masks.

Consortium Art Show at Stevenson is coming up May 21st.  Invitations will be coming home the second week in May if your student has work chosen this year.

Music
Each quarter, we have added a different dimension to the use of technology in music and we have created some fabulous projects that have been enhanced by new software, hardware, and online portfolio resources.  The 8th grade has begun their history of rock and roll decade project which will culminate in a music video done utilizing green screen technology and an interactive class presentation.  Seventh grade has begun to compose using a program called, “Finale Print Music 2011” and adding their original composition using MIDI keyboards.  The sixth grade has begun to compose their own original “answering machine rap” using Garage Band and putting their voice into their composition.  All of these projects in grades 6, 7, and 8 will be uploaded to www.myvrspot.com/kildeer where they can share their projects with you at home!


FACS
In sixth grade, for the next few weeks we will be talking about the stages of child development and the characteristics of each age group.  In addition, we will be talking about baby sitting and  learning the skills to becoming a good babysitter, emphasizing areas of safety and babysitting tools.  We will end this unit by creating a babysitting flyer that will emphasize their specific strengths.  Seventh and eighth grade will be learning about the characteristics and benefits of various textiles and creating a web page.  

Band and Orchestra
The 6th grade band and orchestra have been learning about tone colors in music.  This April we will continue to explore a wide variety of classic compositions that highlight the way composers can creatively alter tone color.  This unit will end with a field trip to the Elgin Symphony to hear live performances of those works.

Communications:
This week begins a new quarter for Encore classes. All this week, in all grade levels, we will be going through classroom rules, policies, participation points, and reviewing the curriculum  for the quarter. 6th graders will then begin with a unit on nonverbal communication and will start a ‘silent’ iMovie project. 7th graders will begin a unit on advertising, study advertising strategies, create magazine ads, and write a commercial which they will act in and turn into an imovie commercial. 8th graders will write a public service announcement and turn the PSA into an imovie. All grade levels will work on the iMovie projects at the same time. Students will learn to use the green screen technology and then learn to edit an iMovie.  It’s a lot of Fun!