Friday, October 5

Science: Today we visited several websites that allowed us to manipulate objects and see how that motion would appear on position/time and speed/time graphs. Quizzes were also returned and we discussed quiz corrections. CHECK OUT THE WEBSITES WE USED IN CLASS TODAY! Position/Time Graph, Position/Time Graph 2, Position Time & Speed Time Graph, Position Time & Speed Time Graphs of 2 Cars

Pre-Algebra: We spent the hour brushing up on our Distributive skills and finding area skills.  They may have homework, depending on how far they got during the hour.  They have a packet of worksheets.  Have a great weekend!

Algebra: We are gearing up for our first unit test (this coming Tuesday).  Students received a review packet.  We reviewed properties and number sets today.  We will review and check the review packet on Monday.  I am available during lunch Monday and Tuesday in room 205.  I have attached the review packet and some property practice.  Have a great weekend!

Geometry: Discussed the "logic" of advertising and 2.6 notes (proofs!). 2.6 worksheet is homework. The chapter 2 test will be Friday, October 12.

ELA - Students took Vocabulary Quiz #3.  Graded papers were returned, and missing assignments were reviewed.  Please have your student check the grade book system weekly to see if they are missing any assignments or need to make up any quizzes.  All assignments are posted on the blog and majority are on my web-page on the Berkley Website. Students were given the opportunity to start working on their final draft of their poems.  We had the COW in the room and will have it again on Monday.  Final drafts should be one letter (8 1/2 x 11) page with colorful illustrations.  We do not have access to a color printer therefore students were informed that if they did not want to draw their illustrations they should add images at home and print it on a color printer at home.  Final Draft is due Wednesday, October 10th.  The Poetry Anthology will be available at Parent Teacher conferences for your reading pleasure. Have a great weekend....and remember to READ!

Course 3: We worked on dividing integers and finding the mean of numbers when integers are involved.  Homework is worksheet 2.5, #1 - 21.

Humanities: Students discussed the presidential debate and shared current events in class. Homework is to complete summaries for 2.3.

Thursday, October 4

Science: Today we took our first quiz, no homework!

Geometry: Went over the 2.5 homework, we will continue to get used to proofs and logic. Work that is challenging is exciting! We also took the 2.1-2.4 quiz. Homework is to analyze a commercial or ad and come up with the conditional statement implied in the advertising message.

Course 3: Today we talked about good and bad financial transactions.  We also worked on multiplying integers.  Homework is worksheet 2.4, # 1 -21 odds and 24 - 31 all.

Pre-Algebra: Homework: Distributive worksheet (use your notes to help you)

Algebra: Worksheet 9.1 all of the problems

Spanish I: Exs 16, 17 & 18 pgs 39-40. Due Monday. Study for 1.1 quiz (part 2) on Monday, October 8th

ELA - Students revised their poems using the information from yesterday's Reader's Response session and then evaluated their poems using the rubric we will use for grading. They were then given time to read, take AR quizzes, or work more on their poems. Writer's Workshop Day 8 Teaching Point: Students will analyze their poem using rubrics to remind themselves of strategies they can use to revise their writing. Homework: READ! STUDY - Vocabulary Quiz #3 tomorrow. The words have been loaded into studyblue.com look for my class! It is free, easy, online, and has a mobile app for those lucky kids with smart phones! http://www.studyblue.com/

Wednesday, October 3

Science: Today we took notes on graphing and went over the speed homework. Quiz tomorrow is on scientific method, systems of measurement & calculating speed. Students may use their notes and worksheets on the quiz.

Geometry: Today we took notes on section 2.5 which involves using algebraic properties to introduce proofs. Homework is the 2.5 worksheet. Quiz tomorrow is on 2.1-2.4.

Humanities: Students completed chapter 1 test and discussed the presidential debate in class today. No homework. Current events due Friday. Homework folders due Friday. I will be attending a conference at Oakland Schools on Thursday and will be sure to return any calls/emails on Friday.

ELA - Students handed in their sentences and moved right on the Writer's Workshop Day 7. Teaching Point -Students will form writer's response groups to share their poem and determine if it conveys the message they are trying to get across. Students filled out a Reader's Response Rubric for Narrative Poetry on the other students' poems in their writer's response groups. They then discussed the responses and filled out an "Exit Slip" describing how the process felt. Homework:   READ!  Journal #22

PreAlgebra: No homework today!

Algebra: Just the 5 word problems on worksheet 2.6

Course 3: Today we continued to talk about a person's net worth and how to calculate it.  We compared the net worth of two celebrities.  Homework is to come up with a "fake" net worth sheet.  Students will switch papers tomorrow and solve their neighbor's net worth sheet.

 

Spanish I: Study for vocabulary quiz on 1.1 (part 2) on Monday, October 8th

Tuesday, October 2

Geometry: Went over the 2.4 notes (Using Postulates & Diagrams). 2.4 worksheet is homework. Quiz on 2.1-2.4 is Thursday.

Course 3: Today we continued to talk about adding and subtracting integers.  We started to talk about net income and what that means.  We talked about assets and liabilities.  No homework.

Science: Practiced solving speed problems. Homework is the speed worksheet. Quiz on Thursday is open note.

Pre-Algebra: We went over our chapter tests. Great job! We had a solid B average. We started chapter 2 - evaluating and simplifying expressions. Our homework today is worksheet (attached).

Algebra: We talked about the Distributive Property (section 2.5). Homework: Practice 2.5 B or C (odds only) Our chapter test will be next Tuesday (10/9).

ELA - Students' definitions were checked and then the class went over the "appropriate" definitions and correct parts of speech for this week's vocabulary words.  We then moved on to Writer's Workshop Day 6 - Teaching Point: Students will experiment with possible poem ideas using previous notebook entries. In other words, if students have been writing nightly in their notebooks they should have multiple ideas from which to write. They looked through their journals and picked a few ideas to try writing poems from. Homework:  READ! (we will be starting The Giver sooner than you think, get those AR books done!)Vocab #3 sentences - make sure we can glean the meaning from the sentence. Journal entry #20

Spanish I: Finish reading comprehension and exs 9 & 11, pg 36. Due tomorrow.  

Humanities: Students reviewed 1.1/1.2 summaries and worked on 1.3 summary in class. Students reviewed for chapter 1 test in class. Homework is to finish 1.3 summary if not complete and to study for chapter 1 test. Current events are due Friday. Homework folders are due Friday.

Monday, October 1

Science: Today we continued practicing converting units in the metric system and took notes on speed. We will have a quiz Thursday on the scientific method, time, speed and measurement.

Geometry: Took notes on section 2.3 (deductive reasoning) and went over the 2.2 worksheet. Homework is the 2.3 worksheet. Quiz on 2.1-2.4 Thursday.

Pre-Algebra: We took our Chapter 1 test today. No homework!

Algebra : We went over our quizzes and Problem Solving Workshop papers. Grades are updated. We went over some new properties from section 2.4. Students are responsible for all properties that we have learned so far. We started discussing section 2.5 - the distributive property. No homework!

Course 3: Today we subtracted integers. Homework is worksheet 2.3, odds only
Humanities:  Students checked chapter 2 pretest and worked with groups to summarize chapter 1-section 1. Homework is to summarize chapter 1-section 2 in preparation for a quiz on Wednesday. Students will have a quiz review in class tomorrow. Current events are due on Friday.

  Art- Grade 7/8:  Watercolor sketchbook covers have been completed and graded. Sketchbooks have been put together. Students will be starting a cityscape drawing /painting today.

Grade 8 Advanced Art: Value grid project has been completed/graded and are displayed in front hallway showcase. We are currently working on daily still life #2 . Today each student will be designing an individual pasta still life. These will be spray painted and students will make a view finder to "zoom in" on a portion of their pasta still life. A well developed detailed, value drawing will then be completed.

Art- Grade 8 1st hr: These students are working on an abstract, landscape inspired, relief sculpture. Realistic drawings have been completed. Now students are building a "relief" version of their landscape. These will be cover in colored tissue paper.

ELA - Students started Vocabulary List #3 - looking at context clues and then finding the parts of speech and definitions in classroom dictionaries. Completed definitions are due tomorrow. We then moved on to Writers Workshop Launching Unit Day 5 with a teaching point of: Students will analyze narrative structures such as line, couplet and stanza in mentor poems. Directions attached. Homework: READ! Vocabulary #3 Definitions & parts of speech. Journal entry #18
Spanish I: No homework

Friday, September 28

Science: Completed Investigation 1-B and practiced metric conversions.

Geometry: Went over the 2.2 notes (conditional statements). 2.2 worksheet is homework.

 Humanities: Students watched student news and shared current events in class. Homework is to complete chapter 2 pre-test for Monday.

Spanish I: Study for vocab quiz on 1.1 for Monday, Oct 1st

ELA - Students took their second vocab quiz today. They were then assigned a journal entry to complete while the rest of the class finished their quiz.  Please double check your student's vocabulary sentences on Tuesday nights, many students are having a hard time using words properly while showing the meaning in their sentences. These should be good 8th grade sentences with context clues in the sentence so I can glean the meaning from the sentence...."This is inadequate work." could mean anything....maybe "This is inadequate work, so it earned and E." would be better at showing what the vocabulary word means. Please have your student check the blog and the Student Access grade-book at least weekly so they are aware of their missing or excellent work.  Have a great weekend.

Pre-Algebra: We checked our Chapter Review. We talked about how to study and what material we each need to focus on for the Chapter 1 test this Monday. Have a great weekend!

Algebra: We took a short quiz today. Homework: Notes on section 2.4. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 27

Pre-Algebra: I was out today at a math conference.  Students worked on a Chapter Review in preparation for the chapter test which will be on Monday.

Algebra: I was out today at a math conference.  Students worked on a Problem Solving Workshop that was due at the end of the hour and they received a quiz review sheet.  We will have a short quiz tomorrow covering sections 2.1 - 2.3 after we go over the review.

Geometry: I was out at a math conference today, students will get their chapter 1 tests back tomorrow. In class today students took notes on section 2.1 (inductive reasoning), 2.1 worksheet is homework.  We'll be starting proofs this chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Course 3: Today we talked about integers, opposites, and absolute value.  Homework is worksheet 2.1, # 1, 2 - 26 evens, and 28 - 30 all.

Science: I was out today at a math conference, lab corrections will be returned tomorrow. Students did an other jigsaw notetaking on pages 13-17. There is no homework.

Spanish I: Exs 3,4, & 5 pgs 32-33. Due Mon Oct 1

ELA - Students learned about how an ordinary occurrence can be expressed through poetry.  Writer's Workshop Day 3 provided them with a mentor poem which was then split into the Narrative Poetry traits, students then used this mentor poem as inspiration to express themselves through poetry.  Many students shared these poems, it was a good time! We then started Writer's Workshop Day 4 with a discussion on Figurative Language and how to use it to bring more "color" into our writing.  We read a mentor poem by Tupac Shakur and discussed the figurative language he used to express himself. Homework: READ! Study for Vocabulary #2 Quiz. Write Journal Entry #15.

 

Humanities: Students worked on chapter 2 pre-test in class today. Current events are due Friday. Chapter 2 pre-test is due Monday.

Physical Education: September essay is due tomorrow, Friday, September 28. Click here for a copy of the question.