Thursday September 9th

8th Grade Math: Today students had a shortened class due to "school picture day".  With the remaining time in class they worked on a  brain busting integers suduko puzzle made by Mr. Jones. Homework: Review #3 is due tomorrow


7th Grade Math: In math 7th graders graded their homework (section 1.6 practice).  We then joined classes with Mr. Jones to work through a series of measurements & calculations to practice area and perimeter of rectangles.
Homework:  Review #3 is due tomorrow


7th/8th Grade Science: Today in science students were checked off for completing their homework and then we completed a series of demonstrations to learn more about the properties of dry ice.  At the end of class students shared their ideas for experiments with dry ice.  We then continued a classroom discussion on ways to make their study questions better for an experiment completed in a middle school classroom setting.
Homework: none 

Wednesday September 8th

8th Grade Math: In math 8th graders graded their homework from section 1.4 Practice.  The class was then introduced to section 1.5 which reviews rules for adding integers.  Students are to finish assigned problems for homework and will then finish the back side of the assignment in class tomorrow.
Homework:

• Complete Section 1.5 Practice #2, 4, & 10-22 evens
• Review #3 is due Friday

7th Grade Math: Today in 7th grade math students graded section 1.5 practice.  We then reviewed the definitions of area and perimeter and practiced calculating the area and perimeter of rectangles and squares.  Students should have finished most of 1.6 practice in class.
Homework:

• Complete Section 1.6 Practice (all)
• Review #3 is due Friday

7th/8th Grade Science:  In science we spent a good deal of time reviewing the details of yesterday's lab (identifying the independent and dependent variables, how to write a hypothesis statement, collecting quantifiable data, and organizing data in a data table).  We then discussed what information goes into the conclusion section of a scientific report.  Students spent the remainder of class writing the conclusion to yesterday's lab, (while considering the labs relevance to topics we've studied relating to properties of matter).
Homework: Write 1-2 questions relating to dry ice that could be answered by completing a scientific experiment.
EXAMPLE:  Does dry ice in vinegar sublimate faster than dry ice in water? 

Tuesday September 7th

8th Grade Math: Today in class students completed a quiz over sections 1.1 - 1.3.  Once the quiz was completed students were introduced to section 1.4 which covers comparing and ordering integers. 
Homework: Finish 1.4 practice (evens)


7th Grade Math: Today in 7th grade math students completed a quiz over sections 1.1 - 1.4.  The class then worked on notes in their interactive journals for section 1.5 which introduces solving equations with mental math. 
Homework: Complete Section 1.5 Practice (evens)


7th/8th Grade Science:  Today in science we reviewed what a variable is and how they can affect the outcome of an experiment.  We then introduced and defined the terms independent variable and dependent variable. Students learned how to identify these variables and use them in an If/Then format for a hypothesis statement.  We concluded class by completing the same lab as Friday, but with major revisions to make the results more scientifically valid. 
Homework: none

Thursday September 2nd

8th Grade Math: In math students were checked off as to whether they finished their homework last night.  The class then finished section 1.3 Practice.  We then handed out students "Late Homework Passes" for the first quarter.  Grades were posted and students organized their binders.  We concluded class by starting a review activity for order of operations.
Homework:

• Finish 1/2 of the order of operations cards that were split between groups of two
• Review #2 is due Friday

7th Grade Math: Today in 7th grade math finished section 1.3 practice.  The class then received their "late homework passes" for first quarter.  Grades were posted on the wall and students were given time to organize/file returned work and check their grades.  The second half of class students were introduced to order of operations in section 1.4 of the textbook.
Homework: Review Homework #2 is due Friday


7th/8th Grade Science:  Today in science students read content relating to phase changes of matter from the textbooks.  They took notes and were allowed to use the notes during an inter-class competition/game with Mr. Jones' class relating to material we have learned or discussed so far this school year. 
Homework: none

Wednesday September 1st

8th Grade Math: In math 8th graders corrected section 1.2 Practice from yesterday's class.  Students then began work in section 1.3 which reviews order of operations.  We discussed the acronym Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (Parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division, addition/subtraction) as a tool for remembering order of operations.  We also discussed adding grouping symbols to division problems with a fraction bar. 
Homework:

• Finish section 1.3 Practice (#1-15 odds)
• Review #2 is due Friday

7th Grade Math: Today in 7th grade math students completed a word problem warm up and then transitioned to grading their classwork from yesterday (section 1.2 Practice).  The class was then introduced to section 1.3 which covers Powers and Exponents. 
Homework:

• Finish section 1.3 Practice (#2-20 evens)
• Review Homework #2 is due Friday

7th/8th Grade Science:  Today in science students finished writing the directions for a classmate to re-create a drawing of various geometric shapes.  Once the directions were finished the class exchanged papers and students attempted to follow the written directions (procedures) of one of their peers. 
Homework: none