Cluster 6 Newsletter

November

Dear Cluster 6 families & caregivers!

We are looking forward to our second field trip of the year. On Wednesday, December 11 we’re going to Boston College to tour parts of the campus and to attend a Women’s Basketball game at the Conte Forum Arena. Students will eat lunch in the Arena during the game, so please pack your child a lunch or have them order a “grab n’ go” lunch from our cafeteria. We have also arranged for each student to receive a concession voucher, which is included in the cost and covers a snack and drink for each student. Find additional details about the field trip here. Permission forms and payment are due by December 6.

Please follow our new Cluster 6 Instagram account for photos of what we are up to: @wms_cluster6.

-- Cluster 6 Team

English

Students are about three quarters of the way through their whole class novel, Warcross by Marie Lu. I would ask that, if possible, you please check-in with your student regarding their at home reading progress and commitment to keeping up with the daily reading. We are hoping that students will arrive to class each day, prepared for class, by having completed the reading.

As we continue reading through our novel, students are working on developing their strength in CER writing. They are using (direct) evidence from the text to support their claim and trying “to reason”- the skill of explaining to the reader how their evidence proves the claim that they have made in their writing. It is a skill that we will practice throughout the year in preparation for high school and persuasive/argumentative writing.

As students are reading, they are using a variety of note-taking templates to see which format is best suited to their learning style. They have done a fantastic job learning from the mini-lessons included in the unit and hopefully this enthusiasm continues with their learning. I’ve very much enjoyed their engagement during our classwork.

We will continue up through winter break with Warcross and finish with a CER for the students to show their mastery (or improvements) in their writing.

Please be aware that grades are updated on PowerSchool. If there are any questions or concerns, please encourage your child to set up a time to speak to me. As students are preparing for high school, it is important that they are taking ownership of their work habits, including submitting assignments on time and being prepared for class each day.

Civics

In our current media literacy unit, students have been practicing their digital literacy skills and expanding their ability to understand news articles and evaluate them for bias and reliability. Students have learned to use different news education websites, including Ad Fontes Media and Allsides Media, in order to make informed choices about the news sources they use. We have learned about the standards of professional journalism, the different types of news articles, and the difference between fact and opinion. Students are finishing the unit by completing a short project where they analyze an editorial or op-ed about the ban on TikTok, the ending of MCAS as a graduation requirement, or the use of AI in schools. Ask your student what their opinion is about their topic! After Thanksgiving break, we will be getting ready to participate in our school’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. essay contest, sponsored by the local organization World in Watertown.

Current Learning Targets:

I can understand vocabulary related to media literacy.
I can demonstrate my understanding of a news article.
I can define media/news literacy.
I can differentiate between genres of news media.
I can explore reliability and political bias in the media.
I can evaluate the source and content of a news media article.
I can use information from different perspectives in the media to learn about a current event in the news
I can identify the level of bias in a news media source.
I can demonstrate mastery of media literacy skills by completing a group project.

Math

8th Grade Math students just wrapped up a difficult unit that included solving equations and solving systems of linear equations by graphing and algebraic steps. We then shifted to rigid transformations, which include translating (sliding), reflecting (flipping or mirroring), and rotating (spinning or turning) figures. These transformations allow students to learn how to manipulate points and figures on coordinate grids, eventually leading into dilations (growing or shrinking). This unit includes a lot of use of paper, tracing paper, pencil, etc. and is very tactile. Many students find this unit to be interesting as they are more physically engaged than some other types of math. After Thanksgiving, we will continue with this work to discover what makes figures similar vs. congruent.

Algebra students are into the “meat and potatoes” of the curriculum, which includes solving complex equations, and graphing all kinds of graphs including linear, quadratic, cubic, etc. Students have learned about various statistical models such as histograms, dot plots, stem-and-leaf plots, and using lines of fit to model scatter plot data. When we return from break, we will continue our work with graphing different types of equations and data, and link them to real-world applications. How can you determine when a grape will land on the ground if you toss it from the top of a building? Students will learn how to solve and graph quadratic equations to model this!

Science

We are a few weeks into our 2nd unit of the year: Reproduction and Genetics. We started the unit by studying the two types of reproduction, sexual and asexual. Students investigated a statement related to reproduction to learn if it was true or false. Ask your student about their Reproduction Test of Truth statement!

We also explored the life cycle of a cell, focusing on the steps of cell division, and the disease of cancer which arises when cells divide too much. Students learned about Henrietta Lacks and her cancer cells that researchers have used to study diseases, vaccines, medications, and how cells grow and function.

After the Thanksgiving break, we will be delving into Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, and learning about heredity, Punnett Squares, and pedigrees. As a preview of this content, students just completed a lab during which they taste-tested several vegetables and a PTC strip to discover if they are a “super-taster,” which is a characteristic controlled by genes.

We continue to have the regular schedule of homework every day and assessments most weeks. Please use the Master Document to find links to all relevant materials and additional resources.