Math: Week 34

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.5-7.8 Measurement & Geometry
Math Packet:  SOL Review Folder
Upcoming Assessments:  Math 7 SOL Test(Block 1/2 Fri. 5/29/15; Block 7/8 6/2/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.6-8.11 Measurement & Geometry
Math Packet:  SOL Review Folder
Upcoming Assessments:  Math 8 SOL Test (Mon. 6/1/15)

It's been another busy week of SOL review and I'm kind of warn out!  I'm going to try to keep things on the short side (yes, I know I keep saying that and then most of the time give you an essay!) since I'm sure you all want to start your holiday weekend as well!

Math: Week 28

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.12 & 8.14 Relations & Functions
Math Packet:  #20 Relations & Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  Functions Test (Tues. 4/14/15-Wed. 4/15/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.7 Surface Area & Volume
Math Packet:  Study Guide
Upcoming Assessments:  Probability & Statistics Test (Thurs. 4/23/15-Fri. 4/24/15)

I learned Friday afternoon of my grandfather's passing, so I'm not really feeling up to writing this at the moment.  If there are any questions about the weekly happenings in any of my math classes, please feel free to email/message me at any time.  I likely will not respond as quickly as some of you are used to, I will get back to you when I'm able.

Math: Week 27

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.12 & 8.14 Relations & Functions
Math Packet:  #20 Relations & Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS SGA#2 (County Post-test) (Wed. 4/1/15-Fri. 4/3/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.7 Surface Area & Volume
Math Packet:  #19.1 Surface Area & Volume, Part 2: Prisms, Pyramids, Cylinders & Cones,
Upcoming Assessments:  SA & Volume Test (Wed. 4/1/15);  CCPS SGA#2 (County Post-test) (Thurs. 4/2/15-Fri. 4/3/15)

So it's a little late, but here's our weekly update for math class!  Before getting into class happenings, I'd like to give the reminder that I'm still currently tapped for jury duty on Monday (3/30) and Tuesday (3/31).  As long as this doesn't change, there will be a substitute in class and I'd like to remind the kids to be on their best behavior.

Math: Week 26

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.6 Similar Figures
Math Packet:  #19 Similar Figures
Upcoming Assessments:  Relations & Functions Quiz (Fri. 3/27/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.7 Surface Area & Volume
Math Packet:  #19.1 Surface Area & Volume, Part 1: Prisms & Cylinders
Upcoming Assessments:  SA & Vol. Quiz (Part 2: Prisms, Pyramids, Cylinders, & Cones) (Fri. 3/27/15)

It's been an extremely busy week for me both inside and outside of school, so I fell a bit behind with my personal work goals.  The kids are used to getting their grades updated every day or two for my class and their papers back just as quickly, but it's taken a bit longer than that this time, not by much but still noticeable for the kids.

Math: Week 25

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.8 & 8.8 Geomteric Transformations
Math Packet:  #18 Geometric Transformations
Upcoming Assessments:  Geo. Test #3 (Geo. Trans. & Sim. Figs.) (Fri. 3/20/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.11 Composite Figures
Math Packet:  #17 Composite Figures
Upcoming Assessments:  SA & Volume Quiz (Part 1: Rect. Prisms & Cylinders) (Wed. 3/11/15)

I'm going to try to keep things on the shorter side for awhile since I've got a few plans I want to start working on in preparation of our SOL review that will start in May.  I also have a few new sites I want to check out in more detail to see if they'd work in our math classes.  If I am actually able to keep these on the shorter side (I've said that often and then still end up with an quite a bit), I still welcome anyone who needs clarification or has questions to feel free to email or message me at anytime.

Math: Week 24

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.5 & 8.7 Surface Area & Volume
Math Packet:  #17 Surface Area & Volume
Upcoming Assessments:  Geo. Trans Quiz (Fri. 3/13/15); Geo. Test #3 (Geo. Trans. & Sim. Figs.) (Fri. 3/20/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.11 Composite Figures
Math Packet:  #17 Composite Figures
Upcoming Assessments:  Geo. Test #1 (Geo. Trans. & Comp. Figs.) (Tues. 3/10/15 & Wed. 3/11/15); CCPS Quiz #5 (Wed. 3/11/15)

I'll start with my apologies for sending this out much later than my usual Friday/Saturday postings.  With the snow days and feeling sick over that extra time off (those snow days really came in handy for that reason at least), I'm just now able to get back into the swing of things.

Math: Week 23

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.5 & 8.7 Surface Area & Volume
Math Packet:  #17 Surface Area & Volume
Upcoming Assessments:  SA & Vol. Quiz (Mon. 3/2/15); Geo. Test #2 (SA & Vol.) (Fri. 3/6/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.8 Geoemtric Transformations
Math Packet:  #16 Geometric Transformations
Upcoming Assessments:  Geo. Trans. Quiz (Mon. 3/2/15); Comp. Fig. Quiz (Thurs. 3/5/15)

It's been a crazy month for us here in Central VA! There was no WCS posting last week (only a quick email and Edmodo messages to the kids) since school was closed to students the entire week and teachers only went in that Friday for a work day. This week, we at least got three days of school in before more snow put us out again Thursday and Friday, so we all tried to pack as much learning into that time as possible.

Math: Week 22

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.7 Properties of Quadrilaterals
Math Packet:  #16 Properties of Quadrilaterals
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Quiz #5 (Tues. 2/17/15); SA & Vol. Quiz (Mon. 2/23/15); Geo. Test #2 (Surface Area & Volume) (Mon. 3/2/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.10 Pythagorean Theorem; SOL 8.6 Angle Relationships
Math Packet:  #15 Angle Relationships
Upcoming Assessments:  Geometry Test #1(Pyth. Th. & Angle Rel.) (Wed. 2/18/15)

It's been another busy week, but we've gotten a lot done.

Math: Week 21

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.6 Angle Relationships; SOL 7.7 Properties of Quadrilaterals
Math Packet:  #15 Angle Relationships; #16 Properties of Quadrilaterals
Upcoming Assessments:  Geometry Test #1(Pyth. Th., Angle Rel., & Prop. of Quads) (Fri. 2/13/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.10 Pythagorean Theorem; SOL 8.6 Angle Relationships
Math Packet:  #14 Pythagorean Theorem; #15 Angle Relationships
Upcoming Assessments:  Angle Relationships Quiz (Fri. 2/13/15)

Aunt Kimmie's taxi cab service is running this afternoon, so I'm trying to get a head start on this week's update (and keep it short if I don't get too long winded again) before my niece and her friend come looking for a ride home after school.

Math: Week 20

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.3 Proportional Reasoning; SOL 8.10 Pythagorean Theorem
Math Packet:  #14 Pythagorean Theorem
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Quiz #4 (Mon. 2/2/15); Geometry Test #1(Pyth. Th., Angle Rel., & Prop. of Quads) (Fri. 2/13/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.10 Pythagorean Theorem
Math Packet:  #14 Pythagorean Theorem
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Quiz #4 (Mon. 2/2/15); Pythagorean Theorem Quiz (Thurs. 2/5/15)

Greetings to everyone!  I know I'm a day later than my usual Friday email, but it's been a busy week even with the snow day on Tuesday and the teacher workday on Friday.

Weekly Class Summary: June 9-13

SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.6 Angle Relationships
Math Dictionary Sections:  35 Angles; 36 Angle Relationships; 37 Angle & Line Bisectors
Upcoming Assessments:  NONE!!!

So here we are!  The year's officially over and it's been a great one!  On Wednesday, we had our awards ceremony with the finale slideshow, which can be found on Edline, followed by an attempt at an outdoor carnival until the rain forced everyone inside. With the wash-out, students instead got to come in and watch movies or socialize.

For math this week, we did a bit of work on angle relationships, which tied into my favorite end-of-year activity, origami.  While going through the steps for folding the paper, I pointed out the various things that relate back to our work this week and throughout the year:  supplementary angles found within the folds, how the diagonals of a square form perpendicular bisectors, etc.  It took a bit of time along with 12 pieces of paper per student, but students' final product was a 24-faced polyhedron.  Those who finished early also had a chance to make 8-pointed stars and/or other pieces of origami.



I hope everyone enjoys their summer break and stays safe.  I'd also like to encourage students to review every once and awhile over the summer so their math skills stay fresh.  To help with that, students will still have access to the accounts I set up for them this year aside from TenMarks, which they can instead sign up for on their own.  The county has also made resources available on their SOL & Summer Resources page.  And finally....

Have a great summer!

Homework: June 9-13

For the week of June 9, 2014

With this being the last week of school, all work is winding down for the year.  Grades will most likely need to be sent before the last day, but I still plan on taking a few small grades, mostly to help students get a little last minute boost if they put forth the effort.  The work will predominately be completed in class, but it would be good for students to review a little bit once they get home.

CW Packet for the week of 6/9/14

Weekly Class Summary: June 2-6

SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.10 Pythagorean Theorem
Math Dictionary Sections:  34 Pythagorean Theorem
Upcoming Assessments:  NONE!!!

Things are slowly winding down now, but we still have Math 8 topics to cover.  This week's topic was the Pythagorean theorem, one of my favorites!  We had a little bit of story time with "What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?" by Julie Ellis.  The book discusses a hypothetical situation for how the Pythagoras might have come up with the theorem since the actual events are unknown.  From there, we moved onto working some real world problems requiring the use of the Pythagorean theorem and then a few practice SOL type questions made by the district.  Students who finished up early got started on next week's packet, which they'll be expected to bring everyday next week.


The last day to turn in work for term 4 (missing or incomplete assignments, error analysis for assessments, and/or extra credit work) was Friday.  For any students who were absent or making up SOLs, I'll still accept the Pythagorean theorem work packet on Monday, but that will be the deadline for that.  At this point, I'm not sure what grades I'll be taking next week as we've not been told when to start sending grades, so we'll have to go day-by-day for future grades.  Any additional grades will be designed to help students improve their grades and will not have a negative impact on their overall grade unless the student were to refuse to do the work (thankfully something that rarely ever happens with this group of kids!).

Homework: June 2-6

For the week of June 2, 2014

Tomorrow students will receive the new packet on the Pythagorean Theorem.  These packets will be due this Friday, though I ask that students who plan to be out Friday to please try turning it in early if possible.  Otherwise, they'll need to be careful to remember over the weekend and to turn them in when they return Monday, June 6th.

CW Packet for the week of 6/2/14

Weekly Class Summary: May 5-9

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.5-7.8 M&G
Math Dictionary Sections:  Review all sections on M&G
Upcoming Assessments:  SOL Quiz #4 (Fri. 5/16/14)

This is going out a bit later than usual since I had errands to run after school and thus couldn't stay after to finish up work the way I usually do on Fridays.  I'm sitting at home with a sitcom on in the background and trying not to doze off after a very busy week, so I'll be keeping this on the shorter side.  Before moving on to the nitty gritty of this week's math class, I just wanted to send my virtual thanks to the students and parents/guardians who made this an awesome Teacher Appreciation Week!  The PTA kept us well fed all week long and I cherish the drawings and little tokens of thanks from the students.  I also want to thank all my teachers who put me on the path to becoming one myself; I wouldn't have made it this far without them!



Our focus in class this week was on the Measurement and Geometry (SOL 7.5-7.8) category.  Students again spent time working independently and I spent some time going around to check in on each group.  I also gave each student a letter to take home and share with their parents/guardians that was personalized with information on how each individual student did on his/her SOL simulation test.  Attached to the letter was further feedback, showing each student the topic of each question he/she missed.  I have an "old" version of this form which students can use to access hyperlinks to resources about each of the topics.  I'm currently working on a "new" version that I'll continue to update with additional resources.  The beauty of using GoogleDrive is that I can continue to edit it and students will always be able to access the most recent version without having to get a new link.  I'm going to "take off" now and try to get a bit more work done on this new version and maybe a bit more grading before bed.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and those how have motherly roles out there!

Homework: May 5-9

For the week of May 5, 2014

We are completely in "SOL mode" now, so students will begin working on their review packets.  This week's focus is on the Measurement and Geometry categories, which is the second reporting category for the SOL test (i.e. how they separate the sections for data purposes).  Any work from our packets that isn't completed in class should be finished at home along with students taking time each evening to review the materials in their SOL review folders.

#3 SOL 7.5-7.8 Review Packet for the week of 5/5/14

Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 31-Apr. 4

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.8 & 8.8 Geometric Transformations; SOL 7.12 & 8.14,16 Relations & Functions
Math Dictionary Sections:  28 Transformations; 29 Relations & Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  Probability Quiz (Fri. 4/11/14)

This week was predominately filled up with testing, so I don't have too much to write about this time.  We did spend Monday in the computer lab, reviewing current and old materials by playing DimensionU.  By the end of the day, I was able to join in and play with the students; while I'm a little rusty, I did show them I've got some gaming skill by the second round (just had to rest the keys for my "leftiness" first).  On Tuesday, we started class by going over a few last minute details from the review packet before the students started the test on transformations, similar figures, relations, and functions; most students finished the test on Wednesday and used any extra time to wrap up odds and ends for the third term.  Ideally, I would leave it at the one test, but we are required to give the county's post-assessment, which shows student growth in each content area, by the end of the third term; with all the snow days, this was the only viable option for scheduling.  Therefore, Thursday and Friday were devoted to the test.  For those students who finished early, the new packets on probability (notes, homework, and classwork) were made available, which start off with review materials.  We'll start going over all of it together on Monday.

Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 17-21

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.12 & 8.14,16 Relations & Functions
Math Dictionary Sections:  29 Relations & Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  Trans. & Rel./Func. Test (Tues. 4/1/14); CCPS Post-Test (Thurs. 4/3/14)

I promised the kids I'll get all of their work graded and back to them at the beginning of each class on Monday, so I've got a stack of stuff to get through this afternoon before leaving, therefore I'll be (trying) to keep this on the short side (though I've said that before and ended up with quite a bit more).  This has been another crazy weather week, so Monday and Tuesday were both two-hour delays, but we used every bit of the hours we were in school those days to continue working on transformations.  I went over some easy tips to help the students remember how to do each of the transformations and made a few updates to the notes and Smart Chart to add to the ease.  Students took the quiz on the unit on Thursday and were given the rest of that block to work on starting to tie up loose ends for this term.  I'll post an additional reminder, but students were informed that the last day I'll be taking make-up work and/or error analysis on assessments will be next Friday, March 28th since the week after next will be the end of the third term.




On Friday, I introduced our new unit on relations and functions.  In all of the classes, the students worked in groups to match up various real world relations before then determining which part was the independent event and which was the dependent (ex. the distance traveled depends on the amount of gas in a car).  I was extremely happy with this activity as students seemed to really enjoy it on top of getting a lot out of it.  Blocks 3/4 was able to complete and Block 7/8 was able to start a second activity in which students went about determining whether various graphs, tables, maps, and number sets were or were not a function (Block 1/2 will do this activity on Monday).  We'll be continuing this unit all of next week, but the test will take place at the start of the following week and will thus be one of the first grades for the last term.  This is in order to allow students a chance to complete an error analysis on it before the grade is closed out.

Finally, I'd like to remind students and parents/guardians that some of the county's teachers (myself included) cannot access our email at the moment, specifically all teachers with last names L-R last I heard.  I'm not sure when we'll get it back, but as I stated in the message I sent through Edline, I can still receive messages through Edmodo, as comments left here on the blog, and of course there's always the "old school" paper note sent through the student.  A message can also be left with the office and I can call back when I'm free.  If any emails were sent after email went down (I last received emails Wed. 3/19 at 9:27 PM), then there's a possibility they could be completely lost.  Since I've not heard specifics about what happened to the email system, I'm not sure what to expect from this.  Fingers crossed the issue is solved soon!

Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 10-14

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.8 & 8.8 Geometric Transformations
Math Dictionary Sections:  27 Coordinate Plane; 28 Transformations
Upcoming Assessments:  Transformations Quiz (Wed. 3/19/14)

This week has reminded us that spring is approaching (but will apparently take a detour Sunday evening/Monday morning), so we've actually had a whole uninterrupted week.  Students finished the test we "previewed" last Friday.  If they didn't finish on Monday, the completed it on Tuesday in the computer lab before we had our first completely "fun" day of math gaming.  The students all have DimensionU accounts and we were able to play a little bit the last time we were in the lab, but this was the first time they could really get into it.  DimensionU has different "worlds" the students can play in and our school accounts give EDMS students access to the math and language arts part of the game.  Obviously while in my class, students are expected to play the math portion (earning points while answering math questions related to our curriculum), but the game can also be downloaded and played from home.  I'm one of the building contacts for the company, so I've received word that there will be a web-version of the game relaunched sometime in the future.  I'm hoping it will work with the Chromebooks the students will be given next year, so we'll be able to get a lot more use out of the game.


When we returned to the classroom on Wednesday, we got started on our geometric transformations unit.  Students received their new homework and classwork packets, which are currently due on Wednesday, March 19th; this could be pushed back depending on how far we get at the beginning of next week.  We did a little review of the basics of working on the coordinate plane before starting on translations.  On Thursday, some students were able to get started on reflections, but most were only able to finish translations.  With a social studies field trip and chorus students leaving for state assessments, about half of the students were out on Friday, therefore, instead of teaching a lesson that would just need to be repeated on Monday, students were given some Pi Day activities to work on as well as a chance to complete unfinished assignments, work on error analysis for their old assessments, and get help from me when needed.  Since students were with me for both their math block as well as the block they normally have language arts, some were able to make a lot of progress on getting caught up and/or ahead in their work.  Students can work on their classwork packet on their own outside of school, but we will be continuing our work with transformations on Monday.



Students are reminded that they can make arrangements with me for a tutoring session before or after school.  At the moment, I'm not able to set up a "regular" after school tutoring session as I have in the past (my sister needs my "auntie's taxi service" to be running for a bit), but I can find a few minutes before and/or after school some days to give extra help when needed.  Students can check with me or have their parents email and we can find a time that works for everyone.  I can also work with students during SOAR class, though I have plans to help students get organized and clear out lockers over the next few weeks (some of their binders and lockers are looking like a paper factory exploded in there!).

Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 3-7

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.5 & 8.7 Surface Area & Volume of Rectangular Prisms & Cylinders
Math Dictionary Sections:  26 Surface Area & Volume (with Math 7 Formula Sheet)
Upcoming Assessments:  Quads & Vol/SA Test (Mon. 3/10/14)

For this short week, we'll have shorter WCS.  After missing Monday and Tuesday then coming in late Wednesday due to snow, more than half of my students had a field trip for social studies of which I wasn't previously made aware.  Because of this, our work on surface area and volume was severely cut short and I thus decided to do a test "walk-through" with the students on Friday.  As we've done before, I go through the questions with the students talking about key words and how they translate as well as strategies for the various questions and how to approach them.  Students are still responsible for putting the pieces together and getting to the final answer, they've just had a bit of extra guidance, which I liken to "math training wheels."  We'll continue with our walk-through on Monday before the students finish it up on their own.



With the shortened week along with the field trip, quite a few students either haven't finished their classwork-turned-homework packet or forgot to bring it in today.  It will show up as missing in their grades with this afternoon's update, but I will still accept it on Monday without penalty.  The missing grade is simply added to make sure students along with their parents are aware that is still due and hasn't yet been turned in for grading.  We had a little situation during block 7/8 with a student getting sick that was a bit of a distraction right as the bell was ringing to switch to SOAR, so students from that class are reminded that if they walked out with the test this afternoon, they need to remember to bring it back on Monday.

Fingers crossed this is the last bit of winter weather we see this season!