Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science:

This week students are finishing the Evolution by Means of Natural Selection unit and are exploring the cause and effect relationship between traits and probability of survival in organisms. Tasks A & B of the Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria project are due Monday 4/15. Tasks C (Extension) & Task D (Extra Credit) are due Friday 4/19. 

Tuesdy April 16th will be our test. Students received a study guide via Google Classroom last week. 

Thank you to those who shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant! We can see the radishes growing!

ELA: 

This week we are diving into our last reading unit! The students have chosen their novels for our Social Issues Book Clubs and are very excited! We will begin reading on Monday and this week we’ll focus on getting to know our characters and analyzing their relationships with others throughout the book.

Grade Improvement Opportunity until 5/17:

Literary Essays have been graded and entered into the gradebook. Students are able to edit and fix their highlighted errors for a higher conventions grade. See green scoring guide for details. Nice work!!

Homework:

*Read a good book!  

* Edit highlighted errors to improve essay grade (optional)

Math: 

American History:

The students are completing their digital propaganda sign and speech. See Google Classroom for directions and instructions. This week will include discussions about how German Americans were treated during WW1. As well we will talk about the plans and efforts to end WW1. The Unit test has been moved to April 23rd.

Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science:

This week students are continuing the Evolution by Means of Natural Selection unit and are exploring the cause and effect relationship between traits and probability of survival in organisms. There is 1 Evolution by Means of Natural Selection assignment that is due on Tuesday at the end of class.

On Wednesday student will begin working on an Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria project to end our Evolution by Means of Natural Selection unit. Monday April 15th will be our test. Students will receive a study guide via Google Classroom on Wednesday. 

Thank you to those who shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant! We will continue this work throughout the remaining 6 weeks of school!

ELA: 

We are finishing our Nonfiction One Pagers that we started last week. The creativity and abstract thinking on these has been impressive! Periods 4, 7, and 8 One Pagers are due by Wednesday. 3rd period’s pages are due Thursday. We will spend the rest of the week reviewing key skills such as plot, figurative language, conflict types, and theme. Then, onto our Social Issues book clubs!

Grade Improvement Opportunity until 5/17:

Literary Essays have been graded and entered into the gradebook. Students are able to edit and fix their highlighted errors for a higher conventions grade. See scoring guide for details. Nice work!!

Homework:

* Work on One Pager

* Edit highlighted errors to improve essay grade (optional)

Math:

Math Homework: 

American History:

This week the students will finish their learning on what life was like in the US during WW1. We will look specifically at the propaganda used to support the war efforts and how anti-war people were treated. There will be some learning on how German Americans we viewed and treated during this time.

The end of unit test will be Wednesday April 17, 2019

A hard copy of the study guide has been provided to each student. There is an electronic copy as well. Study Guide

Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science:

This week students are continuing the Evolution by Means of Natural Selection unit and are exploring the cause and effect relationship between traits and probability of survival in organisms. There are 3 station assignments that will be due at the end of class Friday, April 5th.

This Tuesday April 2nd, is Steger's 4th Annual Honeysuckle Hack!  During Science  class, the kids will go outside and help Master Naturalist volunteers pull, cut, and drag this invasive plant to clear it from our campus.  The district will mulch it for us to spread around new growth.  This is a great culminating event for our extensive study of ecosystems and human impact.  The kids are encouraged to wear appropriate clothes and shoes for working outdoors.  They will not need to bring tools, but if they have gardening gloves, that would be helpful.  Thanks for your support of this incredible event!

Thank you to those who shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant!

ELA: 

We are finishing our Tapping the Power of Nonfiction Reading Workshop Unit this week. We have wrapped up the unit by working on a study guide for our post-assessment happening Tuesday 4/2 and Wednesday 4/3.

Literary Essays have been graded and entered into the gradebook. Students are able to edit and fix their highlighted errors for a higher conventions grade. See scoring guide for details. Nice work!!

HW: 1. Read shelfie at home  2. Review study guide for post-assessment 3. Edit highlighted errors to improve essay grade (optional)

Math:

After the last couple rounds of computation tests it has become clear that kids need more practice in order to maintain some of the basics that should have carried over from fifth grade. For the next few weeks there will be a Wednesday assignment due in addition to normal Friday work.  Students who aced (90% or better) each category are excused from one or more of these additional assignments. I have informed them and marked it on their assignment.

American History:

The students have completed an activity that helped to further their understanding about the different weapons and technologies used in WW1. This week we will look at the contributions Women and African Americans made during the period of WW1. We will also talk about the use of propaganda and the efforts to support the war.

Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science:

This week students are beginning the Evolution by Means of Natural Selection unit and are exploring the cause and effect relationship between traits and probability of survival in organisms. 

This Friday, March 29th, is Steger's 4th Annual Honeysuckle Hack!  During Science  class, the kids will go outside and help Master Naturalist volunteers pull, cut, and drag this invasive plant to clear it from our campus.  The district will mulch it for us to spread around new growth.  This is a great culminating event for our extensive study of ecosystems and human impact.  The kids are encouraged to wear appropriate clothes and shoes for working outdoors.  They will not need to bring tools, but if they have gardening gloves, that would be helpful.  Thanks for your support of this incredible event!

Thank you to those who have shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant!

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ELA: 

We are continuing our Tapping the Power of Nonfiction Reading Workshop Unit this week. Students are reading nonfiction novels and meeting and discussing those novels in book clubs. Students will not be bringing these novels home due to limited copies. Literary Essays are being graded and entered into the gradebook. Students are able to edit and fix their highlighted errors for a higher conventions grade. See scoring guide for details.

HW: 1. Read shelfie at home  2. Edit highlighted errors to improve essay grade (optional)

Math:

Students received computation tests back on Monday.  Yellow revision sheets are due by Friday, April 5. Kids can schedule a help session before school or during lunch or recess.  Like always, kids can also ask questions in class.  The test included forty problems.  In the portal you will see this assessment broken into three parts so that we can all see the breakdown of skills.  The first 20 problems are 5th grade content.  The next ten problems are fractions and the final 10 problems are decimals.  The kids had two full class periods to finish 40 problems.  Most kids are doing very well when working the skills in isolation.  Yet, they are running into trouble when having to work on all of the skills combined for one testing session. For those who need practice in a specific area, Khan Academy is an excellent resource.

American History:

The student are reading Primary Source documents that focus on some reasons the United States decided to enter World War 1, aka the Great War.

They are working in teams to discuss and write responses to questions pertaining to the documents. We will talk as a class about the their responses.

*Starting after Spring Break Vega students will begin choosing who they eat lunch with on Fridays. After a couple of weeks students will begin a gradual release of choosing where they sit throughout the rest of the week as well. 

Since beginning eating with homerooms students have been following the expectations in the cafeteria and displaying more self-control in the decisions they make. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we help support all students throughout the day. 

Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science: This week students are finishing building their aquaponics systems and making predictions on their March Mammal Madness Brackets! 

Red Hat, will be here Tuesday, March 12th to get footage of our students working with their aquaponics systems in the classroom to be used in Red Hat's next documentary about open source and agriculture. 

*Parents please have your child's media release form signed and returned to Mrs. Mason by Tuesday morning. 

Thank you to those who have shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant!

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ELA: 

We are continuing our Tapping the Power of Nonfiction Reading Workshop Unit this week. Students are reading nonfiction novels and meeting and discussing those novels in book clubs. Students will not be bringing these novels home due to limited copies. Literary Essays are being graded and entered into the gradebook. Students are able to edit and fix their highlighted errors for a higher conventions grade. See scoring guide for details.

HW: 1. Read shelfie at home  2. Edit highlighted errors to improve essay grade (optional)

Math:

Students qare beginning work on the pre-algebra unit, Expressions and Equations.  Here is a link to the family math https://im.openupresources.org/6/teachers/6/family_materials.html

American History:

The student are reading Primary Source documents that focus on some reasons the United States decided to enter World War 1, aka the Great War.

They are working in teams to discuss and write responses to questions pertaining to the documents. We will talk as a class about the their responses.

Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science: 

Thank you to those who have shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant!

The following are materials not listed on the grant page that we will be in need of:  (if you have any of these not being used in your home we would be happy to take them off of your hands!) on:

• 10 or 30 gallon fish tanks (we still need 2)
• Gift cards of any amount to a hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc)

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Human Growth and Development Week

2/25 - 3/1: 

Goal: Provide accurate information on physiology, reproductive processess, and risks associated with sexual behavior.

Human Growth and Development Parent Syllabus

ELA: 

On Monday, we are finalizing our literary essays and turning them in. Our next unit is Tapping The Power of Nonfiction. Students will be reading nonfiction books in book clubs, working on nonfiction reading strategies, and discussing the content.

HW: Students should be reading nightly.

Math:

Students are working on decimal operations.  We are using the traditional algorithms and simply working on speed and accuracy.  Please encourage your child to do the work by showing their procedures.  Once done, it is a good idea to use a calculator to check. I continually encourage the kids to ask clarifying questions when the calculator answer does not match their procedures. 

* This week will mark the last after school math help session for a few weeks. Students are welcomed to schedule a session before school or any time during lunch/recess. 

American History:

The students are completing the End of the Spanish-American War Newscast. They are finalizing scripts, practicing the newscast as well as editing recorded video. The final presentations will be viewed on Thursday.

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Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science: 

Thank you to those who have shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant!

Students are working on our PBL (Problem Based Learning) related to Food Insecurity and Aquaponics. Each period voted on a system design and we will begin building them in the coming weeks. This week they are using evidence (data) and reasoning to explain how limiting factors effect populations in ecosystems.

The following are materials not listed on the grant page that we will be in need of:  (if you have any of these not being used in your home we would be happy to take them off of your hands!) on:

• 10 or 30 gallon fish tanks (we still need 3 (Thank you Ms. McDade for 1!)
• 2 power strips and/or extension cords (Thank you Ms. Giles for 2!)
• 4 bags of River Rock
• Gift cards of any amount to a local Pet Store to purchase fish
• Gift cards of any amount to a hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc)

ELA: 

We will begin the week analyzing poetry inspired by the work of Langston Hughes before making our own creations. By the end of the week, we will begin planning for our Literary Essay. During this unit, students will be making claims about the similarities they see between two novels they read during our last unit.

Homework: Students should be reading nightly.

Math:

Students are practicing fraction multiplication and division.  Students are preparing for the Mid Unit Assessment which will take place on Wednesday. Also students will complete a computation quiz on Friday.  We have spend ample time preparing in class and the kids should know exactly what to expect. A copy of the January practice test is on the portal.

American History:

We will begin the week by reviewing the results of the Imperialism simulation. Next the students will learn about some reasons for US Imperialism. We will wrap up the week with an activity that will allow the students to analyze political cartoons and primary resources covering events surrounding the Spanish-American War.

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Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science: 

Thank you to those who have shared or donated to our Solving Food Insecurity with Aquaponics grant!

Students are working on our PBL (Problem Based Learning) related to Food Insecurity and Aquaponics. Each period voted on a system design and we will begin building them in the coming weeks. This week they are analyizing data to explain how invasive species effect biodiversity ecosystems.

For now, if anyone has any of the following items to donate please email Mrs. Mason:

• 10 or 30 gallon fish tanks (we still need 3 (thank you Ms. McDade for 1!)
• Gift cards of any amount to a local Pet Store
• Gift cards of any amount to a hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc)

ELA: 

We wrap up our Deep Study of Character Unit this week with a final assessment on character, setting, and theme analysis. For the assessment, students will read a short story and analyze those areas. Next up, our Literary Essay, where students will be comparing two of the novels they read during our last unit.

Homework: Students should be reading nightly.

HW:

• Read to finish daily goal (Books due by Tuesday 1/29)
• Post-Assessment on Monday (1/28) and Tuesday (1/29) (You may use your notebooks, check in sheets, and study guide as review)

Math:

Vega math students are approaching the Mid Unit Assessment which is scheduled for Friday, February 1.  All content on the assessment is available for review in the text book (in Google Classroom).  The lesson summaries are helpful and the family math section is also a good resource for extra support.  This week, there will be a continued focus on operations with fractions.  Also, we will circle back to measurement where the kids will have to compute area and volume with fractional values.

By week's end, students will receive the unit 4 study guide so they can begin to prepare for the upcoming end of unit test. We are aiming for the week before Presidents' Day.

American History:

This week we start our unit on Imperialism and the Spanish American War. We will begin the unit with an Imperialism simulation.

The students will have a chance to simulate the process of colonizing an island. They will be assigned a country and criteria to use to determine what island they will attempt to conquer.

Steger's Heart and Sole (Girls on the Run, Grades 6-8) season will begin in February.  We are currently looking for parent volunteers to help coach our team.  If you are interested, please contact Head Coach and Site Liaison, Bridget Finocchiaro at finocchiaro.bridget@wgmail.org and visit the GOTR site for more information.  All coaches must register by February 10, 2019.  Registration for the girls is open from January 21-February 20, 2019. More information to follow. 

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Grades and assignments can be found in the Portal

Science: 

Students are working on our PBL (Problem Based Learning) related to Food Insecurity and Aquaponics. Each period voted on a system design and we will begin building them in the coming weeks. This week they are creating grant media campaigns and evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Vega will be in need of materials to build the aquaponics systems and there will be a more detailed email sent soon.

For now, if anyone has any of the following items to donate please email Mrs. Mason:

• 10 or 30 gallon fish tanks (we will need 4)
• Gift cards of any amount to a local Pet Store
• Gift cards of any amount to a hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc)

ELA: 

We’re continuing our work with our reading workshop. This week, we’ll explore the themes present in our novels. Students are keeping track of their daily reading goal on their bookmarks. The novels should be going home daily to finish reading if needed.

HW:

Read to finish daily goal

Math:

Homework resumes this week with Skill Practice OO, due Friday, January 18.  Also, several students have an extra credit packet and the deadline was extended to Friday, January 18.  This week in class we are digging into fraction multiplication and division. Addition, subtraction, and some multiplication of fractions were covered in fourth and fifth grade.  Many students could use a refresher on these topics. Khan Academy is a great resource for extra practice. There are many websites out there which serve the same purpose as long as the kids are doing some work with fraction basics and fraction operations. Every little bit helps!

American History:

This week the students are completing the Progressive Movement Project. We will begin presentations on Thursday, January 17th. These presentations will cover Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, January 24th we will have our end of the unit test. A study guide will be provided.

Progressive Movement Project