Week 38: 7th Grade Science

Week: 38

Over the past three weeks the 7th Graders have been working on the cell, its structure, functions, and processes.  The highlight of this unit was comparing and making analogies of the cell to a factory.  The kids designed their own factories using the organelles of the cell.  The class was then introduced to the chemistry of the cell; diffusion, photosynthesis, and respiration.  This was an introduction to next years chemistry units, but more importantly, it is always fun to see the look on kids faces when a chemical reaction takes place.  Lastly, the dissection of the frog always excites them to see how life evolves and how more complex the frog is from the worm.

Another year has passed and I hope your son or daughter enjoyed how science works and how we need it in the world we live in.  Have a safe and relaxing summer!

Sincerely,

Mr. T

End of the Civil War

Today, the 7th graders are finishing up their Civil War unit and are taking their final test.  Earlier this week, students acted out the final stages of the war, including Sherman's March to Sea and the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse (see picture).  Yesterday, students shared their menu items with the class.  We saw some great political cartoons, pieces of propaganda, interviews, and mini-lessons. Next year, students will continue learning about United States history after the Civil War.  Have a great summer!

Chicago grid system, scatter plots, and nonlinear graphs

This week in 7th grade math we took our final exam and have worked on the Chicago grid system.  It was fun to watch the kids on the floor looking at the map of Chicago and writing down the numbers, direction, and names of streets.  It is so interesting to see how easily this comes to some students and how hard it is for others.  For the rest of the week, we will be learning how to create a scatter plot of data and how to write an equation for the line of best fit for a scatter plot.  We will end the year on Friday by graphing and looking at different types of nonlinear data, such as, absolute value and quadratic functions.

It has been a great year and the class has really done a great job.  Have a great summer and see you next year!