New Blog address

We have a new blog address for the 2012-13 school year! Please bookmark the site below  and view that site for further updates. Thanks!


NEW ADDRESS: http://amselpstudents7-8.blogspot.com

Hello AMS Seventh and Eighth Graders!

Welcome to the 2012-13 school year. We are excited that our year together is about to begin and eager hear about your summer adventures. We will be stopping by your classrooms during the first weeks of school and will visit with all of you at Goal Seminars and ELP Lunches soon after school begins. Feel free to stop in the 7-8 ELP classroom ( E109) before then and say hello.

Check this page often for the newest developments and to see what is ahead. See you soon!

Mrs. Dixon and Mrs. Staniforth

8th Grade End of Year Note

It seems like we were just welcoming you to seventh grade ELP and now we are saying goodbye! Over the past two years many of you have learned 150 new words, written letters, done experiments, entered competitions, created portfolios, examined and debated issues, strengthened creative problem solving skills, solved problems, written stories, skits, and plays, created puppets, performed, polished, perfected projects....the list of your accomplishments is a lengthy one.

We have loved being part of your Ames Middle School  experience and wish you all the best as you continue your educational journey. Stay in touch!

Seventh Grade End of Year Note

Award ceremonies are over,  papers have been returned, yearbooks are being signed, all signs that the 2011-2012 school year is drawing to a close. 


It has been our privilege to work with you this past year and we look forward to seeing you all in August.  Until then, read some good books, have a few adventures, and learn something new. We can't wait to hear about your summer!  Until August...


Mrs. Staniforth and Mrs. Dixon

Summer Reading

8th ELP Lunch

8th Exit Interviews

All eighth grade ELP students will meet with Mrs. Staniforth or Mrs. Dixon for an Exit Interview. Students will have an opportunity to ask questions about their high school schedule and fill out a digital review of the 7-8 Extended Learning Program. Students are assigned times during third period Reading Groups or Activity Period. 

Origami ELP Lunch II

The Origami Lunch from last week was so popular it is being offered again for seventh grade students on Friday, April 27th. Bring your lunch or pick up hot lunch and come to E109 to try your hand at Origami!

Poem in Your Pocket Day

In celebration on National Poetry Month AMS students will experience random bits of poetry throughout the day. They will choose a " pocket poem" to share in Lit Block or English classes and posters of poetry have been scattered around the building. 

WordMaster Study Lunch

A Dozen Ways to Prepare for the WordMaster Test

The final WordMaster test will be given on Monday, April 23, 2012 in the Media Center during English(8th) or Literacy Block (7th). Students should bring a pencil to the exam. 

Homework for April 9-20, 2012: Study all 75 words 10-15 minutes each day. 

                                                  Illustration of DAUNTLESS by K. 

Study ideas: 

1. Use the following Quia websites to review the definitions or practice analogies. 

    Check back often for new games. 

7th:  

7th Grade Blue Division List III-April 2012
http://www.quia.com/jg/2413918.html

7th Grade Blue Division List I-November 2011
http://www.quia.com/jg/2413925.html

7th Grade: Flashcards for List II HTML
http://www.quia.com/jg/2382191.html

8th: 

8th WordMaster Words- List III / Gold Division/ 2011-12
http://www.quia.com/jg/2417690.html

8th WordMasters-Gold Division: List II- 2011-12
http://www.quia.com/jg/2417701.html

8th WordMasters - List 1 Review
http://www.quia.com/jg/2381497.html

8th WordMasters Antonyms-List I, II, III
http://www.quia.com/jg/2417723.html

8th WordMasters Synonym Match Gold Division 2011-12
http://www.quia.com/jg/2417711.html

Analogy Review: 

Analogy patterns
http://www.quia.com/pa/202197.html

Analyze the Analogy
http://www.quia.com/cm/563003.html

2. Use your word cards and have someone quiz you on the definitions.

            

3. Look at the first five words on one of your lists. Can you think of the definitions? Write the definitions next to the word. Then write down any related words that are also on your lists. Compare your  definitions with your word cards. How did you do? What do you need  to add to the definition you wrote on the paper? Do this for all the words on the list.  Circle words that you need to spend more time learning.

4.  Group the words. Which words go together? Do they have similar  meanings? Opposite meaning? Think of different contexts in which  the words can be used.  How can the words connect?

5.  Review the analogy patterns that WordMasters uses. Can you make analogies using the 75 words?

6.   Tired of review? Visit the Wordles website to create word art with the word and words connected to the definition. This may help you  to remember words. Visit .

7.  Use the VisuWord website to reinforce definitions and see how words  are connected. www.visuwords.com/" http://www.visuwords.com/

8. Create sentences using the WordMaster words that illustrate the meaning.

 9.  Solve the crossword puzzle without using your word cards. Did the puzzle help you see the relationships between words?

 10.  Success on the WordMaster test often requires understanding  nuances of meanings.                            Make sure you read all the definitions for each word.  How does the word change with each meaning?

 11.  Create nonlinguistic representations of words. Draw cartoons or  create a graphic organizer for the words that give you the most  difficulty. It helps  you to see the word in a new way.

  

12. Review past quizzes. What did you miss before that  you now understand? 

What is still murky?

Math Challenge Group Update

The Math Challenge Group met on February 3, March 2, and April 10 to learn about multiplication and division of exponential expressions and estimation using scientific notation.  Students are using scientific notation to solve real problems such as estimating how much each member of the US population would have to contribute in order to pay off the national debt, and estimating how large an area of the Gulf of Mexico the Deepwater Horizon oil spill would cover if all of the oil spread over the surface. 

A short homework assignment has been assigned based on individual readiness and preference, and is due on April 12.  It should be turned in to the classroom math teachers in the Math Challenge folder.

Computational Thinking Competition at ISU

Iowa State University Computer Science Department is hosting a Computational Thinking Competition on Saturday, April 14.  A number of Ames Middle School students attended workshops on computational thinking offered on Saturdays in January and February at Iowa State University, and seven of them have completed programming projects.  The projects will be presented on Saturday on the first floor of Atanasoff Hall on the ISU campus from 1 to 3.  Family and friends are welcome to come and see the projects. 

More information about the competition is available at

http://www.cs.iastate.edu/ctc.shtml

Purple Comet Math Meet

The Purple Comet Math Meet is being held on April 17, 2012.  Teams of six work together to solve as many of 20 problems as possible during one hour.  Answers are entered online.  The MATHCOUNTS group will be competing during MATHCOUNTS.  A team of five 7th grade students (Delaney S., Cameron M., Maya C., Meghan C., and Carly W.) will be competing during Periods 2 and 3.  A team of five 8th grade students (Aaron M., Caleb L., Timothy S., Forrest M., and Alex G.) will be competing during Periods 3 and 4.  Team members who are not in MATHCOUNTS are encouraged to join Mrs. Dixon for lunch in the ELP room on Friday, April 13 to register the team and practice for the competition. 

State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa

Congratulations to all who participated in the SSTFI on March 30 and 31!  The projects presented were the culmination of six months of hard work planning and conducting a science research project.  Eighteen AMS students presented 11 projects at the SSTFI.  Two more students presented at the Ames High School Science Fair but were unable to attend the SSTFI. 

Special congratulations are due to the following researchers.  Jay A., won the Grand Award for Junior High Physical Sciences, as well as the US Navy/Marine Corps Junior Award, a scholarship to the University of Iowa in Engineering, first place in the 8th grade Physical Science Division, and a Broadcom Masters certificate based on his work on the spectral characteristics of the human voice.  Tifany C. placed 4th in the 7th Grade Biological Division, and earned a Broadcom Masters certificate for studies on how wavelength affects the bleaching of hair.  Ben P. took 7th place in the 8th grade Physical Science Division with research on how the forward angle of the Hammer type of paper airplane affects flight distance.  Hira A. and Delaney S. earned second place in the 7th grade Team Seminar competition with a seminar on how listening to different musical genres affects short-term memory.

We are now starting to think about projects for next year.  Several students are beginning to plan Science Fair projects to be carried out over the summer.  Any 7th or 8th grade student who is interested in starting a project for the 2013 State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa should contact Mrs. Dixon (janet.dixon@ames.k12.ia.us).  In particular, anyone interested in a project involving field research (gardening, ecology of amphibians...)  should consider planning now in order to do the research during the summer months.

April ELP Lunch: Origami

The April ELP Lunch will take place on Friday, April 20 in E109 during 7th and 8th grade lunch.  Featured activity:  origami.

8th WordMaster Schedule

Assignment Dates:

Wednesday, April 4th: 13 word cards
Wednesday, April 11th: 25 word cards

8th WordMaster Words for List III

amulet	enervate	vitriolic	superfluity
liquidate	desultory	peccadillo	abjure
salutary	jetsam	redeem	vitalty
élan	belabor	diffident	dearth
sap	indifferent	foretoken	accrue
enigmatic	gradation	debilitate	sphinxlike
sphinx	refuse	superfluous	vitriol

7th WordMaster Dates

Assignment Dates:
March 29th: Cards 1-13
Week of April 2: Cards 14-25 checked in Lit Block
Thursday, April 12: All 25 cards due

7th WordMaster Words for List III

linchpin	hone	balky	initiative	endure
frugal	mirage	woo	debonair	compatriot
launch	meek	obstinacy	crow	mordant
derelict	begrudge	solvent	keystone	sunder
parsimonious	boor	lament	dauntless	skinflint

WordMasters Update

Students have completed the second exam of the WordMasters Challenge, a national vocabulary competition. The test requires students to apply their understanding of the vocabulary words to challenging analogies. Results for the second meet will arrive soon.

Both grades did very well on the year’s first meet, held in November. 8^th grader Mattie K. earned a perfect score in the first meet. The 8^th grade team score of 187/200 was one point from being a top ten school nationally. 5,490 students from 172 schools competed in the very difficult 8^th grade gold division exam.

Seventh graders earned a team score of 183/200 for the first meet. The top ten schools earned scores from 200 to 186. 28,430 students from 302 schools participated in the first meet.

The third and final round will begin after spring break. The final test will be April 19^th. In addition to reviewing the definitions of the words, comparing and contrasting the definitions and grouping the words will help prepare students for the final exam. 

7th Geo Cubes

Students in Caleb Schaeffer’s 7^th Social Studies classes recently developed Geography Cube displays for the study of Central Europe and Russia.

Small groups of students selected a country and used the five themes of geography (Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, Region) to learn about the country and prepare a presentation for the class.

Students designed visual displays on 12x12x12 cardboard cubes to graphically depict their learning. Creating the visual displays required synthesis and evaluation of the information.  The cubes were used to emphasize main points in their class presentations.

Blank Summer Institute Scholars

Each winter, AMS teachers nominate the top student in their class to be considered for the Blank Summer Institute, a summer program at the Belin-Blank Center for Talented and Gifted Students at the University of Iowa. The ELP staff then gathers grades, test scores and lists extracurricular activities for each nomination. The ELP staff, ASM administration and guidance counselors then review the nominations and select one student for each area to be our school’s nominee. Even being considered for the nomination is a great honor.

Once the selection is made, nominated students write essays, create a resume, request teacher recommendations and in some cases, develop a portfolio to submit with their application.  The Belin- Blank Center makes the final selection for the top fifteen students that will attend the institute. 

Congratulations goes to the following students for earning the tile of Ames Middle School Blank Summer Institute nominees for 2012...

Mathematical Problem Solving: Richard D. 

Advanced Science: Alvin T. 

Creative Writing: Mattie K.

Social Sciences: Isabel M.

Global Studies: Caleb L.

Invention and Innovation: Nick L.

Performing Arts: Ben S.

Visual Arts. Alyssa H.

What Are You Doing This Summer?

Strategy Games ELP Lunch

8th Grade Learning @ Lunch

Science Fair Update 2-16-12

Science Fair research projects are well underway.  A couple of research groups have finished collecting data and are now analyzing results.

Here are some upcoming dates:

2-21-12 (Tuesday)
Science Fair Lunch:  Find out how to create an effective display of the project.  Information on display rules will also be provided. (Researchers can begin assembling a poster even if the research is not yet complete).

Full information on the display requirements can be found at

http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=314


Tips on making a display and writing an abstract can be found at

http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=310

2-22-12 (Wednesday) during Period 6:  Come to E109 (the ELP room) for a seminar on statistical analysis of data.  Contact Mrs. Dixon if you are not able to come at this time but would still like a lesson on statistics.

2-24-12 (Friday)
All forms need to be complete by this date.  Anyone wishing to submit a seminar entry must have finished a research paper and given it to Mrs. Dixon.   Mrs. Dixon will make sure that all entries are registered online.  Data collection does not need to be complete. 

2-28-12  (Tuesday)
Mrs. Dixon will submit all of the paperwork (form 1, 1A, 1B...) to the Science Fair of Iowa on this date.

3-6-12  (Tuesday)
AHS Science Fair.  A "rough draft" poster should be assembled by this date.  Researchers should make sure that it is easy to make corrections and improvements to the poster.  The presenters will go to Ames High School during 7th and 8th periods to display their work and talk with the judges.

3-8-12 (Thursday)  No school until the week of the Science Fair.  Data collection should be completed by now, unless otherwise approved.

During the week of 3-26-12 (to be scheduled)  Poster sessions during activity period.  AMS students, teachers, and parents will be invited to view the projects and ask questions of the researchers.

3-30-12  and 3-31-12  (Friday and Saturday)
State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa at Hilton Coliseum.  Registration is at 8:15 on Friday morning, and participants can plan on two very full days.  More details will follow. 

February ELP Lunch: Attention Knit-Wits!

Attention Knit-Wits!  Come to 7th or 8th grade ELP lunch on Thursday, February 23 and Friday, February 24 to learn how to knit.  If you already know how to knit, bring your favorite project or help with our group project.  We will discuss the possibility of making a blanket of knitting squares and donating it to a local organization.  Bonus:  find out how math and knitting are connected.  Needles and yarn are provided.  There will be a limit of 24 people at each lunch.  If you want to get a hot lunch, please put your name on the sign-in sheet before you go to the cafeteria. 

Mini Medical School in Ames

Students that are curious about in a career in medicine may be interested in the Mini Medical School seminar put on by the University of Iowa. It is Monday, February 20th from 5:30-8:30 at the Scheman Building , Iowa State Center, on the ISU campus. Note that it requires registration.

7th and 8th WordMasters

Students should be learning  the new 25 vocabulary words and reviewing the first session words to prepare for the test on Monday, February 20th.

We have explored a number of strategies students could use to learn the words and prepare for the test in class. They include...

a.)  Having a friend or family member quiz the students by first saying the definition and having the  students determine the word. Next say the word and have the student come up with the definition.

b.) Studying is only as effective as the flash cards that are used to learn the word. To make sure students have a complete picture of the definition, students could use  the websites Visuword    or Visual Thesaurus to  look at definitions, synonyms and antonyms of the word. 

c.) Write down the words on a piece of paper. Now write down the definitions.

d.) Draw a picture of the word or a cartoon that includes a word to illustrate the meaning.

e. ) Create sentences for the words that are the trickiest to remember.

d.) Review definitions with activities on the Quia website.
7th: http://www.quia.com/jg/2382191.html
8th: http://www.quia.com/jg/2381497.html
Analogy patterns: http://www.quia.com/pa/202197.html or http://www.quia.com/cm/563003.html

e.)  Once the definitions have been learned, students need to compare and contrast the words to determine which words may be grouped together in analogies. How many ways can the words be grouped? Can you find words from each list that go together in some way?

In class this week, we will learn additional strategies that can be used to compare and contrast the definitions. Students will need to have their WordMaster folders, word lists and word cards to participate in the activities.

February 2012 Calendar

AHS Registration

ELP students have several opportunities to learn more about classes at Ames High School in the next few weeks. Registration for AHS classes is slated for the week of February 27th.

Honors Courses at AHS: Teachers from ninth grade honors courses (Honors English, Honors World Studies and Honors Earth and Space Science) will talk about the classes during third period on Friday, November 17, 2012 in the auditorium.

ELP at AHS: Mrs. Tellen Martens, one of the high school ELP teachers and the district ELP coordinator, will speak at a Learning @ Lunch on Friday, February 17th. Students will learn more about the ninth grade ELP seminar and other ELP opportunities.

8th Grade English Book Blogging Project

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=721

   

In a collaborative project with ELP and 8th grade English, students were introduced to the history of blogging by viewing a short video created by Commoncraft.com . Reviewing a variety of book blogs from the internet and comparing and contrasting the content, format, and design helped students to understand what a blog looked like and important elements a good blog contained. This week students will create the first blog on Kidblog.org. Once the blogs are completed, they will be uploaded to the site. Stay tuned for some great book discussions! 

Computational Thinking Workshop

The Computational Thinking Workshop for K-12 students by the ISU Computer Science Department will be held on February 11 from 9AM until noon in 105 Pearson on the ISU campus.   Three AMS students attended the January 14 workshop and twelve AMS 7th and 8th graders have signed up for this workshop.  Six students will be attending the afternoon workshop on the programming language Scratch.  (Lunch is not provided.)  The Computational Thinking Workshop is an introduction to posing and solving the types of problems that computer scientists study. 

AMC 10 Competition February 7

The American Mathematics Competition 10 will take place during 5th and 6th periods on February 7.  Seventh and eighth grade students who received an invitation to take the test should check in with their 5th period teacher and then report to F102.  Sixth grade students invited to take the test should come to F102 at the beginning of lunch.  We will have lunch together and then begin the competition.  Contestants may pick up an ELP lunch pass if they would like to go to the cafeteria to purchase a hot lunch. 

8th WordMasters

8th ELP students have started learning the second round of WordMaster words. They will meet in the ELP room each Wednesday in February. The schedule for this session is...

Wednesday, February 1, 2012: Word cards for words 1-12 due
Wednesday, February  8, 2012: Word cards for words 13-25 due
Wednesday, February 15, 2012: Review all 50 words
MONDAY, February 20, 2012: TEST in the Media Center


 The new words are....

pariah	deplete	virulent	insurrection	renege	histrionic
upshot	debase	relentless	paragon	avow	baleful
serendipity	parry	fervid	microbe	inhibit	dogged
ember	instigate	baroque	mishap	recant	dogmatic
rubble	dogma	relent	inhibition	debasement	depletion
virulence	instigation	disavow	avowal