PIERCE SCHOOL
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

Teaching and Learning in Grades 7 and 8
May 2008
Volume XIII, Third Edition

We are already well into the fourth quarter of the school year. While it is a busy and exciting time of the year, it is also an important time to take stock and plan for the future. Toward this end we have held two meetings recently with 7/8 faculty and staff to discuss possible changes to the Pierce Handbook and grading policies. These meetings were inspired in part by feedback we have received from families. We are excited about the potential of these ideas to improve the home/school connection, and help our 7/8 students develop and succeed. We are now in the process of carefully considering which of these changes to implement. Any changes will be posted on the website and added to next year’s Handbook. We thank those of you who’ve given us input.

The coming weeks, following April vacation, are packed with activities, particularly for the 8th grade. Students have successfully developed course selections for next year at BHS, and are looking forward to the bittersweet culmination of their many years at Pierce. While students are clearly ready to move on to the high school with its wider range of opportunities, choices, and challenges, they are also experiencing the normal ambivalence about leaving the comfort and familiarity of Pierce. It is not at all surprising for kids in this transition to be moodier, anxious or irritable. Scraps between friends or conflicts with school staff can also occur. These kinds of situations sometimes provide students with the rationale that Pierce isn't really that great any way and "I'm glad to finally be leaving." It's all part of the process. We work with students, when these issues arise and importantly, we plan a number of important activities and celebrations, which culminate in their important rite of passage: Graduation Day. Please feel free to be in touch with us or guidance counselor, Kim Manasevit, should you have any concerns about this normal transition period for your child.

In the meantime, there are many fun events to involve both parents and students, both as planners and as participants. We recognize parents, too, experience some of their own strong feelings as their children move on, especially if it is the end of their time at Pierce. Working with us to make all of these events special and truly reflective of this wonderful class is a great way to launch the kids. We look forward to working with you. Please contact either Josh Frank or Reed Rathgeber, to let us know of your willingness to help.

Standardized Testing Resumes:

MCAS tests begin again the week of May 12 th. Our current 3rd through 8th graders take different subject areas during this spring administration, mostly math and science. It should be noted that with very few exceptions, all students are required to take the MCAS. These tests are especially important because they are used to determine if our school meets the federal guidelines for making adequate educational progress with every child under the NO Child Left Behind Federal Law. Brookline typically performs well on these tests in comparison to districts across the state. Pierce School does its part to contribute to these favorable district results. Our math teachers are always available to students needing additional assistance.

While these standardized tests can be a helpful assessment tool, it should be noted MCAS is only one among the many measures that teachers use on a regular basis to monitor students' progress. Unfortunately, these tests are the only measure used by the state and federal government to assess our school's effectiveness. We appreciate your support in having your child ready each testing day by having a good night’s rest and a good breakfast.

What’s Up for 8TH GRADE?

On April 29, with the support of the Pierce PTO, the 8 th grade had the opportunity to see a performance entitled “Through the Eyes of a Friend” which is provided by a drama company known as “Living Voices.” This interactive presentation tells the story of Anne Frank, and serves as an introduction to Elie Wiesel’s Night a reading for English class.

New York City Trip: We are down to the wire on final arrangements and payments for the annual trip to NYC! Final preparations are being made with the Student Tours travel agency. Hopefully, many of you have visited the school website where much of the details of the trip have been posted. The eighth graders are getting more excited about the trip as the time draws nearer. We want to remind them that their participation is still contingent upon their continuing to be prepared for their classes and behaving appropriately. As mentioned earlier, the closer we get to graduation, the more this transition brings up mixed feelings about leaving Pierce. We ask that parents help us to keep students on target and completing their work so that they can participant and enjoy their trip to New York City. We have reviewed these expectations with students and seek your support to reinforce these expectations. We thank the chaperones for giving so generously of their time, they include, Annice Kra, Tracy Bare, Amy Hintzman, Norma Steinberg, Billy Harris and Josh Frank. Thanks also to all the 7 th and 8 th grade staff who have helped in the planning and preparing for this annual trip.

What's Up for 7th GRADE?

The 7 th grade faculty is considering several possibilities for an end-of-year 7 th grade field trip.On Friday, June 20 th, our last day of school ( NOON DISMISSAL); we have our annual end of year awards assembly for the 3 rd-7 th grades. The program begins at 8:30 and ends about 9:30 am in the amphitheater, if weather permits. Students are recognized for their achievement in academic, athletic, music, theater and participation in special programs. Parents are welcomed to attend. At the conclusion of this program, we have an official talk about the transition from 7 th to 8 th grade with the 7 th graders. We remind them of our expectations as they begin their new roles as the senior members of the student body.

Sincerely,

Pipier Smith-Mumford

Principal

Josh Frank

Vice Principal

GRADE 7

English, Ms. Kra and Mrs. Lyons

Seventh Graders are finishing their study of William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Students are learning how to read verse by studying Shakespearean vocabulary, verb conjugations (thou canst, thou art), and two forms of poetic meter. Each night, they will respond to their reading by writing a creative paragraph and by answering comprehension questions. Students will memorize and present ten lines from the play and if there is time, they will write a humorous, original one act play.

To finish up the year 7th graders will read and write poetry, focusing on poetic terminology: onomatopoeia, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, symbolism, alliteration, meter, and free verse; they will study formal poetic structure while writing their own poems. Each student will create a personal poetry anthology in which they will compile their edited and illustrated poems. Additionally, students will have one more Independent Reading due in June and they will continue their study of the Parts of Speech. Summer Reading lists will be sent home and books from the list will be available at the school-wide

Book Fair. I want to wish you all a restful and joyous summer (when it arrives)!

Social Studies ,Dr. Tegnell

In 7th grade Social Studies, we will be continuing our study of the antebellum United States. Beginning with the War of 1812, we will examine the Era of Good Feelings, the Age of Jackson, sectionalism, reform movements, the Mexican-American War, and the causes of the Civil War. Students will engage in such activities as debating Cherokee removal, exploring the Nat Turner Rebellion, deciphering the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, negotiating the Compromise of 1850, and assessing responsibility for the Civil War. Students will continue to develop such skills as researching and writing an historical essay, evaluating primary source documents, creating historical narratives, and making inferences from graphs and maps.

Social Studies, Mrs. Lyons

Students began forth quarter by studying the Industrial Revolution and reform movements of the 1840’s and 1850’s. They then looked at the emerging differences in the interests and economies of the Northern, Middle, and Southern states. These differences will prepare students for a culminating Civil War portfolio project, which begins in mid May and will take students through the end of the year. This project will emphasize individual student learning, encourage creative thinking and planning, and require students use their primary source analysis skills. Students will use this portfolio to compile material beginning with the Compromise of 1850 and ending with Lincoln’s assassination at the end of the Civil War.

Math

Ms. Galolo/Mrs. McCarthy

In seventh grade math, students continued their study of algebra by solving multi-step equations and using tables of values. Students used visual pictures to find patterns and they learned the importance of showing their work! After algebra, students completed Shapes and Solids. In this unit, they calculated the surface area and volume of various three-dimensional objects, and studied the relationship between surface area and volume. Students also practiced drawing nets of three-dimensional figures. After April vacation, they will learn different ways to measure and calculate slope in the Roads and Ramps unit. The students will end the year with a joint project in science and math in which they build a “green” house.

Science

Ms. Hintzman and Ms. Takayanagi

Following our genetics unit, students shifted gears to jump into our study of geology. We began by using a GIS program to visualize the changing nature of Earth’s crust. Using this program, students transferred information from the U.S. Geological Survey’s database to an interactive map, allowing them to detect patterns in earthquake location, depth, and magnitude. They were able to compare historical earthquake patterns with those happening last month, program the software to seek correlations between many variables, and discover what impact plate tectonics has on our geography and lifestyles.

Students continued their geology study with a more detailed investigation of rocks and minerals, including the assembly and classification of their own rock collections. We were thrilled to see the enthusiasm that some students had for rocks; there are clearly some budding geologists in this group!

We have now begun to put together our genetics and geology knowledge to explore evolution, and will finish this year with an investigation of ecological principles and population growth. Using this knowledge, students will engage in a joint math and science project to build a “green” house; once they are able to develop a sustainable house and solve our energy challenges they will be ready for 8 th grade!

Spanish, Sra. Megias

As we continue our study of Mexico, students are learning how young teenagers from Cuernavaca spend their time. We are able to talk about what we like to do ( gustar and regular – ar verbs), where people and things are ( estar ) and where we go during our free time ( ir ). New vocabulary includes places in the city and prepositions. Our culminating project will be a celebration of el Cinco de Mayo , which is the date the Mexicans were victorious over the occupying French army in Puebla in 1862. The lesson will include details of the historical significance of the holiday, music and a traditional craft project: papel picado .

Our final unit describes the life and culture of several young Hispanic teenagers in Miami, Florida. Students will learn vocabulary about the weather, the family and grammar which includes regular – er and – ir verbs, ver , salir , hacer , deber , poner and the personal a .

Our last project is an original “TV program” which will be videotaped, complete with anchors, sports, weather and special events reporters Our final unit describes the life and culture of several young Hispanic teenagers in Miami, Florida. Students will learn vocabulary about the weather, the family and grammar which includes regular – er an

Our last project is an original “TV program” which will be videotaped, complete with anchors, sports, weather and special events reporters

Mandarin, Ms. Sun

Our seventh graders did a great job on their interdisciplinary project with the library staff. Each student presented their project both in written form and orally. Through the different topics, students learned many cultural facts beyond the text book from their peers.

In the last part of the unit “Meet my Family,” students are learning to describe their own pet or someone else’s. An additional unit will be added to this quarter, it is about naming parts of the body and the names for different colors. This additional unit would expand their vocabulary for writing descriptions to their new pen pals. Every student is required to participate in the Chinese pen pal club.

Along with enthusiasm for learning oral Chinese, we will emphasize the practice of oral skill through “A Course of Speed-up Oral Chinese for Beginners – by Mr. Chen & Mr. Zhu, Peking University Press.”

Art, Mr. Rae

This class has recently completed a monogram clay tile project. The completed tiles are in the showcase in the cafeteria. After completing the tiles, the seventh graders have spent weeks exploring a wide range of drawing materials as we develop drawing skills and focusing on simple objects. The final drawing in this unit will allow students to choose which drawing material and paper they want to use for this assignment. Students will have 2 -3 periods to complete a very complicated drawing that demonstrates their ability to render realistic images with the materials that they chose. I have been very pleased with the drawings so far. I'm expecting that the final drawings will be outstanding as well. When these drawings have been completed they will be on display in the building as well.

GRADE 8

English, Ms. Kra

Eighth graders are now in the midst of reading John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Students were introduced to background material on the Depression era to preview the setting of the novel. In addition to class discussion, students are examining characterization, descriptive language, relationships as well as issues around race and gender in their journal responses. To conclude the unit, students will write a final five paragraph essay in which they will explore a theme of their choice from Of Mice and Men.

We will close the year with a literature based unit in which we explore themes from Facing History and Ourselves around genocide and human responsibility. Students will read Elie Wiesel's Night and respond to their reading by writing about resistance, resilience and survival. We will end the unit with a final creative project. As eighth graders prepare for their graduation, they will write graduation poems and speeches in which they reflect upon their experiences at Pierce, as well as look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

Social Studies, Ms. Rathgeber

Students recently finished their work on the Progressive Era. During the unit, students studied the election of 1912, and its effect on our political parties and social issues. They will use the information they learned and apply it to an upcoming Take Action project.

Currently, students are learning about World War I and the changing of U.S. foreign policy. We are looking at the rise of nationalism and the splitting apart of Europe. Students will read about the new technologies used in WWI and the aftermath. Once we finish with WWI, we will study time time period in America between WWI and WWII. We will then work our way through WWII. When students return from their New York City field trip, we will spend the last few class days learning about Civil rights.

I am excited about working with the math and science teachers on a new interdisciplinary project for the end of the year. In all three classes, students are going to look at the problem of climate change. In social studies, students will work to take local action on an environmental issue. This is all tied to our Progressive unit and the history of taking action and giving back to our communities. As a class, we will first look at what our government has done and can do to change our environmental footprint. Each student will then pick a particular issue that they are most interested in and take action on that issue. Past projects include cleaning up local parks, writing letters to Congressmen and women, and holding a bake sale to donate money to specific causes. This is a great opportunity for all students to give back and learn that math, science and social studies can go together!

Math and Science – Ms. Bare/Ms. Galolo/Ms. Hintzman

We are continuing our efforts to make math and science at Pierce as interdisciplinary as possible, and now we have added Social Studies to the mix! Read on to find out what we are up to:

• In science, we are going to spend the first two weeks of May reviewing all of the science students have learned in 6 th, 7 th and 8 th grade in order to prepare for the 8 th grade science MCAS. This will be good practice for students in the study skills necessary to be successful on the large midyear and final exams at the high school. Starting in the 3 rd week of May, we will begin our final unit. Students will apply the chemistry, physics, astronomy and weather knowledge they have gained this year to the problem of global climate change. Students will learn how the world’s climate is regulated and how it has changed repeatedly over the past 100 million years. Students will then complete a project where they analyze the evidence that the world’s climate is currently undergoing a rapid change. Students will have a chance to examine the evidence that current climate changes are being caused by people and will explore at the mathematical models of what may happen in the next 100 years.
• In Social Studies, students will complete a related public service project where they take action to help reduce climate change or on another environmental issue of their choice. Take a look at the Social Studies Curriculum Connection for the details!
• In 8 th grade math, students will complete their study of exponential growth by mid-May. After a week of review to prepare for the math MCAS, we will begin our final unit on mathematical modeling. Each student will be assigned a country and will analyze that country’s population growth from 1950 to the present. Students will create linear and exponential mathematical models for the country’s past growth and will use them to predict the population of the country in 2050. This will give students a taste of the work that goes into creating a mathematical model and the ways in which models are used to predict the future. Students’ models will have two variables and will predict what will happen 40 years from now. We will contrast this with the work that goes in to creating climate change models that have 100s or even 1000s of variables and predict the future 100 years from now.

Spanish, Sra. Megias

Our eighth graders are continuing in their unit “Celebraciones” which focuses on Hispanic teenagers in San Antonio, Texas. They are learning to talk about past events (preterite tense of –ar and –er verbs and direct object pronouns), how to ask for help, respond to requests and tell a friend what to do (informal commands.)

We recently enjoyed a buffet lunch at Casa Romero, one of the best authentic Mexican restaurants in Boston. After a presentation by the owner, who described in Spanish the different dishes, we ate such delicacies as pollo al mole poblano, mixed salad with cactus, jicama and chayotes, Guadalajara style chilaquiles and Chihuahua style beef fajitas.

Our final unit focuses on the history and culture of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as experienced by two young teens from New York. Students will learn how to make suggestions, express feelings (sentirse), talk about moods and physical conditions (o>ue stem-changing verbs), the preterite of jugar and ir, and ser vs. estar. We will write interviews and dialogues based on trips, real and imagined. Students will continue to improve their writing skills by preparing a short excerpt in their journals describing what they did in New York on their class trip. A final town wide reading, writing, speaking and listening assessment will be given at the end of the course.

Our culminating event will be the traditional end of the year fiesta, which will include refreshments and a viewing of class videos. Buena suerte a todos

Mandarin, Mrs. Sun

Our eighth graders are concluding the unit “Daily Routine” with learning activities in different time phrases, which focus on the use of different tenses. (past, present and future tense) They are learning to say what someone is (in the process of) doing something now; what someone did in the past and what someone will do in the future. In addition, we will learn how to describe the weather, the four seasons, and learn how to say what they like or feel about the heat or the cold.

Before the vacation we enjoyed a buffet lunch at Chef Chow’s House, a famous authentic Chinese restaurant in town within a 5 minutes walking distance from our school. We learned a unique Chinese way of sharing dishes among guests, instead of individually ordering the dishes, as is western style. We also experienced the Chinese “Big Me” culture through eating. Prior to the event, we went through a process of complimenting each other’s choice of dishes. The next day, each student wrote a critique for the outing, and then voted for the best and the worst dishes.

Some students joined the Chinese pen pal club. They wrote in Chinese to the students of an elementary school in Beijing, China. In response, the students in Beijing will write in English as a language exchange program. From May 29 to 31 students will be given a three-day end-of-year assessment. This assessment includes reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Health, Ms. Kra, Ms. Bare and Ms. Hintzman

In Health, students are in their third and final rotation. They are either studying: 1) sexuality; 2) alcohol, tobacco and sexual harassment; or 3) nutrition and drugs.

8th Grade Music, Ms. Sheridan

The 8th grade just concluded their unit on Blues music. After learning about the history of the Blues in depth, each student recorded a typical 12-Bar Blues chord progression on guitar and added original lyrics. We have compared the Blues with jazz and identified basic differences in form, instrumentation and style. We are now exploring connections between visual art and Jazz music by studying the work of Romare Bearden and relating it to specific recordings. Students will continue to expand their knowledge of this style of music as they choose a musician to study. They will write a biography of their musician and create a representational collage (inspired by Bearden's work) that shows what they have learned about their musician in an artistic way.

Physical Education, 7/8, Ms. Grindstaff and Mr. Miceli

In our Physical Education classes we are currently working on our Track and Field unit. During this unit the students are introduced to many different events such as the high jump, long jump, shot put and hurdles. The students have the opportunity to earn a spot to compete in the annual track and field meet against the other Brookline schools. The meet is on Friday, May 30 and will be held at Downe’s Field. The meet will begin at approximately 9:30 and end at 1:30. Parents are welcome to attend to cheer on our team. Any parent volunteers are very welcome also! If you would like to volunteer please contact Mr. Miceli or Ms. Grindstaff.

In June, we conclude our curriculum with various large group games that the children enjoy. We have really enjoyed our classes with our seventh and eighth grade students this year.

Art, Mr. Rae

As we arrive at the middle of the last marking period the eighth graders are deeply involved in a project that requires the students to use many of the skills that we have been developing throughout their career at Pierce. This self portrait project began as a simple pencil drawing of themselves at his point in their lives. The drawings were then transferred to linoleum, carved and printed. Finally these portraits will be altered in a variety of ways to create a new portrait. This long term project requires students to demonstrate their understanding of basic principles of design as well as their ability to use a wide variety of materials. The final works will be on display in a matter of weeks.

Pierce And Beyond

The 7/8 faculty and staff continue to explore and expand their professional development opportunities. Kerrilyn McCarthy attended training on administering the Wilson Reading program. Anne Sheridan attended the Massachusetts Music Educators Association conference in Boston. Ms. Sheridan also deserves congratulations for successfully completing her graduate work at Lesley University and will be receiving her master’s degree, M.Ed. in Creative Arts and Learning focusing on Integrated Curriculum and Instruction.

Important Upcoming Dates

MAY

15-16, 27 7 th Grade MCAS

19-23 8 th Grade MCAS

23 Memorial Day Assembly

26 NO SCHOOL-Memorial Day

27-29 Book Fair, auditorium

30 7/8 Track Meet, Rain date 6/2

JUNE

4-5 8 th Grade-NYC trip

10 Pierce Picnic, 5:30 pm, Rain date: 6/11

12 8 th Grade Awards-5-7 pm Dinner/Dance, 7-9:30 pm

16 8 th Grade Graduation, 4 pm,

Reception to follow

20 Last Day of School, Noon Dismissal