Friday, March 19, 2010

General Announcements:

• You must have an independent reading book every day. If you are getting close to the end of one, have the next one at school and ready to go.

Math:

• 7th Grade:
  • Due Mon., 3/22: 7.5 & 7.5 Follow-up on p. 75 of CMP book. Be sure to restate questions in your answers and edit your writing. Use the following formulas from now on:
    • Circle Area: A=πr²
    • Circumference (circle perimeter): C=πd or C=2πr (remember that diameter (d) = radius (r) • 2)
    • Use &pi=3.14
• 8th Grade:
  • Due Mon., 3/22: No new math work. Work on 8th grade project elements due Monday.

Social Studies:

• Due :

Science:

• Due :

Language Arts:

• Due Mon., 3/22: Write a poem from the point of viewo f any character in Children of Willesden Lane. Use at least one simile, one instance of alliteration and one sensory image in the poem. Turn in only final, edited, typed copy.

Spanish:

• 7th Grade:

• 8th Grade:

Moment of Zen: A little while ago, I talked with one class or another about some of the math words which come to English from Arabic, namely algebra (from Ar. al-jabr, which refers to putting together broken parts or bonesetting) and algorithm (from the name of Central Asian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, named for his hometown of Khwarezm, in modern Uzbekistan). I went to one of my favorite websites, Etymonline, an online etymology dictionary to look up a little more on words that have migrated into English from Arabic, and was surprised by some of the words that had their roots in Arabic but also at the number which had come to Arabic from Greek before that the same way a lot of words came to English from Greek through Latin. This shouldn't be too surprising, as much of what we know about Ancient Greece was preserved through records kept by Early Islamic scholars. Fibonacci, of the famous sequence, is actually just as notable as a translator of math and science texts from Arabic as a mathematician in his own right. Here's some of the surprising words with Arabic roots (all descriptions borrowed from Etymonline):

• chemical/chemistry- originally a variant of alchemical which comes from Arabic al-kimiya, from Gk. khemeioa (found c.300 C.E. in a decree of Diocletian against "the old writings of the Egyptians"), all meaning "alchemy." Perhaps from an old name for Egypt (Khemia, lit. "land of black earth," found in Plutarch), or from Gk. khymatos "that which is poured out," from khein "to pour," related to khymos "juice, sap." The word seems to have elements of both origins.
• orange - from O.Fr. orenge (12c.), from M.L. pomum de orenge, from It. arancia, originally narancia (Venetian naranza), alt. of Arabic naranj, from Pers. narang, from Skt. naranga-s "orange tree," of uncertain origin. Loss of initial n- probably due to confusion with definite article (e.g. une narange, una narancia), but perhaps infl. by Fr. or "gold." The tree's original range probably was northern India. The Persian orange, grown widely in southern Europe after its introduction in Italy 11c., was bitter; sweet oranges were brought to Europe 15c. from India by Portuguese traders and quickly displaced the bitter variety, but only Mod.Gk. still seems to distinguish the bitter (nerantzi) from the sweet (portokali "Portuguese") orange. Portuguese, Spanish, Arab, and Dutch sailors planted citrus trees along trade routes to prevent scurvy. On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus brought the seeds of oranges, lemons and citrons to Haiti and the Caribbean. Introduced in Florida (along with lemons) in 1513 by Sp. explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. Introduced to Hawaii 1792. Not used as the name of a color until 1542.
• alcohol - "fine powder produced by sublimation," from M.L. alcohol "powdered ore of antimony," from Arabic al-kuhul "kohl," the fine metallic powder used to darken the eyelids, from kahala "to stain, paint." The al- is the Arabic definite article, "the." "Powdered cosmetic" was the earliest sense in English; definition broadened 1670s to "any sublimated substance, the pure spirit of anything." Modern sense of "intoxicating ingredient in strong liquor" is first recorded 1753, short for alcohol of wine, which was extended to "the intoxicating element in fermented liquors." In organic chemistry, the word was extended 1850 to the class of compounds of the same type as this.
• alcove - "vaulted recess," from Fr. alcôve, from Sp. alcoba, from Arabic al-qobbah "the vaulted chamber," from Sem. base q-b-b "to be bent, crooked, vaulted."
• ghoul - from Arabic ghul, an evil spirit that robs graves and feeds on corpses, from ghala "he seized."
• alfalfa - from Sp. alfalfa, earlier alfalfez, from Arabic al-fisfisa "fresh fodder."
• alkaline - "soda ash," from M.L. alkali, from Arabic al-qili "the ashes" (of saltwort, a plant growing in alkaline soils), from qala "to roast in a pan." The modern chemistry sense is from 1813.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

General Announcements:

• You must have an independent reading book every day. If you are getting close to the end of one, have the next one at school and ready to go.

Math:

• 7th Grade:
  • Due Fri., 3/19: Complete 7.4 part A and for your assigned circle only on p. 74 of CMP book.
• 8th Grade:
  • Due Fri., 3/19: Complete the even numbered problems on t-145 (handed out today). Show all your work. Use the Pythagorean theorem and the symbolic method as appropriate. If using properties of a particular kind of triangle, please reference that. Here's some quick, handy references:
    • Pythagorean Theorem:
    • Proportional sides of 30°-60°-90° triangle:
    • Proportional sides of 45°-45°-90° triangle (isosceles right triangle):

Social Studies:

• Due Fri., 3/19: Read Ch. 22 & 32 in handout today. Underline/highlight important information. There will be a quiz Fri./Mon.

Science:

• Due :

Language Arts:

• Due Fri., 3/19: Read Ch. 9 in Children of Willesden Lane.

Spanish:

• 7th Grade: Find 3 regular -AR verbs in Spanish and conjugate them for each pronoun.

• 8th Grade: No hay tarea

Moment of Zen: My calculus teacher in high school, a fascinating character unto himself, once had us calculate how many times you would theoretically have to fold a piece of newspaper to get it to reach to the moon, based on the following information:

1. The moon is an average distance of about 384 403 km from the Earth.
2. The average sheet of newsprint is about 0.1 mm thick.

You can amuse yourself by trying to riddle this one through, or you can click the picture above and read more geekery at Toothpaste for Dinner comics. Then again, why choose?

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

General Announcements:

• You must have an independent reading book every day. If you are getting close to the end of one, have the next one at school and ready to go.

Math:

• 7th & 8th Grade:
  • Due Thurs., 3/18: Math's Mates 3.4, according to new protocol:
    • Complete any problems marked N/A on 3.3 on a separate sheet of paper.
    • Begin 3.4 with problem #s wrong on 3.3
    • Show work for * problems on separate sheet of paper.

Social Studies:

• None assigned

Science:

• None assigned

Language Arts:

• Due Thurs., 3/18: Read Children of Willesden Lane ch. 6, 7 and 8. You will be given an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the reading on Thursday.

Moment of Zen:

Fancy Irish Soda Bread

Our Family Recipe Secret is that we don't keep secrets about recipes. This is the way I make it, this is the way my mama makes it, and this is how her mama made it. Happy St. Patty's, folks.

Preheat oven to 375°F

Dry Mix:
4 cups flour (I used half all-purpose flour and half whole-wheat pastry flour today)
¼ cup sugar
1 Tblsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cut in ¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter to tiny pea size or smaller (I usually do this in the food processor, but you can use a pastry cutter or butterknives, too), then add:
1 Tblsp caraway seeds
1 cup currants or raisins

Wet Mix:
1 ¾ – 2 cups buttermilk (if you split the recipe in half, use ½ - ¾ cups
buttermilk and 1 egg)
1 egg

For optional egg wash, beat together:
1 egg
2-3 Tblsp water

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately (they can actually be stored in the fridge separately for up to two weeks – much longer in the case of the dry mix), then add the wet to the dry and mix just until it forms a ball.

You can bake it as one large loaf or split it into two smaller loaves. Form the dough into roundish lumps and place on baking sheet lined with parchment or greased.

Brushing with egg wash provides a pretty, glossy crust, but isn't essential. I didn't use one today.

Bake at 375°F: 45-50 min for 1 large loaf or 30-40 min for two smaller loaves.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

General Announcements:

• You must have an independent reading book every day. If you are getting close to the end of one, have the next one at school and ready to go.

Math:

• 7th Grade:
  • Due Wed., 3/17: Complete “Additional Practice: Inv.6 on t-ed 155" (handout). Do according to the directions. Be certain to show your calculations on separate paper—not on the grid paper. Label your problems and answers on the separate paper clearly
• 8th Grade:
  • Due Wed., 3/17: Complete 4.3 and 4.3 Follow-up on p.45. You will use photocopy handed out in class today.

Social Studies:

• Due Wed., 3/17: Complete Timeline

Science:

• Due :

Language Arts:

• Due Thurs., 3/18: Read ch. 6. 7, 8 in Children of Willesden Lane

Spanish:

• 7th Grade:

• 8th Grade:

Moment of Zen:

Monday, March 15, 2010

General Announcements:

• You must have an independent reading book every day. If you are getting close to the end of one, have the next one at school and ready to go.

Math:

• 7th Grade:
  • Due Tue., 3/16: Complete 7.2 and 7.2 Follow-up. Staple it to 7.1 homework.
• 8th Grade:
  • Due Tue., 3/16: Complete #1-4 on p. 46-48 of CMP book. Use the Pythagorean Theorem and the symbolic method for solving problems. Convert answers to approximate measurements, rounded to the nearest tenth as necessary (Remember ≈ for approximate answers!)

Social Studies:

• Due Tue., 3/16: Read handout "The Need for New Plan of Government" p 17-20. On p. 21, answer #1, 2 and 3b: #2 and 3b must be on separate paper, #1 may be answered on worksheet or with the other two questions.

Science:

• Due Tue., 3/16: Make sure cover for "Physics of Motion" folder is completed and glued to folder. Also, complete summary if not done.

Language Arts:

• Due Thurs., 3/18: Read Children of Willesden Lane ch. 6, 7 and 8. You will be given an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the reading on Thursday.

Spanish:

• 7th Grade: Due Tues., 3/16: Study the 10 terms for Ch. 6 quiz.

• 8th Grade: Due Tues., 3/16: Translation from p. 26 of Robo en la noche

Moment of Zen:

Compost Cookies?

Would you put potato chips in a cookie? Christina Tosi, the ringleader at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City, adds potato chips and more to what she calls "Compost Cookies." Tosi recently revealed her recipe and varying food writers have been posting about their attempts and what combinations of crunch and melt they add to the base. Some conservatively keep to known combinations like pretzels and chocolate, while others like David Lebovitz, who calls his "Amnesty Cookies," see it as an opportunity to rifle through the cabinets and get rid of leftovers (Lebovitz's cookies included everything from chocolate-covered marshmallow bears to corn chips). Other ingredients have ranged from bacon to Goldfish to coffee grounds. Continually, people have been surprised with the alchemy that takes place in the cookie and turns it into whatever the baking equivalent of gold is. Click the photos above to visit the recipe if you want to try it yourself. I also have it on high authority that different versions of these have been turning up for sale at Outlook Farm pretty regularly (this would be the same authority that shared the recipe with me and makes all the cookies at Outlook). Speaking of round baked goods, if you missed out on π day yesterday, since we weren't in school to do anything, you have another chance to celebrate π this summer on European π day on July 22nd.