News from 7-I

7I Blog for January

Science With Mr. Schreckengast

In Mr. Schreckengast’s Science class we are still working on Chemistry Concepts.  We are in the Properties of Matter Unit which includes the following topics:  Classifying Matter, Properties of Matter, and Changes in Matter.  

Classifying Matter

Students worked on identifying and classifying matter as substances or mixtures.  Some of the terms they learned were heterogeneous, homogeneous, compound,element, colloid, suspension, and solution.  The students were given a flow chart graphic organizer to show how these items are connected.

Properties of Matter

Students started out with a lab in this section.  They got to check the mass of an antacid tablet whole, then crush it and see if the mass stayed the same or changed. This introduced Physical Properties to the students, in particular, mass as a Physical Property.  They found out that the mass does not change when the antacid tablet is crushed, proving that mass is a size dependent Physical Property.  Then students learned about the other Physical Properties of Matter by conducting a Treasure Hunt for notes, filling in the graphic organizer.  The students enjoyed finding the answers, since Mr. Schreck hid them in interesting places.  There are pictures below of this event.

Changes of Matter

In this section students will investigate how to identify substances by their physical and chemical properties through a three day lab.

Health with Mr. Martin

Mr. Martin’s classes have just finished discussing the topic of mental and emotional health issues like anxiety and depression and risks and warning signs associated with them and the importance of discussing these issues with a trusted adult in order to get the help and support students need.  

Currently, we are discussing issues related to social health and how we get along and interact with others.  We will be discussing aspects of communication, which includes body language, I-messages, passive, aggressive, and assertive communication, refusal skills, and conflict resolution to name a few.  All of these topics play a significant role in each student’s interactions with others and have a profound impact on the healthy growth and development of our children’s overall health.

I once again encourage all parents and families to talk to your teens about these topics.  

Academic Literacy - Mrs. Vasellas

Students are currently working on completing Concept 1: Point of View by identifying  author's’ purpose. Our next concept will be Text Structure.

Social Studies with Mrs. Elicker

In Social Studies, students are beginning their new unit on Explorers.  The students are working to determine why Europeans were looking to explore new territories and how these expeditions affected the native inhabitants of these areas.  Students will use laptops and other text to research a specific explorer and what the explorer hoped to gain from their explorations to the new world.  

English with Mrs. Henze

On January 8th, classes started the next unit by watching a Flocabulary video titled “The Five Elements of  A Story.”  Throughout the next several weeks we will be reading several short stories and discussing the elements of a story.

On January 6th, all students selected a book from the library for the next book assignment.  Each section was assigned a specific genre to read.

Red--fantasy

Blue--science fiction

Purple--realistic fiction

Pink--realistic fiction

Green--science fiction

Math with Ms. Therrien

Advanced Pre-Algebra students have finished the first four chapters of the book and are working now on chapter 6. This chapter will focus on ratios, proportions, and scale drawings.

We will be working on activities that include finding our ages and weights on other planets and making a scale drawing of either the classroom or a room at home.

Pre-Algebra students are finishing chapter 4. This chapter focuses on solving equations, which is a skill that will be necessary for success in Algebra next year. We are concentrating on how to show correct work and how to check answers. We will be starting chapter 6 soon and will be doing the same activities as the Advanced classes.

At the end of January, everyone will be participating in CDT’s. These are diagnostic tests that help us to determine what skills we should be focusing on to prepare for the PSSA’s in March. Students do not get a grade for these tests.