Grade 8: Reasons why each colony/province was interested in confederation, the confederation conferences, the Fathers of Confederation.
Grade 7: Government in New France
Religion: What social justice issue are you most interested in? Who is a leader in that movement? Nothing concrete due, just have an idea for next Tuesday.
Anyone that has not handed in their photo essay due to printing issues, have it on my desk Monday morning please.
Folders went home today with marks for January. Have your parents sign the rubric and return Monday morning.
Here's a quick update on what has been happening in Gr 7/8R lately...
Math:Full steam ahead through Chapter 5, Data Management. Students have been working collaboratively in groups and individually, on the concepts of census, sample, inferring and evaluating data, different types of graphs, evaluating trends, stem and leaf plots, and measuring central tendency. We will be delving into histograms soon, so for you mathematicians, google histograms and check them out!
English: Reading: We are our own detective agency! We are reading a variety of materials and watching a variety of videos, and making inferences based on the content we read. We are reading between the lines, and combining our background knowledge with clues from the text to make conclusions. Today we did some guided reading and conferencing to see how sharp our inferencing skills are getting.
Writing:
We have been working on a personal anecdote for the last few weeks, and have been using the "google docs" program through toolstogo. It's very conveneient for both teacher and student. Final Drafts are due January 29th. Many have been handed in already.
History:
Grade 7s are working on New France. We have studied the background of New France, roles of Champlain and Cartier, missionaries, the courers de bois, the relationship between the First Nations and Europeans, and look forward to getting into government and daily life in New France. Thus far we have completed trading cards of missionaries, a speech, and skits for evaluation.
Grade 8s are working on the Confederation of Canada, which has turned out (surprisingly to some) interesting. Today was a particular highlight in watching the skits of the five factors leading to Confederation. There may have been actual potatoes and Irish memorabilia brought in by the actors participating in the skit based upon the Fenian Raids. Thus far for evaluation we have completed trading cards, skits, and have a quiz on the horizon.
Science:
The Grade 8s are working on the "Cells" unit. We have looked through microscopes at slides. created our own mock cells, and investigated selectively permeable membranes with iodine and cornstarch. We have done various dramatic activities to further examine the cell and its' make-up. We look forward to our first major lab report next week.
Phys-Ed:
We are currently working on basketball skills, drills, and scrimmages.
Religion:
We have analyzed the Apostle's Creed, and dissected its' true meaning. We have looked at the definition of a Creed, and are currently working on our own personal Creeds.
Goals:
We are shooting for the following:
Completing all of our work to the best of our ability, and not leaving it to the last minute.
Grade 8: History Trading Card of a political leader during confederation
Grade 7: Comparison chart (History)
Rough draft of personal anecdote due in google docs
IMPORTANT!
The students are writing personal anecdotes, which are due in print on January 28th. Students, remember to use your "voice" in your writing, to make this piece come alive! Also, you are expected to use age appropriate vocabulary. Avoid using words like "sad," or "mad." Use words like "devastated," or "furious!"
As I begin this new 2014 school year, returning from a maternity leave, I have vowed to learn more, embrace more, and therefore give more and teach more. So, I guess you could say this is the year of "more." More challenges, more technology, more learning, and hopefully, more fun! Please be patient with me as I try and navigate my way through this technological world. I will make every effort to post homework, important notices, exemplars, and anything else that I can think of that will be useful to have accessible online. Thanks for visiting!