Friday, April 30, 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Share Your DC Pictures! Pick up to 20 of your best shots from DC to upload to the group account at Photobucket for official trip documentation. Sort photos into the albums for Monuments/Memorials, Museums, People, and Other. Email Grace if you need the login information or if you have trouble logging in. The account is private, but I have a separate guest password to pass along to parents, grandparents, etc. which grants view-only access.
  • Due Friday, 4/30: Come to school dressed in a black T-shirt and dark pants/skirt. You will be wearing what you wore for other Prism productions at All-School for Earth Day. Bring a change of clothes with you if you wish to wear something different the rest of the day.
  • 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:
    • Quiz Mon., 5/3: Go over MCAS Review packets and mixed number practice sheets completed over the last week. We will do a practice MCAS session on Monday.
Social Studies:
  • None assigned
Science:
  • Due Mon., 5/3:
    • 7th grade: Complete "Floating Junkyards" worksheet.
    • 8th Grade: Finish both MCAS Science Packets.
Language Arts:
  • Due Mon., 5/3: Bring your independent reading book into class and be ready to explain why you chose it.
Moment of Zen: Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the figure of Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial, made the specific request that the sculpture never be lit from below. However, at George H.W. Bush's inauguration in 1988, held at the Memorial, just this happened, highlighting just how much lighting can affect the way something looks. Thanks to Gabe and Ben for digging up this picture and to Ruben and Sophie for reminding us.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Share Your DC Pictures! Pick up to 20 of your best shots from DC to upload to the group account at Photobucket for official trip documentation. Sort photos into the albums for Monuments/Memorials, Museums, People, and Other. Email Grace if you need the login information or if you have trouble logging in. The account is private, but I have a separate guest password to pass along to parents, grandparents, etc. which grants view-only access.
  • Due Friday, 4/30: Come to school dressed in a black T-shirt and dark pants/skirt. You will be wearing what you wore for other Prism productions at All-School for Earth Day. Bring a change of clothes with you if you wish to wear something different the rest of the day.
  • 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., 4/28:
      • In new MCAS packet, do #10.
      • Do #1-8 on mixed number division worksheet.Show work for each problem on a separate sheet of paper, which should be stapled to the worksheet.
  • 8th Grade:
    • Due Wed., 4/28: On mixed number division practice sheet, do #1-12, even #s only.
Social Studies:
  • Read Article 1 of the Constitution. (full text)
Science:
  • None assigned
Language Arts:
  • Due Wed., 4/28: Final, typed copy of gallery plaque for your monument. Ask an adult to proofread it with you before considering it final. Formatting: It should be in a type font and size that can be read easily by a viewer in our hall (ex. Times New Roman, 16 pt, bold). Have your name at the bottom as "monument designer."
Moment of Zen:

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Due Thurs., 4/29: Share Your DC Pictures! Pick up to 20 of your best shots from DC to upload to the group account at Photobucket for official trip documentation. Sort photos into the albums for Monuments/Memorials, Museums, People, and Other. Email Grace if you need the login information or if you have trouble logging in. The account is private, but I have a separate guest password to pass along to parents, grandparents, etc. which grants view-only access.
  • Due Friday, 4/30: Come to school dressed in a black T-shirt and dark pants/skirt. You will be wearing what you wore for other Prism productions at All-School for Earth Day. Bring a change of clothes with you if you wish to wear something different the rest of the day.
  • 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., 4/28:
      • In new MCAS packet, do #1-9 (no open-response questions).
      • Do #7-12 on mixed number multiplication worksheet and redo/fix any wrong from #1-6. Show work for each problem on a separate sheet of paper, which should be stapled to the worksheet.
  • 8th Grade:
    • Due Wed., 4/28: In MCAS Review packet, do #29 (open-response). Write answer on separate paper as if answering it in an MCAS response booklet: show all calculations and explain your thinking clearly and thoroughly.
Social Studies:
  • None assigned
Science:
  • Due Wed., 4/28:
    • Group 1: Make a histogram for your group's data about physical traits.
    • Group 2: Fill out sheet about your own traits in preparation for graphing them with the data from your group and from the class.
Language Arts:
  • Due Wed., 4/28: Use group’s responses to revise “gallery placard” so it is ready to be posted—and in produce a final copy that is well-edited. Ask an adult to proofread it with you before considering it final. Formatting: It should be in a type font and size that can be read easily by a viewer in our hall (ex. Times New Roman, 16 pt, bold). Have your name at the bottom as "monument designer."
Moment of Zen:

...And You Thought New England Mosquitoes Were Big

Published in London from the 1890s to the 1950s, The Strand Magazine is best known for being the first place Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his stories about one Sherlock Holmes. Its contributor list also includes such literary heavyweights as Rudyard Kipling, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse. In 1910, it also published a piece called, "If Insects Were Bigger, " including the above picture, which was given the caption, “Panic Caused by a Mosquito in Piccadilly Circus.” About 78 years before Photoshop and 51 years before Mothra, other illustrations bear captions like, “A Lacewing Fly Spreads Consternation in Wellington Street” and “A Dragon-Fly Captures an Unsuspecting Four-Wheeler in Liverpool.” The author, J.H. Kerner Greenwood, noted: “It is true we are still molested by hordes of wild animals of bloodthirsty propensities. These wild animals only lack the single quality–namely, that of size–to render them all-powerful and all-desolating, and this quality they have not been able to attain owing to the lack of favouring conditions.” Click here or the picture above to see more from this feature.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Share Your DC Pictures!: Pick up to 20 of your best shots from DC to upload to the group account at Photobucket. Sort photos into the albums for Monuments/Memorials, Museums, People, and Other. Email Grace if you need the login information or if you have trouble logging in. The account is private, but I have a separate guest password to pass along to parents, grandparents, etc. which grants view-only access.
  • Due Friday, 4/30: Come to school dressed in a black T-shirt and dark pants/skirt. You will be wearing what you wore for other Prism productions at All-School for Earth Day. Bring a change of clothes with you if you wish to wear something different the rest of the day.
  • 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., 4/28:
      • Finish MCAS Review packet. Answer for revised open response #9 on separate paper.
      • Do #1-6 on mixed number multiplication worksheet. Show work for each problem on a separate sheet of paper, which should be stapled to the worksheet.
  • 8th Grade:
    • Due Wed., 4/28:
      • Finish MCAS Review packet. Answers for final open-response question should be well-explained on separate paper.
      • Do #1-10 on mixed number multiplication worksheet. Show work for each problem on separate sheet of paper, which should be stapled to the worksheet.
Social Studies:
  • Due Wed., 4/28: Read handout about Ratification of the Constitution (p. 40-42) and answer the following questions on p. 43: 1a-c, 2a-c, 3a+b.
Science:
  • Due Wed., 4/28:
    • Read excerpt "The Forgotten Pollinators."
    • List 3 things you found interesting in the reading
    • Pick one of those topics and write a more detailed reflection on it
Language Arts:
  • Due Wed., 4/28: Type a final, edited copy of the "gallery placard" that will be placed next to you monument design. It should be in a type font and size that can be read easily by a viewer in our hall (ex. Times New Roman, 16 pt, bold). Have you name at the bottom as "monument designer." Begin looking for an independent reading book to have in all classes at all times.
Spanish:
  • 7th Grade:
  • 8th Grade:
    Moment of Zen:

    A Fingerprint on the Snowglobe?

    It looks a little like the densely lined arch of a fingerprint, maybe some abstract stick-figure rainbow if it weren't on a photo. What you see is a solargraph, taken by a pinhole camera. If photograph is built from the Greek roots photos, "light" and graphos "write," its process as something literally "written in light" emerges. Using a very long exposure time—usually many months—and a very small aperture (opening), solargraphs track the path of the sun, changing in its arc across the sky a little bit each day in relation to the earth's tilt. Not only is it evidence of the particular way out planet travels through space over the course of the year, it looks pretty cool, too. Click the picture above to go to Tarya Trygg's Solargraphy database, which lets you search for solargraphs from around the world (I recommend just continent and city). She also lists a lot of good information about how to make your own solargraphic image using a pinhole camera which can be made for under $10. This site also has good information about how to make a solargraph, plus general information about pinhole photography. Click any of these for a full-size version:

    Monday, April 26, 2010

    Monday, April 26, 2010

    General Announcements:
    • Share Your DC Pictures!: Pick up to 20 of your best shots from DC to upload to the group account at Photobucket. Sort photos into the albums for Monuments/Memorials, Museums, People, and Other. Email Grace if you need the login information. The account is private, but I have a separate guest password to pass along to parents, grandparents, etc. which grants view-only access.
    • Due Friday, 4/30: Come to school dressed in a black T-shirt and dark pants/skirt. You will be wearing what you wore for other Prism productions at All-School for Earth Day. Bring a change of clothes with you if you wish to wear something different the rest of the day.
    • 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 Tues., 4/27: Complete open response question #9 in MCAS review packet. You may use the grid provided in the booklet, but you must show all calculations which explain how you got your answers in a well-organized way on a separate sheet of paper.
    • 8th Grade:
      • Due Tues., 4/27: Answer the open response quesion #9. Pretend you are writing you answer(s) in the Answer booklet. Use white, lined paper. Follow all directions as given. Also, format your answers so all is very legible and that the reader can easily follow your thinking and computing. Use the symbolic method if solving an equation. These may be shared with a peer as well as your teacher.
    Social Studies:
    • Due Tues., 4/27: Thank You letter to Rep. John Olver for taking time to talk to us when we visited the Capitol:
      • ¶ 1: Thanks Rep. Olver for his time (much more than most Reps would give a class) and answers.
      • ¶ 2: Describes your most memorable moment from visit to the Capitol (ex. some specific moment when talking to him, something that happened during our visit to the Congress session, etc.)
    Science:
    • Due Wed., 4/28:
      • Read excerpt "The Forgotten Pollinators."
      • List 3 things you found interesting in the reading
      • Pick one of those topics and write a more detailed reflection on it
    Language Arts:
    • Due Tues., 4/27: Either convert a poem written for Music into a stanza that can be chanted like an American Indian prayer or song OR write a new poem (a stanza that can be chanted) that is in the genre of American Indian song/prayer (Refer to those read and discussed today in class). It is to be a final, edited copy — preferably typed.
    Spanish:
    • 7th Grade: Lee capítulo 9 en Piratas (quiz mañana sobre cap. 9).
    • 8th Grade: Lee capítulo 8 en Robo en la noche (quiz mañana sobre cap. 8).
      Moment of Zen:

      The G-Word?

      You may recognize the inscription above from the Holocaust Museum in DC. It ends with a question, "Who, after all, remembers the annihilation of the Armenians?" Hitler uses this question as a justification of the mass murder he has authorized. So who does remember the annihilation of the Armenians these days? Who knows enough about it to remember? Beginning 95 years ago, on April 24, 1915, Ottoman Turkish government forces began a systematic cleansing of Armenians from their territory, which at the time included modern-day Turkey and large portions of Armenia and the Arabian peninsula (See map), in response to the rising Turkish nationalism which was at a height during the First World War. When actions ended with WW I, 1.5 million of the 2.5 million Armenians living in Ottoman territory had been killed - about 60% of the Ottoman Armenian population. Although the Turkish government put in place immediately after WW I tried and convicted some nationalist leaders of murder in relation to the Armenians, but it has not formally acknowledged the systematic, ethnically-based extermination. Not only has Turkey never quite owned up to that stain on its history, but no American president has been willing to use the specific word genocide to refer to what happened to the Armenians. The word itself, though formed from classical roots (genos, Greek for "race, kind" and -cide from Latin caedere, meaning "to cut down, slay), was not used until 1944, when it was coined to describe the Nazi's systematic elimination of Jews, and was a term officially recognized by the UN for broader usage in 1948 - thirty years after the end of the Armenian situation. Emerging from a precedent like that certainly presents it as a word that is not to be used lightly. Different governing bodies, including the European Parliament, the Israeli Knesset and the Russian Duma have officially recognized the losses of the Armenian Genocide as such, but such official acknowledgments did not begin until the 1980s. American presidents have historically shied away from the g-word, expressing condolences to the Armenian community regarding their "tragedy" (Bush, Sr.'s descriptor). Even Pres. Obama has demured from using it during his presidency (though he's used it in the past), acknowledging it as a "massacre" and an "atrocity" in his speech about it on Saturday (Apr. 24, the international day of remembrance of the event), but carefully not referring to it as "genocide." So, why is the word so important? While words like massacre, tragedy, and atrocity highlight the grief of so many deaths, they avoid the cause of them: one ethnic group specifically, and systematically trying to eliminate another. A deadly earthquake is a tragedy. A small group of unhinged extremists can cause a massacre. Nobody necessarily has to die for it to be an atrocity. Genocide requires the complicity and action of a larger system to eliminate a people and their culture. The Turkish government has never made any formal acknowledgement of what happened, nor an apology or restitution to those that survived. People, especially important world leaders, using the g-word not only commemorates the tragedy, but puts pressure on the Turkish government to examine and air out some of the skeletons every nation has in the dark closets of their history. As the chilling quote above from Hitler illustrates, a lack of honesty, openness and responsibilty for moral failings can lead others to believe that they can get away with them, too. Further Reading: Historical Overview of the Armenian Genocide "Obama Marks Genocide Without Saying the Word" (NYTimes, 4/24/10) Background on Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict (Armenian race-based violence against Azeris)