New France Notes

This year, you are supposed to learn to "explain why people came to live in New France and describe the impact of European immigration on First Nations settlements". This means that I need to show you the appeal of New France from all three sides (The British, The French and the First Nations People). We have been working on this in History class for a couple of days now.

I thought maybe people would like more information on this, so I found a great site for you to look at. If you visit 1759, you will be able to see many aspects of New France through the eyes of the British, the French and the First Nations people separately.

Keep in mind, you have journal entries to write. Feel free to use "1759" as a resource for ideas for this journal. Remember that using a site as a reference does not mean you can copy and paste directly from the site. I would like your own thoughts.

Parents: The above curriculum expectation can be found in the Ministry of Education curriculum guidelines for Social Studies, History and Geography. Your children have received the journal entry assignment already. It has come complete with a rubric to help them to gauge their process along the way to completion. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me through the blog, a phone call, or coming to see me at the school.

(The above picture is from www.ifdn.com/unique/france/main.htm)

Media Minute

(The above picture is from www.rockingcranches.com/)

Do you think this hamburger looks good?

This year in language arts, we are supposed to "identify the conventions and techniques used in a variety of media forms and explain how they help convey meaning and influence or engage the audience". Visit Food Advertising Tricks You Should Know About to see what advertisers do to the food in their ads to make us want it. Once you have looked at the site, think about some advertisements you have seen that may have used these techniques. Why have they been used?

The techniques that this site talks about are only a few that are used by advertising agencies to make their product more appealing to us. We will talk about others in class.

Parents: The above curriculum expectation is taken from the grade 7 Media Literacy portion of the Ministry of Education Language Arts curriculum document. Please be advised that at some points during the media unit your child may come home announcing that his or her homework is to watch TV. This is a possibility during this unit, as much of it will be spent analyzing ads in their own lives. As usual, any questions or concerns can be voiced to me online, by phone or in person.

Eating Exercise

We have just started our unit "Interacting in Harmony!" in science class. During this unit on interactions in different environments (or ecosystems), you will learn about the eating habits of animals, which is a specific interaction within an ecosystem.

The government says you must learn to "interpret food webs that show the transfer of energy among several food chains, and evaluate the effects of the elimination or weakening of any part of the food web". For now, we aren't going to worry about the energy part. When you visit Fun with Food Webs, you will learn to place species in the correct order in their specific food chain, and will discover what happens when something from the food chain disappears. (Hint: Think about what would happen if you removed a link from a chain).
(The above image is from www.idptv.state.id.us/dialogue4kids/season4/ecology/facts.cfm)

Parents: The above curriculum expectation can be found in the Grade 7 Life Cycles section of the Ministry of Education Science Curriculum document. We have just begun this unit. It will be lasting for the next 4 1/2 weeks. As with any unit, if you happen to have any information about this topic, I would love to have you share it!

Fabulous Functions

Some of you have asked me for extra practice on figuring out the expression represented by the number patterns we have been working with in math class. Since it is hard to send home the paper function machines we have been using in class, I have found 2 sites to help you on the computer.

Our goal is to be able to "develop and represent the general term of a linear growing pattern, using algebraic expressions involving one operation". If you need to work on recognizing patterns without having to determine what the rule or algebraic expression is, visit Function Machine 1. If you would like to work on determining what the expression is that the function machine is working with, visit Function Machine 2.

As usual, if you are still having difficulties (with math or with the sites), talk to me and I will help you out.


Parents: The expectation listed above can be found in the Ministry of Education Mathematics curriculum document. I have set up a math club for a half hour after class on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students are encouraged to attend whether they need help or they can help me to provide help to other students. If you feel as though you could be of assistance to students at this time, feel free to talk to me about helping out-I can always use more hands and brains!
(The above picture is from library.thinkquest.org/18713/ns4/functions.chapter1.htm)

Fun Times!

As you all know, we have just begun studying 3 new topics, in both math, science and language arts. To show you I am not lying when I tell you these things can be fun, I want to show you some websites you may enjoy related to the topics.

We will soon start to look at ecosystems. I know you will all have questions and want to learn more! This is the perfect site for that!

Amusement Park Physics Visit an amusement park and build your own ride!
I love amusement parks! Since we cannot take a trip to a real amusement park, I thought you would like the chance to go to one online. This one is a little bit different, though. On this site, you can design your very own roller coaster. When you have designed it, you can then see if it is any fun! Be caseful, though-your roller coaster will also be judged for safety! You will soon find out, it all has to do with physics!
(This picture is from http://www.claybennett.com/pages/cloning.html)
National Geographic Kids Some Super Science Stuff:
We will soon start to look at ecosystems. I know you will all have questions and want to learn more! This is the perfect site for that!

Wacky Web Tales Have fun learning gammar:
Although it may seem like parts of speech are boring, but this site makes it fun! Fill in what they ask for and write your own story on this Mad Lib site. I used to do these all of the time when I was young, and I still do now! Have fun while learning language!

Enjoy!!

I'm here to help!

Math Dictionary
I know you all pay attention in math class, but sometimes you get home and cannot remember what something is. Well, I think this might help! If you go to this site, it will help jog your memory. It's a dictionary, just for math! Feel free to use it to help you at any time.

Happy homework-ing!

Welcome!

Hello grade 7s!

In the next few weeks, we are going to have a lot of fun together in class! This is a place that you can come to get help with work, but you will also find links I think you might like or that are related to what we are doing in class. I hope you enjoy our time together both in class and online!
See you in class!!!
(The following picture is from http://www.longwoodhoa.com/index.cfm?md=homepage&tmp=home&nid=1261&cpid=0&cfmid=0&catid=0)

Welcome Parents!
This is also a place for you to come to find out what we are doing in class. You can also find out about assignments your students are being expected to complete. When expectations are quoted from the curriculum documents, links are also provided to that curriculum document online. I hope that you make use of this communication tool; however, I also look forward to talking with you on the phone and in person.

~Miss. Bailie