MAP Testing After Spring Break

Spring MAP testing is coming soon. 8th grade will take the language test on April 5th, the reading test on April 12th, and the math test on April 14th. Should you have any questions about testing, please contact Kim Smith.

Week 27: 8th Grade Science

Week: 27

Topic: Carbon Compounds

Students will be able to: 

List properties of organic compounds.

Identify properties of hydrocarbons.

Describe the kind of structures and bonding that hydrocarbons have.

Identify characteristics of substituted hydrocarbons, esters, and polymers. 

Essential Question:

What does organic mean?

The 8th graders have put a great deal of time into their atomic and chemistry units.  Now we will take a look at the properties of carbon and what defines an organic and non-organic compound. 

Key Terms:

organic compound

hydrocarbon

isomer

saturated & unsaturated hydrocarbons

substituted hydrocarbons

hydroxyl & carboxyl group

organic acid

ester

polymer

monomer

Differentiated Instruction:

developing hypotheses

inferring

interpreting

creating models 

classifying

Upcoming:

Molecular structure of food

Exponential functions

This week in 8th grade the class is finishing up a unit on exponential functions.  This week, we are learning about exponential growth and decay.  Today, we did an experiment where we put M&M's in a box and shook the box to model half life's and exponential decay.  Tomorrow, we will apply this idea to other forms of exponential growth and decay.  We then have a test on Friday.  Then off to Springfield and then to Spring Break!

Upcoming assignments:
POW Bouncing Ball due tomorrow March 16th
Alternative Assessment due Friday March 18th
Test on Friday March 18th

Questions to ask at home:
Tell me about the M&M experiment in math.

Week 26: 8th Grade Science

Newton's Laws by the 8th Graders

I hope you enjoy the 8th grades presentations of Gravity, Newton's Three Laws of Motion, and Momentum.  Their integration of technology included Book Creator and Explain Everything.

Exponents

This week in 8th grade math we are continuing to work heavily with exponents.  The class has been doing a great job with reviewing the rules, but as we add more and more rules they are making small mistakes that throw of the whole problem.  We have spent a lot of time going slowly through the problems to develop a step by step process to come up with the answers.  Today, we finished reviewing the multiplication rules of exponents and tomorrow we will review the division rules of exponents.  On Thursday, we will go over geometric sequences and how to graph exponential functions.

Upcoming assignments:
Quiz tomorrow March 9th on sections 8.1-8.4
Quiz on Friday March 11th on sections 8.5-8.7
POW ABC's of exponents due Tuesday March 15th
POW Bouncing Ball due Wednesday March 16th
Alternative assessment due and test on March 18th

8th Grade Language Arts: Poetry Unit

Eighth graders are creating poems with Chicago and society themes.  On Monday, students will revise poems and prepare to present their favorite poem to the class on Tuesday.  As the Holocaust book club unit comes to a close, the concluding project will be a poem inspired by the events and emotions in their novels.  Be sure to ask your child to see their poems.

U-505 Field Trip

Today, the 8th graders went on a field trip to see a real German submarine from World War II.  Students took a tour of the cramped submarine and got a feel for what it might have been like to live on a submarine for months.  They also toured the exhibit and we had some extra time for them to explore other parts of the museum. (Ask them about the hall of mirrors!) For the rest of this week, students will be working on their World War II menu items.

Upcoming Dates:

• Wed. March 9 WWII Menu Due
• Thurs. March 11 WWII Test
• Fri. March 12  WWII in-class essay

Question for your 8th grader:

• What was your favorite part of the field trip?

Week 25: 8th Grade Science

Week: 25

Topic: Properties of Carbon

Students will be able to: 

Describe how carbon is able form a huge variety of compounds. 

Identify the four-forms of pure carbon. 

Essential Question:

Why is carbon the staff of life?

The 8th graders have put a great deal of time into their atomic and chemistry units.  Now we will take a look at the properties of carbon and what defines an organic and non-organic compound. 

Key Terms:

carbon

diamond

graphite

fullerene

nanotube

Differentiated Instruction:

finding patterns 

observing

creating models 

Upcoming:

Carbon Compounds

Properties of exponents

This week in 8th grade math, we are going to be reviewing exponents and their properties.  We started off today by reviewing anything to the power of zero equaling 1 and negative exponents being fractions.  For the rest of the week, we will be reviewing scientific notation and the multiplication rules for exponents.  We will also be starting the unit project which is trying to grow mold using cheese to measure exponential growth.