Math
7th graders spent all week working on building cardstock robots out of nets and then calculating the surface area of each shape to determine how much foil they need to cover their robot. The 8th graders also jumped into surface area this week. They learned formulas to find the lateral and total surface area of prisms. The Algebra students finished learning how to factor. They can factor the GCF out of polynomials, factor by groups, factor trinomials using the AC method, and factor difference of squares.
Humanities/Theme
Epsilon students REALLY got the message this week as they jumped head first into the subject of Propaganda. Students defined and applied propaganda in a variety of ways, culminating with their final project for the quarter: producing an original piece of writing created from words in primary source documents of the German government during World War II.
Monday began with a picture analysis activity focused on how propaganda influenced the minds of American colonists prior to the American Revolution. Students used a FOUR CORNER reveal process to analyze all aspects of the famous engraving of the Boston Massacre by silversmith Paul Revere in 1770. They reviewed Revere’s background to gain understanding and awareness of Revere’s biases as a member of the Patriots, who supported independence from Great Britain, Through the activity, the students discovered that the engraving presented a slanted viewpoint of the incident, identifying images that show sympathy for the Patriot cause.
Students then took examples of the Nuremberg Laws and other restrictive policies used by the Nazi party against the Jewish people during the years prior to World War II and identified several words of positivity. They used a “washing” technique to paint over the rest of the words so they were still slightly visible. Students created original writing from the isolated words that spelled out messages of positivity from something negative.
The week was capped off with an amazing trip to the Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry. The facility housed really amazing displays of exhibits from the armed forces of Texas from the Texas Revolution to our current war on terror. Students saw thousands of examples of material related to their learning of the first and second World Wars. Some highlights from the trip were the full display of a World War I trench, the dioramas of a French village and the Alamo, a piece of the Berlin Wall. Students listened to stories from the military veterans who served as docents at the museum. Students and chaperones had an amazing time!!
Algebra student practicing factoring polynomials.
Theme students work to decipher the messages in examples of World War propaganda posters during a Gallery Walk.
Students received instructions from Ms. Lauren, mother of Asher, for an art project related to Ayyam-I-Ha, a celebration of the Bahai faith, dedicated to hospitality, service, charity, and gift giving.
During their tour of the Texas Military Forces museum, students got up close with displays featuring Trench warfare and the storming of the beaches of Italy by Texas soldiers in 1943.
Displays and information about Texas’ military history was on full display during our visit.
Coming in to contact with history, students examined a piece of the Berlin Wall, at top, and also got the feel of the cockpit of an authentic military jet during our field trip.
