Sunday, May 11, 2014

News from 8-L

Team 8L April Blog

Health: Students are working on their project of researching and putting together a presentation (Powerpoint) on a chosen organ of the body. It is the culminating activity in learning about the systems of the body and presentations will run from the middle of April through the middle to end of May!

Math: As we begin the 4th and final marking period of our school year, math students will continue to learn new and exciting Algebraic concepts.  PreAlg-2 students will be exploring the world of Geometry, learning angle relationships, dilations, rotational symmetry, and volume.  Honors Algebra students will be working their way toward the Keystone exam in May, mastering the vast universe of polynomials, radical functions, factoring, and quadratic equations.  Alg 1A students will end their year learning how to solve and graph inequalities, and delve into the world of probability & statistics!  It's been a banner year on Team 8L ~ thanks to all students and parents for your hard work and support. 

Remember. . .

Life + Love = Happy

Life - Love = Sad   

2 Life = Happy + Sad

thus,  Life = Happy + Sad
                    2

therefore,  Life = 1/2 Happy + 1/2 Sad


English: In English class, we have just wrapped up a unit of study on word morphology. Students have gained a deeper understanding of prefixes, suffixes, and root words and have learned new word attack strategies to help them understand the meaning of new and unfamiliar words. In this 4th marking period, students will be writing a fictional narrative. They will write a story with an awareness of style: using verbs in active and passive voice and in conditional and subjunctive mood, as well as incorporating essential plot structure elements, literary devices like foreshadowing, irony and flashback, and character dialogue. Following the writing unit, students will be reading the novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Students will hone their literary analysis skills through an in-depth study of theme and character development. It is going to be a fun and engaging marking period!

Science: This month we wrapped up our geology unit.  We located Earth's major tectonic plates by plotting the earthquakes and volcanoes found around the world.  We then spent time learning the causes of earthquakes and volcanoes.  The assessment was a writing assignment where the students had to decide whether it is better to live on a fault or near an active volcano.  To wrap up our geology unit we used all the information about earth to interpret Earth's history.  At the end of April there will be the science PSSAs.  We have spent time looking at sample questions and figuring out how to approach the questions.



Social Studies:  We are transitioning from forming our nation into westward expansion.  Currently we are ready to begin our study of Andrew Jackson’s Presidency where we will learn about the beginning of the current Democratic party and how the donkey became their symbol.  We are also putting the finishing touches on preparing for our field trip to Washington D.C. on May 6.

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