Feb_ 10 - Komarek School District 94

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JUNIOR HIGH MATH PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER February 2010 Geometry is an integral part of the junior high math curriculum. It is taught at every grade level. In 6 th grade, basic geometry concepts are covered. In 7 th and 8 th grades, the curriculum expands beyond the basics. In all grades, geometry is taught as a separate unit but geometry is also integrated into other parts of the curriculum. Geometry is important as a basic standard in math and has many practical applications. Geometry also trains the students to see beyond what is on a page and to think abstractly. Ms. Mizia and Ms. Vesecky JUNIOR HIGH READING It’s the month of love, so what better time to fall in love with reading? Make sure that you check out the wonderful selections each month in the book orders from Scholastic. Every student should have a book to read, since we go to the library every two weeks. Students should be reading every night at home, and filling out their Wildcat Calendars with the minutes they read. In class, the students have been reading a variety of genres. There have been stories, poems, and nonfiction selections focusing on African American History at each grade level. We are focusing on literary terms such as: metaphor, foreshadowing, irony, and personification. Mrs. Jankowski and Ms. Schmit JUNIOR HIGH LANGUAGE ARTS The sixth and eighth graders will be assessed this year in WRITING. The ISAT tests will include one persuasive essay and one narrative. Everyday activities will enhance your children’s writing successes, not only for the assessment, but also for their accomplishments as lifelong writers. For the narrative portion, encourage your child to reflect on the day’s events, jot them down, and add them to their list of “territories”. These personal experiences provide the richest and most passionate writing ever! For the persuasive segment, read daily newspaper editorials, and discuss them with your children. Ask them where they stand on issues they feel strongly about. Perhaps when you don’t agree on certain parent/child matters, ask your child to provide solid reasons to support their views. It might lead to some interesting conversation! Karen Miller Junior High Language Arts JUNIOR HIGH SCIENCE Why are reading and writing important in science? As students progress through the Komarek science program, there will be an increased focus on reading and writing scientific information. Science teachers need to help students learn how to read and write in science for a number of reasons: • Students need to know how to learn about science on their own if we expect them to be lifelong learners. This requires students to be able to read, understand and
PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER February 2010 critique academic nonfiction and persuasive genres of writing. • Reading and writing are important aspects of doing science. Scientists must be able to read and understand the writing of others, evaluate its worth and share the results of their own research through writing. • All students, regardless of their interest in a scientific career, need to be able to read and write about scientific issues so they can make educated decisions and participate in a democratic society. • Students who are skilled at reading and writing in science are often able to learn concepts, theories, models and laws of science more deeply and retain more than students who are not (Shanahan 2004). It is important to remember, however, that students will not learn how to read or write in science by reading novels or by writing short stories in language arts. Students need to be introduced to the various genres of science writing and how to combine words and symbols to create meaning in a manner that is consistent with the stylistic rules of science. They also need to practice this type of writing and receive good feedback about the quality of their writing so they have an opportunity to improve. It is therefore important for science teachers to engage students in real science writing during their science education. As students progress through the Komarek science program, there will be an increased focus on reading and writing scientific information. Mrs. Wade and Ms. Vesecky SPANISH NEWS Spanish – 6 th grade After creating dialogues with partners, the students did a wonderful job of performing them in class. They used a variety of questions and answers, and their pronunciation was very good. I hope to do more activities to get the students to feel more comfortable speaking in Spanish. This will be possible when they have learned more vocabulary. We have been learning Spanish pronouns and converting subjects to pronouns. Basic verbs have also been introduced. The students have done a variety of activities, where they had to complete conversations using the correct subject pronoun. They are now learning number vocabulary and how to tell time. Everyone is catching on wonderfully, and I am proud of their progress! Spanish – 7 th & 8 th grade We continue to review different verbs. The students have also been introduced to a variety of irregular verbs – some called “go” verbs and others “boot” verbs. This means that various conjugations or parts of the main verb end in different letters. Learning these verbs requires the students to study at least 15-20 minutes every day, if possible. This will help learn the Spanish language better. We will also be studying various aspects of Mexico in the next chapter, and the focus will be on food vocabulary. I’m looking forward to teaching this interesting and helpful information to the students. They are all working hard and doing a great job!
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Feb_ 10 - Komarek School District 94

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