Day 149 - Circle Time - Mrs. Tate - MSMS Grade 6 Math

This post first appeared on Mrs. Tate's Blog 

Recently 6th-grade students enjoyed the beautiful weather while doing some work with circles.  Each team was given a measurement of either a circle’s radius or diameter.  Half of the team computed what the circumference of the circle was using the formula (C = 2 x pi x radius or C = pi x diameter).  The other half of the team was given a tape measure, chalk, and piece of rope to draw the circle.  The students had to be creative with a “human rope” compass to accurately draw the circle.  After the circle was drawn students unrolled the tape measure and placed it along the circle’s circumference to see how close it came to the actual calculation.  Then the teams switched roles while working on an additional circle.  Students then calculated the percent error for each of their circles.  Lastly, they found the average of their percent error to see which team was the BEST!  Here are some pictures of them in action.

Day 142 - Explain Everything Poetry Project - Mr. Conley - MSMS Grade 6

This post first appeared on Mr. Conley's Blog

6B students are creating an Explain Everything project that includes three of their written poems, a video of themselves reading their two-voice poem with a partner, several ‘poetry response’ worksheets, a favorite poem from a published poet or a classmate, and an optional author bio. 

Day 116 - 8C Social Studies Goes Medieval! - Mrs. Volpe - MSMS Grade 8

This post first appeared on the MSMS Blog

Students in Mrs. Volpe’s 8C social studies class show off their creativity and talents as they work on their Medieval Europe Projects.

 

“We are studying Medieval Europe and my group decided to research anti-semitism. I have learned so many new and interesting things about how different religions were treated over this period of time. This project was both fun and challenging. My group worked great together and things got done very fast which was great. We felt very accomplished when we looked at our completed project.  This was one of my favorite projects and I was always excited to go to Social Studies every day to work on it.”

              -Bella

Student reflection:

“In my opinion, the Medieval projects were very enjoyable. One of my favorite parts was that we got to pick our own groups and our topic. I also liked how no two groups had the same topic, so everyone’s project was different and unique. Another reason that I liked the projects was that I was able to learn a lot about our topic, Queen Isabella, and King Ferdinand. The textbook gives some information about the King and Queen, but doing the research project on them, really allowed me, as well as the other people in my group, to learn so much more about them.  I learned about their accomplishments, where they lived, and why they created Spain. For example, I learned that Queen Isabella funded the legendary trip made by a Christopher Columbus and was greatly responsible for the Spanish Inquisition. Lastly, I enjoyed getting to be creative. I have never had a set of guidelines that included three 3D objects, but I enjoyed it. It was a very fun, and a different challenge. In conclusion, I really enjoyed this project for many reasons, and I hope we get to do more like it.” -Izzy

Day 110 - MSMS 7th Graders Write Letters of Support to Stoneman Douglas High School

In an effort to continue their efforts to participate in small acts of kindness, seventh graders at Marshall Simonds Middle School wrote letters to the students returning to school at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Their sweet messages filled with hope and comfort were thoughtful and inspiring. 

Day 98 - Sphero Activity Block Gears up for the Winter Olympics! - Mrs. Floyd and Mrs. Tate

This post first appeared on the Marshall Simonds Middle School Blog 

MSMS has been gearing up for the 2018 Winter Olympics during the past two Activity Block offerings.  Mrs. Floyd and Mrs. Tate have designed the Sphero and Ollie Olympics where students code their robot to compete in several individual and team events.  Some simple events like curling only involve one line of code where more complex events such as the slalom course will require many lines of code.  Events include: curling, bowling, slalom skiing, downhill skiing, synchronized Spheros, and swimming.  Here are some pictures and of the events in action!

The Curling target for Sphero Curling

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The various Sphero/Ollie Olympic events and courses

Day 93 - Road to the Super Bowl Begins in the Art Room! - Ms. Phillips - MSMS Art

This post first appeared on Ms. Phillips' Blog

Excitement has been growing over the past few weeks in New England as the Patriots clinched their Super Bowl berth. Having students design their concepts of a winning logo for the Super Bowl is a great way to demonstrate the importance of creativity and art in all aspects of life. This assignment engages all students regardless of their interest in sports. Students in all grades have come up with some pretty amazing designs! 

Day 84 - Old Sneakers Never Die - Ms. Phillips - MSMS Art

Why sneakers?

Diversity is what kept the Spirit of Chuck Taylor sneakers (converse) alive. There is no specific subculture, generation or individual that truly defines Converse All Stars. They do not belong to any particular group or style and that's what makes these sneakers so special and worth drawing. 

The Converse All Star was released in 1917 as a basketball shoe and is still sold today.

Students in 8th Grade worked on creating a composition with the sneakers to draw. They used photoshop to manipulate the colors they would use in their drawings. Drawings were finished using oil pastels.