Tuesday, October 16

8th Graders took the Math MEAP during 1st and 2nd hours today, the science MEAP is tomorrow.

Humanities: Students took the mathematics MEAP test in the morning and discussed the presidential debate and analyzed campaign ads in the afternoon. No homework. Current events are due Friday.

Science: Continued to work on rough drafts of "How Fast Am I?" IB inquiry lab. 4th-7th hours' rough drafts for peer review are due tomorrow and final drafts are due Friday. 2nd & 3rd hours' rough drafts are due Friday for peer review and final drafts are due Monday. See yesterday's post for a copy of the rubric.  

Spanish I: 4th-7th hours: finish the questions on Maricela for tomorrow. All hours: study for 1.2 (part 1) quiz on Monday, Oct 22nd.

Course 3: All classes should have worksheet 2.7, # 1 - 6 done tomorrow.

Monday, October 15

Tomorrow is the math MEAP, students should bring calculators to use, Wednesday is the science MEAP, be sure to get enough rest and eat a good breakfast!

Geometry: Took notes on section 3.1 (Identify pairs of lines and angles), homework is the 3.1 worksheet. Geometry class does not meet again until Thursday due to MEAP.

Pre-Algebra: We went over our quizzes today. Corrections for the quiz are due by Wednesday. We talked about 1-step equation solving. Homework: Worksheet 2.4 Practice, due at the end of the hour tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the math portion of the MEAP. Please bring a calculator to ensure that you have one for the test.

Algebra: We went over the IB assessment on tiling your bathroom floor, emphasizing what minimizing means. We are continuing our lessons on equation and inequality solving. Homework: worksheet 3.3/6.3
Tomorrow is the math portion of the MEAP. Please bring a calculator to ensure that you have one for the test.

Science: Continued working on the "How Fast Am I?" lab. Morning classes worked on graphs and data analysis. Afternoon classes worked on data analysis, conclusions and critique reflection. Morning classes rough draft is due on Friday and final draft is due next Monday. Afternoon classes rough draft is due on Wednesday and final draft is due on Friday. Click here for a copy of the rubric. Our first test will be Friday, October 26.

Spanish I: Study for vocab quiz on 1.2 on Monday, Oct 22nd. Words are on my blog and have been passed out.

ELA - students were given time to AR reading and quizzes, this is the last week before we start our class novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, so it is highly suggested that students get their 2 novels for this marking period completed and tested by the end of this week. We started our Science Fiction Unit by reading from our class Anthology and taking notes on the vocabulary words for this week. We will be reading two Science Fiction short stories and will be tested on the words and stories during our Friday quiz. If absent students may "check out" the anthology to catch up. Progress Reports were handed out today - as we do not send home official progress reports I thought it may be helpful to parents to see how their student is fairing and how much homework can help or hinder a student's grades. Remember MEAP tomorrow and Wednesday, so please be sure your student gets lots of sleep and eats a healthy breakfast. Homework: READ! Get progress reports signed...return tomorrow.

Humanities: Students checked chapter 2 assessment and shared current events in class. No homework.

Friday, October 11

Geometry: Took the chapter 2 test, they did AWESOME! No homework.

Science: Finished collecting data for "How Fast Am I?" and talked about graphing. Students need to complete the research this weekend. We will continue working on the lab all next week. 4-7th hours will peer review on Wednesday, Oct. 17 and final drafts will be due on Friday, October 19. 2nd & 3rd hours will peer review on Friday, October 19 and final drafts will be due on Monday, October 22. Click here for a copy of the rubric and see Wednesday's post for a copy of the planner.

Humanities: Unfortunately, I am out of the building today. Students worked on chapter 2 assessment in class. Chapter 2 assessment is due Monday. We will share current events Monday.

Art 8 : (1st hr.) Students are finishing up the relief sculpture landscapes. The tissue has been applied and crayon rubbing added to enhance the relief. Reliefs are being mounted onto black paper and rubrics are being completed. These are due Monday Oct 15.

Art 7/8 : (5th and 6th hrs.) Students are still working on cityscapes. A variety of building shapes, overlapping and texture must be included. Students are currently adding the black marker to their cityscapes. Painting of the background will begin next week with a demonstration of the painting technique on Monday. Color theory will be discussed and students must choose one color family to use in the painting portion.

Advanced Art 8: Pasta still lifes have been designed and I spray painted them silver to make the value more pronounced. Students made viewfinders and chose a portion of their pasta still life to enlarge using the viewfinders. They have finished the layout of their drawings and have moved onto the value portion. Daily still life #3 is still in progress.

ELA - Morning classes were minimally interrupted with the Fun Run...and boy was it fun! 3rd through 7th hours took their Vocabulary #4 Quiz and AR quizzes for the marking period.  When we reviewed who was on target with AR and who wasn't a few students were confusing Summer Reading with the independent reading they need to do for each marking period. Yes, they had three books to read over the summer, beyond that they have two books due for this marking period. We have been reminding them in class to read now while we are doing Writer's Workshop, before we start our first novel unit The Giver by Lois Lowry. We know that it would be hard to do a novel unit and read another book for independent AR reading.

Pre-Algebra: We took a quiz today. Homework: Fractions worksheet and Like Terms triangle. Have a great weekend!

Algebra: Homework: Practice B 6.2 and 3.2 worksheet (evens only).

Thursday, October 11

Fun Run is tomorrow!

Geometry: Went over the practice test and also practiced doing proofs. Homework is the chapter 2 review (odds).

Science: Collected data for "How Fast Am I?" IB unit. See yesterday's post for the lab planner.

ELA - Students were at different places due to the MEAP and the Fun Run tomorrow, hope you can follow this! 1st & 2nd hrs took their vocabulary quiz today, 3rd hour had sentences - quiz is tomorrow, 4th-7th viewed a video on Science Fiction and will have their vocabulary quiz tomorrow. Homework: READ! (The Giver is coming, please make sure your student has two books read and quizzed by the end of next week.)Study for Vocabulary Quiz, Come prepared for the Fun Run!

Course 3: 1st, 2nd, and 4th hour- We started to talk about the commutative and associative properties of addition and multiplication. Homework is worksheet 2.6, # 1-4, 5 - 31 odds. 3rd hour- Students took a quiz today. No homework. 5th hour- No class today due to MEAP.

Pre-Algebra: Quiz tomorrow. Simplifying Expressions.

Algebra: Worksheet 3.1/6.1/6.2 All

Spanish I: If you did not yet find a Spanish song for your project, find one by Monday , Oct 15th. Print out lyrics, so that I can approve them. We will NOT be going to the lab tomorrow, so come to the classroom. Don't forget to study your words for the quiz on Monday, Oct 22nd. (1.2 words part 1)

Wednesday, October 10

Science: Today we planned our next IB lab "How Fast Am I?". Students will begin collecting data tomorrow (except for 3rd hour which did not meet today due to MEAP) so they must bring in any supplies required to collect data to school tomorrow. Students also need to complete the research for homework by Monday. Click here for a copy of the lab planner. 

Humanities: Students completed the second day of MEAP testing in the morning and analyzed campaign commercials and statistics in the afternoon. No homework. Current events due Friday.

Spanish I: No homework except studying 1.2 words for the quiz on Mon Oct 22nd.

Course 3: I did not meet with 1st hour and 3rd hour today.  2nd, 4th, and 5th hours had a quiz today.  3rd hour will take it tomorrow.  No homework for all classes.

Algebra: Started notes for Chapter 3/6.  Classwork was problem #1-19.  It is homework if not finished in class.

Tuesday, October 9

Students took the Day 1 Reading MEAP during 1st & 2nd hours today, 1st hour met during 3rd hour. MEAP continues tomorrow with Day 2 Reading during 1st & 2nd hours.

Science: Continued discussing graphs and slope.

Geometry: Went over the 2.7 homework and started working on the chapter 2 practice test. Practice test is homework (for Thursday, geometry class does not meet tomorrow). Chapter 2 test is Friday. We also talked about Catch 22's

Pre-Algebra: We did not meet today because of the MEAP. Homework 2.3 (#1-25) is due on Thursday. Quiz covering sections 2.1 - 2.3 on Friday.

Algebra: Chapter 1/2 Test today. No homework.

Humanities: Students took the MEAP test in the morning and analyzed campaign commercials in the afternoon. No homework. Current events due Friday.

ELA - it is MEAP time! As we only saw 1st, 4th, 5th, & 7th hours today, those hours were checked for their Vocabulary Definitions, the remaining classes will be checked when we see them (2nd hr tomorrow, 3rd hour on Thursday). With the Fun Run on Friday - the Vocabulary Quiz will be on Thursday for hours 1 & 2, the rest will quiz on Friday. Poems final draft with illustrations are due tomorrow, Wednesday. I'm sorry about the lack of a blog yesterday, I was at Oakland Schools all day at a conference and did not have access to a computer. Homework: Definitions or Sentences depending on wether you attend ELA in the morning or the afternoon (I know, crazy schedule for the next two weeks :) READ!!!!!!

Monday, October 8

Tomorrow is the first day of MEAP! This week 8th graders will take the Reading MEAP Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Science: Today we practiced graphing and calculating slope. We then used famous fairy tales to practice analyzing the shape of graphs of motion. Homework is to complete graphs of motion worksheet. #4 should have ten steps!

Geometry: Discussed the homework and 2.7 notes (angle pair relationships). Homework is the 2.7 worksheet. Chapter 2 test is Friday.

Spanish I: No homework

Course 3: Today we did a review for our quiz on lessons 2.1 - 2.5.  Students will have a quiz the next time that I see them.

Pre-Algebra: We will not meet again until Thursday. :( The homework that is due on Thursday is worksheet 2.3B all. Please get a scientific calculator, if possible. We have a limited amount of them, so some students end up not having one. Also, students will need one for the MEAP next week!!

Algebra: Test tomorrow!!! Students have known about this for a week and a half. Everyone is responsible for taking the test tomorrow unless they have made prior arrangements.