Friday, April 29, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• Fri., May 6: Music festival, featuring the Prisms' hip-hop routine, at Helen Hills Hills Chapel.
• Fri., May 13: 6-7-8 dance, pending volunteer cleanup support, 8-11 PM. For those interested in DJing, see DJ Guidelines.
• Eighth Grade Project resource page updated 4/27, including project deadlines through the end of the project. Page will be updated as I get new information.
• Fridays: Hip-Hop Dance - The Prisms' next PE unit will be hip-hop dance class on Friday afternoons. Students need to wear or bring comfortable clothes and shoes for class.
• Download Ukulele Club documents (links fixed) here.

Math:

Grade 7 & 8vc
• Due Mon., 5/2:
  • MM 3.3 according to usual protocol, including any attached N/A problems. If you have attached problems, see if you need to bring home any past sheets needed for diagrams.

Language Arts:

• Due Tues., 5/3: Read Ch. 12-15 in Nonna's.... In LA Journal, write questions and comments to for discussion. Your entry should be at least 1½ pages.

Social Studies:

• Due Mon., 5/2: Read handout on the Renaissance and answer questions on sheet using full sentences.

Science:

• Due Wed., April 27: Complete Chem. Review sheet begun in class today. This will be your study sheet for the test on Monday.
• Test Monday, May 2: Covering our Chemistry unit, which includes:
  • The Periodic Table
  • atomic structure
  • pH
  • chemical formulas/balancing reactions
  • physical & chemical properties
  • the limestone cycle

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Nada.
Grade 8
• Nada:

Moment of Zen:

The Better to See You With, My Dear...

Did you know than there is more than one kind of eye>? The box jellyfish, pictured above, has 24 eyes of two different types (and packs one nasty sting, like most animals in Australia), but even that doesn't cover the range of it. Click the picture to see the Discovery magazine blog's slideshow of different kinds of eyes.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• Fri., May 6: Music festival, featuring the Prisms' hip-hop routine, at Helen Hills Hills Chapel.
• Fri., May 13: 6-7-8 dance, pending volunteer cleanup support, 8-11 PM. For those interested in DJing, see DJ Guidelines.
• Eighth Grade Project resource page updated 4/27, including project deadlines through the end of the project. Page will be updated as I get new information.
• Fridays: Hip-Hop Dance - The Prisms' next PE unit will be hip-hop dance class on Friday afternoons. Students need to wear or bring comfortable clothes and shoes for class.
• Download Ukulele Club documents (links fixed) here.

Math:

Grade 8vc
• Due Fri., 4/29:
  • Complete #26-31 on p. 62. Review for test on Inv. 3-5 on Monday.

Grade 7
• Due Fri., 4/29:
  • Complete 4.2 if not done in class. Also do #2, 3, 5 on pp. 46-47.

Language Arts:

• Due Tues., 5/3: Read Ch. 12-15 in Nonna's.... In LA Journal, write questions and comments to for discussion. Your entry should be at least 1½ pages.

Social Studies:

• Rien

Science:

• Due Wed., April 27: Complete Chem. Review sheet begun in class today. This will be your study sheet for the test on Monday.
• Test Monday, May 2: Covering our Chemistry unit, which includes:
  • The Periodic Table
  • atomic structure
  • pH
  • physical & chemical properties
  • the limestone cycle

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Nada.
Grade 8
• Nada:

Moment of Zen:

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• Fri., May 6: Music festival, featuring the Prisms' hip-hop routine, at Helen Hills Hills Chapel.
• Fri., May 13: 6-7-8 dance, pending volunteer cleanup support, 8-11 PM.
• Eighth Grade Project resource page updated 4/27, including project deadlines through the end of the project. Page will be updated as I get new information.
• Fridays: Hip-Hop Dance - The Prisms' next PE unit will be hip-hop dance class on Friday afternoons. Students need to wear or bring comfortable clothes and shoes for class.
• Download Ukulele Club documents (links fixed) here.

Math:

Grade 8vc
• Due Thurs., 4/28:
  • Complete 5.2 and follow-up begun in class. Do #1-4 on p. 59 and #21-24 on pp. 60-61. Show how you arrived at each answer.

Grade 7
• Due Thurs., 4/28:
  • Complete 4.1 and 4.1 Follow-up on pp. 42-43. You may use grid paper.

Language Arts:

• Due Thurs., 4/28: Read Ch, 9, 10, 11 in Nonna's.... In LA Journal, write questions and comments to be discussed on Th. Your entry should be at least one full page. Be ready for a quiz on Ch. 9-11.

Social Studies:

• Rien

Science:

• Due Wed., April 27: Complete Chem. Review sheet begun in class today. This will be your study sheet for the test on Monday.
• Test Monday, May 2: Covering our Chemistry unit, which includes:
  • The Periodic Table
  • atomic structure
  • pH
  • physical & chemical properties
  • the limestone cycle

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Due Tues., 4/26: Read Ch. 1 of Piratas.
Grade 8
• Due Tues., 4/26: Resumenes de Robo en la noche hasta capítulo 4 (summaries up to ch. 4).

Moment of Zen:

Whee!

(Photo from National Geographic)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• Fridays: Hip-Hop Dance - The Prisms' next PE unit will be hip-hop dance class on Friday afternoons. Students need to wear or bring comfortable clothes and shoes for class.
• Download Ukulele Club documents (links fixed) here.
• Eighth Grade Project resource page updated 1/24, including project deadlines through the end of February and downloadable documents. Page will be updated as I get new information.

Math:

Grade 8vc
• Due Wed., 4/27:
  • Complete 5.1 on p. 54-55. Do not cut off ruler - use index card method shown in class to measure and mark ruler.

Grade 7
• Due Wed., 4/27:
  • Complete 3.2 begun in class. Then do #2, 3, 4 on p. 37. Be sure to show how your got your answers.

Language Arts:

• Due Thurs., 4/28: Read Ch, 9, 10, 11 in Nonna's.... In LA Journal, write questions and comments to be discussed on Th. Your entry should be at least one full page. Be ready for a quiz on Ch. 9-11.
• Due Wed., 4/27 (turn in at Math): Write a "friendly letter" to Reka telling her what you gained from her and her music unit on the Renaissance. Word process it if possible (double-spaced). Edit carefully.

Social Studies:

• Rien

Science:

• Due Wed., April 27: Complete Chem. Review sheet begun in class today. This will be your study sheet for the test on Friday.
• Test Friday, April 29: Covering our Chemistry unit, which includes:
  • The Periodic Table
  • atomic structure
  • pH
  • physical & chemical properties
  • the limestone cycle

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Due Tues., 4/26: Read Ch. 1 of Piratas.
Grade 8
• Due Tues., 4/26: Resumenes de Robo en la noche hasta capítulo 4 (summaries up to ch. 4).

Moment of Zen:

Uncleftish Beholding:
The All-Germanic Periodic Table

For all that English is one of the most dominant languages in the world, its history is characterized by being taken over and beaten up by other languages. The Vikings, the French, the French Vikings - each invasion changed the vocabulary a little bit. Underneath it all, English still has the core of a Germanic language. However, a significant amount of vocabulary, especially in the scientific fields, descends from Latin.

Sci-fi writer Poul Anderson took on the challenge to write a short piece about a scientific topic, elements and atomic structure, using only words of Germanic origin. This rules out such key words as proton, compound, and even atom. It also rules out most, though not all, of our names for elements. One of the most interesting pieces about the article is how Anderson's work-arounds reveal interesting information about the particles and elements they describe: consider the lightest element, waterstuff, and some of its cohorts, sunstuff and flintstuff. Others reveal interesting stories about the origin of our name for the element, as with ymirstuff.

A note about the picture, which is a sketch for the classic Ray Harryhausen creature feature 20 Million Miles to Earth. The non-elephant creature just happens to share its name, Ymir, with a notable figure from Norse mythology whose name name Anderson borrowed to rename one of the elements.

Monday, April 25, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• Fridays: Hip-Hop Dance - The Prisms' next PE unit will be hip-hop dance class on Friday afternoons. Students need to wear or bring comfortable clothes and shoes for class.
• Download Ukulele Club documents (links fixed) here.
• Eighth Grade Project resource page updated 1/24, including project deadlines through the end of February and downloadable documents. Page will be updated as I get new information.

Math:

Grade 8vc
• Due Tues., 4/26:
  • Complete #2, 3, 6, and 7 on T-145 handout using the Pythagorean Theorem and the symbolic method.

Grade 7
• Due Tues., 4/26:
  • Complete #18 on p.29 by using a counting tree to organize data. Also, do #5-8 on pp.37-39. (For #8 assume a 100 square grid contains the floor plan.)

Language Arts:

• All
  • Due Tues., 4/26: Read Ch. 7 and 8 of Nonna’s Book of Mysteries. In LA journal, write questions that you have from your reading and comments. Fill a journal page. Be ready to share in class Tuesday. Be ready for a quiz on your reading.

Social Studies:

• Rien

Science:

• Due Tues., April 26: Write a 1-page summary of our Chemistry studies; include what was the most interesting topic for you.

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Due Tues., 4/26: Read Ch. 1 of Piratas.
Grade 8
• Due Tues., 4/26: Resumenes de Robo en la noche hasta capítulo 4 (summaries up to ch. 4).

Moment of Zen:

Japanese origami artist Takayuki Hori's most recent exhibition, Oritsunagumono (translated as "things folded and connected"), examines the fragility of the existence of many species, using specially designed and printed sheets of transparent origami paper featuring images of the skeletons of animals. When folded, they printed images come together in a three-dimensional image of the animal's skeleton.