CMS - 7th Grade

Greetings,
Last week saw students taking a test about cell structure, continuing their plant experiments with measurements and observations, and also researching characteristics of trees, shrubs, grasses, and ferns.
We went on our field trip to the mouth of Chimacum Creek on Friday where students took photos of plant species and conducted counts of plant species in one meter squares.

This week we will compile the data collected and begin our analysis of our observations.

In order to lay the groundwork for our analysis we will use data collected about the plant experiments and compute measurements of central tendency; mean, median, and mode.

In Math we will practice working with measures of central tendency in direct coordination with Science projects.

Hello Again,
As you know, students planted bean plants in the classroom 7-10 days ago and they are growing like crazy! Some have reached a height of 28 cm already! What are these plants being fed?!

IN addition to the plant experiments of their own choosing and design, students will start measuring the extent to which their plants lean toward natural light and then the extent to which the plants adjust toward the grow lights after they have been turned on.

In addition to continuing to care for their plants, students are making diagrams of cell structures and also drawings of machines the parts of which represent parts of cells according to their functions. This week students will write a story to accompany their drawings. Then we will explore ways in which cells transport materials across their membranes.

In Math 7th graders will practiced using the formula A= r(radius) squared x pi (3.14) to find the area of a circle. We continue to work with noticing patterns, in part to help prepare for algebraic thinking and in part because patterns is what math is all about.
As has been my own pattern, I plan to give out homework sheets Monday through Thursday and give a quiz in class on Friday.

In Science last week students designed an experiment to conduct with their bean plants and planted their seeds in pots to be kept in the classroom under grow lights. Students decided on one variable to manipulate and one to measure and also recognized the importance of having one plant be a control.
This week students will fill in their Plant Observation Record daily. We will also continue our study of cell structure and perhaps plant our Wisconsin Fast Grow seeds which are expected to bear seeds of their own in only 35 to 40 days.

In Math last week students measured circles of many sizes and found that when the circumference was divided by the measure of the diameter, the result was pi, or 3.14, and conversely when we multiply the length of the diameter by pi, we find the length of the circumference.
This week we will practice finding the area of a circle by using the formula A=pi x r2 (radius squared).

Greetings,
Last week in Science we explored the characteristics of LIFE, formed groups in which plants will be grown and experiments conducted. Students are creating environments as backdrops for the plants and during the week of September 17th students will plant their seeds.
At the end of the week we touched on cell structure and will learn more about what cells are and what they look like during the week of 9/17, including using microscopes to compare animal & plant cells.
On Friday students took a quiz, in part on the theories of spontaneous generation vs. biogenesis.

In Math students also took a quiz on Friday. This tested students’ ability to compute the perimeter and area of shapes, especially quadrilaterals and triangles. We also practiced multiplication during the week and the quiz included some of those problems.
In the coming week, 9/17, we will continue to practice geometrical computations, including finding the area of irregular shapes. Multiplication and division skill will be addressed as well.

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