7th Grade MP3 Campus

School Data is open on the 1st for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help, please reach out to your SLPC.

Topics: Equations and Inequalities

Activities: Students have been using algebraic skills to solve for variables in single- and multi-step equations. This month has been cut short due to Winter Break: The Sequel, so we have been reviewing our algebra skills by solving for variables in inequalities. We started reviewing reading number lines for inequalities in the last week before moving on to solving for inequalities when negative numbers are involved.

Teacher Tip: Ask students questions when shopping, like how many apples can they buy if given a budget.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Alexander, halexander@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Writing Choice Boards, Where I’m From poems, iReady Testing, Argument Essays

Activities: We kicked off the new year by reactivating our writing muscles! Everyone picked a topic from a choice board and dove into writing. Then we started composing ‘Where I’m From’ poems. Using a template as a loose guide, students reflected on the places and people who have made them who they are. I was very impressed by the level of recall and introspection they engaged in. In an effort to make our memory poems look old, we utilized an antiquing process where we crumpled them up and soaked them in tea. The final product was quite impressive. One class day was spent on iReady testing and then we moved on to the preliminary work of writing argument essays. We learned that argument essays are not just opinion pieces - they need to include sound reasons and evidence. We practiced setting aside our own judgements and searching for evidence on both sides of an issue before making a definitive claim about it. Next we moved on to annotating an argument essay. We identified the hook, claim, evidence, reasons, counterclaim, rebuttal and conclusion in the paper. Each of these elements will be included in our work and it was useful to see how they are integrated in someone else’s. To wrap up the month we began the planning process for our own argument papers.

Teacher Tip: Our next round of book projects will be due on Wednesday, February 21. Feel free to reach out if you or your students have any questions!

Teacher info: Rachel Oscarson, roscarson@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Great Depression, Dust Bowl, The New Deal, WWII

Activities: As we brought the semester to a close in WSH, students spent time learning about some topics that were quite familiar, only we looked at them through a "Washington" lens. After learning about the causes of the Depression, students were able to explain how the Great Depression impacted WA a little differently that it did the rest of the country. It was a challenging situation to be sure but due to WA's economy, which was based on agriculture and extracting natural resources, the impact wasn't quite as severe. During the Dust Bowl, while much of the country struggled greatly, migrant workers came to the forests and fields of WA to work in timber and agriculture. The election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt also helped WA recover from the Depression. We identified a variety of government agencies that put Americans to work, especially here in WA. Buildings like the Lynden PO, facilities like the fish hatchery at Whatcom Falls, major infrastructure projects like the Grand Coulee Dam... all results of the New Deal. The Depression finally came to an end with the outbreak of WWII. Again, WA made incredible contributions to the war effort. In the Puget Sound region, airplanes from Boeing and ships from the Kaiser shipyards were sent to Europe. Canned salmon and produce from WA helped to keep the soldiers fed. Electricity from the Columbia River dams powered the nuclear reactors at Hanford which provided the fuel for the atomic bombs that were used to defeat Japan. The contributions from WA had a global impact during one of the most consequential periods in history! At the end of the semester, students completed their WSH final exams and scores will be forthcoming. Thanks again for all your hard work this semester. It was a joy working with this group.

Teacher Tip: Looking forward to more hard work in Mock Trials next semester!

Teacher Info: Reach out if you have any questions.

Mr. Caraco, jcaraco@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Keyboarding, Stop Motion Video

Activities: January was devoted to (finally) filming our stop motion videos! The class has been working towards this opportunity for several months. They worked in small groups to film and edit using iPads and phones (with parent permission). Almost every group was able to produce a short video about life on the Oregon trail. (Some groups missed time due to snow days and can finish their films during lunch.) We even had an article about our project featured in the district newsletter!

It was exciting to see teams working together, problem solving, learning new technology, and creating a successful product. I am looking forward to next spring when we can create another film!

Reflection Questions:

Teacher Info: Mrs. Montgomery, rmontgomery@merdian.wednet.edu

Topics:Elements of Art: Color, Value, Texture, Space, Line, and Shape; Principles of Design: Balance, Contrast, and Unity; Technique: collage

Activities: This month we dove into a landscape collage project that took most students the entire month to complete. Students chose a place that was special to them or a place they would like to visit, sketched out the major lines and shapes in the landscape, and then used torn magazine pages to recreate their landscape in a collage. It was a challenge to find just the right color and texture to fill each spot and the finished products were amazing!

Reflection Questions: Thank you, 7th-grade artists, for sharing your fabulous work at the Share Fair! It has been a pleasure to create art with you throughout the first semester!

Teacher Info: Mrs. Warnock, swarnock@meridian.wednet.edu