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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL

an IB World School

Talent Development News

Volume 2, Issue 1 October 28, 2016

6th Grade Math

We are off to a great start in 6th grade math, and Mr. Kollar, Ms. Burrell, and Ms. Swift are so impressed with the caliber of our students this year! We started off the year with a few units that we call our “non-calculator” units. These can be extremely challenging for 6th graders, but we have been pleased with our students’ progress, and mastering these “non-calculator” skills will help our students be successful in math moving forward. The specific topics that we covered this quarter were: Greatest Common Factor, Least Common Multiple, Prime/Composite/Square numbers, Decimal Arithmetic, Multiplying Fractions, Dividing Fractions, and Absolute Value. That is a lot of stuff; we can’t wait to see how long this list will be by the end of the year!

Our students are having some fun while learning these concepts, as we learned the concept of LCM by analyzing Ferris Wheel rides and learning about cicadas; we practiced solving problems with decimals by doing an “around the room” scavenger hunt, as shown in the picture below. Students also did a great job on their “Bus Problem” which was a multi-day problem solving activity. The math teachers are also excited to see all of the awesome community service hours that our Pirates are doing in and around the Charlotte area. Coming up in quarter 2, we will be learning a lot about ratios, unit rates, and proportions, and we will have our big Culture Meal project, which is always a student favorite. Thanks for sending your children to Piedmont!

6th Grade Language Arts

Identity Map presentations have been going really well, and we are proud of all our students’ hard work. Our students have been working so hard and it has really paid off! We are thrilled with the incredible diversity of our 6th graders.

Make sure your scholar is continuing to study their stem words. We will continue to test on the stems every 2-3 weeks. Students took a pretest on all 100 stem words. Those who scored 80% or better have been given an advanced list of stems to learn. Stem words are essential to our student’s success and knowledge of them will benefit your scholar throughout their academic career.

Students will learn the “5 C” close reading strategy that will span their middle school career. This strategy can be applied across all contents and grade levels. Using this close reading strategy will help students to gain a deeper knowledge of rigorous texts. We will rely on this strategy as we encounter various texts while researching topics for the upcoming argumentative essay.

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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL, an IB world School

Talent Development News

Seventh Grade Math

Who are you and who do you want to be in life? This is the question your child was confronted with as he or she started seventh grade, Students can look to their past, their successes, their failures or their dreams. As teachers, we opened up to each of them about who we are and who we want to be in life. After talking about our expectations, we came to one conclusion. Life is what you make of it. Let’s start fresh and work to who we want to be and not who I was last year. Leaving the 6th grade and becoming a 7th grader can be challenging, but this year’s class has already proven they are ready for the challenge!

The math curriculum starts similar to the 6th grade objectives by reviewing our MAD (multiplication and division of fractions and decimals) skills but moved fast into integers and equations by the end of first quarter. We also took the MAP test in the beginning of October. Each student was given their score for math, and students created a goal to achieve by January. Students can use their MAP scores through Compass Learning to improve missing or skills they need to grow in to become proficient in math. We are encouraging students to use Compass Learning on their own, even without a specific assignment from the teachers.  In math, practice is the best way to become better! 

The 7th graders have just completed their first unit on the Number System.  For the past few weeks, honors math students have been working on how to classify all types of real numbers (irrational, rational, integer, whole, natural) while learning many rules along the way based on how to add, subtract, multiply and divide.  All students learned key phrases to help them remember and apply integer rules. “Like signs add, add and keep the sign, “Unlike signs subtract this time.”   Keep-Change-Flip.  Keep, change, opposite.” These are just a few of the rules students have used lately to help them remember the skills we are learning in our first unit. 

The honors classes had extended material with an in-depth look at squares and square roots.  Not only did they learn all the perfect squares up to 20, but they also took a closer look at how to estimate the values of the irrational square roots, such as the [pic].

All 7th grade math students will show off their integer skills by creating an original Integer Board Game.  They will develop the rules, game board, box, and have a minimum of 20 integer questions for their game.  We will have class time for students to play each other’s games so they can continue to practice their integer abilities. We are looking forward to a great year with this group and have some exciting things planned in the upcoming units! 

 

Seventh Grade Language Arts

In the first unit of study in 7th grade Language Arts, the students explored text types by looking at various genres (fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and types of media). The students also reviewed strategies that will help them become active readers (previewing, setting a purpose, connecting, using prior knowledge, predicting, visualization, monitoring and making inferences). The students then analyzed academic vocabulary, reviewed grammar and learned new stems.

After the first unit, the topic changed to answering the question: “What makes you…you?” The students read and analyzed the short stories Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan and Thank You, Ma’am by Langston Hughes. The major topics were plot, setting, inferences, cause/effect, sequence and conflict.

Mr. Milligan’s students completed a project called Culture Cluster where they had to write a poem and create a visual representing their culture.

Ms. Frilot’s and Mrs. James' students completed a group project/presentation debating the validity of Langston Hughes’ intended message in the text Thank You Ma’am and how it was depicted in the short film adaptation. Additionally, they then completed a group assignment, using a choice board to show their understanding of the relationship between plot, character, conflict, theme, and setting in fictional writing. The ultimate objective was for students to understand that these elements are used in all fictional text that they read and that it takes all of them to write effectively.

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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL, an IB World School

Talent Development News

Eighth Grade Language Arts

Eighth grade TD students are being challenged in Language Arts in numerous ways.  Students receive weekly vocabulary lists and stem words.  The list include words in context and academic vocabulary.  The vocabulary program helps students improve their reading comprehension, writing, communication, and test-taking skills.  This quarter we focused extensively on writing complete sentences using the classroom vocabulary and stems appropriately.  Through inquiry, students identified what makes a complete sentence.  We then investigated how to write complex sentences to enhance our writing.  

Over the course of the year, students will read literature (novels, non-fiction pieces, poetry, short stories, etc.) through a variety of lenses.  We begin our study, first quarter, by exploring identities and relationships, using The Outsiders to guide our inquiry.  Students closely read the text to look at how friends, family, communities, and society influence our lives and who we are as individuals.

This quarter is writing intensive.  We started with writing summaries to learn the structure of objective writing. Then, students were challenged to write analytical paragraphs, defending claims about the novel.  Students ended the quarter by demonstrating their knowledge of The Outsiders with a writing analysis assessment.  This assessment demonstrates skill development in paragraph structure, locating appropriate evidence from a text, and creating an argument. Students are also given the opportunity to write more creatively. Each student was asked to produce a Personal Narrative. Using The Outsiders as a model, students identified a theme that applied to their own personal experience.  These skills are extremely important in the IB curriculum and the Common Core Standards. Students’ writing progress will be tracked using a rubric of standards and goals. Their hard work is reflected by their writing

The eighth grade Language Arts team looks forward to a challenging and rewarding year with this awesome group of young scholars!    

Eighth Grade Math

We learn to do by doing! During first quarter, the 8th grade TD math students have focused on simplifying expressions and analyzing relationships in different forms (graphs, tables, words, equations). The Math 8 curriculum emphasized exponent rules, working with squares and cubes, and analyzing the rate of change and initial value of functions. The work with exponents, squares, and cubes was a direct extension of the Summer Math project, so it was great to see how well students used their “Summer Math” knowledge to estimate non-perfect squares and solve problems involving perimeter, area, surface area, and volume.

Students in the year-long Math 1 course extended their ability to solve equations and inequalities to include special cases and complex equations with variables on both sides. They then explored what it means to be a function, how function notation is used, and how to represent real-life scenarios with function rules. The students wrapped up first quarter with a focus on linear equations (slope-intercept form, point-slope form, and standard form). The City Map project was their culminating activity for the quarter.

Students, taking both Math 1 and Math 2 this year, took an integrated approach to the Math 1 curriculum and spent significant time comparing and contrasting linear and exponential functions in context. Students analyzed data to determine whether the data demonstrated linear or exponential behavior and wrote the equation that best modeled the behavior. Students also integrated their algebra and geometry knowledge by using the principles of slope and distance to prove geometric theorems.

Throughout all of our math courses, we are encouraging students to persist in solving complex problems and to use strategies to confirm that their solution makes sense in the context of the problem.

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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL, an IB world School

Talent Development News

PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL

an IB World School

Talent Development News

1241 East 10th Street

Charlotte, NC 28204

Phone: 980-343-5435

Fax: 980-343-5557

E-mail: piedmontopenmiddle@cms.k12.nc.us

Website:

Piedmont … You Know … We Care!

TALENT DEVELOPMENT TEAM

• Academic Facilitator

Dawn Johnston

• 6th Grade Team

Language Arts Math

Ann Tapia Emily Burrell

Molly Malone Aaron Kolla r

Shelley Lyttle Emily Swift

• 7th Grade Team

Language Arts Math

Patrice Frilot Lindsay Kryszak

David Milligan Teresa Peterson

Amanda James Susie Palgut

• 8th Grade Team

Language Arts Math

Elizabeth Immel Janet Delery

Caleb Chandler James O’Neal

Cynthia Alexander-Brown Lauren Henderson

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Mission Statement

Piedmont exists to inspire in its students a passion for learning and a commitment to personal integrity and academic excellence. Students demonstrate self-confidence and creativity, are open-minded and inquisitive, and display a sense of social responsibility and global awareness.

What is Talent Development?

The Talent Development Program for gifted services is based on consultation and collaboration between the talent development and classroom teachers. They work together to meet the needs of the high achieving student.

Program Benefits

• Gifted education and general education are related, connected and integrated.

• Out of class sessions are scheduled when needed most.

• The pace of learning is enhanced.

• High achieving students receive more challenging tasks within the classroom.

• Classroom and TD teachers work together to maximize student learning.

Did you know?

• Research on the TD Program indicates that students receive at least three times the amount of services using this model compared to the old pullout, once a week program.

• The TD model is most effective when high achieving students are flexibly grouped together based on their instructional needs.

• Every school has a Talent Development teacher.

• The TD teacher at your child’s school can tell you how they work with your child and your child’s teacher.

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