Category: Middle School

Last week the 6th graders learned about the Mountain Yellow Legged Frog, an endangered species from Southern California, as part of their climate change and conservation unit. There are believed to be only 200 of these frogs left in the wild. The students learned about the threats to their habitat, including the human impacts of invasive species and disease and how a certain fungus is a threat to amphibian survival world wide. After learning about about the frog’s spatial ecology, students knew what was needed for them to survive. The sixth graders then took on the role of scientists and researched areas in the southern California mountain ranges that would be a good fit for them to be released. Students then learned how researchers come back and find the frogs to understand the survival rates of those previously released. 

Using telemetry equipment borrowed from the San Diego Zoo, the students experienced what it is like to conduct scientific wildlife research out in the field. Students used the telemetry devices to track hidden stuffed animal frogs on the Saklan campus. This hands-on experience allowed the students to understand how researchers track released endangered species, in this case their frogs, and to monitor the health of the frogs over time. 

Since February, the 8th graders have been studying physics in science class. They have been learning about the forces of gravity, air resistance, and friction on our planet. The students have also been working on putting Newton’s three Laws of Motion into real life scenarios.

To learn about these forces, the eighth graders have been taking part in different hands-on labs to help exhibit how these forces act on objects on our planet.  Students first studied friction by measuring the force needed to move different blocks and bricks along different surface textures.  These textures included a smooth countertop, markers that roll and sandpaper. Using a spring scale students could measure the force needed to move the objects and the amount of friction the textures were producing.

To see gravity and air resistance, students created different sized parachutes in class and dropped them from the ceiling of the science lab. Students could then see the pull of gravity on the parachutes and how air resistance could be used to slow that force down. Next, students worked on designing, creating, and shooting off rockets to try to see how to defy both air resistance and gravity.

#SaklanHandsOn

Recently, Saklan’s sixth graders worked to expand their understanding of volume beyond the equation: volume = length * width * height.

The students experimented with cubic units as they explored a situation involving offices with unusually shaped bases. They quickly were able to determine that a multiplier could be used to extend the height of the office towers much more efficiently than counting. And after a class discussion of why the area of the office tower’s base was the same as the volume of the office tower when it was one unit high, the sixth graders came up with a better formula. Volume = Area of base * height.

An interesting side note: At a math teaching conference that Saul Zippin, Saklan’s Middle School Math Teacher, went to a few years ago, he attended a session about middle school students finding the volume of a parallelepiped (a parallelogram prism) that had one of the sides weighted so it would stand up, as shown in the image below. 

Researchers from the University of Illinois had filmed their students finding the volume of the prism and their outcomes. All of the students used the V = l X w X h idea. Some found the height from their desk to the top (the correct way), while about half measured the side that was the slant instead of the actual height. When it was time for questions, Saul asked how many of the students found the area of the parallelogram (the base of the prism) and then multiplied that by the height. They said that none of the students in their research did that. Interested in how Saklan students would solve this, Saul made a class set of the 3D shapes, weighted the base and asked the students to find the volume. Every student found the volume correctly! Most turned the parallelepiped on its side, found the area of the base and multiplied by the height. 

Saul noted that when students are taught to think mathematically using manipulatives and class discussions, they have a huge advantage when attempting to solve problems. 

The Saklan Middle School offers a variety of elective classes that cater to the community’s diverse hobbies and interests, which we call LBD (Learning by Doing) classes. On Thursday, February 16th, the students had the opportunity to explore Korean culture through the class “Exploring Cultures through Food.” Students learned about the various ingredients that make up a traditional Korean meal, as well as the customs and etiquette associated with dining in Korea. Students were eager to try Kim Chi, Japchae, and Tteokbokki. Before dining, the students practiced how to serve their elders while avoiding eye contact, as custom in Korean etiquette. They expressed their appreciation for learning about other cultures and their eagerness to learn more.

In addition to the Exploring Cultures through Food class, Saklan also offers classes such as Sadie’s Baking Class (8th grade student), Bookworms with Jennifer (7th-8th grade Humanities teacher), and African Drumming with Isaac (Saklan’s drumming teacher). These classes are a combination of teacher-led and student-led activities, providing students with the opportunity to make memories while learning new skills. We encourage middle school students to continue creating their own classes to teach their community.

#SaklanCreative #SaklanLearningByDoing

Saklan’s seventh-grade class has been learning about food insecurity, both in our local communities as well as throughout the United States. Although the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we have a staggering 33 million people, including 5 million children, that are food insecure. The term “food insecure” is used to describe someone who does not have access to sufficient food or food of adequate quality to meet one’s basic needs. The primary causes of this issue are poverty, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, low income, chronic health conditions, and lack of access to healthcare. And sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic magnified these issues. Many people who never needed food support before the pandemic found themselves waiting in long lines each week at their local food banks.

So as a way to teach our seventh graders how to make a difference and help get more food to people that need it, we decided to have them volunteer at the Alameda County Food Bank. The middle school teachers are proud to report that our students worked diligently, quickly, and with great motivation. The students understood that the more yams and onions that we bagged, the more meals and people they could help. Between Saklan and another group from Kaiser (roughly 50 people), they processed 15,902 pounds of vegetables and fruit. The students helped provide 13,199 meals, which worked out to each volunteer producing 259 meals. Our students and teachers were honored to help so many in a period of only 2 hours.

Saklan’s Middle School Teachers already have plans to take the other middle school students to volunteer at the Alameda County Food Bank in the new year.

If you are interested in volunteering, please click on this link.

Who do art objects truly belong to? Over the last six weeks, the 6th graders have been seeking to answer this driving question by exploring museum bias, researching significant artifacts, and understanding different present day arguments for and against repatriation of ancient art objects.

After taking a trip to the de Young Museum to view the Ramses Exhibit, researching the significance of a chosen artifact, and speaking with experts from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Badé Museum, and Stanford University, their final milestone and public product for this unit was to select an aspect through which to answer the driving question. Some students focused on museum bias, others on big ideas around repatriation, still others on power and ethical issues in the worlds of archeology and museum preservation of ancient artifacts. You can read their manuscripts here, which have been submitted to KQED’s Youth Perspectives program for consideration to be published by KQED. 

#SaklanPBL