Math: Week 33

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.1-7.4 Numbers, Number Sense, Computation, & Estimation
Math Packet:  SOL Review Folder
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #4 (Fri. 5/22/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.1-8.5 Numbers, Number Sense, Computation, & Estimation
Math Packet:  SOL Review Folder
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #5 (Fri. 5/22/15)

As the kids can tell you, it's been a little bit of a crazy week what with the start of SOL testing and the varying schedules each day, so I'm just plain beat and ready to call it a day.  I'll therefore be keeping this on the short side (at least that's the plan, but you know how I get carried away sometimes).

Math: Week 9

MSM2
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.2 Subsets of the Real Number System
Math Packet:  #7 The Real Number System
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Review Quiz #2 (Mon. 11/10); Combined Quiz (Real Numbers, Algebraic Verbal Translations, Review) (Fri. 11/14)

7H
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.13a Algebraic Verbal Translations
Math Packet:  #8 Algebraic Verbal Translations
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Review Quiz #2 (Mon. 11/10); Solving Equations Quiz (Thurs. 11/13)

I must again apologize for sending/posting this so late.  I had every intention of doing so on Friday, but I was unable to do so before the site (the school's Synergy/ParentVUE site) was taken offline for maintenance.

Math: Week 8

MSM2
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.1a,b,c & 8.1b Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers & Scientific Notation
Math Packet:  #6 Comparing & Ordering Numbers
Upcoming Assessments:  Review Test #3 (Tues. 10/28 & Wed. 10/29)

7H
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.15c Properties of Real Numbers
Math Packet:  #7 Properties of Real Numbers
Upcoming Assessments:  Review Test #2 (Tues. 10/28 & Wed. 10/29)

First, let me apologize to anyone expecting me to post this yesterday.

Math: Week 7

MSM2
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.1a,b,c & 8.1b Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers & Scientific Notation
Math Packet:  #6 Comparing & Ordering Numbers
Upcoming Assessments:  Comparing & Ordering Quiz (Fri. 10/24)

7H
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.1b Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers & Scientific Notation
Math Packet:  #6 Comparing & Ordering Numbers
Upcoming Assessments:  Properties Quiz (Fri. 10/24)

This week we expanded our use of technology to include online assessments.

Math: Week 6

MSM2
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.13 Evaluating Algebraic Expressions
Math Packet:  #5 Algebraic Expressions: Substitution
Upcoming Assessments:  Substitution Quiz (Mon. 10/13); Test MP 1-5 (Tues. 10/14 & Wed. 10/15)

7H
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.1b Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers & Scientific Notation
Math Packet:  #5 Comparing & Ordering Numbers
Upcoming Assessments:  Comp. & Ordering Quiz (Thurs. 10/16); CCPS Wk 1-4 Quiz (Fri. 10/17)

This week started off with wrapping up the previous week's work.

Math: Week 4

MSM2
SOLs Covered:  Review of SOLs 7.1d/8.5, 7.1e/7.3ab, & 7.16/8.15
Math Packet:  Wk 1-3 Test Study Guide
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Wk 1-4 Quiz (Wed. 10/1); PEMDAS Quiz (Fri. 10/3)

7H
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.2 The Real Number System & Review of SOLs 7.1d/8.5, 7.1e/7.3ab, 8.1a
Math Packet:  #4 The Real Number System & Wk 1-4 Test Study Guide
Upcoming Assessments:  Algebraic Substitution Quiz (Fri. 10/3)

They're finally here!  This week the students finally got their Chromebooks!

Math: Week 3

MSM2
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.16 & 8.15 Properties of Real Numbers
Math Packet:  #3 Properties
Upcoming Assessments:  Properties Quiz (Mon. 9/22); CCPS Wk 1-4 Quiz (Tues. 9/23); Test MP #1-3 (Thurs. 9/25 & Fri. 9/26)

7H
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.1 Order of Operations
Math Packet:  #3 PEMDAS
Upcoming Assessments:  Test MP #1-4 (Thurs. 9/25 & Fri. 9/26)

In this last week leading up to the distribution of the students Chromebooks, we've had to give a little of class time in preparation for it.

Math: Week 1

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8 &7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.1 & 8.5 Squares & Square Roots
Math Packet:  #1 Exponents, Powers, & Roots
Upcoming Assessments:  Squares, Square Roots & Integers Quiz (Fri. 9/12); Pre-Assessment (TBA)

Welcome back to what should be an exciting new school year!

Weekly Class Summary: Apr. 28-May 2

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.1-7.4 N&NS and C&E
Math Dictionary Sections:  Review all sections on N&NS and C&E
Upcoming Assessments:  SOL Quiz #3 (Fri. 5/9/14)

This week was our first full week of SOL review.  Students were given their SOL review folders along with all the work packets we'll be doing in the weeks leading up to the big test.  For this first week, we focused on the Numbers & Number Sense (SOLs 7.1-7.2) and Computation & Estimation (SOLs 7.2-7.4) categories, which make up the first reporting category on the SOL.  Students worked independently while I went around and checked over their work and gave little pointers, hints, and mini-lessons.  On Thursday, students took the second SOL review quiz and Friday, for those students who had finished all other work, we were in the computer lab for some techie review using DimensionU, TenMarks, and StudyIsland.  Students who hadn't finished this week's packet continued to work on those and could join in on the fun while the rest finished.



A few students also finally had the chance to finish their SOL simulation test.  You'll notice that a grade has not yet been posted for the test.  This is in part due to some students just finishing today.  However, I also still have to go in and analyze the data before I decide how grades for it will be done; at the moment, the plan is to pick 25 questions to use as the grade, eliminating those questions that had a high miss rate.  Students will receive their feedback form (hopefully) by the end of next week along with a letter for their parents.  Details for this will be posted next week.

Thank you to everyone who sent supplies in this week! It's been a huge help! I wish I could name everyone, but some names are escaping me at the moment and I wouldn't want to forget some of my helpers, so instead I send a blanket "Thank You!" to everyone who helped!

Well, that's it for this week.  I know it's much shorter than my usual post, but I'm beat after this week, in part due to the late night here at school yesterday for the annual art show.  We have some incredibly talented young artists here and I was very impressed!  I have my own little gallery going in my classroom with all the work students have given me this year, though some of those were a bit sillier than others.

Weekly Class Summary: Feb. 10-14

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.4 & 8.3b Consumer Applications
Math Dictionary Sections:  23 Problem Solving with Percents
Upcoming Assessments:  Bay PBL Project (Final presentations Mon. 2/17); Quads Quiz (Mon. 2/21/14)

Since I'm writing this late due to last week's snow days, I'll be keeping this on the short side.  As previously mentioned, students received a consumer applications packet of work, which was used as both classwork and homework.  They also received a take-home test in case we fell prey to the snow again and I'm so glad I planned ahead for it since as we all know school was closed both Thursday and Friday.  I've never been so ready for spring!  There's no official word yet on how exactly we'll be making up these most recent snow days, but we should be hearing soon.  Once I know, I'll be sure to include that information here, though the county will undoubtedly send out their own updates.

We continued our presentations at the beginning of the blocks and we can almost officially call an end to this PBL project.  The last few groups are actually presenting today, so I'll include the tech components for their project on this week's WCS, but below you'll find the ones from last week.  Parents and guardians, please take a look at these awesome projects and give your children some well deserved praise.  PBL projects in general can be a bit difficult as it's a different way of learning for most of these kids than what they're used to (though they'll be seeing much more of it in the future), but adding in all this crazy weather added a new level of difficulty in just managing everything for a group project.

Weekly Class Summary: Feb. 3-7

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.4 & 8.3b Consumer Applications
Math Dictionary Sections:  23 Problem Solving with Percents
Upcoming Assessments:  Bay PBL Project (Final presentations on going); Proportional Reasoning Test (Fri. 2/14/14)

This week's class summary will be on the short side when it comes to text.  This is because part of each class was devoted to groups presenting their PBL projects, some of which can be seen below if they had a tech component.  We'd changed the previous plans of presenting on one day in a kind of "science fair style" because of all the snow days.  I now have groups presenting one group per day.

I've been incredibly proud of the groups who have presented thus far.  Since this is our first year doing PBL and thus a learning experience for the teachers as well, I've been a bit more lenient in grading than PBL would generally call for, grading in the students' favor when it came to flaws.  I've already learned a lot from the process as well as the students and I have plans to start tweaking this project for future use.  Of course having student examples of completed projects will be the first big help in the process.

After students presented each day, we worked on the packets mentioned in the homework posting this week.  This packet will carry over into next week as we get ready for the proportional reasoning test.  If the wintry weather forecast for this weekend and next week ends up being worse than currently expected, students will at least have work with them to help prepare them.  If the weather does turn out to be bad enough to need more snow days, we've already started talking about the possibility of the test being made a take-home assessment, though we'll have to wait to see what the weather brings.

Weekly Class Summary: Jan. 27-31

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.4 & 8.3a Ratios, Rates, & Proportions; SOL 7.4 & 8.3b Consumer Applications
Math Dictionary Sections:  21 RRP; 22 Congruency & Similarity; 23 Problem Solving with Percents
Upcoming Assessments:  Bay PBL Project (Folder on Mon. 2/3; Final presentations start on Tues. 2/4)

So we've had yet another interesting week due to some rather interesting winter weather.  After the students missed all of last week due to snow, they had school Monday and Tuesday of this week before getting snowed out again until today (Friday, Jan. 31).  Monday, the students spent the first half of the block working on the county's first semester benchmark test and the second half in the computer lab working on their Chesapeake Bay PBL presentations.  Tuesday, students completed the benchmark test and then used the Chromebooks to continue their PBL work.  A few students have a few questions left on the benchmark, but all have completed the ten questions I told them would count as their first quiz grade for the term; the few questions some have left can be completed the day we're in the lab later in February when they enter their answers into the county's system.

Knowing that we had a chance of missing more time, I sent the students home with their homework for Wednesday and Thursday, so they'd have something to help them "stay fresh" for math.  When we returned after what some students are referring to as our third winter break, we started the block off by working on the first half of what was previously planned as the ratios, rates, and proportions quiz.  Due to the lost time, some adjustments have had to be made, so it will now count as a classwork grade, but the students still get the exposure to these SOL-type questions.  Students were then given the rest of the block to finish up their PBL presentations.

We'll start presenting in the classroom just to classmates (another change from the original plans) on Tuesday, February 4th, with one or two groups presenting each day.  Knowing that some students have not had sufficient time to implement all their plans, allowances will be made in the grading process.  For instance, a few groups wanted to film video PSAs but haven't been able to find time on the few days we've been in school to do the actual filming, much less the editing.  In this case, I'll grade the script these groups have written for now and they'll be able to continue working on the project after "final grades" are given to earn bonus points; the lack of an "official" final product will not be held against students.  I'll continue to work with students on finding after school and/or SOAR time to work on finalizing their projects since they have been excited about their plans and I'm eager to see what their imaginations have come up with!  From what I've seen so far, they've done an excellent job and I'm so very proud of them!

I'm already hearing weather warnings (though not in the official sense) for next week, so I'm already working on setting up a packet of work students can do at home to stay on top of things and not get too rusty with all the missed time.  I'm hoping we don't miss any more time, but I'd like to be prepared for the possibility just in case.

Weekly Class Summary: Jan. 13-17

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.4 & 8.3 Ratios, Rates, & Proportions
Math Dictionary Sections:  21 Ratios, Rates, & Proportions; 22 Congruency & Similarity
Upcoming Assessments:  Benchmark Test (Tues. 1/21); Proportions Quiz (Wed. 1/22); Bay PBL Project (Folder on Fri. 1/24; Final presentation on Thurs. 1/30)

This week we continued working on our PBL projects, starting the week with a Watermen simulation unit that had students using our current math topics (ratios, rates, and proportions) to run a crabbing business.  On Monday, we watched two short videos on the Chesapeake Bay Watermen, the men and women who make their living by fishing, crabbing, and oystering on the Bay.  I then introduced the activity they would be doing the next day, explaining that they would "go crabbing" but would have to plan how to sell their crabs (either as hard shell, soft shell, or picked meat).  In their PBL groups, students discussed the pros and cons of each possible selling method (the time involved, the amount of money made, etc.) as well as calculating how much gas, bait, and other materials would cost, deciding whether they wanted (or could even afford) to buy additional crab pots or picking tools.  When the kids came into class on Tuesday, I had "crabs" (card stock versions at least) hidden around the room, including a "No Crabbing" zone that if caught in the zone or with crabs from it would result in a fine for the group.  The kids seemed to have a great time with the activity, especially those who helped me hide crabs for the following blocks as they came up with even better hiding spots than I did!




Students were given a bit more time to plan their final presentations as well in class.  Sadly we didn't have enough time to get on the Chromebooks much in class this week, but most groups had time during SOAR to either get a pass to the computer lab or to use the Chromebooks in my class.  A few students stayed after school on Wednesday to work as well; I'll be providing time again next week (Wednesday, 1/22 and Thursday, 1/23) after school for those wanting to stay after to work.  We've finalized deadlines for the project as well.  Students already knew the initial deadline of Friday, January 24th, but since we could not get time for the auditorium until the following week, all of my students now have until Thursday, January 30th to completely finish the presentation portion of their project; the folders we've been working on in class be checked and given a final grade on the original deadline date.  Grades for the folder and the presentation will be counted towards the third marking period.

For the rest of the week, we were able to go back to spending a lot more time on our "usual" math, adding to our notes and working on traditional classwork assignments.  To encourage students to follow the directions of adding the required items to their math dictionaries (something I see as a necessity to being successful in my class), students were given what I'm calling a "notes quiz" where they were tasked with solving a proportion we'd done the day before using the three methods I showed them:  the SOL way (using factors), the Easy way (using cross products), and the Lambie way (using a zigzag method I came up with to solve proportions quickly).  For students who followed the directions, it was the easiest A they could ever hope for!  For those who didn't (despite repeated warnings and reminders), the work was much harder since they didn't have the notes to help them.  Needless to say, the rest of the week saw all students diligently following along as we made additions to our notes with extra example problems.  I know have several students begging me for the next notes-check quiz!




The quiz previously planned for this week has been pushed to next week and will thus count to the third term as well in order to give students the chance to make corrections if necessary.  Part of the reason for the move is the fact I feel students need a bit more practice with proportion word problems as well as similar figures.  Another reason is that on Wednesday while working with unit rates, we ended up taking a bit of time on a classroom discussion on the importance of using unit rates/prices to get the best deal or choice.  A few students talked about how their parents make them find the best deal when they go grocery shopping with them (Thank you to those parents who do this!  That's an awesome real world application of math and I loved hearing that!).  Several talked about family members who ended up getting new cars in order to get one that was more fuel efficient.

While the discussion was excellent on its own since it had the students interest and it has led many to be more invested in understanding the concept, it also led to me giving out one last extra credit opportunity.  Students can earn extra credit which will be added to the quiz category (which is 30% of their overall grade) by doing a little study/research on unit rates.  They can earn the credit by turning in a write up of their research, giving at least two scenarios where the use of unit rates can save the consumer (ex. products from two different stores, comparing two different brands that slightly different sizes, or the same brand sold in two different sizes; comparing the fuel efficiency of two different cars and thus which would save the consumer gas money or comparing gas prices from different stations).  Students also need to write a paragraph on what they take away from the activity.  This extra credit can be turned in through Friday, January 24th and will count towards the current term.

Monday is a school holiday, so on Tuesday students will start the county's first semester benchmark test.  There is a topic (consumer applications: tax, tip, discount, commission) that we have not yet covered due to the addition of our PBL project this month, so instead of taking a test grade on the entire thing, students will get a quiz grade on ten questions, which they'll be told about and mark before they start.  Students will also take the ratios, rates, and proportions quiz on Wednesday.  Ideally I would not have two assessments like this back-to-back, but due to scheduling reasons (computer lab time as well as PBL time for work and presentations) it couldn't be helped, which is another reason for not taking a big test grade on the benchmark at this point.  I would like to assure parents that I have no worries in regards to staying on pace for the SOLs later in the year.  While we are not where I would hope to be at this point, we are actually ahead of the county's pacing and are safe in regards to covering all the material before the SOLs (which are tentatively scheduled for May 16 (Block 1/2), May 19 (Block 3/4), and May 20 (Block 7/8) for the Math 7 test).  I personally like to stay ahead as much as possible because of the unknowns that can disrupt the schedule (such as the two 2-hour delays we had last week).

Weekly Class Summary: Jan. 6-10

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.4 & 8.3 Ratios, Rates, & Proportions
Math Dictionary Sections:  21 Ratios, Rates, & Proportions
Upcoming Assessments:  Proportions Quiz (Fri. 1/17); Bay PBL Project (Fri. 1/24)

This WCS will be short and sweet since I'm still recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed over the break.  With that being said, I want to sincerely thank all of my students for being on their best behavior this week, knowing I'm still feeling pretty rough.  You guys are awesome!

This week we haven't done too much "real math" in class this week as we've started working on our Chesapeake Bay PBL project.  This project is a cross-circular assignment being down in both math and science.  This week our work has been a bit more science based and the math hasn't been quite as obvious (though next week's activity will be much more "in your face" math).  We completed a water quality lab as well as a virtual field trip to the Bay.  Students have spent quite a bit of time in their groups discussing and planning their final projects using what has been learned thus far in math and science as well as what they've discovered on their own.  I spent most of today (Friday) checking in with each group to see where they stand:  what jobs each group member has, what format their presentation (a PSA to convince others to care about the Bay) will take, what their theme/main idea is, etc.  I've already been highly impressed with their creativity as well as the scope of their ideas!  I wasn't able to get through all the groups in each class, so the students I missed today will meet with me on Monday.  I'll continue checking in with the groups to ensure that students are on pace with their plans, headed in the right direction, and that all the group members are doing their fair share and in agreement on what's being done.




We had a parent information session on Thursday to help introduce parents to the concept of PBL (Project Based Learning).  The presentation can be viewed below for any parents unable to attend or who might want to see it again.  Thanks to all those who made it out!  The questions and concerns brought up by some of the parents are being taken into consideration, especially as this is a bit of a learning process for us being one of the first CCPS schools to introduce PBL this year.

Weekly Class Summary: Nov. 4-8

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.13 Verbal Expressions
Math Dictionary Sections:  19 Algebraic Concepts
Upcoming Assessments:  Verbal Expressions Test (Tues. 11/12)

Since this was a short-and-sweet week for the students (my nieces were happy to rub in the fact they got to sleep in on Monday and Tuesday while Aunt Kimmie got to come to work), I'll keep this WCS on the short-and-sweet side (especially when you add in the fact that it's just after 5 PM and I'm still at school as it gets dark outside!).  We started the week off on Wednesday with a review of the real number system and doing a walk-through of the quiz.  Like the preview of the last test, I walked through each question with the students to point out some of the "SOL tricks" along with the problems that require more detailed work, using our new classroom expression "WIO!" (Work It Out!).  I finished grading the quizzes this afternoon, so students will get them back on Monday and can begin their corrections and Error Analysis then.

Once students finished up the quiz, they got the first part of their algebra notes.  We'll be working on algebraic concepts for the next few weeks, so we'll be building on this section along the way.  To start, we're simply working on translating from English to Mathish (as I like to call it) and vice versa.  I was really impressed with how much students remembered from last year, especially some of the trickier phrasing (ex. less vs. less than vs. is less than).  We wrapped up the week with a "translation walk" that had the students collaborating in small groups to translate various verbal expressions to algebraic expressions and matching them up with posters placed around the room.  We'll go over the activity on Monday to make sure everyone had the correct translations and get started on the test after that if there's time; otherwise the test will be on Tuesday.

Algebraic Expressions Millionaire on Math-Play.com

Also just a heads up to be on the lookout for a permission slip of sorts.  I usually do a food activity for solving equations and will send home a form to make sure it's safe for all students to participate; I'll come up with an alternative if this is the case for any student.  If the activity will work out, any donations to help with the supplies would be greatly appreciated!  Look for more details next week!

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!!!

Weekly Class Summary: Oct. 21-25

SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.1 PEMDAS; SOL 7.13 Substitution; SOL 7.1 & 8.1 NegExpo, SciNot, Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers
Math Dictionary Sections:  Review Sections 7-12
Upcoming Assessments:  MSM2 Test 2 (Complete Mon. 10/28); Real Number System Quiz (Fri. 11/1)

This week was devoted to preparing for the second big test of the year.  Students started the week finishing the last quiz.  After grading this quiz and finding that the kids grades aren't showing the understanding of the concepts I know they have based on our conversations and work in class, I decided to take a new approach to things.  We spent some time going over the last quiz in a little more depth than usual along with making a few more additions to our Smart Chart.  We also went over a few handy dandy tricks that can be down with a times table, such as the perfect squares on the diagonal from the top left to bottom right (we'd previously talked about this during our exponents unit) as well as using the table to help with reducing and finding equivalent fractions.  For the making of the chart, I showed them a handy folding trick another teacher (Thanks, Mrs. Lawson!) showed me for making nice, neat columns for the table.

Flower Power from MangaHigh

While we spent time working on the study guide for the test, I tried a little something new, which I'm calling a "test preview."  Since the students show during regular class activities that they understand the basic math concepts, I feel the problem lies in that they do not know how to approach and breakdown the newer, more rigorous types of SOL questions my assessments have.  Therefore, for this test I started their "preview" by explaining that I was going to walk through the entire test with them, telling them what I would do if I were a student taking the test.  We read through each question one at a time, highlighting keywords and important information as well as writing the relevant Smart Chart component with each question.  We applied some of their "standard" strategies as well, like "slash the trash" (getting rid of all the obviously wrong answers).  One of the biggest factors in some of the less than stellar grades on assessments is the fact that too many students haven't been showing their work for a lot of the questions.  They seem to think that because there might be answer choices given, the work isn't necessary.  I made a huge point of telling them that even though I make the assessments, I still show my work when making the key and checking everything.  To remind them that the work is indeed important and necessary, we added a new class catchphrase (WIO! which stands for "Work It Out!") to problems where work is required to get the answer right.

Once we finished our "preview," students went back to each question and used our additions to solve the problems on their own.  While I don't plan to do these previews on future tests, I might use this strategy on some of the quizzes, though not always for the entire thing.  Students will finish the test as needed on Monday, though there are a few things that will be taking away from class time again that day, so students will most definitely be allowed additional time if needed due to the disruption to the regular math class schedule.

Weekly Class Summary: Oct. 14-18

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.1 & 8.1 Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers
Math Dictionary Sections:  8 Scientific Notation; 9 Fractions; 10 Decimals; 11 Decimals, Fractions, & Percents; 12 Estimating to Half or Whole
Upcoming Assessments:  MSM2 Test 2 (Fri. 10/25)

It's almost 5 PM and I still have a stack of Error Analyses to grade before I call it a day, so this WCS will be on the shorter side.  This week we built on last week's work with scientific notation by "throwing" it into the mix with fractions, decimals, and percents (forevermore known as FDP).  Last year students learned how to convert, compare, and order FDPs which was an extension on their elementary work on just fractions and decimals, so overall they were fairly familiar with the basics of everything, needing only a little refresher on it.  To start, we practiced our conversations to and from FDP and scientific notation.  One of my tips to students to alleviate the stress of the problems was to save fractions for last as they are generally the trickiest.



When we started the process of comparing everything, my next tip was to pick the form they are most comfortable with (my preferred number form is decimals) and convert everything to that form before attempting the conversation   Without converting the numbers to the same form, it's like comparing apples to oranges; while that might not be impossible, it's a little more difficult than comparing apples to apples (BTW, I prefer Gala or Fuji).  Students began the quiz for the unit along with a good chunk of review on Friday; as has become the norm, many kids will still need to finish on Monday.  I see this as a good thing based on my observations; students are starting to adapt to my harder form of assessment and are improving with each assessment!

Well, there it is, probably the shortest WCS to date!  Now back to my stack of grading.  "Thumbs up" to all the students taking advantage of the chance complete an Error Analysis to pull up their grades!

Weekly Class Summary: Oct. 7-11

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.13 Substitution; SOL 7.1 Negative Exponents & Scientific Notation
Math Dictionary Sections:  7 Order of Operations; 8 Scientific Notation
Upcoming Assessments:  Comparing/Ordering FDPSciNot & Review Quiz (Fri. 10/18)

In my humble opinion, this has been an awesomely magical week!  We started the week off by reviewing algebriac subsititution as it applies to our previous work from last week with the order of operations.  I've been teaching the students my math magical (forevermore known as "mathical") tricks as I showed them how to make variables "disappear" only to be "turned into" numbers!   (Imagine a mysterious voice as you read that.)  Personally, I've never had so much fun teaching thus far in my career and I'm pretty sure the students got into the goofiness with me, some possibly not even realizing we were still learning at the same time.  The kids and I really hammed it up and had a few good laughs while they did an awesome job applying their own "mathical abilities" to the problems.

Once we wrapped up or quick review of substitution, we jumped right into working with negative exponents as well as scientific notation.   We continued working our mathical abilities here by turning the negative exponents into positives by turning them into fractions (ex. ${ 2 }^{ -3 }=\frac { 1 }{ { 2 }^{ 3 } }=\frac {1}{8}$) and shrinking down really large numbers (i.e. the approx. distance to the sun) and really small numbers (i.e. the size of a grain of sand) by writing them in scientific notation (i.e. $a\times { 10 }^{ x }$).  In their groups, students practiced putting numbers written in scientific notation in order from least to greatest as well as converting them back into standard form.



Today after a quick review, students took a quiz on everything from the past two weeks: order of operations, substitution, negative exponents, and scientific notation along with a few review questions.   Some students will again need to finish their test on Monday, but this is in part because they are starting each quiz or test by making their Smart Charts again, which we've been practicing every week.  Students are asked to keep practicing their charts at home as part of their studying each week in hopes that they'll have it memorized by the end of the year.  By the time they take the SOLs, if they have the Smart Chart memorized, they'll be able to create it (completely from memory) right before they take the test.  They will be able to then use it throughout the test to help give them reminders when they get stuck on questions as well hopefully alleviating some of their test anxieties.  With each new unit, we're coming up with short mnemonics to add to the chart, so they should have something new to practice each week.

Weekly Class Summary: Sept. 23-27

SOLs Covered:  7.1 & 8.5 Squares & Square Roots, 7.1 & 8.3 Integers; 7.16 & 8.15 Properties of Real Numbers
Math Dictionary Sections:  Review Sections 1-6
Upcoming Assessments:  MSM2 Test 1 (Complete Mon. 9/30); PEMDAS & Substitution Quiz (TBA)

I'm starting to feel a little under-the-weather (hopefully just allergies!), so this WCS will be short and sweet.  Students took the properties quiz on Monday with some finishing on Tuesday, which was returned to them on Tuesday or Wednesday depending on when they finished.  They can still complete their Error Analysis for this, though many students have already taken advantage of this opportunity (I'm so proud!).  The rest of the week was spent reviewing for our first test, covering squares/square roots, integers, and properties.  As previously mentioned, time was cut a bit short due to pictures on Thursday (along with our monthly half-day Wednesday), so we spent a bit of time reviewing Friday before students started the test.  Most students will need time to finish their test on Monday, which I think is pretty good as I can tell they are spending more time really thinking through the problems and using the strategies we've covered in class so far this year.


Well, there it is--the shortest WCS ever I do believe.  Since it is so short, if anyone has questions about anything, feel free to leave a comment (it won't show up until approved as I monitor them), message me through Edmodo, or email either the "old school" way or through Edline.