Muskego Lakes 7th Grade Newsletter

• Winter Break - December 23rd - January 2nd

In Math 7 this month, we finished the Equations unit. Students learned to use variables to represent quantities and write and solve real-world one-, two-, and multi-step equations. For this unit, students had the opportunity to work at their own pace by means of a pathway. Our next unit focuses on solving inequalities which we will begin when we return from winter break.

In addition, students are in the process of completing their task list for SOF 7.EE.A.1 - Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients and will take the post-test before winter break.

In Advanced 2 this month, students completed a learning pathway where they learned how to find the area and circumference of a circle. They also learned how to find the perimeter and area of composite figures. Students applied these skills to real life by doing a performance task that involved running a bakery and determining the appropriate amount to sell their pies to make a profit.

We started our next geometry unit on angles and triangles. Students are currently learning about angle relationships caused by a transversal that cuts through parallel lines. We will continue this chapter into January and will assess before the end of the quarter.

The SOF we focused on this month was 8.G.A.3 - Describe the effect of a translation, reflection and rotation using coordinates. Students have completed practice and taken the post test for this standard. Each student’s SOF tracker should be updated with the pretest and post test scores.

In December, we completed our third Social Studies unit of the year. This unit took us to the Arabian Peninsula. Students learned about the unforgiving terrain of the Arabian Peninsula and the challenges that come with surviving in the desert. In addition, students learned about caravans, the rise and spread of Islam, and the many long-lasting achievements and inventions of the region.

A memorable part of this unit was the STEM challenges that students took part in. Students worked for two class periods in teams, where they either had to engineer a functioning caravan that would effectively travel on sand and hold the weight of necessary supplies or fashion a board game that challenged players to survive the ups and downs of caravaning across the desert.

This unit was brief and students were assessed on the content on the Monday before Winter Break. After we return from break, we will begin exploration on our next unit, which is Ancient Africa.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday break!

This month in Literacy, students began working with the SOF RL.7.2 - I can determine a theme of a text and analyze its development over the course of the story. Students learned the difference between a theme topic and a theme statement and have been practicing how to use the central ideas in a text to help figure out the overall theme. All students have taken their first Standards Mastery assessment on this standard. You can check out their SOF tracker on Slide 8 to see their progress!

Writing was also a focus this month! After reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in class, all students wrote an essay about the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. Students included several pieces of evidence from Scrooge’s journey with the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future and analyzed each piece of evidence to prove how it supports their thesis.

Academic vocabulary is another important part of Literacy class with each SOF. Current words students have been working with are: concise, paraphrase, pertinent, main idea, theme and summarize. We will be adding one new word every few days while we continue working with standard RL.7.2.

All students have completed their Winter iReady assessments this month for Reading. Families will be mailed home copies of winter scores during the next few weeks, but you can check out your child's progress on their SOF tracker on slides 2-5 as well!

Thank you again for asking your child about their task list each week and helping them to keep up with their work!

During December students wrapped up their foundational unit on Cell Biology, leading us to our current Unit of study “Domains & classification of organisms” and eventually this will take us to our studies on the specific Domains of Life and Genetics.

This month students also began applying their learning and content understanding of the cell structure and functions, by classifying organisms based on their cellular structures/functions, habitat, make up (unicellular or multicellular organisms) and modes of nutrition. To practice our classification skills further, students engaged in using and creating dichotomous keys and understanding the levels of complexity from atoms to organisms.

Wrapping up this unit, we will engage those skills further testing out one another’s dichotomous keys, research and create an organism/classification poster, practice investigating unknown and new organism traits, and finally share their knowledge through our summative unit assessment.

As we continue our studies of life into our next unit with our first Kingdom of Eukarya, Plants, students will engage in investigative labs and practices about how the systems of organisms function in parts and as a whole, using our prior learning and lab skills practices.

As always, Students will be provided their unit or weekly learning plans, outlining in class activities, labs, lessons and our guided practice (workshop/homework). Please be sure to check in regularly with your child and preview their learning pathway.

Please ask your child to pick up one of these forms from either the office or one of their teachers a few days before any pre-planned absence so the student and teacher can both be prepared with any school work that might be needed. Thanks for your help in making sure you child does not fall behind when they have a pre-planned absence!

Below are the links to ALL 7th-grade core teachers Rolling Agendas. Please remind your child to check agendas when they are absent so they can stay caught up!

Literacy:

• Tschudy Agenda
• Kovac Agenda
• Rodriguez Agenda

Math:

• Klumb Math 7 Agenda
• Heimerl Math 7 Agenda
• Heimerl Advanced 2 Agenda

Social Studies:

• Schiessl Agenda
• Rodriguez Agenda

Science:

• Ruditys Agenda
• Kovac Agenda