Dynamic Dialog - suppliment
Below is the link to the Parent Blog for the ChromeBook information!
http://hixsonmiddleschool.blogspot.com/2014/09/chromebooks-insurance-and-more.html
Monday, September 29, 2014
ChromeBook Information and Insurance
Below is the link to the Parent Blog for the ChromeBook information!
http://hixsonmiddleschool.blogspot.com/2014/09/chromebooks-insurance-and-more.html
Friday, September 26, 2014
Dynamic Dialogue 9/26/14
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Friday, September 19, 2014
Dynamic Dialogue 9/19/14
Good afternoon Dynamic Team!
Upcoming Events: Sept. 22nd
Term 2 begins
Sept.
26th Term 1 grades mailed
Important Information:
Important Information:
Fall conferences this year will be held during the following dates and times:
- October 7, 4pm – 8pm
- October 8, 1pm – 5pm
- October 9, 4pm – 8pm
You may schedule a conference with your child’s teachers by clicking on the link below. Before doing so, however, please read the following:
You will need to know the name of your child’s team to sign up.
- Your student in on DYNAMIC.
- Please sign up for an available time to meet with your child’s team. In most cases, this will include your child’s English/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies teachers.
- If you would like to meet with your child’s elective teachers, you will need to schedule a conference separate from the team conference. This may require going back to the address below and logging into the website a second time.
- Conferences are ten minutes in length. Please be respectful of everyone’s time by being prompt and conscious of keeping your conference to ten minutes. Teachers will be happy to continue the conversation at a later time, if necessary.
Hixson Middle School Conference Scheduler: http://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Hixson_Middle_School_1
English –
Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org
This week students visited the library and were invited to
participate in the Truman Awards Program and/or the Mark Twain Program: http://www.maslonline.org/?1415FinalNoms
Also this week students worked on revising their selected
paragraph response. We began the week by introducing the scoring guide for the
writing. Next, we concentrated our revision efforts on our topic sentence and
the use of a formal voice in academic writing. Finally, we revised the
supporting details for cohesiveness.
Tips for helping your growing writing:
- Ask him to read the paper aloud, or read the paper aloud to him
- Encourage use of the checklist and the other reference documents provided
- Concentrate efforts on revision, not editing (spelling, punctuation, etc.) at this time
- if a new word or phrase is needed, offer choices of words or phrases and allow the student to choose their own words
Math-
I have a deal with students that if they do extra math assignments Monday through Thursday, then I would rarely assign homework over the weekend. The assignments should only take an hour or less. However, if your student is spending more than an hour, please discontinue the assignment.
I am still entering term grades on the portal (which will come out next Friday). Dynamic students' earned a lot of (A's) this term because they were allowed to redo assessments; I wanted to show them how starting out with an (A) in a class is easier to maintain a high grade, then starting off with a low grade and trying to raise it to an (A).
Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org
I have a deal with students that if they do extra math assignments Monday through Thursday, then I would rarely assign homework over the weekend. The assignments should only take an hour or less. However, if your student is spending more than an hour, please discontinue the assignment.
I am still entering term grades on the portal (which will come out next Friday). Dynamic students' earned a lot of (A's) this term because they were allowed to redo assessments; I wanted to show them how starting out with an (A) in a class is easier to maintain a high grade, then starting off with a low grade and trying to raise it to an (A).
Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org
Science –
In Dynamic Systems Science the students have finished
the Scientific Inquiry. The students have been practicing all the details of observing,
recording, and managing data in data tables, and graphs. This week they have
finished their Dish Soap Bubble lab report, did an introductory hands-on GPS
geocache activity, and taken a Formative Quiz Exit slip over Scientific Inquiry
which will be reflected in their progress report.
Next week we will finish
preparation for the Summative Assessment over the Scientific Inquiry Unit and continue
activities building understanding of Global Positioning, latitude, and
longitude.
Progress reports are a mile marker indicator of where the
student is at on becoming “Proficient” = 3 or “B” which means they can do all
the aspects of the skill independently, and successfully! The Semester grade is
cumulative of the three grading terms.
The three learning goals are below:
- I am able to contrast and make observations using qualitative and quantitative data.
- I am able to question and investigate to find answers using the scientific method.
- I am able to clearly communicate using data tables and graphs.
“Forces of Nature” Multimedia Symphony Field Trip – Powell Hall
Tuesday, 11 November 9:00 am
Pairing planet images and information with symphony music,
audiences will be in awe at how the power of nature and various phenomena on
Planet Earth and Beyond have inspired famous works. Just added
to this awesome line-up is the Theme from Star Wars!
Tuesday, November 11 at 9:30 am
If you have any questions
or comments please let me know.
Dynamic Systems Science –
Coach Daniels
314-918-4603
Social Studies –
We have continued looking at Mesopotamia. Working with partners, students were given a
variety of legal scenarios and asked to determine if the outcome was just. Students then examined several examples of
Hammurabi’s Law Code and decided if his laws were just or unjust. Finally, students examined the U.S.
Constitution and created a Venn diagram to compare and contrast both primary
source documents. Next week, we will
wrap up our look at Mesopotamia and conclude with an open-note quiz on Tuesday. The notes are available in the Unit Resources
section of my website if students missed any notes or need to clarify what they have
already written.
Dynamic Social Studies Course Website:
Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org
314-918-4602
Please
visit the following links for more information:
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Monday, September 15, 2014
Dynamic Dialogue 9/12/14
Happy Friday Dynamic Team!
Upcoming Events: Sept. 19th
End of Term 1
“Forces of Nature” Multimedia Symphony Field Trip – Powell Hall
Tuesday, 11 November 2014 leaving Hixson at 9:00 am.
Important Information:
English –
Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org
We started this week with reading. Together we discussed the expectations for upcoming book talks which students will be required to do. We also measured our Words Per Minute. Many students were excited to see their score increasing.
We continued our study of our second piece of literature, "The Naming of Cats." A fun poem by T.S. Eliot. Students practiced reading closely to analyze the text for words to deepen their understanding of that text. Our third piece of literature for our unit "What's Behind the Name?" is a non-fiction article about Prince William and his wife and their choice of baby names. Students are learning a valuable learning skill to study this article, text coding, which was recommended by Harvard University staff.
Next week, students will select one of their writing drafts to revise, revise, revise alongside mini-lessons to support their revisions.
Math-
We are still working on the operations of integers. Most students have mastered adding integers and we will spend a lot of time next week on subtracting integers (this concept is usually hard for students). Also, I will continue to show students how the concepts they learn will be disguised on a standardized test. Please ask you student about the "Board of Fame" problems we did in class today. I will update the grade on the portal next week.
We are still working on the operations of integers. Most students have mastered adding integers and we will spend a lot of time next week on subtracting integers (this concept is usually hard for students). Also, I will continue to show students how the concepts they learn will be disguised on a standardized test. Please ask you student about the "Board of Fame" problems we did in class today. I will update the grade on the portal next week.
Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org
Science –
In Dynamic Systems Science the students have
practicing all the details of observing, recording, and managing data in data
tables, and graphs. Today they completed the data collection of a dish soap
bubble lab. This lab activity required them to apply all the skills included in
the three learning goals of our Scientific Method unit and is a formative
assessment.
Next week the students will finish the dish soap
bubble lab report. We will be doing 2 GPS lab activities next week. When the
weather cooperates, we will be going outside at least once a week.
The three learning goals are below:
- 1. I am able to contrast and make observations using qualitative and quantitative data.
- 2. I am able to question and investigate to find answers using the scientific method.
- 3. I am able to clearly communicate using data tables and graphs.
“Forces of Nature” Multimedia Symphony Field Trip – Powell Hall
Tuesday, 11 November 9:00 am
Pairing planet images and information with symphony music,
audiences will be in awe at how the power of nature and various phenomena on
Planet Earth and Beyond have inspired famous works. Just added
to this awesome line-up is the Theme from Star Wars!
Tuesday, November 11 at 9:30 am
If you have any questions
or comments please let me know.
Dynamic Systems Science –
Coach Daniels
314-918-4603
Social Studies –
Students have spent this week further exploring Mesopotamia. We finished up our Think/Pair/Share activity,
took a quick visual tour of the region, and finished up the week with an
in-depth look at Hammurabi’s Law Code.
Students worked with partners during class time to examine the nature of justice in the
ancient world and our own. We will have a class discussion next Tuesday based on the responses to this activity. Next
week we will continue to examine the connections between the ancient world and
ourselves.
Dynamic Social Studies Course Website:
Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org
314-918-4602
Please
visit the following links for more information:
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Friday, September 5, 2014
Dynamic Ddialogue 9/5/14
Good Afternoon, Dynamic Team!
Upcoming Events: Sept. 11th –
Rachel’s Challenge
Sept.
12th – Picture Day
Important Information:
The Rachel’s Challenge Assembly will be September 11th.
Please click here for further information.
English –
Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org
This week students visited the library for a lesson on how to use the library resource system called Destiny. Students had time to browse and check out books as well as read.
Next students practiced close reading skills by creating a graphic organizer. Students analyzed the text "Names/Nombres," looking closely for details (data). The students then engaged in data mining by looking for patterns in the details they collected. Afterwards, students constructed a written response.
Friday, we began our second piece of literature, "The Naming of Cats," a poem by T.S. Eliot. Again we will do a close reading to deepen our understanding of the text.
Math-
Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org
Science –
In Dynamic Systems Science the students have completed
extensive Learner Profile inventories to bring to their awareness of their
learning strengths and begin to develop these strengths as a learner! In other
words, learn how they best learn! We have begun our year-long unit Scientific
Method. They completed the Scientific Method “What Do You Know about Scientific
Method.”
This week the students have been doing an Animal
Cracker lab applying the scientific inquiry and learning the expectations for
lab reports. They sorted and classified the shapes, formatted and filled in a
data table, shared data with 2 other groups, calculated the means and
percentages, graphed the results following their new graphing rules, then
writing a conclusion which consists of 3 parts: what are the results, is the
hypothesis true or false, and provide evidence from their data to prove what
they said is true.
Below are the 3 learning goals:
1.
I am able to contrast and make
observations using qualitative and quantitative data.
2.
I am able to question and investigate to
find answers using the scientific method.
3.
I am able to clearly communicate using
data tables and graphs.
Below
are the learning goal proficiency scales. By the end of the unit all students
are expected to be proficient at each goal, level 3 which in in the “B” range.
Goal
1: Student is able to contrast and
make observations of qualitative and quantitative data.
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4
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In addition to level 3 the
student will be able to:
● Consistently
differentiate between qualitative and quantitative observations and justify
the use of different types of observations for different situations.
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3
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Student will be able to:
● Make
both qualitative and quantitative observations precisely.
● Accurately
distinguish between qualitative and quantitative observations.
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2
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Student will able to:
● Identify
qualitative observations or quantitative observations and is able to make
simple qualitative and quantitative observations.
● Distinguish
between the two types of observations inconsistently.
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1
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Only with guidance is the student able to:
●
Make qualitative and quantitative observations and
distinguish between the two.
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Goal 2: Student is able to question and
investigate to find answers using the scientific method.
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4
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In addition to level 3 the student will be able to explain
the results of an experiment.
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3
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Student will be able to:
● Construct
a hypothesis or testable question.
● Identify
the independent variable, dependent variable, and constants in an
experiment.
● State
the conclusion of an experiment, including success or failure of hypothesis.
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2
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Student will able to:
● Complete 2 of the following goals, but not all 3:
○ Construct
a hypothesis or testable question.
○ Identify
the independent variable, dependent variable, and constants in an
experiment.
○ State
the conclusion of an experiment, including success or failure of hypothesis.
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1
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Only with guidance is the
student able to:
● Construct
a hypothesis or testable question.
● Identify
the independent variable, dependent variable, and constants in an experiment.
● State
the conclusion of an experiment, including success or failure of hypothesis.
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4
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In addition to level 3 the student
will be able to interpret the table and graph and predict data which is not
tested.
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3
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Student will be able to:
● Create
an accurate representation of the data including:
○ Appropriate
title showing independent and dependent variables.
○ Data
is placed on correct axis or column, and given correct labels.
○ Unit
of measure is given with label, and with every quantitative measurement.
○ Explain
the relationship between the two variables.
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2
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Student will able to:
● Create
an accurate representation of the data that includes 2 of the following:
○ Appropriate
title showing independent and dependent variables.
○ Data
is placed on correct axis or column, and given correct labels.
○ Data
is given correct units and correct scale is used.
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|
1
|
Only with guidance is the student able to:
● Create
an accurate representation of the data including:
○ Appropriate
title showing independent and dependent variables.
○ Data
is placed on correct axis or column, and given correct labels.
○ Data
is given correct units and correct scale is used.
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If you have any questions
or comments please let me know.
Dynamic Systems Science –
Coach Daniels
314-918-4603
Social Studies –
We are beginning to delve into the mysteries of Mesopotamia. This week students have explored the
geography of the region, examined some cuneiform tablets, and focused on some
primary source documents from the Akkadian king, Sargon. The Sum It Up assignment is due Monday, but
most students finished up in class on Thursday.
Next week we will look begin looking further into the history and
culture of Mesopotamia.
Dynamic Social Studies Course Website:
Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org
314-918-4602
Please
visit the following links for more information:
Hixson
home page -http://hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson
Dr.
Smith's blog - http://hixsonprincipal.wordpress.com/
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