Long Lake Newsletter

The sixth grade recently spent three day at Long Lake Conservation Center.  The Center kindly sent us a newsletter, listing all the classes that the sixth graders had, along with a couple photos.  It's a great summary, so I'm posting it below.

What We've Been Learning Lately

6th Grade Social Studies

The sixth grade is nearing the end of the Medieval Europe unit.  Early on in the unit, the students researched Medieval castles and designed their own blueprints for a castle.  More recently, we did a role play on feudalism in which the students played lords, knights, and serfs.  We're currently discussing the importance of the Church in Medieval Europe, and after our discussion, we'll do another role play in which the students will mimic the lives of Medieval monks.  

7th Grade English

The seventh graders recently finished a large unit on verbs and are now doing a writing unit.  For this unit, they have to write a paper which pitches an idea for a "B movie."  They have to create a plot and then argue why their movie should be made.  So far we have plots about superhero dogs, elephants from outer space, giant mutant squids, Russian spies who can teleport themselves, and alternate worlds.

8th Grade English

The eighth graders have just finished writing papers about a person whom they admire.  They were required to research someone who isn't well-known, explain the highlights of that person's accomplishments, and then describe why they find the person inspiring.   Now that that paper is finished, we have started a grammar unit and are learning to distinguish between direct and indirect objects of verbs, and objects of prepositions.  I explained to the students that this will help them when finessing their English (when to use "I" as opposed to "me," for example), and it will also help them to acquire foreign languages since objective cases can be so variable.  

Julius Caesar Play

As part of their ancient Rome unit, the sixth grade recently did a play depicting the life of Julius Caesar.

Julius's parents see to it that he is well-educated.

Julius's parents arrange his marriage into a powerful family.

Julius is captured by pirates.

While on a military campaign, Julius encounters a statue of Alexander the Great.

The Roman people welcome Julius as a hero.  

Julius starts a relationship with Queen Cleopatra.

Julius wrangles with political rivals. 

Julius's wife warns, "Beware the Ides of March!"

The Senate assassinates Julius.

The citizens of Rome give him a funeral. 

Catholic Schools Week: Fun and Learning

As you'll see from the photos below, we managed to have a lot of fun during Catholic Schools Week.  Amidst all this fun, we also managed to do a lot of learning:

• Sixth grade social studies created a detailed timeline of famous events in ancient Roman History.

• Seventh grade English developed a practice website on extreme sports, complete with arguments regarding the rights and responsibilities of athletes.

• Eighth grade English learned how to formulate a thesis and began writing a practice "creative" research paper on the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919, in preparation for writing their "real" research papers.

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History Day: Research, Research, Research!

As part of our English curriculum, the 7th and 8th graders participate in National History Day each year.  This year the theme is "rights and responsibilities," and for the month of January, the students will be doing heavy-duty research.  Some of the topics they chose include the responsibilities that come with possessing nuclear weapons, animal rights, labor rights, the rights of veterans and the government's responsibilities to them, the right of girls in developing countries to receive an education,   and the rights and responsibilities of the lawyer/client relationship.  Below you'll see them busy at researching their topics on their iPads and making note cards.

What We've Been Doing Lately

For English class, the 8th graders recently wrote a short story about an elderly couple's life.  The assignment required them to create a strong central theme, well-paced events, and vivid descriptions.  The photos below show a peer review session in which they shared their work and critiqued one another.

The 7th graders have just finished a grammar unit in English.  For some seasonal fun, we decorated and labeled reindeer with multiple adjectives.

For social studies, the sixth graders have been working on slideshows which explore the dynasties of China, as well as China's recent history of communism.

The sixth graders also had great fun dressing up and performing for this year's Christmas program.  I loved seeing their enthusiasm and talent!

6th Grade Philosophy Debates

As part of their ancient Greece unit, the sixth graders recently assumed the roles of Socrates's, Plato's, and Aristotle's students, and debated several topics using these philosophers' ideas.