Margate City School District
E.A. Tighe Middle School
Enrichment Project Brochure for 2017-18

 
WHAT IS PROJECT-BASED INSTRUCTION?
Project-based instruction is an authentic instructional model or strategy in which students plan, implement, and evaluate tasks that have real-world applications beyond the classroom. Learning activities that are interdisciplinary, long term, and student centered are emphasized, rather than short, isolated lessons. Project-based instructional strategies have their roots in the constructivist approach evolved from the work of psychologists and educators such as Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget, and John Dewey. Constructivism views learning as the result of mental construction; that is, children learn by constructing new ideas or concepts based on their current and previous knowledge.

This catalog will give you an idea of what to expect from your child’s teachers this year. All instructors are highly qualified in their subject and have created wonderful opportunities for your children. All of their projects are aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.  Your child’s teacher will keep you apprised on the progress of each project. Feel free to ask your child’s teacher any specific questions you may have.

ENRICHMENT FOR ALL
We believe that children of every ability level should be given opportunities to stretch their learning as far as they can take it. Our enrichment program is designed to encourage divergent and critical thinking that will reach beyond the classroom and span different subject areas.  We hope that you will be sharing our enthusiasm for these activities with your child throughout the school year!  

Listed alphabetically by classroom teacher, you will find some enrichment projects that will be implemented at Tighe School this year!  

Mr. Andersen ~ Math

6th Grade Projects:

Bouncing Ball: Students will apply their knowledge of ratio's to predict future events.  The students begin by testing the bounce height of several different types of balls from a given height. They will then use their results to predict the height the ball will bounce from both higher and lower heights.  They will then write up a report explaining their results and what they learned.

Fish Tank: Students will apply their knowledge of both surface area and volume to create a model fish tank. The tanks design will affect how many fish may live in the tank. Students will begin by designing and creating a model fish tank. Once they create the tank, they will calculate how many fish may live in their tank.  They then create the appropriate number of fish to be displayed in their tank.

Mr. Bruscato ~ Science

Students in Mr. Bruscato’s science classes will be exploring life and physical science using a number of hands-on, inquiry-based projects to enhance their learning experiences.

7th Grade Projects:

Cell Model:  Students will get a better glimpse into the microscopic world of cells by constructing 3-D models.  Students may choose between a plant or animal cell, and must consider how to best represent the variety of organelles by paying specific attention to the structure and function of each.

Hand Warmer Challenge:  Students will design and construct a hand warmer that will use chemical processes to produce an increase in temperature for the longest duration of time.  Students will conduct several baseline tests to determine their desired ratio of reactants.  They will then move on to the design and construction of their hand warmer exterior.  Finally, they will design a system to initiate their reaction when desired.  Success is determined by a number of factors including the length of time above room temperature, ease of use, aesthetics, and product cost. 

8th Grade Projects:

Atom Model:  Students will select an element from the periodic table and construct a 3-D model to better visualize the structure of an atom.  Students will compare models to identify their similarities and differences.

Egg Drop:  Students will Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.  Those objects just happen to be an egg and the ground colliding after a 25 foot drop!

Mrs. Carey ~ Social Studies

5th Grade Projects:

American History:  Students will work independently and in groups to complete various projects throughout the year.  While studying the colonies, students will write and perform colonial skits and create songs about the development of a colonial region.  They will also take part in a Colonial Job Fair where they research and present their findings about a particular colonial job.  As we study the American Revolution, students will take part in Patrick Henry Day and recite portions of his famous speech.  At the end of the year, students will analyze the Declaration of Independence and write their own creative version of a declaration for an item of their choice.   

6th Grade Projects:

World History:  Various projects and activities throughout the year will encourage students to learn more about our units of study.  While studying the pre-historic era, students will take part in a mock archaeological dig and create their own cave drawings to understand how archaeologists study the past.  To introduce civilizations, students will be working in teams to create a civilization of their own in a game-like situation.  As we continue to learn about civilizations, students will research, debate and give presentations about various topics.  While studying Egypt, classes will team up with Mrs. Sterling to create Egyptian symbols using 3-D pens and write their name in hieroglyphics.  They will create Chinese Lanterns to build interest in Ancient China, they will research Greek Mythology in order to create their own version of a 21st century demi-god, and they will take part in a mock Greek Olympics.  Students will also be completing an independent project each marking period where they get to choose a topic of their own and present their findings to the class.  

Mrs. Crompton ~ Science

5th Grade Projects:

In fifth grade science, the students will take part in a wide variety of hands-on laboratory experiences, which may include:

Ecosystem in a Bottle: Students will build a contained ecosytem in order to observe the interdependence of organisms.

Organism Growth and Development: We will observe first-hand the development of chickens from embryo through hatching and their first few weeks of life. Students will document the changes they observe and share their findings through digital presentations.

6th Grade Projects:

Sixth grade students will embark on a journey studying  the Earth, moving through the atmosphere and out in the far reaches of the universe. Throughout this exploration they will be conducting hands-on laboratory tests and simulations, while incorporating multiple forms of technology to present their findings.

Roller Coaster Design: Students will design a fun and safe marble roller coaster track applying their knowledge of energy and forces. Models will be tested using online simulations, then built in the classroom.

Science Fair: Students will put the entire scientific method into practice as they design and conduct an individual experiment on a self-selected topic. They will conduct research, carry out all necessary tests and present their data through a formal interview.

Mrs. Cross ~ Health

7th & 8th Grade Research project: 7th grade researches Health related topics that suit their interest and is approved. They take appropriate time needed for research to be able to present a 5 minute slide show, / oral presentation to the class. The audience has time to react and ask questions to the informative presentation. 8th grade researches a current Health related topic of interest and then creates a public service announcement in the way of a tri-fold handout or 8x10 handout followed by a presentation. This project allows students to become informed of a topic they may find interesting and want to learn about that may not be covered in Health class.

Mrs. Curll ~ English Language Arts

5th Grade Projects:

Creative Writing:  Students will have opportunities throughout the year to write original poetry that coincides with various holidays and themes.  Students will also have the opportunity to enter writing contests covering a variety of topics and genres.

Time capsule:  Students will have an opportunity to create a time capsule that represents them at this stage in their lives.  There are a variety of activities that they will complete during this project.  Upon completion, it will be sealed until June of their eighth grade year.  At that time, they will be able to reminisce together and discover how much they have grown and changed over the years.

The following are options from which I may choose to include in my curriculum:

Ocean Center:  To accompany a novel study, students will have the opportunity to choose and complete various teacher-created  activities presented as an "ocean center." The center contains captivating, thematic activities about the ocean. These activities help set the stage for reading, encourage students to take learning risks, add to the enjoyment of the book, and extend the concepts gained during the unit. The center's theme connects to the curriculum with activities in language arts, math, science, social studies, art, music, and life skills. Many of these activities encourage cooperative learning and student choice. The activities allow students to synthesize their knowledge in order to produce a variety of products.

Westward Ho! Pioneer Center: To accompany a novel study, students will have the opportunity to choose and complete teacher-created activities presented as a "pioneer center." The center contains a variety of activities that give students the opportunity to use real-world skills in authentic situations. The center provides links and activities between different areas of the curriculum such as language arts, math, science, social studies, art, music, and life skills. Materials are organized to capitalize on students' natural ability to make connections between what they already know and what is being introduced or studied in the novel. Students will construct meaning, discover relationships, solve problems, and develop skills through meaningful practice working both individually and cooperatively. Learning is enhanced as students use past knowledge and experience to process new information.

Ms. Amber Fitzgerald ~ Mathematics

5th Grade Projects:

Family Dinner Shopping Project: (FALL)  Students in 5th grade math will practice shopping for a family dinner for four while staying under budget. Math skills such as place value, decimal addition, subtraction, and multiplication will be practiced in addition to practicing real life skills such as purchasing the correct portion sizes and staying within a budget. Current grocery store ads and circulars will be used and students will have the option of incorporating favorite family dinners to make their meal special. Students will also cut and glue pictures and prices of their meal as part of their project.

Math Recipes Project: (WINTER)  After learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions, 5th grade students will practice mastering these new skills using a cooking recipe. Students will research a variety of recipes online or bring a family favorite from home to do the math! At the culmination of this project, students will have a Math Recipes report and those who wish to bring in their project meal, appetizer, or dessert can do so as we celebrate with a math feast.

Create a House Project:  (SPRING) Towards the end of the school year, 5th graders will create their own two level house and figure out a variety of calculations and costs. Math skills such as finding area, volume, and perimeter will be used along with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. Students will be given a price list for purchasing carpeting, tile, roofing, windows, and doors and will use their purchases to design and decorate their home. Please come check out their amazing projects and completed homes at STEM Night in June!

Ms. Chauncey Fitzgerald – Media Enrichment

5th Grade Projects:

Library Reference Resources: Hands on learning opportunities include researching and comparing both published and online versions of timeless academic reference materials such as the dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, almanacs, the Library of Congress, electronic homework helpers and high quality databases.  The culminating project, created individually by each student, is a colorful presentation done in Google Apps, which is organized, hyperlinked, and downloadable for students’ future academic reference and research assignments from any device with Internet capabilities.  

So you want to be President: “So you want to be President” is an educational technology assignment that is student centered with inquiry-based learning.  This engaging project, where students research the office and duties of the US President, utilizes the computer for inquiry, an authoring tool, and video streaming.  Supported by nonfiction informational text and graphic organizers, students proceed to create a digital and paper portfolio housing smaller tasks while working through the “5 Step Writing Process” to produce the culminating activity; a keyboarded “personal narrative” recounting their US Presidential experience, their decision making methods, and quality character traits a US President should possess.

Photo Symbols of America: An extension research project based on “So you want to be President,” is titled “Photo Symbols of America.”  In this assignment students will again research online and from our district’s printed library collection American symbols of freedom such as our national monuments and historical landmarks.  Collecting accurate information and reinforcing note-taking skills for four American symbols, students will use an authoring tool to create a colorful “table” that visually represents the following information for each symbol: name, location, photo complete with citation, symbol’s value to Americans, and suggested websites for students to further explore American symbols of freedom.  

6th Grade Projects:

Crack the Advertising Code!: Students will be introduced to the many forms of mass communication, how to recognize advertising techniques the media uses to persuade its targeted audience and understand advertising’s affect on our society.  Hands on learning opportunities include researching and comparing the wide variety of “common” forms of media, self-assessing personal media consumption, and presenting data in an Excel generated chart.  Additionally students will critically analyze advertising images as projected on television and in print, the viewpoint these images are trying to communicate, and the variety of intended factors that influence a “targeted audience’s interpretation of the message.”  Their culminating project, created individually by each student, is a colorful poster labeling the advertising techniques used in a self-selected print advertisement and identifying the intended as well as the “unintended” messages conveyed.

Biography Study: Students will use 21st Century researching and technology skills to compile a Google presentation about a “high profile Technology Titan” of their choosing.  This “guided inquiry” will introduce students to the “Big6 Information Seeking Strategy,” which emphasizes task definition, accessing and organization of “valuable” information both online and printed, presentation, and self-evaluation of the finished product.  Skill builders include note-taking, working with an outline, and creating a bibliography.  

STEM Research Project: Students will be introduced to a longer research project that uses several formats inclusive of reference books, databases, encyclopedias, magazine articles, and websites to gain insight into the future job outlooks in the fields of Health, which includes studies in the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and possibly the Arts.  Additional research will be done on the Scholastic Expert Space’s digital platform with reinforcement and guidance provided students on information seeking strategies and note-taking skills.  The culminating project is a colorful "Want-Ad" poster advertising knowledge gained in a classified ad format.   

Mrs. Gaskill ~ Mathematics

7th Grade Project:

Composite Figure and Design: Many designs use circles, parts of circles, and straight lines. Students will be asked to design a picture, mural, garden, apartment, park, swimming pool, or other objects using straight lines and parts of circles in a design. Students will make a sketch of their design and apply formulas to find area and perimeter of their shapes within their composite figure. Students will use a wide variety of arts and crafts materials such as, colored paper, colored pencils, yarn, buttons, gems, markers, felt, colored foil, wood sticks, pipe cleaners, etc. to make their model.

Mrs. Gaskill’s, Mrs. Pinter's & Mrs. Sterling’s Integrated Enrichment Project

7th Grade Project:

Currency Exchange Project: Have you ever wanted to travel to another country? Countries around the world use different currencies. The peso, pound, yen, and euro are a few of the currencies used in other countries. Students will be asked to think about two countries in different parts of the world that they would like to visit. They will research what type of currency these countries use and what it looks like. They will write a brief paragraph for each country answering various questions, including several products that they would like to purchase. They will convert the U.S. cost to the chosen currency using an exchange rate. Students will summarize their findings on a poster.

Mrs. Jones ~ Physical Education

5th through 8th Grade Projects:

Ultimate Fitness: Core Strength Development:   This core fitness unit will help the students learn fitness concepts and techniques that they can utilize for a lifetime to help improve core strength. Students will be pre-tested on how many sit-ups they can do in sixty seconds. They will then participate in six twenty- minute core strengthening workouts over 6 class periods. They will then be post-tested on how many sit-ups they are able to complete in sixty seconds. Improvements are noted and reported to the students.

Ultimate Fitness: Cardio Conditioning:  This core fitness unit will help the students learn fitness concepts and techniques that they can utilize for a lifetime to help improve cardiovascular endurance. A variety of fitness programs will be introduced including yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, plyometric, pure-cardio, and cardio-core. The goal is that students can try a variety of workouts to not only foster an interest through variety but also so students can determine which type(s) of workouts are right for them.  All workouts can be modified to meet individual needs.

Seńorita  Magel ~ Spanish

5th Grade Projects:

Day of the Dead: 5th Grade students will explore the Mexican Holiday of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Students will read stories and watch firsthand accounts of the holiday in Mexico. As part of this exploration, students will create a handmade craft as created in country to celebrate the holiday.

Breakfast in Spain: Students will explore Spanish culture through food. They will try some typical Spanish cuisine from Spain and even try their hand at making a traditional breakfast beverage.

6th Grade Projects:

Pińatas: 6th Grade students will explore Mexican culture & holiday traditions. Through hands on activities by learning about pińatas, students will read stories and watch firsthand accounts of the holiday celebrations in Mexico. As part of this exploration, students will work in teams to design and create a traditional pińata as one would in country for an important celebration.

Traditional Foods of Mexico: Students will explore Spanish culture through food. Students will make a typical Spanish dish from scratch using authentic ingredients and tools.

Mrs. Midure ~ Math

5th Grade Projects:

Family Dinner Shopping Project: (FALL)  students in 5th grade math will practice shopping for a family dinner for four while staying under budget. Math skills such as place value, decimal addition, subtraction, and multiplication will be practiced in addition to practicing real life skills such as purchasing the correct portion sizes and staying within a budget. Current grocery store ads and circulars will be used and students will have the option of incorporating favorite family dinners to make their meal special. Students will also cut and glue pictures and prices of their meal as part of their project.

Math Recipes Project: (WINTER)  after learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions, 5th grade students will practice mastering these new skills using a cooking recipe. Students will research a variety of recipes online or bring a family favorite from home to do the math! At the culmination of this project, students will have a Math Recipes report and those who wish to bring in their project meal, appetizer, or dessert can do so as we celebrate with a math feast.

Create a House Project:  (SPRING) towards the end of the school year, 5th graders will create their own two level house and figure out a variety of calculations and prices. Math skills such as finding area, volume,  and perimeter will be used along with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Students will be given a price list for purchasing carpeting, tile, roofing, windows, and doors and will use their purchases to design and decorate their home.  

6th Grade Projects:

Bouncing Ball: Students will apply their knowledge of ratios to predict future events.  The students begin by testing the bounce height of several different types of balls from a given height. They will then use their results to predict the height the ball will bounce from both higher and lower heights.  They will then write up a report explaining their results and what they learned.

Fish Tank: Students will apply their knowledge of both surface area and volume to create a model fish tank. The tanks design will affect how many fish may live in the tank. Students will begin by designing and creating a model fish tank. Once they create the tank, they will calculate how many fish may live in their tank.  They then create the appropriate number of fish to be displayed in their tank.

8th Grade Project

Transformations/Transversals:  This project is designed to help students better understand the different transformations that occur in a coordinate plane. Students will work independently with different clues to find multiple locations of various places in a city.  They will then draw a map using the clues and create names for various stores and locations throughout their city.  This project will help students better understand all the different vocabulary words dealing with transversals.  

Mrs. Palamaro and Dr. Jones -Knitting Club

5th through 8th Grade Project:

Our mission is to build positive relationships while learning a life-long hobby to be passed on to future generations.  The ‘Knitters’ will learn basic knitting, the English style.  This is the most common method of knitting in this country, and is easiest for kids to learn.   As the ‘Knitters’ produce a product for themselves, we hope to eventually make scarf and hat donations to our local charities.  This program will be offered during the 5th period lunch to any interested 5th- 8th graders, typically one day per week.

Getting Started: Each student will need to purchase their own needles.  You can find size 10 needles and your choice of yarn (thicker is best for beginners) at local department stores such as AC Moore, Michaels, or Walmart.  

Why Knitting: Knitting is a way to share a hobby, laughter and companionship.  This handcrafted tradition teaches persistence, concentration, perfects fine motor skills, and builds self-confidence.  Knitting is a rewarding hobby that shared with anyone.

Our Hope and Focus: We hope to build a stronger sense of community, while engaging our learning community in a tradition that can be passed on for generations.

Mrs. Petitt ~ English Language Arts

6th Grade Projects:

Creating and Performing an Original Rap Song:  In Sixth Grade Balanced Literacy class we will read Jerry Spinelli’s Newbery Award winning novel, Maniac Magee. This wonderful story about a young boy’s adventures as a runaway explores these themes: family life, individuality, prejudice, and tolerance. Post reading activities include groups of students writing and performing a Maniac Magee rap song. Each group performs for the class. Students may download their video to a flash drive and bring it home to share with parents.

Book Talks:  Book Talks are a fun way to share book ideas. Students will participate in a Book Talk during the third marking period. This activity supports our Accelerated Reader program and shows boys and girls that they are resources for each other. Each child will write a short, convincing speech to present to his/her peers. The audience members will take notes as they listen so they can create a to-do reading list.

Dioramas (if time permits):  Students will also enjoy creating dioramas. After reading Sharon Creech’s Newbery Winner, Walk Two Moons, students are assigned an at-home project to create a diorama scene. The shoebox scenes will be displayed in the media center so all of Tighe’s students and teachers can view them.

Mr. Pinter ~ Life Skills

5th through 8th Grade Projects:

Students will prepare a variety of dishes with the focus on safe food handling, proper food storage, and learning to use kitchen equipment safely, while working both independently and in small groups.

7th & 8th Grade Projects:   

Students will complete a career exploration package with the following primary objectives:  to encourage students to follow their heart, plan ahead for a rewarding career, and make the most of their school years to increase their future opportunities.

Mrs. Pinter ~ English Language Arts

7th Grade Projects:

“My Favorite Restaurant” Writing Project: Students will combine elements of descriptive, explanatory, and persuasive writing as they craft essays about their all-time favorite restaurants. Students will use the writing process as they pre-write, draft, revise, edit, and publish their essays. Students will also draft business letters explaining the purpose of their project, and they will then mail the letters and essays to the restaurant owners. Students will write thank you correspondences when they receive responses which, in the past, have included gift cards, gift certificates, apparel, cookbooks signed by head chefs, invitations to visit NYC with friends to cook pizza with the owner, and  yes, one student even starred in his very own Chili’s commercial (just to name a few).

Country Research Project: In collaboration their 7th grade math currency project, students write research reports on one country they would like to visit. Students will gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources. Students will assess the credibility and accuracy of their sources, learn proper note-taking techniques, and appropriately paraphrase or quote the information of others while avoiding plagiarism. Students will learn standard formatting for parenthetical citations as well as APA and MLA-style bibliographies.

S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders Final Exam Projects: Students will choose from a variety of project-based final assessments designed to show that they have gained a thorough understanding of the novel. Project examples include the creation of board games, newspapers, movie posters, scrap books, alternate endings, graphic novels, puppet shows, and dioramas.

Mrs. Roland ~ Performing Arts & Music

5th through 7th Grade Project:

Student Skits: Students will work in groups to create and perform their own skit with added sound effects played on a keyboard. Additional props or costumes may be added. Students will create, Collaborate, cooperate while they use the keyboard to create sound effects to go with their creative writing project. They will write the story together in their group, then read and act out their story with additional sound effects they added. Fifth grade will need to use a minimum of eight sound effects. Sixth grade will use ten different sound effects, and Seventh grade will use 15 different sound effects.

Seńor Saavedra ~ Spanish

7th Grade Projects:

Classroom Tour: Students will present and narrate a virtual tour of their classroom.  Students will give general description of the classroom and more detailed description using specific language (Color/size/positional prepositions.)  Students will present their descriptions.

Una invitacion!:  Students will ask an individual to accompany them to a special event by creating an invitation to said event. Students will have to follow a 5 step format to create the invitation and include all relevant information. Students will also present  the invitation in an attractive and creative format.

8th Grade Projects:

Advertisements:  Students will be asked to create a sale advertisement to promote the sale of their own home.  Students will create the sale as if their home were located in a Spanish speaking country therefore investigating land values, currency exchanges, English to metric conversions.

Fashion Show:  Teams of students will be asked to conceptualize, script, and produce a “Fashion Show”.  Teams will be responsible for the theme/style of the clothing, scripted descriptions of outfits, and cost of the outfits.  Teams will present these fashion shows by performing and recording them or possibly as an animated project in conjunction with the technology department.

Mrs. Scott ~ Mathematics

Math 8 Projects:

Transformations/Transversals:   In our first project of the year, students will be given an option as to which project they want to complete.  If students select the transformations project, they will work independently to perform various transformations of a shape in a coordinate plane.  Students will translate, reflect, rotate, and dilate either an original shape of their own creation or the first letter of their first name.  This project is designed to help students better understand the different transformations that occur in a coordinate plane.  If students select the transversals project, they will work independently with different clues to find multiple locations of various places in a city.  They will then draw a map using the clues and create names for various stores and locations throughout their city.  This project will help students better understand all the different vocabulary words dealing with transversals.            

Tying Knots:  In the next project, students will work in groups to explore linear relationships.  Students will be given a piece of rope or clothesline and asked to tie knots in the rope one at a time.  They will then measure the length of the rope after each knot and collect and graph data to show how the rope length changes.  This project is designed to help students grasp the concept of linear relationships.

Algebra 8 Projects:

Tricky Algebra:   In our first project of the year, students will work independently to translate words into a complex algebraic expression.  They will use their algebraic expression to play a number trick on four different people including themselves.  Students will write a report about their experiment including their results of the number trick.  The report must include algebraic proof, as well as justifications for negative numbers and fractions. It must also include the number trick that they created, along with the proof.  This project is designed to help students understand algebraic expressions, simplified expressions, and equivalent expressions.

Moving Day:  In the next project, students work in groups and use systems of linear equations to decide from which company to rent a moving van.  Each group investigates two companies and compares the companies to determine which moving van is the better deal. Both the algebraic and graphed solutions are compared to make sure each group comes up with the best moving van company to use.  This project is designed to showcase the students’ knowledge of linear systems.

Mrs. Sterling ~ Visual Arts

5th through 8th Grade Projects:

Each and every Visual Arts unit provides hands on learning and enrichment  to standards-based learning objectives. Also included in the Visual Arts curriculum is computer technology arts, where problem solving and design skills come into play. Topics for the arts enrichment are every changing and expanding. Each year our enrichment projects are driven by community activities and the classroom curriculum.  

Some highlighted traditional and computer art projects this year include wheel thrown pottery, as well as learning basic programming codes using Scratch by our 8th graders. The seventh graders will be making masks out of plaster and creating homes with Computer Architectural Design software. Sixth grade will be learning about Ancient Greek pottery and make their own hand built Greek pots. In addition sixth grade will be creating digital movies. Fifth graders will be making mugs out of clay, as well as well as learn basic coding to create a digital animation.

Mrs. Styles-Landgraf ~ Social Studies

7th Grade Projects

Medieval Shields and Festival:   Creation of a Medieval Shield using blazonry and symbols to represent their family and values.  The Medieval Festival will feature students dressed in medieval clothing performing skits, playing games and demonstrating the history of the time period.  The project will culminate with a class Trip to Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ.

Griot Story:  Students will read African oral history and create their own Griot story describing how an African animal came to its present form.  Students will create the story and present a picture representing their story.  Students will also have an opportunity to act out the story in class for extra credit.

7th/8th Grade Projects:  Community Activities

Various community activities as they happen during the school year.

8th Grade Projects:

History Fair  Students will create an independent project based on an event or person that intrigues them in history.

American Legion Essay Contest: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and apply it to current issues. The topic will be determined by our local American Legion Post.

Topic Papers: Students will research various topics of their choice throughout the year and debate them in class.

Election Fair:  Students selected a candidate and issue of their choice.  Topics were researched and presented to the school and community.

Mrs. Sykes ~ English Language Arts

8th Grade Projects:

Poe Culminating Project:  After researching Poe’s life, works and death, students will create a front page newspaper article on Google Docs highlighting Edgar Allan Poe. First, students will either write a feature article or obituary, then design it on using our class Chromebooks.

Poetry Partner Project:  Students will analyze and present creative presentations on challenging poetry from the film, "The Dead Poet's Society." Students will analyze the difficult poetry then add a creative component to presentation, such as a skit, video or original artwork.

Technology Integration Project:  After completing a unit on social issues, students either in partners or independently will research a relevant topic affecting society, particularly adolescents.  Students will design and produce a Public Service Announcement with sounds and pictures. Students will be instructed in video, media, and graphic design.

Identity Portfolio Project:  Students will engage in a six-part Identity portfolio project involving poetry, writing, music and various, engaging activities. Students will present these original portfolios to their class in various, creative forms, such as binders, shoeboxes or booklets.