Week 6: Metric Conversions

Topic:  Standards of Measurement:  Converting Metric Measurements

Objectives: 

Students will understand that measurements are important in science. 

Essential Question:

Why is it important to make measurements using a standard?

This week the kids will see that the metric system was the first system based on powers of 10.  In the Si system, each type of measurement has a prefix and a base unit.    Each type of measurement has a base unit (meter is the base unit of length.)  Prefixes are used with the base units to indicate what power of ten should be used with the base unit.

Differentiated Instruction:

Using the stair method to find metric equivalencies.  

Upcoming:

Forces and Motion.

Fractal, Fractals, and more fractals

This week in math we are continuing to learn more about fractals.  We watched a movie yesterday and today about fractals.  The kids had to to draw Sierpinski's Triangles and we are starting to figure out what type of fractal we are going to make for project fair.

World War I

This week, the 8th graders are starting their World War I unit in Social Studies.  The started out the unit looking at a pre-war map of Europe and a post-war map and made predictions about the outcome of the war based on the changes in territory.  Then, they learned about the causes of the war using the mnemonic device MANIA!  Later in the week they will learn about the many events that led up to United States involvement in the war.

Question for your 8th grader:

-What does MANIA stand for?
-Show me the Mania cheer.

 Give me an A!  What does that stand for?  Alliances!

Give me an I!  What does that stand for? Imperialism!

MANIA!

8th Grade Language Arts: Steppenwolf for Young Adults Opportunity

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is featuring a stage adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm.  The production runs from October 15, through November 9, 2014.  Although we will not be attending this play as a class (since it is not part of the Language Arts curriculum), I wanted to post information about the play for families interested in attending the play on their own.

Here is the play summary:

“George Orwell's revolutionary masterpiece comes to the stage with Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ world premiere adaptation of Animal Farm. After revolting against the reign of their negligent human master, the animals of Mr. Jones’s farm create their own ideal society in which all animals are equal and rules are set by democratic vote. It's all working pretty well, until the allure of power leads the animals to a chilling fate. Animal Farm illustrates how new tyranny replaces old and power corrupts even the noblest of causes.

Here is the link to buy tickets:

http://www.steppenwolf.org/Plays-Events/productions/index.aspx?id=631

8th grade students continue to draft their graphic novels this week and they will be working on this project throughout October.

Upcoming 1st Quarter Assessments & Due Dates:

Literary Elements and Techniques Final Test: Thursday, October 9th, 2014

Graphic Novel Final Due: Friday, October 17, 2014

Language Arts Office Hours: Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:45-8:15 a.m.

Chuck Close Self-Portraits in Art.

Self-Portraits
The 8th graders are working on their Portraits in the style of Chuck Close. They learned how to enlarge an image in math last year using a grid and we revisit that technique so they can enlarge their photos.  They draw themselves going square by square and next they start to paint in the squares. They need to choose a color palette that is either complimentary, warm and cool or analogous colors and they are required to choose one area of their image to fill the squares in with a pattern. This is a great project to learn about color and to practice color mixing.

Chuck Close working in his studio on one of his large scale self-portraits.

So far so good, don't you think?? 

Pascal's Triangles and Fractals

This week in Math the 8th graders are working on the Pascal's Triangle/Fractal project.  We have started looking into Pascal's Triangle and the patterns in it.  They have created their first fractal called a Sierpinski's Triangle and next week they will create another fractal called Koch's Snowflake.  We will then watch a movie about Fractals.  We have no major assignments coming up.

Ragtime

As we move forward in our music curriculum, our students are beginning to study the social trends with music and dance.  Seen as a rebellious music, Ragtime uses syncopation to create melodic interest in the melody while the lower and bass notes keep a steady beat.  It was new in the 1910's and made famous by Scott Joplin.  With new music comes new dance styles.  Since young people were said to be "acting like animals," the younger generations of the time would make up dances to portray animal behavior, as to mock their parents' comments.  Examples of these dances are the Turkey Trot, Fox Trot, and the Grizzly.  In class, we explored a modified version of the Grizzly.  Typically, instead of circling with your partner while step-hopping, dancers would turn cheek to cheek with their hands in the air and step-hop.  For educational purposes, the dance was modified.  The students enjoyed the bear-like dancing.  Our next class, students will be like teenagers of the Ragtime Era and create their own animal dance.

Week 6: 8th Grade Science

Hi Everyone,

The 8th graders just finished their unit "Metric Dimensions."  They covered perimeter, area, volume, mass, and density.  They got to see how a linear measurement begins to build dimensionally and how density is derived from mass and volume.

Some neat labs that we did were to see that a material regardless of mass or volume will have the same density, if an object has a density less than 1 g/ml then it will float, and the density of water is 1 g/ml.

Next week we will begin metric conversions and then onto motion.

End of Imperialism Unit

This week, the 8th graders are finishing up their Imperialism unit.  Their menu project, where they each chose several options of ways to demonstrate their knowledge is due on Tuesday.  They will take their test on Wednesday.  Next week, we will start our World War I unit.

Questions for your 8th grader:

-What was an outcome of the construction of the Panama Canal?
-Do you think Theodore Roosevelt was a good president?
-Show me the menu item that you are most proud of.

Students working on menu items:

8th Grade Language Arts: Create-A-Character

Eighth graders created their own original characters last week.  In addition to illustrating what the character looks like, they also had to develop a personality, background, and description for their character.  Students presented their character creations and have the option to use their character for the Graphic Novel Writing Project.  Students started planning their graphic novels this week and they will be working on this project for the next month.

Upcoming 1st Quarter Assessments & Due Dates:

Literary Elements and Techniques Quiz: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014

Literary Elements and Techniques Final Test: Thursday, October 9th, 2014

Graphic Novel Final Due: Friday, October 17, 2014

Language Arts Office Hours: Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:45-8:15 a.m.

Musical Theater

We have been studying the difference between musical theater and opera.  Musical theater became a popular form of entertainment in American in the late 1800's.  It was more enjoyable and easier for settlers at that time to appreciate than opera.  Besides the foreign language barrier of opera, early Americans enjoyed that musical theater combined both singing and spoken text in the performance.  In our class, I could have allowed the students to watch a bunch of performances and written an analysis of the performances, but we like to create in music.  Therefore, students were divided into 4 groups and had to create their OWN musical.  The students wrote the story, rewrote the music, and acted in their own productions.  Listed below were the requirements given to the students:

1. You will work in groups to write a short story outline.
2. You must have one song that helps continue the storyline.
3. Your song is going to be a lyrical rewrite of a children's song you already know. example: ABC's, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc.
4. Everyone in your group must have some sort of singing part in your musical.  You will not be graded on singing ability.  You will be graded on participation and effort.  
5. You may create background music using Garageband or Notion, or you can use live music.
6. Take all of your notes concerning your musical on Google Drive and share it with the other members of your group and Mrs. LaGorio via Google Docs.
7. Your group is going to record your play using iMovie.  You may edit your movie and add features.  Also, if you would like to record scenes outside, we can do that during class.  
8. Keep your musical between 2 and 7 minutes.

We hope you enjoy our musicals!

Solving equations and triangles

This week in math we will begin our new unit on solving linear equations.  We will begin by reviewing the distributive property and properties of numbers.  We will then build up to simplifying expressions and solving equations.  We will start with basic equations and build up to solving equations with variables on both sides and equations that have no answer, one answer, or infinite answers.  The class continues to work on the fractal project, where we are working through problems with probability and combinations that will lead us into fractals.

Annexation Debate

This week in 8th grade social studies, the students have been studying the outcome of the Spanish-American War.  After the war, the United States had acquired Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines from Spain and had to decide what to do with them.  On Tuesday, the students had a debate about whether or not the United States should give the Philippines independence or annex them and make them a part of the U.S.  The students argued from several different points of view: members of the American government, American businessmen, Filipinos, and Anti-Imperialists.  The students did a great job arguing their points and connecting the content to prior knowledge.  Students in the inner circle debated orally while students in the outer circle shared their thoughts through a discussion on Schoology. Later this week, we will discuss the United States' growing role in Latin America.  The students will learn about the Panama Canal and the Mexican Revolution.  Students are also working on their Imperialism learning menu project. Students chose several different ways to demonstrate their knowledge about this unit.

Upcoming Dates:

-Imperialism learning menu due:  Tuesday, September 23
-Imperialism (chapter 22) test:      Wednesday, September 24

Questions for your 8th grader:

-What position did you defend in the debate?
-What menu items are you working on?
-What is your opinion about how the United States handled its acquisitions after the Spanish American War?

Philippines Annexation Debate

8th Grade Science: Dimensions

Measurements  - A Common Language

Objectives:

• Explain why a standard measurement system is important.
• Identify the SI units of measure for length,  mass, volume, density, time, and temperature.

The labs entailed using measuring devices to find the mass of and object, the volume of both a regular and irregular shaped objects and then calculate the object's  density.

Skill Focus:

• Inferring
• Collecting Data
• Using measuring devices
• Calculating

Differentiation/Learning Modalities:

• Communicating: Creating tables (visual)
• Kinesthetic
• Math Logic

Office Hours: Monday 3:30 to 4:30

"PE Shorts" Tuesday 9/16/2014

As the start of the school year carries on we continue to work on soccer skills in 8th grade PE. Each class starts with a warm up activity such as juggling, Spikeball, or Atom Ball. After spending a lot of time working on soccer drills and skills, we have begun to play more "foosball soccer" and full soccer games. We will continue with soccer for just one more week before we start learning one of my favorite sports, Ultimate Frisbee.  We will continue to keep going outside when the weather remains nice enough. 

-Mr. Hirsch

8th Grade Language Arts: Elements of Stories Unit

Students are studying the literary elements and techniques during our first quarter Language Arts unit.  The 8th grade unit will focus on short stories.  We will be reading classic short stories by Kurt Vonnegut, Ambrose Bierce, Liam O’Flaherty and Shirley Jackson. 

Next week, students will start examining various graphic novels.  Student will learn all of the aspects that go into creating a graphic novel.  They will starting planning and drafting their own creative graphic novels using both pictures and text.  

Language Arts Office Hours: Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:45-8:15 a.m.

Imperialism

Last week in 8th grade Social Studies was the week of "isms".  The students learned about isolationism, expansionism, and imperialism.  They discussed how the United States moved through each of these stages to become one of the most powerful nations on earth in the early 20th century.  They learned about the acquisitions of Alaska, Hawaii, Midway, and Samoa.  This week, we will continue to learn about America's increasing presence throughout the world.  Students will learn about the Spanish American War by acting it out.  Then, they will begin a menu project where they can choose different ways to demonstrate their knowledge of this unit.

Ask your 8th grader:

• Was it fair for the United States to take over Alaska and Hawaii?
• What is the difference between isolationism and imperialism?
• What part did you play in the Spanish-American War simulation?

Spanish American War Simulation:

Yellow Journalism  Analysis:

8th Grade Science: 3 2 1 Blast Off!

Middle School Engineering: Rocket Design

Demonstrate Understanding:

Students needed to evaluate a rocket design using a systematic process (Scientific Method) and change two variables to determine how well they meet the criteria of flight (Research).

Disciplinary Core Idea:

How well did their design meet their expectations.  What went well?  What didn't go well?  and Why?

We all had a BLAST!

Today was "Lift Off" to test their designs.  The 8th graders since the beginning of the school had fun designing and engineering rockets.  Their objective was to maintain the greatest flight time without using a parachute.

Results
Winner with best design and time (13.55s):  Ben Sides
Best Times: Kate Spindle (14.35s), Jean Wilk (14.01s) and Dana Hundrieser (13.44s)
Best Short Rocket Design: Thomas DeMastri (9.67s)
Best Different Designs: Penelope Sotos, Jake Aks, and Sam Harris-Watts

Congratulations to all!

Office Hours: Tuesday from 3:30 -4:30.

Operations with Rational numbers and square roots

This week in Math class we will be reviewing how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers.  We we also spend some time learning about cubed roots, and simplifying rational expressions with square roots.  These are both skills that show up on MAP test, so I am trying to show the class things that they will see on the test.

We will have a quiz on Tuesday Sept. 9 and there is a test on Friday Sept. 12 (The Alternative Assessment is due on Friday Sept. 12 as well.)

Next week we will begin our next unit on solving algebra equations and properties.

My office hours will be Tuesday and Thursday this week.

Beginning of the Musicals

As we begin the school year, the students have started their 8th grade musical theater projects.  Here are the guidelines for the project:

8th Grade Musical Theater Project

1. You will work in groups to write a short story outline.
2. You must have one song that helps continue the storyline.
3. Your song is going to be a lyrical rewrite of a children's song you already know.
example: ABC's, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc.
4. Everyone in your group must have some sort of singing part in your musical.  You will not be graded on singing ability. You will be graded on participation and effort.
5. You may create background music using Garage Band or Notion.
6. Take all of your notes concerning your musical on Notability and share it with the other members of your group and Mrs. LaGorio via Google Docs.
7. Your group is going to record your play using iMovie. You may edit your movie and add features. Also, if you would like to record scenes outside, we can do that during class.
8. Keep your musical between 5 and 7 minutes.

Once you finish your Musical, you will create a trailer using iMovie.

As of right now, the students have created their plot outlines and started creating their songs.  Students will begin filming their projects this week.  We work on the project in class, so it should take a couple of weeks to finish.  Students are encouraged to be creative in order to have their musical be the best it can.  Thus far, the 8th graders are really enjoying the opportunity to create their own musical and show their comedic side.   I'm looking forward to their final products!



Mrs. LaGorio office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-4

Welcome to the 2014-2015 NPES Library

Welcome to the 2014-2015 NPES Library

First things first!  We have a new web based library catalog that NPES students and families can access from home.  The link is found here:
www.npeslibrary.goalexandria.com
and I am showing the kids how to search and use the advanced search tool in the Researcher section.

This year in library we will continue to encourage the joy of reading through various book programs including the Battle of the Books, independent book projects, Oral Interpretation, guest authors and more.  We will also go more in depth on searching on line and how to use technology to find the information you need.  This will include: how to tell if a site is credible, how to site electronic sources in a bibliography and much more.

To kick off the year, we will celebrate our freedom to read as we celebrate Banned Books Week.  8th graders are answering some very important questions:  What is Banned Books Week?  What is the difference between a challenge and a ban?  What are some of the top most challenged books and authors.  Why is the first amendment important in a democracy and what does it have to do with Banned Books Week?  Stay tuned to see their posters and presentations.

8th Grade Language Arts: Adjective Fashion Show

The Adjective Fashion show was a delightful event!  8th graders were decked out in the most outrageous outfits they could find.  I was impressed by how much they challenged themselves to use unique and interesting adjectives in their outfit descriptions.

Here is a sampling of amazing adjectives students used to describe the outfits modeled in our fashion show today:

Luminous, eccentric, stunning, jagged, bizarre, avant garde, twisted, shocking, intense, elegant, substantial, barf green, awkward, kooky, thrilling, radiant, polished, reflective, ancient, rugged, Abraham Lincolnesque, adventurous, impressive, vivid, fascinating, superb, gloomy, outlandish, retro, breezy, minty, raven black, celestial, sassy, and immaculate.

Language Arts Office Hours: Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:45-8:15 a.m

8th Grade Science:Week 1

Dear Parents,

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend.

Once again it is amazing to think that these kids are in eighth grade and in a short nine months they will be graduating.  We did our traditional "First Day of School" stuff,  creating portfolios, talking about  summer vacations, and finding out what they will be studying this year. 

I have been researching over the past three years the "New Generation Science Standards" or NGSS and implemented an engineering part to the curriculum last year.  The kids are working on building a rocket ship, but they have to alter two variables from an original design based on research , build their rocket, test it, and analyze their hypothesis.  It was a "BLAST" last year and I hope they enjoy it as much this year.

Something New:  My office hours are Friday from 3:30 till 4:30.

Something Old:  You and/or your child can meet with me before or after school at any time.  Please just let me know two days in advance and let me know what you would like to discuss so I can prepare.  I will also be offering recess/lunch time study groups.

Sincerely,
Mr. T

Hello from Math Class

Welcome back to another year at NPES!  We have started off the school year in Math reviewing some material from last year.  Our first unit is on number systems, so we have reviewed order of operations, simplifying and evaluating algebraic expressions.  This week the students will be reviewing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of all types of positive and negative numbers, while in class we will be estimating square and cube roots to the nearest tenth and hundredth.  We will also begin to work on our fractal project.

My office hours are from 7:45-8:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please send me an email if your child is planning on coming.

Upcoming assignments:

Quiz on 1.1-1.3 on Thursday 9/4

POW due Friday 9/5

Quiz on 2.1-2.3 on Tuesday 9/9

Test Friday 9/12

Welcome to Music!

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Eighth Grade Music!  Within the music classroom, students will be able to show expression and creativity through movement, performance,  and interpretation of music.  The course is cumulative, meaning that we build upon knowledge and revisit topics throughout the year.  We begin the school year introducing basic concepts which we will continue to build on until the students graduate in 8th grade.  Every year we will focus on the five basics of music: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Form and Timbre.  Within the music curriculum, we adhere to the Orff-Schulwerk teaching philosophy which is that children learn through play. (http://aosa.org/)  At any given moment within music class, students will be playing some sort of game, movement activity, or musical instrument.  These exercises are catalysts for creativity and compositions.  Students in all grades will learn improvisation whether it is on an instrument or through movement.  By utilizing the Orff-Schulwerk teaching philosophy and our music curriculum, students are able to achieve the National Standards for Arts Education - Music Content Standards.  

In order to give our students a more well-rounded educational experience, the music curriculum is parallel to the Social Studies curriculum.  While the student are exploring cultures and world events with Mrs. Wells, they will also be experiencing how music is/was used.  The curriculum outline is as follows:

• Musical Theater and Broadway
• Ragtime
• Haikus
• Jazz and Blues
• Harlem Renaissance and the Roaring 20’s
• American Music
• Beginning History of Rock and Roll

 

I am looking forward to a great year in music class!  Please contact me if you have any concerns.  

Sincerely,

Tiffany LaGorio

NPES Music Teacher and Band Director

¡La clase de español!

Dear Parents,

¡Hola y bienvenidos! The 8th grade expectations and curriculum will be more challenging this year. We will begin building on students' previous skills and focusing on the essentials to learning a language: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Students are expected to come to class prepared with a positive attitude, actively participate, listen carefully, work hard, help each other learn, and have fun. Here is a link to see what your child will be learning this year- Curriculum Overview.

My office hours for students to receive additional help in Spanish are Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30pm. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at anytime- yanics@npeschool.org. I am looking forward to another great year at NPES!

Señora Yanics