Friday, September 9, 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

Humanities:

• Due Mon., 9/12:
  • Lord of the Flies: Read Ch. 7 and complete reading log.
  • Girl Who Owned a City: Read Ch. 11 and complete reading log.
  • Come prepared to discuss.

Math:

• Due Mon., 9/12: Complete Math's Mate 1.2 (photocopy), according to following protocol:
  • No calculators (unless you have an accomodation to use one - you know who you are)
  • Show work for problems marked with * on separate paper, along with work for other problems as you see fit. Make sure work is labeled with the number of the question, and staple work to the back of the sheet.
  • Work independently.
  • Complete any attached N/A problems from last week. You may need access to last week's sheet for diagrams.

Moment of Zen:

Biodegradable Sneakers

Sounding like some kind of whimsical invention from the future, Dutch Company OAT Shoes is now selling fully biodegradable sneakers. Made from natural fibers and plastics designed to biodegrade with the assistance of soil microbes, they will only break down when planted in the soil. They also include a sheet of paper embedded with seeds, so that a few days after planting, the shoes will grow flowers. As the company's website says, "If you follow the instructions, you should have a fiery bouquet of wildflowers growing out of your shoes within days! We would like to take this opportunity to mention that burying OAT Shoes in public -or other people’s- grounds is completely at your own risk. Not everyone is going to understand the sacred ritual of your sneaker funeral you know."

Because of regulations around importing the seeds, OAT Shoes are only available in Europe at the moment, but the company is working on a version for release in North America in the next few years.

Thursday, September 8, 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

Humanities:

• Due Fri., 9/9:
  • Lord of the Flies: Read Ch. 2 and complete reading log.
  • Girl Who Owned a City: Read Ch. 3 & 4 and complete reading log.
  • Come prepared to discuss.

Math:

• Due Fri., 9/9: Complete Conversion Worksheet #4-9
  • Gr. 7: Complete #1-16. Optional: 17-32
  Gr. 8: Complete #1-32.
• Due Mon., 9/12: Complete Math's Mate 1.1 (photocopy), according to following protocol:
  • No calculators
  • Show work for problems marked with * on separate paper, along with work for other problems as you see fit. Make sure work is labeled with the number of the question, and staple work to the back of the sheet.
  • Work independently.

Moment of Zen:

Dubai's Palm Islands

The "fronds" of Palm Jumeirah, a man-made archipelago on the coast of Dubai, UAE

Wednesday, September 7, 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

Humanities:

• Due Fri., 9/9:
  • Lord of the Flies: Read Ch. 2 and complete reading log.
  • Girl Who Owned a City: Read Ch. 3 & 4 and complete reading log.
  • Come prepared to discuss.

Math:

• Due Thurs., 9/8: Finish practice converting examples from today's Handout #1.

Moment of Zen:

Is This the New Batcave?

This ancient salt mine in Romania may be the shooting location for the Batcave in The Dark Knight Rises. Click to see more photos, read more about the history of the site and find out how and where the Batcave fits in.

Tuesday, September 6, 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

Humanities:

• Due Wed., 9/7:
  • Lord of the Flies: Read Ch. 1 and complete Reading Log.
  • Girl Who Owned a City: Read Ch. 1 & 2 and complete Reading Log
  • Come prepared to discuss.

Moment of Zen:

A Jello Piano that Actually Plays!

Wednesday, August 31, 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
• Due Thurs., 9/1: Bring all school materials on provided list with you, as we will be checking them in.

Humanities:

• Due Thurs., 9/1: If not already done, email or bring letter about yourself to Beth.

Moment of Zen:

Zombie Truffles

Click above for instructions to make them...if you can stomach it!

Prisms Summer Reading List 2011

What follows is an extensive list of quality books for summer reading. In the next few weeks, we will be sending home specific assignments related to this list. In the meantime, take a few moments to go over the list with your parents and identify some books you think might interest you this summer.

Click to jump to a particular section or scroll through to view the full list.

• Literary Classics
• Traditional Literature
• Modern Fantasy & Science Fiction
• Realistic Fiction
• Poetry
• Historical Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Multicultural & International Literature

You can also download the full list as a PDF (116K, right/ctrl-click -> Save As to download)

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Literary Classics
• A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
• The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
• Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
• The Cay by Theodore Taylor
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
• Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• The Grey King by Susan Cooper
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
• Little Women by Louisa Alcott
• The Odyssey by Homer
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
• The Pearl by John Steinbeck
• Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
• The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Sounder by William Armstrong
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
• Walkabout by James Vance Marshall
• War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• White Fang by Jack London
• The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings

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Traditional Literature
• In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton and Barry Moser
• Beowulf by Seamus Heaney
• The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack
• Gay-Neck, The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
• The Golem retold by Barbara Rogasky
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
• The People Who Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
• Return of the Sun by Joseph Bruchac
• The Story of Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
• Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger
• The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit retold by Julius Lester
• World Before This One by Rafe Martin
• Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

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Modern Fantasy & Science Fiction
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Along Came a Dog by Meindert DeJong
• The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell
• The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton
• Building Blocks by Cynthia Voigt
• The Complete Fairy Tales of George Macdonald by George Macdonald
• The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
• Dragon’s Blood by Jane Yolen
• Duplicate by William Sleator
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The House of Scorpions by Nancy Farmer
• The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
• Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbitt
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• The Lost Years of Merlin by T. A. Barron
• Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
• The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
• Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
• Redwall by Brian Jacques
• Singularity by William Sleator
• Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virginia Hamilton
• The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
• The White Mountains by John Christopher
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

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Realistic Fiction
• The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell
• Blue Heron by Avi
• Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
• Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
• The Friendship and the Gold Cadillac by Mildred Taylor
• The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson
• Gracie’s Girl by Ellen Wittlinger
• The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri
• Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
• Home Sweet Home, Good-Bye by Cynthia Stowe
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
• Island by Gary Paulsen
• Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
• Journey of the Sparrows by Fran Leeper Buss
• Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
• Matt Gargan’s Boy by Alfred Slote
• Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
• The Monument by Gary Paulsen
• Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta
• Nothing But the Truth by Avi
• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
• Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
• Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
• Park’s Quest by Katherine Paterson
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman
• Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers
• Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
• A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
• Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
• A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry
• Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
• Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Two Against the North by Farley Mowat
• Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt
• Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
• The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
• Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera and Bill Cleaver
• Whirligig by Paul Fleischman
• Words by Heart by Ouida Sebastyen
• Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

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Poetry
• Ashley Bryan’s ABC of African American Poetry by Ashley Bryan
• Blackberry Ink by Eve Merriam
• The Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear
• Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
• Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill
• Hawk, I’m Your Brother by Byrd Baylor
• I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children’s Drawings & Poems ed. by Hana Volavkova
• Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
• Make Lemonade (a novel in poetic form) by Virginia Euwer Wolff
• Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost ed. by Schmidt & Sorensen
• The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allen Poe
• Selected Poems by Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
• Under the Sunday Tree by Eloise Greenfield
• When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Whispers and Other Poems by Myra Cohn Livingston

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Historical Fiction
• Witness by Karen Hesse
• Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch
• A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Henry Mazer
• Beyond the Burning Tree by Kathryn Lasky
• Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
• Crispin, the Cross of Lead by Avi
• The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
• Dragonwings by Lawrence Yep
• Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman
• Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter
• A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal by Joan Blos
• Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
• The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanore M. Jewett
• Incident at Hawk’s Hill by Allan W. Eckert
• A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
• Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse
• Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer
• My Brother Sam Is Dead by James & Christopher Collier
• No Promises in the Wind by Irene Hunt
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Prairie Songs by Pam Conrad
• The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
• Something Upstairs by Avi
• Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor
• Tituba of Salem Village by Ann Petry
• The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss
• West Against the Wind by Liza Ketchum Murrow
• Wrapped for Eternity: The Story of the Egyptian Mummy by Mildred Pace

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Nonfiction
• Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Cwiklik
• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
• Cars on Mars: Roving the Red Planet by Alexandra Siy
• Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Dorothy Heiligman
• Death Be Not Proud: A Memoir by John Gunther
• Emily Dickinson: Singular Poet by Carol Dommermuth-Costa
• Evolution Revolution: From Darwin to DNA by Robert Winston
• Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry
• Homesick, My Own Story by Jean Fritz
• Hurricane Force: In the Path of America’s Deadliest Storms by Joseph B. Treaster
• Leonardo da Vinci by Kathleen Krull
• Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
• Lincoln Shot: A President’s Life Remembered by Barry Denenberg
• Long Journey Home by Julius Lester
• Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Problem of His Time by Sobel
• My Life with the Chimpanzees by Jane Goodall
• Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
• Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom by Walter Dean Myers
• Prairie Visions: The Life and Times of Soloman Butcher by Pam Conrad
• To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
• Simple Gifts: Lessons in Living from a Shaker Village by June Sprigg
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace by Greg Mortenson
• Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin
• The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman*

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Multicultural & International Literature
• Black Elk Speaks:Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux as told through John G. Neihardt
• Buried Onions by Gary Soto
• Dragon Road by Laurence Yep
• Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• If You Could Be My Friend: Letters of Mervet Akram Sha’ban and Galit Fink presented by Litsa Boudalike
• Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O’Dell
• Journey to Jo’burg by Beverly Naidoo
• Journey Home by Yoshiko Uchida
• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
• The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Huynh Quang Nhuong
• My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
• Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang and David Hwang*
• The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl by David Kherdian
• Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark*
• The Sign of the Chrysanthemum by Katherine Paterson
• Swami and Friends by R. K. Narayan
• Upon the Head of a Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944 by Aranka Siegal
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
• Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi
• Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic

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Tuesday, May 31, 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
• Tues. & Wed., June 7-8: Presentations of 8th Grade Projects, Prisms' 3rd Floor room and Tech Lab, AM (6/7 & 6/8)and from 6:30-8:30 PM (Tues., 6/7 only). Open to community.
• Wed., June 22: Eighth Grade Graduation
• Thurs., June 23: Last day of School for students (half day)
• 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.
• Download Ukulele Club documents (links fixed) here.

Math:

Grade 7:
• Test Wed., 6/1: Math's Mates Mid-Term 3 Test, covering material in ex. 3.1-3.4 - use those worksheets to review. Questions you got wrong make excellent review problems!
• Due Wed., 6/1: On review sheet begun in class, finish #4, do first 4 on back side (6, 7, 5, 6). Optional, rec. for Mauve: 5(front, factoring/expanding), 7, 8, 11 (Pythagorean Theorem problems)

Grade 8:
• Test Wed., 6/1: Math's Mates Mid-Term 3 Test, covering material in ex. 3.1-3.4 - use those worksheets to review. Questions you got wrong make excellent review problems!
• Due Wed., 6/1: On review sheet begun in class, finish 3, do all of back page. Optional, rec. for Mauve: 5(front, factoring/expanding)

Language Arts:

• Due Wed., 6/1: Final copy of letter to Greens—typed. Return it with the edited copy from Jane.

Social Studies:

Science:

• Nada

Moment of Zen:

Unique Car & Bike Mods

Click above for more, including bananas on wheels, mirrored Bugs (in several configurations), and a bike with a sound system to rival a dance club's.