Educating Our Eagles - Volume 7

Educating
our Eagles
7

CONTENTS
4
Introduction - Curriculum Director, Julie Dolan
6
Fifth Grade - Water Keepers & Caretakers – Claudine Mallory
8
Middle School - Socratic Seminar – Julie Barros
10
High School - Mutability – Christine McEvoy
12
High School - Biorhythms – Neal Barbieri
15
High School - Ping Pong – Josh King
Cover: Mount Everett's Marching Band prepares to
celebrate the SBRSD Teachers of the Year.
Right: Mr. Wolgemuth accepts his award during his
ninth grade English class.
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INTRODUCTION
From SBRSD’s Director of Curriculum
and Instruction, Julie Dolan
It is hard to believe we are almost done
with our first year of Educating Our
Eagles. This will be our last traditional
issue as Kari Giordano is preparing a special
final edition that will be a “Year at a Glance.”
Many thanks to Kari for all the work she has
put into this publication. We hope you have
enjoyed seeing all the wonderful learning
occurring in our District.
This week we had the pleasure of recognizing
some excellent educators! MCLA and
the Berkshire County Superintendents’
Round-table are recognizing educators
from around Berkshire County on May
26th at MCLA. Each district was asked
to recognize teachers from a variety of
categories including elementary, secondary,
nurse, paraprofessional, and specialist
teachers. We are pleased to be recognizing
the following people.
Elementary Teacher - Ellen Wallace
Secondary Teacher - Kevin Wolgemuth
Specialist Teacher - Josh King
Paraprofessional - Didi Storti
Nurse - Tricia Zucco
Please help us in celebrating them and all the
work they do for our students every day!

5

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:
Water Keepers & Caretakers
In partnership with Mass Audubon and Housatonic Valley Association students
learn about the importance of water and how water cycles around the Earth.
The project begins with two in-school lessons. In the first lesson students
learn about the biotic indicators that help river scientists check the quality
of our local rivers and streams. Students view live specimens and complete
a biotic index based on what they observe. In the second lesson students
learn how to test river water for dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature, all indicators
of water quality. The final two lessons take place on field trips sponsored by Mass
Audubon and HVA. Students will be visiting Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in
Lenox to use their new water quality testing skills and then they will spend the day
canoeing on a short stretch of the Housatonic River here in Sheffield.
As a result of instruction, students will be able to:
• analyze data to determine the quality of a water source.
• describe the factors that influence the quality of water.
Observations:
Getting our students excited about taking care of the world around them is easy! They
are naturally curious and enthusiastic about any mission that will help make the world a
better place for all.
MA Standards:
Earth Systems: Use a model to describe the cycling of water through a watershed,
through evaporation, precipitation, absorption, surface runoff, and condensation.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL:
Socratic Seminar
On Friday students were introduced to the Socratic Seminar
as a method of extracting conversations among classmates.
There were two groups of eight students. I read an excerpt of
the book while students wrote down their thoughts about the
plot. After reading, they were asked to turn their thoughts into
open-ended questions for the group. The rules included being
respectful to others while talking, being non-judgemental of others’ responses
either verbally or physically (eye-rolling), raising your hand to speak, listening
with intentions to respond.
As a result of instruction, students will be able to:
• comprehend the book they are reading.
• develop listening and speaking skills.
• write open-ended questions and think critically.
Observations:
After all questions had been created, a leader was appointed to facilitate the conversation
and call on people to ask or respond to the questions. Each student received a red cup
and three yellow cubes. The class spent about 25 minutes talking and listening to each
other. If and when they added to the conversation, they would add a yellow cube to their
cup in order to get a good grade.
Overall the feedback was terrific. Some of the comments were: “I was able to connect to
the book better,” “I liked listening to other people's opinions,” and “This was a fun game.
Let's do it again!” This was a great way to have students feel safe to talk and included in
the discussions.
MA Standards:
SL 6.1a Come to a discussion prepared, having read or studied the required material.
SL 6.1b Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals or deadlines, and define
individual roles as needed.
SL 6 1c Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making
comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.
R. 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through
particular details: provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or
judgements.
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HIGH SCHOOL:
Mutability as used in Frankenstein
Students in tenth grade English class are analyzing the poem Mutability by Percy
Shelley as it relates to the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
As a result of instruction, students will be able to:
• determine the figurative or connotative meaning(s) of words and phrases as they
are used in a text.
• analyze the impact of words with multiple meanings, as well as symbols or
metaphors that extend throughout a text and shape its meaning.
• analyze how an author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including
the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed,
and the presence or absence of connections between them.
Observations:
10th grade English read the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. During a pivotal scene,
the main character Viktor reflects on a poem Mutability, written by the famed poet and
author’s husband, Percy Shelley.
The poem’s language is uncomplicated and gives a deeper reflection into Viktor’s struggle
at that point in the novel. Groups were assigned stanzas to decipher and then as a class
we pieced the parts of the poem together to define the overall mood and tone of the
poem. Students were then asked to link this to the themes in the novel and specifically,
the plight of Viktor.
Because Frankenstein is somewhat of a more complex novel, I think students appreciated
being able to decode the poem and observe how a short poem could give insight into
the tone of the novel. This took two class periods and allowed for a moment to reflect
and consider the feelings of this character and the bigger issues he faced. Reflecting and
pausing on this, helped students consider how they related to similar issues within their
own lives.
MA Standards:
Determine the figurative or connotative meaning(s) of words and phrases as they are
used in a text; analyze the impact of words with multiple meanings, as well as symbols or
metaphors that extend throughout a text and shape its meaning.
Analyze how an author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the
order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the
presence or absence of connections between them.
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HIGH SCHOOL:
Biorhythms
Biorhythm theory states that a person’s biological functioning
is controlled by three phenomena that vary sinusoidally with
time. It uses the graphs of three simple sine functions to
make predictions about physical, emotional, and intellectual
potential for a particular day. The theory states that when the physical
cycle is near a high point, the person can do well in physical activities,
and so forth. Students then graphed their own biorhythms for the
month of May to see which days would be better than others, according
to the theory.
As a result of instruction, students will be able to:
• model periodic phenomena with trigonometric functions.
Observations:
The students were able to see that there is a place for sine waves. Many
other examples of the natural occurrences of sine waves were given, but
the students seemed the most interested in this “application” as a fun
examination of trigonometric functions.
MA Standards:
Model periodic phenomena with trigonometric functions.
Choose trigonometric functions to model periodic phenomena with
specified amplitude, frequency, and mid-line
Given algebraic, numeric and/or graphical representations of
functions, recognize the function as polynomial, rational, logarithmic,
exponential, or trigonometric.
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HIGH SCHOOL:
Ping Pong
Last year the Wellness program purchased four Ping Pong tables to use
with students. This week has been a collaboration with Railroad Street
Youth Project addressing mental health and awareness. Many of classes
have been taking MCAS, AP Exams, or finishing up their senior year
so we take this opportunity to let them decompress and play a relaxed game of
Ping Pong
As a result of instruction, students will be able to:
Physical Health Strand
• recognize decisions that all individuals will make with respect to their bodies
in daily living and identify the relationships among actions, conduct and
wellness.
Social and Emotional Health Strand
• develop skills needed in daily life as they come to learn about their identity
and how to manage interactions with other people
Observations:
Everything worked well! The kids enjoyed that down time and relaxed atmosphere
while also competing against one another. The great thing is we are able to open
this activity to all grades 6th - 12th so the opportunities are unlimited for our
students.
MA Standards:
2.9 Demonstrate developmentally appropriate basic manipulative and advanced
specialized
physical skills, including throwing and catching different objects with both
accuracy and force, hand and foot dribbling while preventing an opponent from
challenging, and accurate striking proficiency
2.17 Demonstrate developmentally appropriate competence (basic skills,
strategies, and rules) in many and proficiency in a few movement forms and motor
skills (team sports, aquatics, individual/dual sports, outdoor pursuits, self-defense,
dance, and gymnastics)
5.11 Analyze healthy ways to express emotions and to cope with feelings, including
the common causes of stress, its effects on the body, and managing stress
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