Final Summit and Menu

The 8th graders have really come so far with their final world affairs project.  They were able to use the knowledge of the country that they have been researching to advocate for their country about the issue of climate change.  They also presented their final menu projects.  The students came up with some very creative ideas, including newspapers, mini-lessons, videos, a children's book, and even a Japanese-style game show.  It has been a great three years with these students.  I am excited to hear about what they do in their history classes in high school.  Have a great summer!

Check out some of the great menus below and view a little bit of the negotiations from the summit:

Week 38: 8th Grade Science

Week 38

The End of Middle School and North Park Science

Wow! Can you believe it is over.  I hope that I have achieved my goal to prepare your child for high school science, but more importantly a new understanding of its wonderment and need for our future.  

You should be proud of all the hard work that your child has put forth not only in Science but throughout the whole middle school process.  It was a pleasure for me to be part of this process and its successes.

Lastly, Science Olympiad was a Blast!  Watching them grow into Regional Champions and once again for all your support.  I truly couldn’t do it without you.

Sincerely,

Mr. T

Trebuchets contest

This week in 8th grade math we had the Kiva experience and we are having the trebuchet competition.  We started the week yesterday with the Kiva/Fossil donation project.  It was really great to see the class thinking globally and deciding how to help others around the world.  For the rest of the week, we will have the trebuchet competition and watch a movie.

Tomorrow is the trebuchet competition.  The class has really done a great job with this project.  They collected a great deal of data and then they turned their data into accurate graphs and equations.  They then checked their equations to see if their equations were correct.  They all worked really hard and I hope it pays off for them tomorrow in the competition.  I buy the winning team burritos.

We will then finish the year watching one of my personal favorite movies Stand and Deliver.  I just love how this movie shows that anyone can do math and be good at math if they just work at it.

It has been a pleasure to get to know all of you and your children.  Good luck to everyone.

Trebuchets

This week in 8th grade math we are finishing collecting data for the trebuchet project.  For the last week the class has been going to the church gym and working in groups.  They are launching their trebuchet into the wall and collecting data about the height the projectile hit the wall at different distances.  We will do this for one more day and then we will spend the rest of the week using the data to create equations for the flight of the projectile through the air.

The 8th grade class will be participating in an exciting event on Tuesday, May 31st during math class.  A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Ashley Nelson about a great opportunity to work with her and The Fossil Foundation.  Fossil works closely with a company called Kiva that loans money to people around the world that are in need of help in some way or another.  Fossil is donating virtual loans to the students in the 8th grade class, and they will have the opportunity to pick a person or group to loan money to.  I think this is an exciting opportunity for the 8th graders to think outside the city of Chicago and more globally.

8th Grade Language Arts: Book Project

To conclude the eighth grade reading unit, students will present a character impersonation and reenactment of events in their novel.  This will be a similar activity to when professional actors dress up as historical figures and speak at schools as if they were the person telling stories about his or her life.  Students will choose main characters from their novel and create a five to ten minute presentation about themselves.  They will talk about important events from the novel they have experienced, what it is like to live in the setting from their book, what it is like to interact with the other characters, and any other relevant information that will allow them to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the book.  They will need to write their script, dress in character, and speak in character.  Students will present on Thursday, May 26th.

Final Essay and Menus

This week, the 8th graders are working on the final parts of their world affairs project.  They are writing essays that answer the essential question "Does the United States have the responsibility to act as the world's police?" with evidence that they have gathered throughout the unit.  They are also working on completing their menu items, which are due next Wednesday.  Next Tuesday and Wednesday will be our final model UN summit.  Students will use the knowledge that they have gained over the past few months to role-play delegates of their assigned country in solving an international problem.

Model UN Summit

The 8th graders have spent weeks researching different countries for our world affairs project.  On Monday and Tuesday, they got apply that knowledge during our practice model UN summit.  Students read a news article about the rise of ISIS.  Then, they had to create proposals of what action their country would like to take to solve the problem.  Students are currently working on creating a final resolution.  Later in the week, students will begin to write a position paper to answer our essential question (Does the United States have the responsibility to be the world's police?) from the perspective of their country.  They are also working on menu items.

Questions for your 8th grader:

• What resolution did your country make about how to deal with ISIS?
• Tell me about what you are creating for your menu.