LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

It’s all about United States geography in the 5th grade! Students researched a state to create a “great state plate,” and then studied the locations of all 50 states to label them correctly on a blank map. Through a set of diverse stations, students have enjoyed interactive practice of the states’ locations. They have studied through a wooden puzzle, a write-and-wipe laminated map, a web-based game, and the fan favorite, the giant blank floor map. What a great way to appeal to each student’s learning style!

Math and Science:

Science & Engineering Festival

Our fifth through seventh grade students put a new twist on the concept of a science fair and hosted an interactive Science & Engineering Festival. Teams of students studied topics of interest and used their findings to create a hands-on exhibit to share with younger students. We invited younger grades to join us for our festival, and the cooperative learning experience was a great success. The students enjoyed pushing their limits to learn in new ways and share their findings with others.

Cardboard Planetarium:



Augmented Reality Sandbox:

Marble Run:

Mystery Architecture:

Crime Busters:

Write-It-Do-It:

Circuit Lab:

Herpetology:

Fossils:

Anatomy & Physiology:

Rainbow Paper:



LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

All Roads Lead to Rome…

Sixth grade has been studying Ancient Rome as part of our Ancient Civilizations curriculum this year. Already familiar with several aspects of Ancient Rome through Latin class, the class has learned Roman geography, government, social classes, and daily life. This week, we are focusing on Roman achievements in architecture and engineering this week. Students broke into teams to rotate through a series of stations about five feats of architecture and engineering-- arches, domes, aqueducts, baths, and of course, roads. Students read a short passage about each topic, play around with visual images on Google Maps, and then watch a short video further explaining the engineering behind each achievement. Then, they discuss and write answers to comprehension questions as a group. The science behind the construction of all these objects is fascinating, and it is wonderful to reinforce the students’ understanding of physics as well as appeal to their artistic senses. Not only is an interactive study like this a good way to move around our classroom at the end of the day, but it also reaches different learning styles through a variety of media to explain each topic. As each group finishes this assignment, each student will choose the most important achievement and cite evidence from his or her notes to support his or her choice. Therefore, not only will students have remembered and applied their knowledge to writing their answers, but they will also have synthesized the information and then evaluated it to form an opinion. This is learning at its best!

LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

Sixth grade has been engaging in collaborative learning in all subjects, a few times a week. Whether it’s analyzing an Ancient Roman map for geographical features, discussing predictions and conclusions in a novel study, or practicing compound-complex sentences, working together offers benefits. Students can rely on each other’s knowledge, consider a new perspective, and feel more comfortable volunteering to a partner instead of to the whole class. Partners or groups of three tend to be more productive than larger groups, as each person must contribute, or nothing gets done. Sixth graders are also concerned with justice, so they will be fair to their partners, but not let them shirk their responsibilities. Partners also rotate throughout the week to ensure that our variety of personalities can mix. The teams then meet back as a whole class and everyone shares their work product. It’s wonderful to see what learning can be done together!

MATH AND SCIENCE:

Ft. Worth Regional Science Olympiad

The Spartan Science Olympiad team traveled to Ft. Worth to compete in one of the ten Texas Science Olympiad Regional tournaments. There are over 100 teams in Texas competing at these Regional tournaments for 30 spots at the State tournament. Our team placed 2nd overall at our Regional, so we are eagerly awaiting a notification to see if we advanced to the State level...This would be an incredible feat for a first-year team!

1st Place Events:

Density Lab (Chris & Jonah)

Dynamic Planet (Chris & Nick)

Write It Do It (Annabelle & Molly)

2nd Place Events:

Boomilever (Dylan & Morgan)

Herpetology (Chris & Ayres)

3rd Place Events:

Fossils (Jonah & Morgan)

Thermodynamics (Annabelle & Nick)

MATH AND SCIENCE:

ONE SMALL STEP…ONE GIANT LEAP

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. ~John F. Kennedy, 1962

It’s difficult for our kids to imagine what it was like before the lunar landing, to imagine a time when going to the moon was one of the greatest challenges set before our nation. We spent some time reflecting on the greatness of landing on the moon by looking both to the past, as well as to the future. What future? What is our “next giant leap”? Mars!

The middle school took our learning out of this world by diving in to a multi-grade investigation of the solar system. Fifth grade stayed somewhat close to home with their research of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Sixth grade traveled far and wide as they studied the other planets and moons of our solar system, including the dwarf planets (can we please bring Pluto back?). Seventh grade took a deep look into what it would take for humans to live on Mars. Each student and grade shared their findings with one another in whatever manner they found most effective and engaging. We had great fun learning, as the students became the teachers.

LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

Sixth graders recently completed biographies of Ancient Greek figures. They researched the lives of various people, from Socrates to Homer to Archimedes, and then created a Google slide magazine presentation of their historical figure. Biography projects are an excellent tool for in-depth learning about the society and culture of a civilization. We were excited to show grandparents our online magazines!  As a celebration of the completion of our Ancient Greece unit, we hosted an Olympics. The Olympic committee chose 6 events for competition, and only chose events from the ancient games. Students reprised their roles in the three city-state debate, so Athens, Sparta, and Corinth competed. Just like in the ancient games, there were no medals; only one winner was declared for each event. The city-state with the highest total score was Corinth. What a great way to end our exploration of Ancient Greece!

LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

Our Ancient Greece unit is well underway. Thus far, students have learned the geography of Greece, the city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Corinth; and the Persian Wars. This week, we embarked on a study of Ancient Greek culture, which influenced greatly the development of Western civilization. Learning by stations is an ideal method to grasp the vast cultural content. Also, choice is important in helping students to learn, as we all learn differently. For this lesson, students had to investigate Greek culture as divided into ten separate stations. Students were given the choice to work independently or with a partner, to use their Chromebook to read the material on Google Classroom, or walk the room and use the stations traditionally. Each student chose his or her preferred learning method, and they got to work, reviewing passages and artwork, and responding to questions either in writing or by drawing. Students will apply some of the material learned as they transition into a Ancient Greek figure biography project they will begin researching this week. We are having a grand time studying Ancient Greece!

MATH AND SCIENCE:

Science Olympiad

Our middle school Science Olympiad team traveled to Ruston, Louisiana, to compete in their first invitational tournament. According to www.soinc.org, “Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 8,000 teams in all 50 states.” Our students rose to the challenge and brought home a 2nd place overall team trophy. We also had 7 first place finishes, 13 second place events, and 3 who come in third. The 23 events span all aspects of science, technology and engineering. Great job, team!

1st Place Events:

Disease Detectives (Chris & Molly)

Dynamic Planet (Chris & Nick)

Fossils (Jonah & Ayres)

Potions & Poisons (Molly & Elle)

Thermodynamics (Nick & Annabelle)

Water Quality (Dawson & Kennley)

Write It Do It (Annabelle & Molly)

2nd Place Events:

Anatomy & Physiology (Emma & Charlie)

Battery Buggy (Charlie)

Crime Busters (Dawson & Kennley)

Density Lab (Staten & Jonah)

Elastic Launched Glider (Dawson & Nick)

Experimental Design (Elle & Annabelle)

Game On (Chris & Elle)

Herpetology (Chris & Ayres)

Meteorology (Jon & Staten)

Mystery Architecture (Kennley & Emma)

Road Scholar (Ayres & Jonah)

Roller Coaster (Nick & Emma)

Solar System (Dawson & Jon)

3rd Place Events:

Boomilever (Staten & Jon)

Circuit Lab (Charlie & Jon)

Heredity (Dawson & Charlie)