Week 20: 7th Grade Science

Week: 20

Nothing much to report on.  Completing our CVS section on blood and the Lymph System in our body, and will soon begin preparing for our Respiratory project on smoking.

Finishing unit on fractions and algebra

In 7th grade math we are finishing up our fifth unit on fractions and algebra.  In this unit we have reviewed least common multiple, how to change any terminating or repeating decimal into a fraction, how to solve fraction equations using all operations, and how to convert between different customary units of measure.  This unit and this test tend to be one of the hardest of the year because there is a lot of computation with fractions and it is easy to make mistakes.

Upcoming assignments:

Alternative Assessment due on Thursday Jan. 28

Test on Thursday Jan. 28

Question to ask at home:

How many feet are in a mile?

7th Grade Language Arts

As the first semester comes to an end, we will begin reading A Midsummer Night's Dream. The students have selected roles and will be reading the play aloud as a class!  Although they are looking forward to reading one of Shakespeare’s great comedies, I think they might be most excited to write and perform their own Shakespearean insults.

The students are currently working on completing their fact cards for Monday, January 25th.  Students should be reading through their sources to find the most important information about the event they are researching.  They will keep track of the facts they find by filling out note cards.  Next week, we will organize the fact note cards into categories and focus on how to best structure and organize the research report before creating an outline.

Upcoming due dates:

Fact Cards due Monday, Jan 25th

Greetings from an absentee blogger

My apologies for my negligence in keeping you up to date on Advisory.  

Our advisory program generally consists of seven components and they are:

Adolescent “hot topic” discussions and lessons

Team and trust building

1:1 meetings with the advisor with goal setting

Gender specific meeting times

Lil’ Buddies  - working consistently with a younger grade

Service learning - global citizenship

Study and organizational skills

This year is our Service Learning Project which is part of the global citizenship component of our Advisory program fits in well with the school-wide humans of Chicago theme.  Earlier this year, middle school kids chose an area in which to focus: environmental issues, Literacy issues. Social Services issues (with particular interest in Special Olympics amongst other things) and Animal Welfare issues.  The students researched some of the local organizations that are involved with these areas and we have discovered that we have great resources in our parent community.  To date, we have had two guest speakers come in to represent some of these organizations and we will hear from two more.  After that, the groups will work on in-school projects that can benefit these organizations, culminating with an off-campus Field Day devoted to making a difference in the community.  It is a work in progress but we are excited about setting up a model that will take us into future school years.

Also new this year is a Social Emotional Learning curriculum that we are using to guide us through topics of interest to young people.  The curriculum is called Overcoming Obstacles and can be found here: http://www.overcomingobstacles.org/middleschool_curriculum.

What this all means is fewer trips to Starbucks……but the kids are benefitting from being more engaged and interested.

Week 19: 7th Grade Science

Week: 19

Topic:  Blood and Lymph

Objectives: 

Describe the components of blood.

Explain what determines the type of blood that a person can receive in a transfusion.

Name the structure and functions of the lymphatic system.

Essential Question:

How are blood cells like automobiles?

Key Terms:

plasma

red & white blood cells

hemoglobin

platelets

lymphatic system

lymph

lymph nodes

This week the kids will compare the difference between blood and lymph.  They will look at the make-up of blood and the many functions it carries out.  Our lab in this unit will simulate blood typing according to antigens located on the surface of the red blood cell.  Finally, we will look at how the circulatory and lymphatic systems work in conjunction with each other. 

Differentiation:

Observing

Using the microscope

Creating data tables

Identifying

Data analysis

Upcoming:  Respiration and an Anti-Smoking Campaign ad

A city fit for an artist!

The 7th graders just completed these beautiful birds-eye-view, one-point perspective drawings, done to represent a specific artist. They research their artist and design the buildings to reflect that artists style. They learn the rules of one-point perspective drawing and have to include at least 5 buildings with windows in their city scape compositions. We will have a critique next week so they get to defend their decisions. They look spectacular don't you think? Can you guess who their artists are?

Math Mania Night and Fractions in Algebra

Looking forward to seeing everyone this evening from 6-7 for Math Mania Night.  I think it will be a lot of fun for everyone.  If you didn't get a chance to RSVP you can still join us.

This week in math we have been reviewing how to multiply and divide fractions including fractions that have variables in them.  The class is learning how to cross simplify to make these operations easier.  For the rest of the week, we will be going over how to convert using customary units of measurement, use dimensional analysis, and work backwards to solve problems.

Presidents Project Presentations

Last week, the 7th graders worked in groups to research the administrations one of the United States' first five presidents.  This week, they worked together to create lessons for their classmates.  Now, they are presenting their lessons.  Later, they will each create a menu project about the presidential administration that they researched.

Questions for your 7th grader:

• What major events happened during your president's administration?
• What the president that you researched a good leader?  Why or why not?

Week 18: 7th Grade Science

Week: 18

Topic:  A Closer Look at Blood Vessels

Objectives: 

Describe the structures and functions of the CVS vessels?

Explain what causes blood pressure?

Understanding the process of diffusion.

Essential Question:

How are blood vessels related to physical science?

Key Terms:

coronary artery

pulse

diffusion

blood pressure

This week the kids will compare and contrast the structure and function of blood vessels.  They will do a lab to see diffusion/osmosis in action and finally use data interpretation to see how blood pressure works in different blood vessels.  To understand the complete system they will write a story about “Buddy the Blood Cell” and his travels through the CVS system.  

Differentiation:

Identifying

Compare and Contrast

Inferring

Data analysis

Upcoming:  Looking at blood and lymph. 

Presidents Project

Now that the constitution unit is over, students will be learning how the document shaped the administrations of the country's first five presidents.  Students are working in small groups to research the presidents.  They are finding out information about the political beliefs and personal background of each president.  They will also teach one another about the major events, challenges, and accomplishments of each president's administration.  Then, they will answer the essential question about the lasting impact that each commander in chief had on the United States.  Students will create lessons to teach the information to their classmates and they will also complete a menu project about the president that they have researched.  Students have also found out some really fun facts about our nation's first leaders.

Questions for your 7th grader:

• Which president are you researching?
• What is one fun fact you have learned about that president?

Math Mania Night and Fractions and Algebra

Hello 7th Grade Parents,

I am using today's blog to highlight Math Mania Night.  Next Tuesday, January 12th, is the second annual Math Mania Night at NPES from 6-7 in the evening.  Last year, the event was a great success and everyone found the evening to be fun.  This year, I have put the evening in the students' hands and asked them to decide what would be the most enjoyable way to spend an hour at school working on math.  We have worked as a class to decide what they want to do for the evening.  They came up with some great ideas and I think it will be a lot of fun.  If your planning on joining us on the 12th, please RSVP Math Mania RSVP .  Please come join us.

This week in 7th grade math we are starting our fifth unit on fractions and algebra.  We started the week of by shooting some baskets to get some data to learn about Least Common Multiple (LCM) in a different way than they learned before.  We will use the shooting baskets numbers to use LCM to order and compare fractions.  We will then review how to convert between fractions and decimals and learn how to convert any repeating decimal into a fraction.

Week 17: 7th Grade Science

Week: 17

Topic:  The Circulatory System

Objectives: 

Describe the structure and function of the heart.

Sequence the path taken by the blood the the CVS.

Essential Question:

How is our cardiovascular system like a transportation system?  

Key Terms:

CVS

atrium

ventricle

valve

septum

pacemaker

artery

capillary

vein

This week the kids will sequence the flow of blood to and from the heart.  Using a stethoscope the kids will listen to their heat beats (lub-dub) to hear the relaxing and contracting of the heart’s muscles.

Differentiation:

Sequencing

Upcoming:  Looking at the heart’s 2 loop system and the role of arteries, capillaries and veins.

7th Grade Language Arts: Research Report

As we enter the second part of the school year, we will start the research report writing unit.  This year, seventh graders will be researching an event in history.  They will be working on this paper in school and at home.  Students will be conducting their research independently.  From the sources they will create a three-six page overview of their topic.  The report must be organized, clear, and informational.  During the writing process, all students will create a works-cited page (three sources minimum), fact note cards (twenty cards minimum), and an outline of their paper.  Students will be required to meet various deadlines throughout the research report writing unit.  All components and research tasks will be discussed in detail in Language Arts class. The project timeline, materials, and due dates are on Schoology.

Upcoming Due Dates:

Research Report Topic Choice due: Friday, January 8, 2016

Source Cards due: Friday, January 15, 2016