Team 8A
8A ACHIEVERS
SOCIAL STUDIES: The students returned from break fully charged and ready to dive into the
Cold War and the1950s. As you remember before break we finished our discussion on World
War II and the Holocaust. We started this year focusing on the Cold War. With the end of
World War II the world was left in pieces. It was up to the two great world powers, United
States and the Soviet Union, to rebuild the world. The rebuilding process took several years
and each country had their own view of the world. These conflicting viewpoints pushed both countries into the Cold War. It was a battle between Democracy and Communism. Which one would win? The Cold War lasted for
more than 40 years. The next topic we covered was the 1950s. This was a
time of change. The war was over and soldiers were coming home. 1950s
gave birth to the suburbs, television, McDonalds, and Elvis Presley was pushing the envelope with his catchy tunes and his Rock ‘N’ Roll. Life was good. The students will
get a taste of the 1950s with “50s Day” on February 16 th. It will be a day where students will
get a first hand look by dressing up and partaking in activities that will give them a sense of
what the 50s were all about.
LANGUAGE ARTS: Students are developing skills in essay writing for preparation of the ISAT in
March. The emphasis is on extended response with emphasis on key ideas, making personal
connections, interpretation of the author, and evaluation of the source. Students have recently begun a research paper that will begin to pave the road for high school and college. Students will learn to use a variety of sources, proper documentation of those sources, and will
organize their information using note cards and outlines. In Reading classes we have begun to
read the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Students take on various roles as they read aloud to
each other and discuss the sequence of events. Others are reading a variety of novels and
working on various reading strategies to help them better understand the time period and history of the novel. Vocabulary continues to be emphasized especially in written language. We
ask the parents help in encouraging their students to use written vocabulary that matches
their verbal skills.
Team 8A
Continued:
MATH: The students in math continue to work hard and do a great job. In algebra, the students finished working with percents, ratios, and proportions. Sales ads and catalogs from the
early 1900’s helped make this topic more interesting. Students also learned how to calculate
percent increase or decrease. Students will begin studying functions, linear equations, and
slope. We will also continue reviewing geometry concepts to help prepare for our upcoming
ISAT test. In advanced algebra we are finishing up reviewing inequalities and will start covering exponents and systems of equations. In advanced algebra h, the students have been
working with factoring and the quadratic equations. The students will then use this knowledge to help solve rational expressions and equations.
Finally, all students will review topics that will be found on the ISAT test in March.
Encourage your child to keep asking for help and making sure that they turn in all
assignments on time.
Palos South will again participate in the St. Jude’s math-a-thon during the month of February.
Please encourage your children to get involved in this good cause. More information will be
sent home in the upcoming week. You can also go to www.mathathon.org for additional information about the program.
SCIENCE: The students have begun to learn about the atom and components that actually
make up an atom. Informational posters were designed showing the changes and progression
in the atomic theory throughout history. The 8A students have also been
studying the periodic table, how it is organized, and the information it provides.
Several atomic math problems have been explored and solved by using the
data from the periodic table. In addition, the students did some research on
elements and wrote creative poems to demonstrate the facts and characteristics that were found. A fun “Alien Activity” was done in class to show and reinforce the relationships and patterns of the periodic table. Keep up the good work everyone!