Happy Thanksgiving

In 7th grade we just finished unit 3 and we finished our test today.  After the break we will begin our fourth unit on fractions and exponents.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your time off.

Week 13: 7th Grade Science

7th Grade Families,

This weekend your child should be completing his or her Project Board and preparing their oral presentation.

Have a safe and Thankful holiday.

Sincerely,
Mr. T

7th Grade Language Arts: Science Fiction Book Clubs

Students will have their final book club meeting on Tuesday.  The concluding assessment projects for the Science Fiction Book Club unit will be completed in December.  Students will create a book review individually and work as a group to develop a tour presentation of the novel events and settings.  Check back to see how these projects are developing!

Upcoming Due Dates:

Book Review First Draft Due: Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Book Review Final Draft Due: Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Book Club Tour Presentation: Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Technology in Your Daily Lives

Do you use technology in a creative way on a daily basis? Is there a robot that builds things in your industry? Are you able to provide better care to your patients because of technology? We want to hear from you!
We would like to connect the NPES theme of Humans of Chicago and our Hour of Code experience by bringing in guest speakers that use technology in a creative way. NPES hopes to inspire our students to change the world. From Anthony Atala who is exploring 3D printing as an alternative to organ procurement programs to Brittany Wenger who at the age of 17 turned her love of asking questions in to an award winning cloud based artificial intelligence program for diagnosing breast cancer, technology is changing the way we live our lives and experience health and happiness.
NPES students are our future. Exposing them to humans of Chicago who utilize technology everyday, gives our students the opportunity to look towards that future. Please contact Kim Smith or Brad Riggs if you would like to share your story.

Hour of Code is Coming

The Hour of Code experience at North Park needs you! The entire middle school will participate at the same time the morning of December 11, 2015. Beyond the desire to create and explore with some really great kids,  there are no specific skills required of volunteers. Everything we will do with the kids is something that you can do too. Please sign up for a time that works with your schedule. We would love to have you with your own child's class or with another class. 

Week 12: 7th Grade Science

Week: 12

Topic: Project Fair

Dear Parents,

 This week is the final weekend before Thanksgiving.  The kids should begin their poster boards this weekend and be completed by 11/28.  While doing their poster board they should be preparing their oral presentation. 

The kids have worked hard on their project’s and I am excited to see their final results.  There is a wide range of physical science projects from “How do materials and  collisions affect the brain? to How buoyant is water?”  I hope you enjoy the 7th grade projects as well as the rest of the middle school projects.  See you on the December 3rd.

Please continue to monitor your child’s project progress.  A useful source is Science Buddies which is an on-line project guide.

Sincerely,

Mr. T

Gorgeous Gourds

The 7th graders just finished these beautiful pastel drawings of gourds. They learn how to use a view finder to isolate an interesting section of a gourd photo in order to make a nice composition. They are encouraged to try blending un-realistic color combinations and to show light and shadow. I think they did an excellent job.

They are hanging up in the front hall. Stop in and have a look.

Finishing unit 3 on decimals

This week in 7th grade we are finishing up our unit on decimals.  We have been working with the metric system and how to convert between units and we did the act it out problem solving strategy.  We moved around in class and acted out certain problems and we also learned about Carl Gauss and how he figured out how to add the numbers 1 to 100 very quickly.  For the rest of the week we will be going over how to do multi-step equations with decimals and how to remove decimals from problems.  We will end the week with a review/problem solving day.

Upcoming assignments:
Test on Monday November 23rd
Alternative assessment due Monday November 23rd.
POW Back to School Shopping due Tuesday November 24th

Ask your child at home to show you how to add the numbers 1 to 100 (not just tell you the answer).

Three Branches Projects

Today, the 7th graders finished up their group projects about the three branches of government. The groups came up with some very creative ways to share knowledge with their classmates.  The judicial branch group created a music video, the legislative branch made a stop motion animation video, and the executive group created a interactive video to simulate a presidential election with audience participation.  Now, these projects will be shared with the other students and they will make connections between the powers of the three branches.  Next week, students will learn about the First Amendment.

Questions for your 7th grader:

Show me your three branches of government project.

Which branch of the United States government is the most powerful?

7th Grade Language Arts: Science Fiction Book Clubs

Ender’s Game

“Far into the future, on an earth that has been attacked by an alien species know as buggers, lives a boy named Ender. At a young age, Ender was a super genius. He is drafted into a high intelligence army to learn how to be a well trained soldier. During his first year, he moved up from a “launchie” to an army member. He trains day to day making new friends, and dealing with the stress of leaving his family.  We think that the setting of this book is very interesting. The technology is very futuristic, with laser guns that freeze the players in a training game, and a highly sophisticated desk with an interactive game.” 

-Eric, Julian, Ryan, & James

Life A We Knew It

“In northern Pennsylvania, Miranda lived a pretty average life. She has two brothers, no love life, divorced parents and a stepmom, along with other troubles. And though she didn’t really appreciate the luxuries she had, Miranda would soon. A meteor hits the moon one day, knocking it closer into orbit. There were tsunamis, tornados, volcanic eruptions, and no electricity. Miranda and her family are now facing dangerous challenges and fight to stay alive. 

So far, we have found this book really interesting.  This concept has never been done before. The mom is slowly going crazy, and Miranda’s friend is starving herself to death. In order for our group to continue to enjoy this book, the storyline really needs to pick up the pace.” 

- Noah, Elena, Olivia, Linnea

7th Grade Language Arts: Science Fiction Book Clubs

The Ear, the Eye, the Arm

"Our book is about three kids in Zimbabwe in 2194. They leave their house for a forbidden scout trip. Their adventure takes them around Zimbabwe and their life is changed forever. They are captured, stolen, bitten, and hunted for throughout the mysterious wastelands of Zimbabwe. Read on for more. We all have enjoyed the beginning of this book so far and we are hoping for a just as exciting ending." -Max, Taylor, Aidan, & Phoebe

Decimals and algebra

This week in 7th grade math we are continuing to work on our third unit on decimals.  Today in class we reviewed measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode, and outliers) and worked with how to work with formulas.  We practice used d=rt, which is distance=rate * time, F = n/4 +37, which is Fahrenheit equals number of cricket chirps in a minute divided by 4 plus 37, and P=2L+2W, which is perimeter is 2 lengths + 2 widths.  When using these formulas the students were given different pieces of information and had to use algebra to figure out the missing information.  For the rest of the week we will begin solving simple one step addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication algebra problems that have decimals in them.

Upcoming Assignments:
Quiz on sections 3.1-3-4 on Thursday November 12
Problem of the Week Scale stepping due on Monday November 16
Quiz on sections 3.5-3.7 on Tuesday November 17

Three Branches of Government

This week, the 7th graders are hard at work on their Three branches of government project. (See below)  Students are working in groups and they spent several days coming up with questions about the jobs of the members of each of the three branches and then researched the answers to those questions.  Now, they are starting to plan a project that shares what they have learned with an audience.  Check back next week to see what they are creating.

Questions for your 7th grader:

• Which branch of government are you researching?
• What type of product are you and your team creating?

Week 11: 7th Grade Science

Week: 11

Topic: Project Fair

Dear Parents,

By now the kids should have completed their experiment, data, graphs, and data analysis.  This week in class we will be working on writing their conclusion, and putting together their two page Research Paper and Project Report.  

Next, they should have received their Tri-Fold boards and instructions on how to complete their presentation.  Ideally their boards should be completed by November 21st.

Please continue to monitor your child ’s project progress.  A useful source is Science Buddies which is an on-line project guide.

Sincerely,

Mr. T

Lacrosse in PE

"This unit in gym was lacrosse, and I am not a very gifted lacrosse player. We spent a couple classes learning about cradling, shooting, and passing. After the basics we got to play games. I played every position (including goalie!) and really improved. After 3 weeks of playing lacrosse I am confident to say that I am getting better at playing lacrosse!"

-Olivia

The Constitutional Convention

Last week, the 7th graders learned about America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. Students learned about the weaknesses of that form of government and made predictions about the challenges that would be created as a result.  Then, they learned about the Constitutional Convention, where delegates from each state met to fix the problems created by the Articles of Confederation.  Today, they participated in a simulation about the convention.  Each student represented one of the states and shared with their classmates how their state would react to some of the controversial issues at the convention, such as representation in congress and slavery.  Later in the week, they will learn about the Preamble to the Constitution and the system of checks and balances.

Questions for your 7th grader:

• Who did you represent in the Constitutional Convention?  What did they believe about slavery and representation in congress?

• Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

Monsters and aliens with the pre-schoolers!

Last week the 7th graders completed their first "monster project" with the pre-schoolers. The 8th graders have been doing this project for several years now, but since we have so many pre-schoolers, I involved the 7th grade this year and we will do the project every other year. The project is based on the work of artist Dave DeVries who brings to life the drawings of his own children. The pre-schoolers draw monsters and then the older kids choose one of their drawings and have to turn it into a more realistic 3-D image. They interview their pre-schooler to get more information regarding visual details and then they use shading, color and add a background to make their monster look more real. I think you will agree that this is a challenge and they did a great job. I will try to hang them up in the hall next week.

This week we move on to gourd drawings!

Unit 3 Decimals

This week in 7th grade math we are starting our third unit on algebra and decimals.  We are starting the week off with reviewing how to multiply and divide decimals.  I am teaching the students, and requiring them use, the multiplication and division methods that most of us were taught and learned.  I am asking them to use these methods because I feel that they are a little faster then lattice and partial products.  We will then go over ordering and comparing decimals.

Week 10: 7th Grade Science

Week: 10

Topic: Project Fair

Dear Parents,

This past weekend (10/31) the kids should have purchased their materials and begun doing their pre-experiment.  You should plan with your child to have their experiment completed by November 7th.  The kids have completed their rough drafts for their data tables and graphs.  This will allow them to record and plot their data.  This week the 7th graders will receive information on how to proceed with their two page research paper, data analysis, and conclusion.  My goal is to have the experiments and paper work completed by Thanksgiving, enjoy the holiday, use the remainder of the time to create the project board, and their presentation.

Please monitor your child ’s project progress.  A useful source is Science Buddies which is an on-line project guide.

Sincerely,

Mr. T

1st Quarter Grades Posted by 5:00 pm on 11/9/15

Today marks the beginning of the 2nd quarter for middle school students. Grades for the 1st quarter will be posted to Net Community by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 11/9/15.