Seventh Grade English Digs Into First Novel Study
For their first novel study of the year, seventh grade students have spent the fall thus far reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm. After spending the past several weeks studying the events in Animal Farm and their allegorical ties to the Russian Revolution, students have concluded our novel study by writing their first analytical paragraphs of the year! After receiving direct instruction on how to write effectively using relevant textual evidence paired with sufficient quotation analysis, students are now devising analytical paragraphs with the goal of showing how the pigs create a totalitarian government in Animal Farm.
– Charlie Baird, seventh grade English teacher
Arts Update: Sixth Graders Create Set for Upcoming Event
The sixth grade innovation arts class is working on the design and fabrication of the set for the upcoming BDS Music Showcase (scroll above to see details on the event). Students began the design process by conducting a site visit to the Palandjian Arts Center where they took photos and measurements of the stage to inform their conceptual designs. After the site visit, students looked at coffee house imagery for inspiration and established a collective concept. Currently, students are in the process of finalizing their designs and beginning the fabrication process. The students are excited to support other BDS students in making this event a wonderful success. Stay tuned for event photography!
– Brittany Conroy, innovation coach
First Graders Explore “What Is A Scientist?”
In science, first graders work to answer the questions, “What is science?” and “What is a scientist?”. Students explore what science is, what they know about science and scientists, and what they want to know about science or scientists. As a class, we read the book What is Science? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa, and What is a Scientist? by Barbara Lehn and Carol Krauss. First graders then drew pictures of scientists as we explored and discussed who could be a scientist. First graders drew themselves as scientists and are able to identify themselves as scientists who predict, experiment, test, write, draw, measure, collect, sort, try hard, don’t give up, and have fun!
– Geoffrey Fox, first grade teacher
