7th Grade Math
Students enter Grade 7 having studied area in several grade levels. Most recently, they found the areas of both basic geometric shapes and of more complex shapes by decomposition, and they applied these skills in a real-world context (6.G.A.1).
Lesson 20 reintroduces students to these concepts with area problems embedded in a real-world context (e.g., finding the cost of carpeting a home based on a floor plan, calculating the cost of seeding a lawn, and determining how many stop signs can be painted with a given amount of paint).
In Lesson 21, students use the area properties to justify the repeated use of the distributive property. Students apply their knowledge of finding the area of both polygons and circles to find the area of composite figures made of both categories of shapes.
In Lesson 22. The figures in this lesson are similar to those in Module 3 in that they are composite figures, some of which have “holes” or missing sections in the form of geometric shapes. However, the figures in Lesson 22 are more complex; therefore, their areas are more challenging to determine.
In Lessons 23 and 24, the content transitions from area to surface area, asking students to find the surface area of basic and composite three-dimensional figures. As with the topic of area, the figures are missing sections. These missing sections are, of course, now three-dimensional, so students must take this into account when calculating surface area.
Earth and Space Science Bundle 1
Earth and the Solar System
Mission Briefing:
You are about to begin a new journey studying the relationships between Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, the solar system, and the Milky Way galaxy. During these lessons, you will be learning where space objects are located and how gravity influences their motion.
Your mission is to design an informational map for a group of space travelers who will be touring the universe. It should show all the objects that they will visit and where they are located. As you work toward this goal, you will be learning the following concepts:
● Earth, the Sun, and the Moon make up the solar system.
● Earth revolves around the Sun, and the Moon revolves around Earth.
● The solar system contains the Sun, planets, moons, and asteroids.
● All other objects in the solar system revolve around the Sun.
● Asteroids can be knocked out of their orbit when hit by other asteroids.
● We live in the Milky Way galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy.
● There are four types of galaxies: spiral, elliptical, irregular, and lenticular. Many investigations will be done over several weeks in class to help you learn these concepts from first-hand experiences. After completing each investigation, take time to look for examples of these concepts in the world around you. Sincerely,
Ms. Porter
Mission Briefing:
You are about to begin a new journey studying how you can you maximize the thermal energy transfer in a system and discovering how this knowledge can be applied to our world. Your mission will be to design a device that will allow outdoor enthusiasts to heat their food to a certain temperature and for the food to stay at that temperature for an extended period of time after being removed from the heat. You will draw and label the design, include a summary of how the device works, and present your design to the company’s board members. As you work toward this goal, you will be learning the following concepts:
● Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter.
● Thermal energy transfers from hot to cold.
● Conduction is the transfer of heat through touch. Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of particles. Radiation is energy that travels as electromagnetic waves.
● The amount of energy transfer needed to change the temperature of matter depends on the nature of the matter, the size of the sample, and the environment.
Many investigations will be done over several weeks in class to help you learn these concepts from first-hand experiences. After completing each investigation, take time to look for examples of these concepts in the world around you.
Sincerely, Ms.Porter
Earth and Space Science Bundle 5
Natural Resources and Human Impacts on Earth Systems
You are about to begin a new journey studying how the use of natural resources like petroleum can impact the environment and discovering how this knowledge can be applied to our world. Your mission will be to learn about the effects of using plastics on the environment.
You will write a summary of the effects of removing petroleum from Earth and on the disposal of plastics on the environment.
You will be learning the following concepts:
● Humans can alter Earth in both positive and negative ways.
● Humans can reduce the impact of human activity on the environment in many different ways.
● Both natural activities and human activities can increase global climate.
● Natural resources are unevenly distributed on Earth.
Many investigations will be done over several weeks in class to help you learn these concepts from first-hand experiences. After completing each investigation, take time to look for examples of these concepts in the world around you.
Sincerely,
Ms. Porter
Life Science Bundle 4
Inheritance and Variation of Traits
You are about to begin a new journey studying how traits are inherited in a species and how mutations to genes impact organisms. Your mission will be to analyze test results from patients at a veterinary clinic to help diagnose if their ailments are genetically based or not. As you work toward this goal, you will learn the following concepts:
● The structural changes to genes located on chromosomes are called mutations.
● Mutations can cause harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
● Genes control the production of specific proteins; mutated genes change this production of proteins.
● Asexual reproduction results in offspring genetically identical to the parent organism.
● Sexual reproduction results in offspring that are genetically diverse from both parents.
Many investigations will be done over several weeks in class to help you learn these concepts from firsthand experiences. After completing each investigation, take time to look for examples of these concepts in the world around you.
Sincerely, Ms.Porter
Life Science Bundle 2
Growth and Development of Organisms
Mission Briefing:
You are about to begin a new journey studying how you can promote the growth and development of organisms and discovering how this knowledge can be applied to our world. Your mission will be to design a compost garden for a large company wanting to become more environmentally friendly. You must include a diagram with instructions on how to create a compost and blueprints for the layout of the garden. As you work toward this goal, you will learn the following concepts:
● Plants and animals possess adaptations and behaviors that help them reproduce.
● Genetic as well as environmental factors can affect the growth of plants and animals.
● Plants use energy from the Sun, carbon dioxide, and water to create their own chemical energy.
● Animals consume this energy and, through digestion and cellular respiration, break it down into molecules they can use for energy, and remove waste and carbon dioxide that are produced during the process. Many investigations will be done over several weeks in class to help you learn these concepts from firsthand experiences. After completing each investigation, take time to look for examples of these concepts in the world around you.
Sincerely, Ms.Porter
MS Life: Bundle 2: Growth and Development of Organisms
Anchoring Phenomena:
How can we promote the growth and development of plants and animals?
The scopes included in this bundle include the following:
Guiding Questions
- What characteristics do plants and animals have to increase reproduction?
- What factors can affect the growth of a plant?
- How do plants create their own food?
- How does energy move through organisms?
Last week Life Science Bundle 5 Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
Mission Briefing:
You are about to begin a new journey studying how the fossil record, evolutionary relationships, and embryonic similarities provide evidence of common ancestry of organisms. Your mission will be to write a press release defending the accuracy of the fossil exhibit at the Natural Science Museum by citing evidence from the fossil record, evolutionary relationships, and embryonic similarities. As you work toward this goal, you will learn the following concepts:
● The fossil record is the collection of fossils and their placement in the sedimentary layers.
● There are anatomical similarities between organisms living today and extinct organisms from the distant past.
● Comparing the development of embryos can provide links between species that look vastly different as adults. Many investigations will be done over several weeks in class to help you learn these concepts from firsthand experiences. After completing each investigation, take time to look for examples of these concepts in the world around you.
Sincerely,
Ms. Porter
Welcome! Thanks for visiting. The purpose of this site is to keep you informed of the exciting things happening in our classroom and to provide information that will help each of you. I have selected the best information to prepare for our themes, units, activities, lessons, crafts, projects, and thematic studies. It should save your time and give you some great ideas. Please come back to visit often as new things are being added.
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Ms. Porter's 8th grade class page at Laplace Elementary School! We have a very busy and exciting year in store for us!
Let me introduce myself. My name is Saudia Porter. I love to travel. I have traveled a lot to places like Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Hawaii, Mexico, Bahamas, Cancun, and many of the states of the U.S. Cruises to the Caribbean and to Alaska were my favorite trips. I enjoy relaxing with family and friends, watching movies, gardening, reading, and surfing the net. I consider myself fortunate to be among such a professional staff at LES.
I realize that teaching your child is a privilege, as well as a tremendous responsibility. I will do my best this year to ensure that each student has a motivating and safe learning experience in the classroom. However, I cannot do this alone. I need your help.
We all need to be partners in the learning process. I need each of you to encourage your child at home by helping to ensure that they have completed their assignments, and help them study, if necessary. I know with your help that we are going to have a great year!
These are some of my favorite things:
Colors: Blue
Foods: chocolate-Snickers and Peanut M&M's
Drinks: Lemonade, Gatorade
Music: Classical
Places to eat: Chick-fil-a, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Cace's, Texas Roadhouse
Favorite movies: The Matrix !
Most of all: Traveling around the world
Sincerely,
Ms. Porter
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