Lavelle’s 8th-graders have been studying the ways in which traditional stories, such as those from mythology or the Bible, shape contemporary literature. The students studied various Native American myths and wrote their own original myths that established universal themes relevant to contemporary society and explained natural occurrences. Currently, the students have been looking at the way the idea of “turning the other cheek” has informed other works of literature, such as Thoreau’s On the Duty of Civil Disobedience and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, The American Dream. Students are working to find connections in both language and technique between the works, and will attempt to apply their understanding to additional pieces, including Robert Hayden’s poem, “Runagate Runagate” and an excerpt from Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad.
Lavelle’s 7th-graders have been looking closely at the way literature incorporates history into its meaning. They studied the combination of fact and fiction in mythology, and then wrote their own myths that established a balance between the two. Currently, they are reading the work of Julia Alvarez, a writer from the Dominican Republic who fled the country during the brutal regime of the dictator Rafael Trujillo. They are comparing and contrasting historical documents concerning Trujillo with Alvarez’s portrayal of Trujillo in her personalized account. Creative Writing/Drama/Lit & Film: 6th Grade: completed watching the classic play, “Driving Miss Daisy,” and attributed qualities of the IB learner profile to each character. They then began a “quick write” on a narrative prompt. 7th Grade: completed watching the classic musical, “Oklahoma!” On May 3rd, our original script written for Highlands Grove Elementary’s Drama Club was performed on their campus. We were asked by the principal to write their Christmas script, so we’ve begun working on that project this week! 8th Grade: due to testing, they also completed watching “Oklahoma!” On May 9th & 10th our original script written for “Out of the Box,” a troupe with special needs, was presented at Lakeland Community Theatre. This is the second year our students have been asked to write for this amazing group of actors. We expect this collaboration to continue next year as well. In addition, we’re writing our final script of the year…for each other! Lit & Film: completed watching “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” and compared it to the novel. We’ve now begun reading the classic play, “Cyrano de Bergerac” to finish out the year. Remember, “You are the author of your own life story. Make it a good one.” Mr Coombs's students In Science, we are cutting through our living things units in preparation for frog dissections next week! Regular 7th grade math students are working in groups to design a lesson plan and presentation. They will take turns over the next couple of weeks teaching the class the topic that they have become an expert on. They are having a great time creating and exploring different activities to share with the class…Kahoot seems to be a favorite amongst them. Advanced 7th grade math students are finishing up creating a stained glass using equations of lines and graphing using slope and y-intercept and beginning solving systems of equations by graphing. They have become pros at graphing but find the challenge in solving equations for y. They will continue to explore 8th grade standards over the next couple of weeks of school. Civics students took part in campaigning for the presidency! The wrote and gave speeches, including the issues they feel are most important, and created campaign posters and campaign buttons! It was a great rally! We are now eagerly anticipating the EOC scheduled for next week. The students (and teachers) have been working hard all year and we know they will rock this test! In Gibson’s science classes students have successfully navigated the State Science Assessment and now we are focusing on wrapping up an Interdiscilpinary activity for Apollo 13. Next on the agenda is for everyone to build a model of themselves with a legacy thought bubble to welcome rising 7th grade students. We will also be exploring some overarching bioethics questions in our final few days. The Gifted elective classes have used their critical thinking skills to escape the Escape Room in Lakeland! After a unit on Forensics, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office visited our 6th grade class to give the students a first-hand look at how forensic science is used to solve crimes in our area. While reading “The Diary of Anne Frank,” students in Mrs. Davis’ language and literature class identified both the internal and external motivation and conflict of the characters portrayed in the play. After creating open-minded portraits that described the characters in detail, students then chose the IB learner profile that best fits the character they chose to examine and then justified their choice with evidence and proof. The final summative will be motivated from each one of the student’s personal craft. The students were given choices to present their findings of the impact of the Holocaust. Students will hone in on their own strengths by choosing a way to present their findings and research. Mr. Bartuska's science students are being introduced to Measurement Science through Differential Leveling. |
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