Gary Soto And Other Curriculum Figures In Students' Learning

English

In English, we’re learning about Gary Soto, an American Poet, novelist, and memorist. He made a book called Taking Sides. We’re reading the book and almost moving on to a new book which we will do. I’ll give a brief summary. Lincoln Mendoza is a star ball player for Franklin Junior High in the barrio of San Francisco, however when his home is broken into, his mom chooses they should move to a superior neighborhood—the 'prosperous' white suburb of Sycamore ten miles away. Lincoln loves the change from the outset, however soon he starts to miss his old companions and school. There's something else entirely to Lincoln's predicament than being pining to go home, however. He has a battle with Tony, his closest companion from the barrio; his separated from mother has a white beau whom Lincoln detests; his b-ball mentor doesn't care for him; he harms his knee; and his new house is broken into. What else can turn out badly? Well, he has a fight with Monica, a girl from his new school whom he really likes, and his coach benches him for the big game between his new school and his old one. When the big game finally takes place, it forces Lincoln to figure out who he is and where he belongs.

Math

In Math, we’re learning about Square Roots and Cube Roots, and PI. Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Pie goes on infinitely. It hasn’t been solved yet. It’s often shortened to 3.14. It now has various equivalent definitions and appears in many formulas in all areas of mathematics and physics. In Ms. Cruz’s classes, we’re also learning about Square Roots and Cube roots, Square root, “a number which produces a specified quantity when multiplied by itself.”, can be solved easily. For example, √25 is 5 because 5 x 5 = 25. √49 is 7 because 7 x 7 = 49. Now for Cube Roots, “the number which produces a given number when cubed.”, it has a symbol of 3√. So, for example, 3√729 is 7 because 7 x 7 x 7 = 729. Another example is 3√125 is 5 because 5 x 5 x 5 = 125. And that’s what I learned in Math.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we’re learning about Close Reading. According to Mr, Nganjo, close reading is PURPOSEFUL reading. Basically reading for a purpose. How do I close read? “Read with a pencil in hand, and annotate the text..Look for patterns in the things you've noticed about the text—repetitions, contradictions, similarities. Ask questions about the patterns you've noticed—especially how and why”. We’re also learning about Human Rights and Nelson mandela and how he fought for the Rights of South Africa and Equality. For a better explanation, “Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election”.

Science

In Science, we’re talking about ATOMS. “An atom is the smallest constituent unit of ordinary matter that constitutes a chemical element. Every solid, liquid, gas, and plasma is composed of neutral or ionized atoms. Atoms are extremely small; typical sizes are around 100 picometers”. ATOMS have negative charges and positive charged particles. Electrons have a negative charge, while protons have a positive charge. Neutrons have NO charge and it’s just neutral. A better explanation, “Atoms consist of three basic particles: protons, electrons, and neutrons. The nucleus (center) of the atom contains protons (positively charged) and neutrons (no charge). The outermost regions of the atom are called electron shells and contain the electrons (negatively charged).”

In AVID, we’re talking about a Socratic Seminar, a formal discussion, based on a text, in which the leader asks open-ended questions, we were comparing it to a debate. I learned that a Seminar is NOT a debate but a little bit similar. In AVid, Ms. Akinbulumo wasn’t here much so we didn’t get much work but we got a worksheet about “If I ruled the school”. We completed the worksheet then started talking about other things about how CELL PHONES are not really useful in school with Dr. Summes. That’s my Biweekly Learning log.