Unit 3 Perseverance

We have begun our investigation of perseverance in English Language Arts. Our essential question this quarter is, "How does the setting allow characters to persevere?".  Students are currently reading Fever 1793, which follows the life of Mattie, a teenage girl, who lives in Philadelphia during an outbreak of yellow fever.  Students are annotating, highlighting, and creating footnotes in their novels.  Each week students are completing an Grab Bag that resembles the ELA PARCC test which they will be taking March 2nd-4th.  

Quarter 3 Math Update

Students are finishing the unit on algebraic skills and will take the quiz on topic 13 next week. We are preparing for the first half of the new Common Core state assessment called PARCC. The first series of testing contains problem based questions, which means the problems relate more to the real world, have multiple steps and some of the questions will require students to write responses similar to the old short and long response style questions. This portion will have two sections one with a calculator and one without, so we will test on two days. The testing program is electronic and will have tools which are similar to the tools in the digits program. We will have the protractor and ruler, calculator when allowed, as well as an evidence sheet with measurement conversions and area formulas. The students have practiced for this during class and since we have used technology all year they are familiar with the style of questions and tools - it is very similar to our practice homework. If you would like to see the style of questions your student can show you the link to the practice PARCC using my Schoology page.

Weather

Weather affects what you wear, what you do every day, and even how you get from place to place.  But do you know why it rains in some parts of the US more than others?  Or why one year we have 10 snow days and none the next?  How would weather scientists describe the patterns of weather that we experience every year?  This month we are going to be analyzing weather, climate, and factors that affect weather and climate through the eyes of meteorologists who study the Earth's weather and atmosphere.

Conferences

Conferences are 2/12 and 2/17.  To sign up for conferences visit the following link. 

 http://ptcfast.com/schools/Milford_Junior_High

Mr. Vollman and Mrs. Mendralski will only be available for conferences on the 17th.  They have been asked to present at the Ohio Middle Level Association conference on the 12th in Sandusky, Ohio.  They are both excited to share how our team and school has utilized Chromebooks this year with other Ohio educators.  

Literature Circles

Dear Parents,

We are excited to announce that your students will be participating in Literature Circles 4th quarter! In Literature Circles, classes are broken down into small groups of students who selected to read the same novel from a list of choices. The small groups will then create a schedule and deadlines for work completion. It’s a book club atmosphere for the students to experience the novel together and work collaboratively.

In class, your child’s teacher will be discussing each book and allowing students to rank their preferences.  Students will be choosing books from their course only (Honors ELA 7 OR ELA 7), and may NOT choose from both courses. Students will fill out a form in class identifying which books they chose--parents do NOT need to notify teachers of their child’s book choice.

The teachers will then assemble the small groups based on like interests in the novels. Your child will receive his/ her own copy of the novel which has been funded already through student fees. We have attached the link to a website which summarizes each book to help the students make their choice. Feel free to discuss the selections with your child to help him/her make the most appropriate choice. The first four books on the site are the selections for English Language Arts 7 and the last five books are the Honors English Language Arts 7 choices. We are all looking forward to this engaging and enriching unit!

Sincerely,

The 7th Grade English Language Arts Team

https://sites.google.com/a/milfordschools.org/7th-grade-lit-circles/home

Energy

Energy has been the topic of exploration for the past few weeks in Science. Students have been hitting the nail, spinning copper coils, and lighting up bulbs with electromagnetic energy, identifying energy transformations and sources, melting and insulating ice, and burning some serious calories! (Just ask them about it…)

  

Following break, the Energy unit will wrap up and we will move from physical to earth science. Weather and the Atmosphere is the next topic.

  

Wishing you all a very “energetic” holiday break!

2nd Quarter World History Update

This quarter in World History, we focused on the Roman Empire providing a detailed look at the emperors of the time as well as other important historical figures. In addition, students were able to learn about the daily life of ancient Romans. The students gained a better understanding of the significant achievements and contributions made by the Romans while completing their Roman Menu activities.  The final piece that we finished the 2nd quarter with was the spread of Christianity through the world.