BHHS Team 9A Off to a great start in semester 2!!

After completing an accomplished first semester, the Algebra and Geometry classes on Team 9A are rolling in semester 2.

Algebra wound up linear equations with the end of course exam in the last week of January and started working with exponents in the first week of February.  Students have been investigating all different mathematical ways of working with exponents.  There has been class discussion, partner work, making their own quiz, and a socrative quiz on line!!  Next we will be seeing how exponential graphs and models exist in the world around us and throughout history!

Geometry finished proving many concepts in their end of course exam in the last week of January too, and begin semester 2 with a unit on similarity!

Students are finding much algebra in this unit including quadratic functions.  We began with solving proportions, and are now setting up our own proportions in many different situations where figures are similar.  This includes all lengths in figures, including perimeter, sides, altitudes, etc., as well as area and volume.

We are all looking forward to mastery understanding of all the exciting mathematical concepts this semester!

Historical Fiction Interdisciplinary Discussion

Happy New Year! All of us in LC9A hope you enjoyed your holidays. Here at BHHS, we are back to work, helping students wrap up 2nd quarter and prepare for their 1st semester final exams.

This week also brought a fantastic opportunity for students to discuss the interplay of fiction and history in an interdisciplinary discussion between English and World History. The wall between A103 and A104 was opened up, and 55-60 students engaged in animated, student-led discussion each hour. A big thank you to our 8 student moderators who ran each hour's discussion!

Some of the questions students discussed included:

• How do both authors and historians create villains, and what effect do they have on us? 
• Can globalization be described as a component to progress? Why or why not?
• Scholars often debate whether history should be told as a single narrative or many competing narratives. Which side of this argument would you fall on and why? 
• What do you understand differently about this time period in history after having read the novel?

Students answered questions thoughtfully, using factual support from history and or English class to back up their opinions. They also occasionally challenged one another's perspectives!

We also asked students to reflect on the experience at the end of each hour by filling out a digital exit ticket. We asked students about the most insightful comment they heard, their favorite part of the activity, and suggestions they have for the next time we engage in discussion. We were even able to make a few changes between class periods thanks to some creative ideas on those exit tickets along the way. 

Some of our favorite responses were:

• I enjoyed listening to how everyone had their own personal thought and view. I feel as though sometimes in class people don't share what they are really thinking but this allowed people to express their true thoughts.
• I liked how all of the students ran it and took control. I think it made me feel a little better about public speaking since I am very bad at it. 
• I heard someone comment on how cultural diffusion affects globalization, which differed from mine but opened my mind.
• My favorite part was observing how people managed to disagree with others in a respectful way that didn't make anyone feel bad.
• My favorite part of the discussion was that we got to talk about questions that not just related to our book and history, but also addressed problems and related both history and our novels to the present day. 
• My favorite part was when everyone kept challenging each other. It was cool to see everyone's different opinion on the question.

To check out all of the student feedback we received, please see this link.

We have loved seeing students shine as they experience interdisciplinary learning and the deep connections between history and literature. We also shared with them that this is a building block for part of the 10th grade experience at BHHS. Next year, students will have American Studies, in which American Literature and American History are blocked together all year!

BHHS Team 9A has new math units under way!  The Algebra classes have extended their investigations of linear functions to include inequalities.  Algebra students are solving and graphing inequalities of both one and two variables.  Students summative assessments from writing linear functions were impressive. Now the Algebra students will are preparing for the summative assessment for the inequalities unit with applications, which will be December 18.  Keep up the good work!!

Our geometry students have focused on communicating with our mathematical language all semester.  They are really putting their communication skills to use while writing PROOFS!!  In our study of triangles, we are applying theorems with calculating angle measurements of interior and exterior angles .  It contains lots of Algebra including factoring, which will benefit the students when they enter Algebra 2 next year.  Writing the proofs has been a nice culmination of communicating with our "mathematical language".  We are all impressed by the great work by Team 9A math students!!!

Bacteria and Viruses and Diseases. OH MY!

Biology students were still finishing up their Ecology Projects last week.  Students researched various topics of their choice such as, "How has the decline of the bee population affected the ecosystems in Michigan?" and "How do factory farms impact the environment?"  The classes have enjoyed hearing about all of the local and global environmental issues that scientists are currently working on.

After Thanksgiving break we began a new unit on populations.  After introducing students to population characteristics such as density, spatial distribution (patterns in spacing) and growth, students are now digging deeper into the concept of how populations are limited by certain factors such as predator-prey relationships and disease. There isn't a better way to talk about bacterial and viral diseases but to look up close at those tiny bacteria through a microscope!

This week students are working through a discovery lab, where they learn the functions of each part of the microscope and how to focus it properly.

After practicing this lab technique, they will have a chance to focus in on the details of several types of bacteria to view the different shapes that bacteria takes. They will also view penicillin, a type of antibiotic, and learn how an antibiotic works as well as the problems associated with antibiotic resistance.

Historical Fiction Unit Kick-Off in Mrs. Teal's Writ Lit I

Jade opens her copy of Nobody's Slave

Last week was the kick-off for our historical fiction unit in Writ Lit I, which began with the delivery of students' novel baggies! Each bag contained one of the 6 novels we are reading (all centered around globalization in the 16th and 17th centuries), 2 packs of sticky notes, the reading schedule along with reminders for how to sticky note during reading time, and a letter from me. Students met their new novel groups and were excited about everything from finding out which novel they would be reading to the smell of brand new books and the color of their sticky notes!

We are now well under way in our novels. Each day, students have 30 minutes of class time to enjoy reading their books. As they go, students sticky-note their thoughts, observations about the characters, and questions about historical references.  On any given day, students can be found reading in various spots around the room. Students have also been categorizing their sticky notes as literal, inferential, or critical, helping them to better understand the different levels of thinking involved when we interpret texts.

The second part of each class period is giving students time to build a warehouse of resources that help them understand the historical context of their novels, events they are/will be studying in World History. So far, students have looked at websites, YouTube videos, and scholarly articles. They'll be looking at artwork from this time period after Thanksgiving!

The last two weeks have been so exciting. There is great energy in a room full of readers, even when no one is speaking!

Using detailed documents to spark interesting research questions:

One area of focus in Freshman World History is giving students opportunities to formulate their own research questions.  Many students at the freshman level have little experience with this task and are surprised at how difficult it is to come up with a good question.  Good questions are generally relevant to the document, focused, and feasible to answer.

For this activity, we used a very detailed map of Germanic migrations and conquests (150 - 1066).  The students were placed in groups of 5-6 and spent a length of time "close reading" the document.  They were asked to try and notice everything on the map.  They needed to gain an understanding of how the provided key was organized and used and then familiarize themselves with the movements of the various groups.

Each group was then asked to discuss the map together and brainstorm a variety of questions that this map could generate.  Upon choosing a question that they believed met the criteria provided, they then wrote a hypothesis concerning their question, listed all clues they could find on the map, and began searching for quality sources that could help them discover the answer to the question that they asked.

When they returned the next class period, students were expected to have their question fully researched and answered (if possible) along with properly cited sources (MLA format).  We took time sharing out some of the questions and the answers that they found.   Here are some of the questions the students came up with;

Why did some Germanic Tribes migrate and some did not? ~ Justin Y.
Can I make a better / easier to read map than the one shared with us? ~ Truman G.
Why did the Vandals split into so many areas from Carthage in 429 C.E.? ~ Evan O.
Which of these tribes most influenced modern times? ~ Sherine S.
How was religion affected by the movement of Germanic tribes throughout Europe? ~ Samhita S.  

After sharing out, the students were given time to write a reflection on the process of creating a quality research question and finding credible sources.  This activity will hopefully aid the students in deciding on what adjustments they may need to make in their research process as they begin reading their historical fiction novel in Mrs. Teal's class.  As they read their novel, they will be asked to create a variety of questions and find credible sources related to these questions creating as a final product an Annotated Bibliography.

Geometric Constructions and Algebra Linear Functions Lead our Mathematics early this year...

Math Advertisement with Geometric Constructions

Geometry students in LC9A have been working hard on geometric constructions.  Part of the assessment for this unit include a project.  An example here shows an advertisement for the joy and power of mathematics.  Students have to use all constructions that we have been studying in their advertisements for math.  In the written exam part of the assessment, geometry students are challenged with integrating the algebra with our geometric concepts.  But they do see how it all comes together.

Algebra students dive deeper into their study of linear functions.  This includes multiple ways of graphing, domain, range, ,intercepts, slope, and applications.  The Algebra assessment also included a project where students had to justify their choice of method for graphing, while describing key features, then presenting it to to others.  The written exam part of the Algebra assessment is also challenging and encompasses all the concepts and applications.

This school year has already been enriching in all aspects of the mathematics and applications that we have studied.