With the Little Big Things Gala coming up, I think our mind certainly travels to the “littles” of elementary and all the big things they are up to, but don’t forget the middle schoolers! I would argue they are a perfect embodiment of a “little big thing.” They are big and in the middle of the growing-up-too-fast that we made them promise not to do – emotionally stretching, mastering academic concepts, learning hard lessons, wearing adult shoe sizes. However, they are also “little” – they’re back foot is still in childhood, their mind can still get lost in a neverland of creativity, playfulness, and an open mind. What a wonderful tension to be both little and big for four fabulous years. These “little-bigs” are certainly celebrated in this newsletter every week and at TCS each day. I hope you will join me in applauding them BIG at the gala!
-Ms Maggie
Upcoming Dates:
- March 14 – Little Big Things Gala
- April 1 – Art Night Celebration
- April 3 – 10 – Spring Break
ELA: This week in ELA, 7th grade studied identity poetry that captured feelings of change and development. They unpacked the impact of the short-lined poetry by Nikki Grimes in New Math and the second person perspective in Mary Oliver’s The Journey before writing their own pieces that tackled changing identity. We surveyed the poems we’ve written so far and applied our knowledge of rewriting to revise and improve at least one piece. 7th grade began a new grammar unit, as well, with a test planned for March 18th.
Next week, 7th grade will learn about poetry of place and consider what places have impacted their own identity. They’ll have another week of grammar study before testing on 3/19, and will receive their grammar study guide by next Friday.
Science: This week in Science, 7th graders focused on finalizing the planning for their Science Fair projects. Students researched their topics, identified their research questions and variables, and developed methods for their investigations. They also learned about the importance of designing a clear data chart before beginning an experiment. After practicing how to organize and record data effectively, students created data charts tailored to their own research projects.
Next week, 7th grade will finalize their methods and begin conducting their experiments, taking the next step in turning their questions into meaningful scientific investigations.
Social Studies:Students will be starting their women’s history month projects next week!
Math: This week in math, 7th graders began a deeper exploration of three-dimensional solids and their volumes. They’ll recognize the formula for volumes of different solids as functions with both inputs and outputs, and notice patterns within different solids. We’ll practice finding the volume of lots of different solids – prisms, pyramids, cones, cylinders, spheres, and more.
Next week, 7th graders will take a quiz over their mastery of using volume formulas on Monday, before taking their Winter/Spring ERB milestone on Tuesday – which will showcase their growth so far this year. Finally, on Thursday, we’ll start to analyze what happens to a solid’s volume when some of its dimensions are dilated.
