In science, students are finishing their chemistry unit with a culminating project that illustrates the scientific principles they've learned. Students have selected a creative project (ex: Scratch animation, written scripts, flipbooks, etc.) that will show what happens to molecules at different temperatures that allow us to smell them from a distance.
In English Language Arts, students have started reading
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep, a story about a boy who moves from China to San Francisco in 1903. Students are enjoying deep discussions on race, identity, and history as they delve into the text and ask themselves “what does it mean to be American?”
In math, students have been working on ratios and unit rates. They have been preparing for their upcoming math district assessment by completing word problems using a new strategy called ABC. This involves students reading the problem and breaking it up for background knowledge (A), petition (B), and proof (C). Once student have broken up their prompt using ABC, they are using CER to answer the prompt.
Lastly, in social studies, students have started learning about Mesopotamia (out 3rd unit of the year) and the challenges that many of the earliest civilizations faced in the Fertile Crescent. Students have engaged in discussions comparing and contrasting present day Middle East to Mesopotamia. Moreover, after learning about the seven aspects of civilization, students have engaged in discussion regarding the role, function, and importance of each aspect of civilization. This past week they have been using CER to write about which aspects of civilization is most important in establishing a civilization.