Board Report

Middle School History and Science

May 4, 2009

Rich Winkler

N.M. History 7^th grade

N.M. History continues research and writing about the “Land of Enchantment”. Subjects for the books students are preparing include: The Balloon Fiesta, Geology and Landforms of N.M., Art and writers of N.M. and the C.C.C. Students learn and research about these subjects through lecture, reading the internet and interviews.

U.S. History 8^th grade

The U.S. History class is finishing a unit on the U.S. Civil War. Students learned about why the war was fought, famous people of the era and battles. Fifteen history students participated in the State history fair in Albuquerque. The next unit in U.S. history will focus on the west and women’s suffrage.

Life Science 7^th grade

Students in the Life Science class are learning about human anatomy. Each chapter of this unit focuses on a specific body system. Students learn about the organs in that system and how they function. Labs and activities include heart rate measurement, lung capacity measurement, viewing bones and muscles under the microscope.

Biology two sections/ 10^th grade

Students are giving presentations on a new project that we have been working on. Students present a power point presentation over one of the chapters assigned to them from the Biology book. The presentation describes the main learning objectives for that chapter. The students then gives instruction on a lab for that chapter and the class participates in the lab. The class is given a quiz over the presentation and the lab. The classes have enjoyed teaching the class for the day. The classes are also working on a research paper about bird habitat and migration.