India-Caste System Journals

This was the most fun and engaging unit we have done all year.  I really enjoyed teaching about India and the students really enjoyed the ongoing caste system journals they completed.  They were given a role as a citizen in the social hierarchy of ancient India.  Later, a natural disaster struck and they reincarnated into different roles in society.

Students were assessed using the MYP criterion of Communication.  The 6th graders were able to communicate their ideas using ideas and vocabulary from the unit.  They immersed themselves into their characters and were able to relate their characters to themselves.  A strong, text to self activity.

Humanities & Science--May 29, 2013

Humanities
Finish Cornell notes for sections 1 & 2 of Chapter 8

Science
New Current Events #9 on Chemistry is due Friday May 31st

Peirce Yearbook

The Peirce Yearbook is almost ready!  The 8th grade staff has turned our 2nd annual book into an amazing project.  The theme for 2012-2103 was Neon.  All the pages will have some sort of neon embedded into the pages.  Here is the entire staff and a few pictures of them working independently on the book.  This is a student book from start to finish.  They chose a theme, they designed the pages and for the most part, took all the pictures for the book.  Students edited the book to remove errors and fix pages to make them look aesthetically pleasing.

Straw Towers

The seventh grade students continued our unit on engineering using the design cycle.  Students created straw towers using tape, straws, and paper clips.  The tower had to be free standing and be at least 24 inches/2 feet tall.  It had to hold a tennis ball for 2 minutes.  The seams where the straws were attached could not be put together using more than 4 inches of tape per seam.  Several teams were able to meet the requirements.  Students had to disassemble the towers to make sure their use of tape was not over the 4 inch limit.

A River Runs Through It--Final Exam

Hello 6th graders,
This will be a challenging assessment for everyone to complete.  It covers our unit on ancient China called A River Runs Through It.  There are several themes about economics, technology, and philosophy.

I.  Vocabulary terms to know:
dynasty, bureaucracy, social class, filial piety, warlord, steppes, pictographs, ideographs, calligraphy, mandate, acupuncture, tribe, economy, aristocrats, porcelain, reform, terror, treason, census

II.  Concepts & Ideas to know:

• Recognize how the family structure was set up
• Know economic ideas
• Silk road, farming, inventions
• Understand how art impacted lives of Chinese people

III.  Geography-locate the following places

Huang He River, Chang Jiang River, Yellow Sea, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, East China Sea, Himalaya Mountains, South China Sea, Gobi Desert, Mongolia, Plateau of Tibet

IV. Analysis

Be able to analyze graphs and charts to answer questions on philosophers and dynasties

V.  Written Response--Answer 4 questions

• Why did farmers sell land to aristocrats?  What did this cause them to become?  What eventually happened to farmers in China?
• What technological advances helped Chinese societies grow?  What use did many of these inventions have for the people of China?  Are they still evident today around the world?
• Describe how China, in both ancient times and the Middle Ages had strong economic growth.  What factors contributed to this success of the people?
• Describe how the Mongols were able to build a large dynasty?  What did they use that was far more advanced than other societies?  What was the result of the hostile takeover of Chinese lands?

A River Runs Through It--Final MYP Assessment

Your Objective

Create a Chinese scroll using calligraphy.  Your idea should be fairly simple in that it should represent something about you and things you enjoy.  Remember that the Chinese enjoyed nature and often painted nature on scrolls.  You can use Chinese numbers or days of the week as a good point to start.  Please draw a picture first, then add the pictographs or ideographs.

  

MYP Summative Assessment

Criteria	Level	Descriptors		Indicators
Criterion  A Knowledge and Understanding	0	The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors		Minimal attempt at prescribed outcome
	1-2	The student: Recognizes some humanities vocabulary Shows basic knowledge and understanding of facts and ideas through some descriptions and/or examples		Ideas have been mentioned but do not shows use of background knowledge
				Product shows minimal effort
	3-4	The student: Uses some humanities vocabulary Shows knowledge and understanding of facts and ideas through simple descriptions, explanations and examples		Ideas have been expanded on and show basic knowledge
				Product shows attempt at meeting descriptors
	5-6	The student: Uses relevant humanities vocabulary often accurately Shows good knowledge and understanding of facts and ideas through descriptions, explanations and examples		Several examples of vocabulary and ideas are used in context
				Product is clear and recognizable
Your Level		Teacher Comments

Here is the link to the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM4BuhTFxho

Strongest Tower

We built towers with varying designs showing strength in STEM class.  In the example listed below, students us plates to spread out the weight of the text books.  Their height comes from using plastic cups.  Each group was given the same materials to work with and had to come up with a design as a group.  These basic engineering skills require students to persevere and push through problems that arise in their designs.  The group below was able to stack 14 textbooks on their tower.

Writing Project

China in the Middle Ages

Your task is to write a position paper based on the following scenarios.  Both parts relate to our area of study and how economics impacts our decisions on the local, national, and world levels.  Please make sure to include some sort of statement agreeing or disagreeing with the public works projects.  Make sure you include something about the role of government in these projects.

Part 1:

Improvements in transportation can bring economic changes.  How did the Grand Canal bring economic change to China?  Why did the public works program anger the Chinese people?  Do you think the work was justified? 

Part 2:

How does this compare to public works projects in Chicago or anywhere else in the world today? How would the Three Gorges Dam bring economic change to China?  Are these projects beneficial for the cost?  Who should pay for these projects?

The Rock Cycle Game

We have had several exciting units in Earth Science this school year.  Here, students are playing a board game featuring the Rock Cycle.  It was great for socialization and continuing to build on concepts and prior knowledge students had already learned throughout the unit!

S.T.E.M---Mouse Trap Cars

Students created mouse trap cars in STEM class earlier in the year.  We had one project that went 32 feet, which is at this point, a record!  

The 6th Grade STEM class was able to build Mouse Trap Cars as their final project for class in the 2nd quarter.

Irrigation Systems

In the very near future, Peirce will have a school garden.  As part of our project, students viewed several videos and read about irrigation systems on large and small scales.  In STEM class, students created irrigation project models that could be replicated when our garden is ready to go.

Humanities--May 6, 2013

• Cornell notes, pages 232-239
• Add a detailed section about the social pyramid in ancient China that includes 3 descriptions of the classes
• Create a comparison chart of the 3 philosophers from today's lesson
• You should include similarities and differences
• At the bottom of your paper, add which one you agree with and why
• Finally, close out the writing portion with how you feel the 3 philosophers would react coming to our school, to Chicago and to the United States based on their beliefs.

Humanities--May 2, 2013

Assignment

1.    Complete Cornell notes for pages 224-228…stop at “The Chinese Language”

2.   Review the section on religion and government

3.   Write a position paper (2-3 paragraphs) on the following statement: A close relationship between religion and government may have positive effects on society.