News from 7-I

Team 7I Blog for February 14

Science with Mr. Schreckengast

Right now in Science class we are studying Physics:  Forces and Motion Unit.  There are 3 major concepts for this unit.  Concept 1: Motion    Concept 2: Forces    Concept 3: Newton’s Laws of Motion.

To start off the unit, we completed a lab called Domino Dash.  Students had to set up strings of 20 Dominos of increasing length and time how long they took to fall down.  The question that they were investigating was:  “How does increasing the length of a Domino string affect the speed at which the Dominos fall?” The students had a lot of fun (and frustration) with this lab while trying to set up the strings of Dominos.

We are currently working in the first Concept: Motion and are learning about speed and velocity and acceleration. This unit is filled with a lot of labs and activities to help the students learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion.

English with Mrs. Henze

We are currently studying story elements in English.  In this unit, we will read several stories and focus on how the story elements work together to create the story.  The first story we read was a play version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, A Christmas Carol.  First, we learned a little bit about what life was like in London during the mid 1800’s.  After we read the play together, we watched a movie version of the story.  We will continue to read short stories and discuss story elements for the next few weeks.

Academic Literacy with Mrs. Vasellas

Mrs. Vasellas' Academic Lit classes are in the middle of Unit 2 - Craft and Structure of Informational Text. Students have learned about reading  roadblocks and reading strategies. Up next: READER'S AIDS!

Social Studies with Mrs. Elicker

Mrs. Elicker’s Social Studies classes have completed our unit on European Exploration.  Students, working in groups, completed research on an European Explorer.  The students then created quiz questions and a Google DOC presentation based on their research.  Each group will share their presentation with the class.  Our next unit focuses on the American colonies!

        


                   

Health with Mr. Martin

In Mr. Martin’s health class we are currently discussing issues, problems, and risks associated with tobacco use.  I have been encouraging students to initiate discussion and conversation with their families in regards to their views on tobacco use and I would extend the same invitation to all parents.  Talking to your teens about tobacco, alcohol, and drugs can be a difficult conversation to have, but nevertheless a necessary and important one.  The majority of tobacco users begin their use before the age of 18 and many begin for the first time or get their first exposure to it in middle school.  

I encourage all parents and families to talk to your teens about these topics and others we cover in health class this year to help support and encourage them to make the best decisions and choices for their overall health and life.