Red Top Meadows School Fall 2017 Newsletter
Personal Finance: Students developed an understanding of their financial personality and, as a foundation for the course, determined the value of being successful with their finances.
Language Arts: Students identified the elements of a story by reading children’s stories, Grimm’s fairy tales, and fables. They demonstrated their learning by writing their own children’s story.
Geometry: Students demonstrated their understanding of the basic tools and vocabulary of geometry by completing practice problems and taking quizzes.
Middle School Math: Students developed equations by assigning numerical values to personal information through backwards thinking and order of operations. They used this
method to compute specific numbers. They also were introduced to the concept of variables in algebra by substituting numbers in for variables.
Pre-Algebra: Students computed and solved equations in scientific notation. They also identified and converted repeating decimals to fractions. They conducted conversions from fraction, to decimal, to percent.
Algebra 1: Students collected data to determine the maximum height and reach a person could have for a hypothetical roller coaster. They conducted 3 labs to determine growth rate and translated the graphical and mathematical information into stories.
Government: Students read the philosophies of John Locke as they related to government and developed their own set of beliefs on the purposes of government. They also learned the purpose of the U.S. Government from the perspective of the founding fathers.
World History: Students analyzed the characteristics of a renaissance man, read an article about humanism, and gained perspective on the shift from a focus on religion to a focus on the potential of man. They also identified important figures from the time period and identified their contributions to western development.
Physical Science: Through note-taking and hands-on practice activities, students used several different physical tests to identify, distinguish, and characterize different minerals.
Biology: Students used microscope and metabolism labs as well as videos, discussions, note taking, and games, to determine the characteristics of living things and the purposes and methods of metabolism. These include photosynthesis, respiration, dehydration synthesis, and hydrolysis.
Life Literacy: During this class, students used chemical, physical, and biological tests to determine the health of local streams and watersheds. They identified the boundaries of watersheds and judged the decisions of settlers to divide state boundaries without taking watersheds into account.
Students used web resources and hands-on activities to analyze the impact of pollution on natural and man made water systems. They also determined the value of land conservation in our country with the introduction of the national park system in preparation for a trip to Yellowstone. Finally, they created memes as a photographic art project of the trip to Yellowstone.
Reading: Students read and analyzed “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen, discussed the themes of the novel, answered comprehension questions, and made a totem pole based on the learning from the story.
Art: Our visiting artist from the Art Association of JH helped students tap into their inner super power using guided meditations. They painted and used multiple media to depict their personal super power for a project that will be displayed publicly at an art show and permanently at Red Top.
