Happy snow day! Once again, lots going on in Room 8 over the past month. Let's get right into it...
8th Grade Vocabulary: We are studying Unit 8 out of 15 units, so It's looking like we are right on schedule. Every unit, the students get into groups at random and create a story from the unit words and then perform it in front of the class. It's been amazing to see the positive progression of these performances. There are recurring characters, recurring themes, and exciting action. This week's words are: abut, attire, avail, crony, cryptic, divergent, enmity, fervent, gaunt, infiltrate, nullify, perceptible, plummet, proclaim, proxy, rankle, scavenger, stint, stoical, and unflagging.
8th Grade Algebra: My math class is currently studying inequalities, and ways to solve them. For example 8a + 5 < 21. We just completed the mid-chapter quiz, so the test for Chapter 5 will be either the end of next week or the beginning of the following week.
8th Grade Literature: After finishing the book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," we are currently watching the critically acclaimed film, starring Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall. "Mockingbird" was written in 1960 by Harper Lee, winning her the Pulizer Prize for Literature in 1961. A 1991 survey by the Book of the Month Club and the Library of Congress Center for the Book found that To Kill a Mockingbird was rated behind only the Bible in books that are "most often cited as making a difference". The test on the book will take place the middle of next week. Remember, AR is due Feb. 4!
8th Grade Language Arts: We have begun writing persuasive essays. So far, we have studied their design, importance, and used peer influence to help students improve their own stances on topics of their choosing.
7th Grade Math: We are currently studying Multi-step Equations and Inequalities. The first lesson of the chapter dealt with areas and perimeters of two-dimensional objects and how, many times, it takes two steps to solve equations when working with these measurements.
7th Grade Literature: We have begun reading Mark Twain's classic "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." This is probably the most famous of any American Book ever written. It is also very long, so students should expect a bit of reading for homework over the next month. It has been said it is one of the most influential books in American history, so I believe it is important to expose students to a book that has influenced many of the contemporary books they are reading. AR is due Friday, Feb 4!
7th Grade Language Arts: We are in the throws of creating compare/contrast essays. For example, one might compare softball and baseball to help them decide which to play in the spring. We have studied how to design these essays, good topics for them, and how to express themselves using unity, coherence, and sensory details.
Go Pirates!!
