Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 25-29

SOLs Covered:  7.5 & 8.7 Surface Area & Volume; 7.11 & 8.13 Data Analysis; 7.12 & 8.14 Relations & Functions
Math Dictionary Sections:  (40) Surface Area & Volume; (41) Measures of Center; (42) Graphical Methods; (43) Relations & Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  Graphing Functions Quiz (Fri. 4/12)

This week seems to have flown by surprisingly fast for the week before spring break.  Since we started the week with a completely unexpected spring snow day, I decided to not do the quiz this week but instead save it as a review activity for when we return from break.  We spent Tuesday and most of Wednesday, which was a previously planned half day, reviewing for the test, though my block 5/6 group was able to start the test the last few minutes of class.  Thursday and Friday was devoted to the test, which will be one of the first grades of the last term along with the homework/classwork from this week.

Function Machine Game from Math Playground

Students who finished early had one more chance to work on and turn in any missing/incomplete work and/or error analysis for quizzes and tests from the third term.  As noted in the "end-of-term reminders" post, students who email me any other work through next Wednesday (April 3) can still earn credit for those assignments and thus help pull up their grades.  Students who for whatever reason (unable to finish, last group going on the field trip, leaving earlier for spring break, or absent for any other reason), will be able to finish the test after break, which is part of why it will count towards the last term grade.  While it's not ideal to split the time over a week-long break, I'd rather the kids have plenty of time to do the work as the test was definitely full of rigorous test questions that take more than one simple step.  I also want students to have the chance to complete an error analysis on the test, which would not be feasible this week.

Over the break, I encourage students to play the various math games I've provided them accounts and links to as well as beginning their personal review for the SOL test, which will take place May 28-30 for Math 7 classes.  To help with this practice, I highly recommend TenMarks.com, a site for which I've given all my students accounts.  It has SOL-like questions that are accompanied by help videos give immediate feedback.  The state also provides practice SOL test questions on their site but unfortunately does not provide immediate feedback; if students record their answers, they'll be able to check whether they got them right or wrong when we start going over them in class together after spring break.