Humanities In Social Studies, students are finishing our unit on Indigenous perspective of European colonization of America. Students have read primary and secondary sources on the topic and written thoughtful responses about the effects of colonization on Native North America. Additionally, we wrapped up our election unit as students analyzed the election results. In ELA, we have just begun our unit on The Crucible. Students are looking forward to planning the showcase for parents in December! Joseph Science Science last month had started its exploration of molecules, chemical bonds, and chemical reactions. They used interactive software to understand the differences... Read More
Shana tova, and happy October from the 8th Grade!
Humanities Students are continuing to hone their critical writing skills as we work through the structure of literary analysis essays. the 8th graders have developed theme statements from their summer reading, The Chosen, and are basing their essays around their ideas of Judaism, friendship, and war. This week in Social Studies, students have been exploring human migration, indigeneity, and Native American origin stories. We began by exploring the power of our own origin stories–religious, national, familial–and illustrated some representations of our origins. Maths The 8th Grade has spent the past few weeks learning about and mastering Scientific Notation and... Read More
Week one for the 8th Grade!
HUMANITIES I am so very excited to begin my second year at Hannah Senesh (and my 7th year in education) with this group of 8th graders! I have heard only good things about the class, and look forward to engaging students in new and challenging content that will solidify the work they’ve already been doing in previous years. As students read books from contemporary and historic American authors in their ELA course, they will also learn about the rich American legacy in their Social Studies course. I look forward to all the curiosity the students bring! Joseph, jhayden@hannahsenesh.org JUDAICS... Read More
Happy Purim from 8th Grade!
Humanities This week in ELA, students are beginning our 8th Grade unit on Elie Weisel’s Night. Throughout the next 5 weeks, students will explore the essential question “How do one’s circumstances and experiences of trauma shape their identity?” Using the idea of the Universe of Obligation, students will work through the difficult terrain of choice in the face of absolute horror and devastation. I must admit that this is a particularly difficult text to teach, but as always, I am impressed with the 8th grader’s sensitivity and nuanced understanding of complex readings. In Social Studies, students are exploring key concepts... Read More
2/6/2022 – 8th Grade Blog
Hi, parents! Math Now that the 8th grade is out of the woods and back into the swing of things, a lot of mathematical progression has been made within the past few weeks. We have revisited the concept of functions, as well as the modeling of linear functions, as a refresher before we delve into other types of functions such as exponential, quadratic, and absolute value functions. Exponential Functions are often used to represent growth or decay for things such as the population or financial investments. Quadratic Functions are often used to analyze trajectories of objects such as a football... Read More
January is abuzz!
Humanities In humanities class, the year is 1776 and the students are about to go on a wild adventure through the American Revolution. This week we reviewed the political and topographical geography of the American colonies and will soon talk about Loyalists and Patriots. In ELA, students conquered the enormous feat of writing an in-class argumentative essay ending out our unit on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. You should really be very proud of their enormous dedication. Math It’s our first full week back at Senesh and the 8th grade has a lot to do! They are working hard balancing... Read More
Happy Hanukkah from the 8th Grade!
Humanities In humanities, we have been wrapping up our unit on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The students performed for the seniors at Ezra Project to rave reviews! One elder even gave it two thumbs up. 🙂 Meanwhile, students explored the nation’s founding document, The Declaration of Independence, and updated its language to include their own values. Here is an excerpt from an updated version, collaborated on by Dov and Sivan: We hold these truths to ubiquitous to all people and that we are all equal, that we have eternal rights, that among these are freedom, safety, and free health-care. —... Read More
December Begins! (8th Grade Blog)
Hello, Senesh families, These past few weeks in humanities, students have been accomplishing a lot! In ELA, we began reading and acting out The Crucible. Students are getting so excited to choose their characters and act out this crucial American masterpiece! In Social Studies, we have just finished our unit on Colonial America, and students took a cumulative test over the material, ranging from the first European contact up until the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Additionally, the students have been doing really beautiful volunteer work with the elders at the Ezra Project Center. On Tuesday of last week,... Read More
On our way through November in the 8th grade!
Humanities In ELA class, students have been working so hard on writing and revising their first literary analysis essays of the year. They have been so impressive to read, and I am truly impressed with how deeply students are willing to dive into interpretation. Additionally, have begun reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Please make sure that your child is reading at home every night! In Social Studies, the students have exploring life in Colonial North America, especially examining primary source documents from the Plymouth Plantation, including the foundational American speech “City Upon a Hill.” Science Science continues to explore molecules... Read More
8th Grade – 10/28-11/1
Hodesh tov from the 8th grade team! Hebrew Dear parents, This week the students finished their individual end of unit projects. The students practiced using the learned vocabulary in skits and oral presentations. In addition, we watched a movie about Hannah Senesh in Hebrew and we discussed the choices that Hannah Senesh made throughout her life. We also read some of her poems in Hebrew. I wish you a good weekend, Andreea Science In science we have started to explore the concept of molecules and chemical bonds. Students had an experiment that allowed them to break the bonds of water.... Read More