We’ve wrapped up the novel, The Call of the Wild! All students should have finished their tests and turned their essays into turnitin.com.

Coming up in the New Year, we’ll be focusing on grammar, short stories, along with our vocab lessons and much more. Be sure to keep checking what’s for homework on Google Classroom.

I wish you the happiest of holidays and a very happy and healthy New Year!

We have started the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. Before reading, the students learned about the author, Utopian vs. Dystopian societies, and defined the novel's vocabulary before reading. Then, we dove into the novel. While reading, comprehending, and analyzing the plot, characters, themes, etc. the students are also working on creating their own Utopia with a partner. This will be an ongoing project and be part of their test grade at the end of the unit. We will continue this novel and project into the New Year.

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season!

Students did a great job reading Robin Hood. Test grades are on Aspen.

Up next: Who said, “ I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” Ebeneezer Scrooge. Not to be confused with the Grinch!

We have been plugging away on the play version of this classic tale. Students listened to the play and followed along while practicing their fluency and comprehension skills. We will discuss the changes in Scrooge throughout the play as well as the significance of the spirits. Students answered higher order thinking questions while we read and their answers should be shared with me. This week, we have one more vocabulary quiz on words 11-20.

Happy Holidays to you and yours. Enjoy the break!

Hard to believe we’re almost halfway done with the year. We finished up angles in both grades with our 3rd test of the year in December. The grades were good for some and not so good for some. The test covered everything we learned this year. Please keep in mind that all tests can be found on Edulastic using the student’s Google accounts. We will have another test before the term ends in January so there is still time to get the grades up before report cards. 7th grade will focus on solving equations while 8th grade will focus on graphing lines. We will continue to have after school help most days after school, but you may want to have the students check in with me to make sure I will be there.

A few students are not completing the IXL & Khan assignment each week, but most of the students are working hard since IXL and Khan is worth 20% of their grade. Grades are updated weekly on Aspen and any classwork, videos, IXL assignments, or class information is posted on Google Classroom. Please contact me with any questions or concerns (mhyde@wbridgewater.com).

We just finished our mini-unit on the Ancient American Cultures. We ended with a Hyperdoc, Breakout Boxes, and a documentary. Good times! Check Aspen to make up any zeros, I will always accept late work if the student speaks to me about any assignment. It will be based on a case by case basis. We have started our unit on Ancient Egypt which has been going fabulously! We have played The Nile River Twister Game, played a couple of rounds of Bowling inspired by the inventions of the Egyptians, did a Map quiz and watched an episode of our favorite Journal Videos in class. We have done so much so far and the fun will continue after the break! Right before break, we will be learning about the ancient origins of the Holiday season. Enjoy the break! :)

We are currently in the middle of our unit on The American Constitution. Students did a breakout box right before Thanksgiving and an amazing debate where students blew me away with their research and participation. I was so proud! Moving into December we are working on the Constitution, The preamble, branches of government and more. We will be finishing Chapter 3 with the online text with a chapter test towards the end of the unit. Students should be working on NHD because it is due Jan. 8th. Students are welcome to come to “Workshop Wednesdays” where students can work on NHD after school on anything they want and I can assist. Students are able to stay after any day but these days will be used for more instruction on NHD! Here is a helpful checklist for what students should have done or nearly done:

NHD Checklist:

1. Completed Alphabetized Annotated Bibliography

A. 4 Primary Sources

B. 7 Secondary Sources

2. NHD Process Paper/Cover page

3. Make sure you have the word count and citations on your project (exhibit, website, paper, etc) completed!

We have had an extremely busy December in Science Class reviewing the water cycle and states of matter. Students have started to learn about the types of renewable and non-renewable resources and have been able to identify differences between these two groups. Our focus will soon shift to conserving some of these energy resources, as well as a lot of discussion about how humans impact the Earth - and what effects our actions have on resources and the environment. Weekly research has returned, and students have been able to discover new information about bicycles! Weekly Research will be paused after the week of 12/9, and will start up again after the holiday break. Please review old weekly research with your student after it has been graded to see my comments and suggestions for improvement!

In the new year, we will begin even more of our Life Science portion of 7th Grade Science. We will begin by exploring types of reproduction and how these genetically influence organisms. We will review animal development and growth, plant structures, and ecosystems. We will study predator-prey dynamics as well as food webs and changes in ecosystems. I just wanted to thank everyone for your continued support. Have a warm and relaxing holiday season! Let it snow!

After a short November, we have been very busy in 8th Grade Science. Weekly research has returned, and students have been able to discover new information about bicycles! Weekly Research will be paused after the week of 12/9, and will start up again after the holiday break. Please review old weekly research with your student after it has been graded to see my comments and suggestions for improvement!

In the new year, we will begin even more of our Life Science portion of 8th Grade Science. We will finish talking about environmental influence on the traits of organisms. We will move on to Mendelian Genetics, and then begin a unit on Evolution, beginning with Darwin and natural selection. I just wanted to thank everyone for your continued support. Have a warm and relaxing holiday season! Let it snow!