Team Kani News: September 5-9, 2016

OPEN HOUSE is Thursday, September 8!

Please join us for Open House on Thursday night!

The annual Title 1 meeting will be held from 6:00-6:30 pm

Open House will be from 6:30-7:30 pm.  You will have the opportunity to meet all of your child's teachers.

General Team News

Team t-shirt orders are due by Friday, September 9.  The t-shirts are $8.00 each.  You are welcome to order one for your student and yourself!  Please give your order form and payment to Mr. Spinks.

If you have lost your order form, one is linked here:  T-shirt Order Form

English/Language Arts News

As we begin our fifth week of school in English Language Arts class, we will turn our attention to folktales from other cultures beyond the Middle East. We will read and view an assortment of folktales from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Students will analyze the folktales and consider their similarities and differences.

Our first progress reporting period is coming to a close at the end of this week. Please check Parent Portal to see what/if any assignments are marked as "Missing" and encourage your child to complete this work to turn in so that all zeros on missing assignments can be replaced with actual grades. Also, any student who scored below an 80 on their Folktales test may make corrections this week only to their test if they would like an opportunity to improve their grade.

Science News

Topics this Week:

Monday:  No School - Labor Day Holiday

Tuesday & Wednesday:  Symbiosis:  Parasitism, Commensalism, & Mutualism

Thursday:  Environmental Changes impacting Terrestrial Biomes

Friday:  Environmental Changes impacting Aquatic Biomes, Big 10 Quiz #5, Maintenance Sheet #5 due

Interactive Notebooks
All Science students are required to keep a composition book organized as their Interactive Notebook for Science.  This Notebook includes notes, illustrations, charts, graphs, vocabulary, etc. - It is their textbook and study guide.  I do grade them once every 4-5 weeks.
The first Notebook Check will be during the week of September 12.  I will check each class on a different day.
As of right now, your child should have the following in his or her Science Notebook:

• Page 1 - Title Page with an illustration, student name, class name, and semester #.
• Pages 2 & 3 - Signed Syllabus glued or taped in
• Page 4 - Class Expectations & Procedures glued or taped in
• Pages 5 & 6 - Blank for now - the Table of Contents will be glued or taped in on these pages
• Page 7 - Big 10 Week #2 completed & glued or taped in
• Page 8 - Biomes Vocabulary written in as notes
• Page 9 - Biome Summary Chart completed & glued or taped in
• Page 10 - Exit Ticket written in as notes
• Page 11 - Big 10 Week #3 completed & glued or taped in
• Page 12 - Estuary Questions
• Page 13 - Chart of Ecological Relationships completed & glued or taped in
• Page 14 - Big 10 Week #4 completed & glued or taped in
• Page 15 - Maintenance Sheet #4 complete by 9/2 & glued or taped in
• Page 16 - Parasite WebQuest = 3 questions answered
• Page 17 - Symbiosis Terms = 4 Terms defined:  symbiosis, commensalism, mutualism, & parasitism
• Page 18 - Big 10 #5 complete by 9/9 & glued or taped in
• Page 19 - Maintenance Sheet #5 complete by 9/9 & glued or taped in
• Page 20 - Environmental Relationships glued or taped in

Math News

Welcome back from the holiday weekend. I hope you enjoyed your break. This upcoming week in math will be an important one - students will be taking their first Unit Test on Friday. CCSD grading policy states that summative assessments (such as a Unit Test) will count for 60% of a student's overall grade. Students will be given a detailed study guide on Tuesday. Completing the study guide will be the most effective way to review before the test. The study guide will also be posted on Google Classroom. On Thursday, each class will participate in an in-depth study session to ensure that everyone is prepared for the test on Friday. Throughout this week, students should also work to complete the "Unit 1 TIP Chart" which can be found on Google Classroom. The "Unit 1 TIP Chart" is due September 8th (originally due September 6th). As always, please try to take a few moments this week with your student to review their current grade in math, discuss any missing assignments, and help them study for their test. Thank you for your support. I hope to see you at Open House on Thursday night. Go Panthers!

Social Studies News

This week in social studies we will continue our focus on Middle East Geography.  Students will continue to cover the impact oil and water have on the people there.   We will continue studying Middle Eastern culture which covers the major ethnic groups and religions of the region.  We will continue to emphasize reading and writing through a social studies context.  We are also starting our first set of vocabulary quizzes this week.  Students will have their quiz on Friday and the words are linked below.  The Middle East coach book that students have linked in the About section of google classroom is a great study resource to reinforce what we are doing in the classroom. Thank you for your support!

SS7G8 - The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest Asia (Middle East).

a. Explain the differences between an ethnic group and a religious group.

b. Explain the diversity of religions within the Arabs, Persians, and Kurds.

c. Compare and contrast the prominent religions in Southwest Asia (Middle East): Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

d. Explain the reason for the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

e. Evaluate how the literacy rate affects the standard of living.

Geography Vocabulary List 1