Weekly Class Summary: Oct. 28-Nov. 1

SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.2 Real Number System
Math Dictionary Sections:  13-17 Math 5-6 Review; 18 Real Number System
Upcoming Assessments:  Real Number System Quiz (Wed. 11/6)

This week started with a few interruptions to our math class time, which was a little bit of a hindrance to many of the students finishing the final test of the term.  On Monday, most of Block 1/2 for all of 7th grade was spent at an assembly on "Student vs. Marijuana," which explained the consequences of not only using marijuana but also what would happen if it were brought to school.  This was accomplished through a short play put on by various members of Chesterfield schools, law enforcement, and the judicial system.  During Block 3/4 and 7/8, the 7th grade students were taken to the computer lab during math their math classes to complete a school safety survey, which was completed by Block 1/2 math students on Tuesday after our fire drill.  With these interruptions to instructional time along with a half-day on Wednesday, I decided to rework plans a bit to give students time to focus on wrapping up the first term as successfully as possible (see the update from Wednesday, 10/30 for further details).



Once students completed the test, they were given a bit of time in class to work on their Error Analysis before we started going over the real number system.  Last year, my students and I came up with our own mnemonic to remember the rational parts of the number system:  Raising Iguanas With Nutella® for Rational, Integer, Whole, and Natural.  Using this phrase, students added a smaller version of the nested Venn diagram to their Smart Charts.  I then used one of my favorite though non-traditional teaching tools, a Russian matryoshka doll, to explain how the different parts build upon each other to make up the complete real number system (after the irrational numbers, which my current group of students and I decided to liken to the irritating, weird relatives that  we all have, are added into the mix).  Between these various associations, the students seem to have a fairly strong understanding of real numbers.  We'll review next week after the students' long weekend before the students take a quiz, which will be half on the real number system and half review.

Number Systems Muncher from ArgyllCentre

FYI:  For anyone who saw the "pending post" note about my rummaging through post-Halloween sales for raven items, I found an awesome set of raven wall decals.  Raven Pride!!!