Encore:
ART:
Another Fabulous batch of Art work has been created by Quarter 3 art classes as evidence in the display cases, the learning center and the hallway walls.
Thank you to Mrs. Blake who has been photographing all of the student art work for us this year to post on Artsonia. Every student has an account set up with all art work done since at Woodlawn, or even before if your student attended Kildeer. However if you have changed your email in the past year or are new to Woodlawn please go on the site and update your information. You must have given parental permission in order for the work to be viewable. Everything is setup to protect children’s privacy and is password protected. Look for any slips that may have come home recently for quarter 3 and be sure to return them to Mrs. Kile as soon as possible. Check out the site for more information or to view Woodlawn’s Gallery:
Our final session of Pottery Club that meets on Mondays starts April 8. Be sure to pick up a permission form for a parent signature and return it with your material fee of $8 to Mrs. Kile. Make checks payable to Woodlawn Middle School.
And finally the Stevenson Consortium Art show is on Monday May 20 at Stevenson High School from 7-9 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend. If your student has work selected you will get an invitation one week prior to the event.
Communications:
After Spring Break, the final class in the Encore rotation begins. 6th graders will be learning the process of how to give a speech. This process takes some time, and I predict they’ll deliver their first speech towards the end of the second week of class. 7th and 8th graders will be building on the skills learned in Communications the year before. Along with giving speeches, students will learn to use new technology as a means of communicating.
FACS:
We finished 3rd quarter on a positive note, our cooking unit. The students have made so many wonderful things from appetizers, to side dishes, breakfast dishes and of course desserts. Hopefully, they are sharing their cooking talents with you at home and if not all recipes can be found on my webpage. It is such an amazing experience to watch these young minds truly enjoy the art of cooking.
It is hard to believe 4th quarter is upon us. Our 6th graders have begun with a unit on Child Development as they patiently wait for their sewing projects to be delivered. The 7th and 8th graders are learning about the importance of reading food labels and serving sizes. Within a few weeks they will begin their cooking unit.
MUSIC:
Quarter 3 ended with the students composing their own songs. I am impressed by the creativity of these students working as composers; it is always a delight to see what they create. The 8th graders successfully recorded their own covers of rock songs after spending the quarter learning how to play all of the rock instruments.
WELLNESS: HEALTH
Group 3 returns to Health during the month of April and Group 4 will finish in May. All 6th graders will be learning about how our bodies are organized from simple to complex during the process of growth and development. The 7th graders will be studying about the risks and dangers of substance abuse while the 8th graders will be focusing on the importance of good nutrition and how dietary choices impact one’s health.
Learning Center:
Very exciting things are happening in the Woodlawn Learning Center. We have added eBooks to the Woodlawn Library! Students now have access to electronic books on their iPad, iPad Mini, or a web-enabled device. By downloading the Follett Digital Reader app, students can access over 125 eBooks and digital audio books. These books can be read online or downloaded to devices to be read or listened to from anywhere. We will always have a paper version of every available eBook, but this is a great option for all kids looking to read on the go. Visit the Learning Center website for more information and links to our bookshelf:
Orchestra:
How does music travel from one place in the world to another? How does it travel with us, in our memory? How can music take us to a faraway place, in our imaginations, and how does music actually sound like it's moving? 6th Grade orchestra students will be exploring the moving sounds of an orchestra in April when they visit the elgin Symphony. 7th & 8th grade orchestra will be exploring new key signatures and refining their shifting technique as they prepare for their final concert of the year in May.
Band:
In 6th grade, our band students will be learning about the music of composers from around the world, and how their music was brought to America. The unit will conclude with a field trip to hear the music performed live by they Elgin Symphony Orchestra. 6th graders will also be learning specifically about how to play in compound meter, and will master their chromatic scale. 7th and 8th graders are preparing some rather challenging music in both rehearsals and lessons that will improve their technique and will be performed for upcoming concerts. And all students will have the opportunity to perform short solos, duets or trios for the PTO book fair at Barnes and Noble on April 13.
6-1
Language Arts:
In language arts, students will be studying the literary element of theme. They will discover how to determine the theme and how other literary elements contribute to the theme in a story. In addition, the students will also be working on narrative writing. They will learn how to develop a story with an engaging plot, and how to spice up their writing with figurative language, sensory details, and descriptive words.
Social Studies:
In Social Studies, we have already begun learning about Ancient Egypt. In this unit, we will study the geography of the region and talk about the dynasties of the Pharaohs as well as the inventions that they have provided for mankind. We will end the unit with a group project where the students will be asked to research a famous Pharaoh and construct an Egyptian tomb in his/her honor.
Science:
In science, we will be continuing our studies of different rocks and the rock cycle. Our next unit will cover plate tectonics and layers of the earth. Students will have the opportunity to make a volcano as well as use hard boiled eggs to model the plates of the earth’s crust.
Math:
Honors and Advanced Math are still working on Geometry. 3 - D Figures is on the agenda.
At - Level - We are finishing up our Fraction unit will US Customary Unit conversions. It is tough work. Once we leave that we will be working on Ratios, Rates and Proportions.
6-2
Language Arts:
In language arts, students will be studying the literary element of theme. They will discover how to determine the theme and how other literary elements contribute to the theme in a story. In addition, the students will also be working on narrative writing. They will learn how to develop a story with an engaging plot, and how to spice up their writing with figurative language, sensory details, and descriptive words.
Science:
In science, we will be continuing our studies of different rocks and the rock cycle. Our next unit will cover plate tectonics and layers of the earth. Students will have the opportunity to make a volcano as well as use hard boiled eggs to model the plates of the earth’s crust.
Math
Honors is beginning a unit on fractions.
Advanced is working on Ratio, Proportions and Percents.
At - Level - We are finishing up our Fraction unit will US Customary Unit conversions. It is tough work. Once we leave that we will be working on Ratios, Rates and Proportions.
7-1
Social Studies
In social studies we will be doing a unit on the westward expansion of the United States. This unit will include a “panel discussion” in which students will assume the roles of the various types of people who settled the West. We will then move on to study the causes and circumstances that led up to the Civil War and will finish the year with a study of that war and its effects on the United States.
Math- Mrs. Julis & Ms. Carpenter
In at-level math, we will be continuing our study of fractions, percents, and decimals as the school year progresses. The accelerated class will complete a unit on exponents and exponential expressions and then move on to study functions and linear equations. In honors math, we will also be studying exponential expressions, equations, and graphs and then moving on to study quadratics. This unit will involve graphs, equations, and operations with polynomials, including factoring
7th Grade Language Arts:
In Ms. Russell’s and Miss Keehnast’s honors classes, students have begun to learn new (literary and informational-text) reading targets in cycle five. We will practice those skills in class for the remainder of the week and in the days following spring break. In writing, our students will participate in another cycle of argumentative writing. Please encourage your child to read both fiction and nonfiction texts independently to build background knowledge and sharpen their comprehension and analysis skills.
In Mrs. Hain’s, Miss Keehnast’s, Miss Kramer’s and Ms. Luther’s seventh grade language arts classes, students are working on the cycle 5 learning targets. Most of the targets this cycle relate to reading pieces of argumentative writing and writing argumentatively. The trace an argument target allows your child to practice their detective skills in order to evaluate whether the article is sufficient and/or relevant. The students are also looking at the perspective and purpose an author takes for writing an article. We have continued to work on analyzing the text structure/organizational pattern used by an author. We are also building are argumentative writing by writing an argumentative essay on cheating. Ask your child to share with you the difference between a claim statement and a counterclaim statement.
7th Grade Science
The spring season brings anticipation of warmer, but sometimes violent weather. Before spring break we talked about Earth’s atmosphere and will dig deep into why weather occurs on our planet when we return. Understanding how air moves around the planet, why deserts and rainforests can be found in specific locations, and why we get unusual changes in weather as a result of el nino and la nina conditions will be explored. We will also study the causes of high and low pressure systems, and the weather that results from each. Finally, we analyze maps to try and make weather predictions for the future. The weather unit is loaded with practical information that will help sort out and make sense of the often complex weather broadcast on the evening news programs.
7th Grade Social Studies - Mrs. Miller
After spring break we will explore the development of the West by focusing on the many characters who emerged in America who created a true American culture. Students will investigate a distinct character and then work to persuade their classmates that their character played the most integral role in the development of America. Was it the mountain man/fur trapper? The Native American? The Prospecting Miner? The Lawman? The Homesteading Farmer? The Town Merchant? The Texas Cowhand? Or the Covered Wagon Pioneer? Only one can be crowned the “True Hero of the Old West.” After the winner has been determined, we will shift our focus to the dividing nation and causes of the Civil War.
7th Grade Spanish
7th graders will be working on learning the numbers 1-1,000,000 as we return from break. Then we will begin Chapter 4A. This is an exciting chapter for students as we tackle the irregular verb jugar which means to play. Sports and game vocabulary will help us practice our new verb. Of course we will continue with our speaking, listening, and writing activities as well.
8th Grade
8th Grade Science
We begin the astronomy unit immediately after spring break. Topics include the electromagnetic spectrum and how it is used to learn about objects far away in space. We will compare and contrast the Sun as a star and explore the life and death of a star. The H-R Diagram will be used to explore brightness, color and temperature of stars. How measurements of space objects are made will also be examined.
8th Grade
8th Grade Language Arts
In Mrs. Harvat’s room we will continue to work on compare/contrast as well as narrative writing. We will further continue working summaries for both fiction and nonfiction text. After break students will be reading and analyzing form (structure), sound, and language (figurative) in poetry and we will engage in a nonfiction text unit, interdisciplinary unit with social studies. Please encourage your child to read both fiction and nonfiction independently to build background knowledge and to sharpen both comprehension and analysis skills.
For the rest of Cycle 5, Mr. Keenon’s class will be working on analyzing the structure of literary texts and how that structure impacts the meaning in the texts. We will also be working on summarizing informational texts, analyzing author’s point of view and how he/she responds to conflicting information, and analyzing texts that disagree on matters of fact or interpretation. The students will also be writing narratives. In Cycle 6, the students will be working on argument writing again as well as analyzing theme and dialogue. The centerpiece text for Honors in Cycle 6 will be Romeo and Juliet, and the centerpiece text for At-Level will be The Call of the Wild.
In Mrs. Hain’s eighth grade language art class, we are working on analyzing the structure of literary texts and how the structure impacts the meaning of the texts. We are also working on summarizing informational texts, and analyzing the author’s point of view and how he/she responds to conflicting information, and analyzing texts that disagree on matters of fact or interpretation. We are also working on narrative writing this cycle. So far we have written a narrative poem and are currently working on a second narrative piece. Ask your child what topic he/she is writing about.
In Ms. Russell’s class, students have begun to create narrative essays that engage readers in all elements of plot by using a variety of literary devices and techniques. Writing objective summaries of nonfiction texts has also been a focus of our classroom discussion and practice over the past two weeks. As we move into post-break curriculum, students will be reading and analyzing form (structure), sound, and language (figurative) in poetry. Please encourage your child to read both fiction (prose and poetry) and nonfiction texts independently to build background knowledge and to sharpen both comprehension and analysis skills.
Math
In Ms. Carpenter’s and Mrs. Cooper’s Algegra 1 class, students will finish up their study of exponents & exponential functions. They will then move on to learn about polynomials and factoring. With this knowledge, students will finish up the year learning about quadratic equations and functions. The rest of the school year will involve a lot of factoring, graphing & use of the TI-84 calculator.
In Mrs. Cooper’s Algebra 2 , we will be solving equations with logarithms, then move on to rational functions. In our AT level math, we will be working on Pythagorean Theorem, circles and solving multi-step equations.
Spanish
During the month of April we will continue to practice the regular preterite (past tense) and add many irregular verbs. This unit will continue through the end of the school year. We will also learn additional food and house vocabulary and culture from Spain.
Social Studies - Mrs. Shannon & Mrs. Miller
In April we will be completing our exploration of Civil Rights by exploring how the non-violent civil disobedience of the 1950s paved the way for changes in federal law. Students will understand how changes in the law led to violent reaction from some citizens who did not want to see an end to Jim Crow laws that segregated the South. Finally, we will examine how the successes of the Black Civil Rights movement paved the way for expanded civil rights of other minorities. The final assessment will be a DBQ (data based question) that will serve as a final preparation for the historical writing required in high school.
Next, we will begin a look at the expanding role of the federal government during the 1960s and 1970s focusing on the Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations. Students will be designing baseball cards of the presidents, as they learn to evaluate the successes and failures of each administration. Highlights (or lowlights) include the energy crisis, detente, Watergate, and the Iranian Hostage crisis.
