Los alumnos de Español como segunda lengua...aprenden las "TRADICIONES MEXICANAS"

Los alumnos de Español como segunda lengua...aprenden las "TRADICIONES MEXICANAS"

"Math in their lives"

One of our first projects this year in Pre-Algebra was to interview an adult to see how they used math in their lives.  Students brought back some wonderful answers.  One student’s work is attached, showing how her mother uses math in many different ways.

After this project, we continued the year with several types of graphs.  Students studied bar graphs, scatter plots, and histograms.  They created line graphs based on the weather in Mexico City.  Through this project, they discovered the importance of the x-axis and y-axis.  They also made circle graphs about how they spend their time. This project helped students understand degrees in a circle, and percentages. 

Students have also learned about measures of central tendency.  They calculated grades and salaries using mean, median, and mode.  Along with this, students did several activities involving spinners and dice, to find probability.  Also, students took on the persona of a math detective, and used the Four Step Problem Solving Plan. Students discovered how this process can be useful in solving many types of problems.

Through many of the concepts covered, we include not only the mathematical side of things, but also try to relate the topic to current events, and items of interest to the students.  One of the favorite class activities is graph paper battleship.  Students use the coordinate system to graph ordered pairs, all while they “sink the battleship.”

Most recently, students have been looking more closely at integers.  We have seen positives and negatives, and reviewed how to graph numbers using a number line.  We are beginning to add and subtract positive and negative integers.  Included are two students’ drawings.  The first illustrates how climbing stairs can represent adding positive and negative integers.  The second shows a ballerina, falling gracefully, displaying the subtraction of height.

Science Corner

T. Janota, T. Mankoch, F. Montes de Oca

SCIENCE CORNER

Biographies of Biologists

            In order to provide the class with an idea of some of the important biological discoveries of the past, each student will study one biologist and present the information to the class. It is impossible to include all of the significant biologists of history, so we have chosen a representative selection. In addition, the history of biology has been divided into eras to show how biological thought has changed over time.

Branches of Biology

           

            Mrs. Montes de Oca’s class did a project that asked students to investigate different branches of biology. The idea was to help students be aware of some of the breadth of life science. Many of their efforts show excellent research skills and a vivid imagination. Here are a couple of drawings:

Europe during the Medieval Times

W

e started off this academic school year with concepts and skills of the 5 themes of geography. Here is a quick review of the five themes, region, location, place, human-environment interaction and movement. In language arts we complemented this unit by rewriting a fairy tale and incorporating the five themes of geography, and giving an old favorite a new modern twist.

I

n September and October we have been studying Europe during the Medieval Times. We learned about the feudal system and the differences between the social classes, monarchs, lords and ladies, knights, and peasants. We explored the influence of the Roman Catholic Church as the center of medieval life during the High Middle Ages. We explored how three key events in England and Europe – the signing of the Magna Carta, the bubonic plague, and the Hundred Years’ War contributed to the decline of feudalism. We did some wonderful homework assignments to complement the Medieval Times Unit, such as illuminated poems and gargoyles.

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

Here is a Timeline done in a unique way in class:

Language Arts in 7th

eventh graders are working on the elements of good writing. Most of them have mastered a clear and organized paragraph and are now working on learning how to structure a good essay. They have dabbed into narrative writing with the fairy tale they wrote early in the year where they changed the elements of the Five Themes of Geography. Using the content learned in the social studies classes they can fill their writing with imagination as well as facts. For example, using point of view students have written about a medieval character and soon they will be writing about Czarist Russia.
To help their writing skills, in grammar we are reviewing the Eight Parts of Speech and familiarizing them with the Six Traits of Writing.
Reading is also a very important part of our curriculum. Most students are into their third novel of the year! They have all read Among the Hidden, a book with many sequels, which has encouraged many to read on for pleasure. Soon all students will be reading a novel on Russia.

            Here are two examples of anecdotes about Medieval characters:

The Dragon and I

                        One afternoon I was strolling through the dark forest when it unexpectedly started to rain.  I immediately looked for and ran to the nearest cave.  At first I couldn’t even see my own hand in front of my face, but as soon as lightning struck, I saw the two bright red eyes of a frightening dragon.  He slowly got closer to me and with every step he took, I could see his face clearer and clearer.  The dragon had dark purple scales that shone in the light.  He was slender and had hidden ears.  When I had a complete view of him, my mouth dropped open.  I had never seen such a fearsome creature!

            The dragon then stared talking.  His voice was soft and clear, not at all what you would expect from a dragon.  The dragon told me his name, asked me a few questions and showed me around his spacious cave.  He was very curious.  The cave was very messy and when I pointed this out to him, he stared at me with a confused face.  We were drinking tea and having an interesting conversation, when suddenly we heard some footsteps from right outside the entrance.

            Standing in the doorway was an even bigger dragon!  That brave dragon, without any problem, was able to take the big one down by simply spitting fire out of his mouth.  I was so pleased of being saved by the dragon that I decided to become his friend.  Even though he was happy living in his cave, he seemed lonely and in need of a good friend.  From that moment on we were the best of friends.

                                                                                                                By Paulina W.

                                                The Wizard

            The first day that I met the wizard I was on a boat in the river and saw him casting spells on the riverbank.  I pulled over to the shore and watched him for a few minutes.  I was so amazed that I climbed out of the boat and asked him to teach me some spells.

            He started babbling so quickly that I couldn’t understand him.  I noticed that one of his eyes was just a large pupil with no iris and the other was a normal brown eye.  He was wearing a very ugly and tattered brown robe that didn’t even cover his knees.  His hair was black and white and he had a small mustache that curled up to his cheeks. He stopped talking and waved his hand, motioning for me to go inside with him.  I followed him and he said in broken English, “This is kingdom,” pointing at a toy version of the kingdom. “This is what I do to it,” he said as he kicked over the castle and a couple of shops.  I saw that his leg was thin and hairless when he knocked the toy over.  “You help me?” he asked.  I thought about what he was asking and realized he was a maniac and wanted me to help him destroy the kingdom.  I kicked his toy castle as a distraction and ran out to my boat.

            The wizard shot a spell at me but missed and hit his door. The door exploded behind me and I jumped into my boat and paddled as fast as I could.  I will never forget that crazed look on his face as I paddled away.

                                                                                                                   By Adam E.

Here is an example of an essay:

Ricardo M.

The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire is very interesting. This Empire lasted 1,000 years more than the Roman Empire, and they were both related in many ways. The Byzantines had 88 emperors in total, of which 29 were killed violently. They also followed the Eastern Orthodox Church, which was different from the one the Romans followed. Although both empires were 850 miles apart, they were very similar to each other.

The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire were very similar. Both were known because of having a strong army. Also, the Byzantine Empire is considered as the continuation of Rome in the East after it fell. The Romans and the Byzantines also followed the same religious principles until 1054 when the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches was officially complete. Although both empires shared various aspects, the Byzantine Empire lasted 1000 years more than the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire fell in 476 C.E, while the Byzantine Empire lasted 1000 years more than that, because of several key factors. The first of them was Constantinople’s geographic location. This city was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was located in a peninsula, which meant three out of four sides were surrounded and protected by water, and only one side was left to guard from land attacks. Plus, if the ships from the enemies would pass the navy, there was an unbreakable chain that would stop the ships from entering Constantinople. Another factor that made this city strong was that it was surrounded by walls that protected the city from enemies, and that they had a very strong army. I find the Byzantine Empire very interesting, since it lasted 1000 years more than the Roman Empire, although they had a considerable amount of aspects in common. 

Actividades en la clase de Español

Cada inicio de año, una actividad obligada es que los alumnos del grupo se conozcan… en la materia de Español la actividad que realizamos consiste en elaborar un libro de biografías:  Mi libro colectivo, que sirve no sólo para que los alumnos se conozcan, sino para que se vaya fortaleciendo la unidad en el grupo al colaborar cada uno en el libro colectivo del otro.

Lo primero que hacemos es que cada integrante del grupo, incluida la maestra, escribe su autobiografía -en una hoja tamaño carta- utilizando palabras y dibujos (mínimo 15 dibujos), al terminar de escribirla y dibujarla, la fotocopia tantas veces como compañeros de grupo tenga (puede hacer la fotocopia en blanco y negro y colorear cada una o fotocopiarla a color)… así, si en su grupo hay 20 alumnos la fotocopia 20 veces; una vez fotocopiada entrega una fotocopia a cada uno de sus compañeros y la lee en voz alta;

cuando todos los alumnos del grupo tienen las biografías de todos, incluyendo la de su profesora, las organizan, elaboran un índice, redactan una presentación:

Diego González escribió lo siguiente:

“Este proyecto del libro colectivo, fue el primer proyecto del ciclo escolar de séptimo 2010-2011. El objetivo de este proyecto fue que todas las personas de la clase hicieran su autobiografía. La teníamos que hacer, poniendo dibujos de ti. Lo hicimos para poder conocer mejor a todas las personas de la case, aprender más de esa persona y su familia y tener más información de su vida. Este proyecto me dejó un mensaje muy importante. Me dio a entender, que todos tenemos vidas diferentes, pasados interesantes e increíbles aventuras. Yo les recomiendo que al hacer este proyecto: se esfuercen mucho, se ex cedan al trabajar, sean creativos, sean ordenados y dibujen bien. ¡A trabajar!”

Finalmente, cada alumno encuaderna su libro colectivo.

Alumnos de 7o grado de FCE asesoran a empresario para desarrollar productos exitosos

En la materia formación cívica y ética los alumnos trabajaron el tema de la adolescencia y los riesgos de los entornos en los que se desarrollan. De manera introductoria debieron revisar las características de las etapas de la adolescencia, tema que contiene mucha información lo que usualmente le da un carácter árido. Con el fin de dar dinamismo y fomentar la motivación en el aprendizaje de los contenidos, se diseño una actividad de aprendizaje basada en problemas en la que los alumnos tuvieran que aplicar sus conocimientos para resolver un problema. El planteamiento fue el asesorar en el tema de adolescencia a el Sr. López, quien como nuevo empresario no tenía claro que productos podían ser exitosos para vender entre jóvenes.

Los alumnos debían formar equipos de "especialistas en adolescencia y pubertad" y asesorar al nuevo empresario. Para ello debieron antes leer y resumir en grupo documenros sobre el tema, pensar en productos posibles y legales, ofrecer características llamativas para los jóvenes y sustentar sus propuestas en la información revisada. Con todo ello cada equipo presento su propuesta en una carta dirigida al Sr. Lopez, presentandose como especialistas, dando información sobre los adolescentes, proponiendo un producto y dando los motivos para que dicho producto fuera exitoso entre los adolescentes.

El proceso tomo dos clases durante las cuales los alumnos trabajaron con entusiasmo intentando ganar la atención del inversionista. Se dieron una variedad de ideas desde desodorantes anti acné hasta dispositivos móviles que ayudan a los jóvenes a hacer tareas y a comunicarse con sus redes sociales.

Presentación del equipo y del producto

Información general sobre adolescencia

Información y justificación del producto

Plan para modelo del producto