Math: Week 35

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.9-7.16 Probability, Statistics, Patterns, Functions, & Algebra
Math Packet:  SOL Review Folder
Upcoming Assessments:  Math 7 SOL Test (Block 7/8 on Tues. 6/2/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.12-8.17 Probability, Statistics, Patterns, Functions, & Algebra
Math Packet:  SOL Review Folder
Upcoming Assessments:  Math 8 SOL Test (Mon. 6/1/15)

We've wrapped up our review this week and today marked the start of the 7th grade math SOLs!  While the tests are obviously important to the school, students' scores can be used to help their grades (they cannot be used if the score will adversely effect the grade), so for students who are straddling the line between one grade and a higher grade, this can be used to help push their grades in the right direction.

Math: Week 32

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.11 & 8.13 Data Analysis
Math Packet:  #23 Data Analysis
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #3 (Mon. 5/11/15); CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #4 (Fri. 5/15/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.14/16/17 Relations & Functions
Math Packet:  #22 Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #3 (Mon. 5/11/15); CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #4 (Fri. 5/15/15)

This will be a quick WCS since I have my niece's dance recital this evening while the other one is standing here all impatient and ready to leave for the day.  The MSM2 classes started and completed their data analysis unit, with major emphasis on the histogram.  We added quite a bit of extra detail to the notes for this section, since there are a ton of little things that can make assessment questions difficult.

Math: Week 31

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.9/10 & 8.12 Probability
Math Packet:  #22 Probability
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #2 (Mon. 5/4/15); Statistics Quiz (Fri. 5/8/15); CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #3 (Mon. 5/11/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.14/16/17 Relations & Functions
Math Packet:  #22 Functions
Upcoming Assessments:  Functions Test (Thurs. 5/7/15 & Fri. 5/8/15 if needed); CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #3 (Fri. 5/8/15)

It's been a busy week and things will continue to be busy up through SOLs.  I'm sending this later than my self-appointed deadline of Friday because I'm busy working on things for our SOL review that will go into full swing after we finish up just one more unit in both the MSM2 classes as well as the 7H class.

Math: Week 30

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.9/10 & 8.12 Probability
Math Packet:  #22 Probability
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #1 (Mon. 4/27/15); Probability Quiz (Wed. 4/29/15 @ Home); Sequences & Probability Test (Fri. 5/1/15); CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #2 (Mon. 5/4/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.12 Probability
Math Packet:  #21 Probability
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #1 (Mon. 4/27/15); Probability & Functions Quiz Part 1 (Thurs. 4/30/15 @ Home); CCPS Mini-SOL Quiz #2 (Fri. 5/1/15)

My apologies for this being a day late.  My allergies have been wrecking havoc, so I finished up at school as quickly as possible on Friday and headed home.  I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, so I'll get straight to the point and end things fairly quickly this week.

Math: Week 29

MSM2 Blocks 1/2 & 7/8
SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.2 Sequences
Math Packet:  Functions Study Guide; #21 Sequences
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Quiz #6 (Mon. 4/20/15); Sequences Quiz (Tues. 4/21/15 @ Home); VA ARDT Test (Not for a grade) (Thurs. 4/23/15)

7H Block 5/6
SOLs Covered:  SOL 8.13 Statistics; SOL 8.12 Probability
Math Packet:  #20 Statistics Representing & Analyzing Data; #21 Probability
Upcoming Assessments:  CCPS Quiz #6 (Mon. 4/20/15); Probability & Statistics Test (Thurs. 4/23/15-Fri. 4/24/15)

Let me start off by thanking everyone who sent kind thoughts and prayers my way since my last posting.  Your emails were much appreciated during this hard time.  My family is coping as best we can, but it's still difficult as I'm sure you can imagine.

Weekly Class Summary: May 12-16

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.9-7.16 P&S and PF&A
Math Dictionary Sections:  Review all sections on P&S and PF&A
Upcoming Assessments:  SOL Quiz #5 (Fri. 5/23/14); Math 7 SOL (1^st Wed. 5/28, 3^rd Thurs. 5/29, 7^th Fri. 5/30)

We had yet another fun-filled week of SOL review!  Well, as fun as practice problems can be at least.  Students worked on the packet for the final (and biggest!) category of the SOL, Probability & Statistics (SOL 7.9-7.11) and Patterns, Functions, & Algebra (SOL 7.12-7.16).  Thankfully, my data projector was finally fixed by the end of the week, so we can now view online resources and use the Promethean board and ActivSlates again.  This was incredibly important since it allowed us to start looking at the practice problems from the VDOE website (links to it and other resources put together by CCPS).  These practice problems (31 total for Math 7) give students a taste of what to expect for online testing, which is really important for those students who are taking the SOLs for the first time this year.  There are various online tools available and we went over each one and some of the possible complications that can pop up with each.  As we continue to work through these practice problems as well as the newly released test (the first released test since the SOLs changed in 2009), we will continue to discuss various strategies for approaching the questions, how best to use the eTools available, and possible pitfalls that "hide" in the more rigorous questions.

We are quickly approaching the end of the school year.  With that I always have students asking what they can do to pull their grade up.  In order to give students an opportunity to earn some extra credit as well as continue their review for the SOLs, I've uploaded an assignment to Edmodo using their new snapshot tool.  The questions chosen are all for the probability, statistics, patterns, functions, and algebra section since that is the biggest category as well as the one the majority of students struggle with the most.  The assignment will remain active through May 30th, which will be the last day of Math 7 SOL testing.  Regarding the actual dates for testing, there was a slight change for the block 3/4 students, who had previously been scheduled to take the test on May 28th.  They are now scheduled to take the test on May 30th in order to allow students to go to their electives classes (and get a little break from the test-prep and testing environment) as well as to allow teachers to have a planning block.  I've updated the Google student calendar with this information as well as the other 7th grade testing dates/times (students must login with their CCPS account to view the calendar).

Homework: May 12-16

For the week of May 12, 2014

We are still in "SOL mode" now, so students will continue working on their review packets.  This week's focus is on the third and final reporting category, Probability, Statistics, Patterns, Functions, and Algebra.  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.  I've tried to help the students work on their self-pacing by telling them that for this packet, they should be finishing about 6-7 pages each day, so if they don't accomplish that in school, they should finish that amount at home each night.

#4 SOL 7.9-7.16 Review Packet for the week of 5/12/14

Weekly Class Summary: Apr. 21-25

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.11 & 8.13 Statistics
Math Dictionary Sections:  32 Measures of Center; 33 Graphical Methods
Upcoming Assessments:  SOL Quiz #2 (Thurs. 5/1/14)

We started the week by working on our final Math 7 unit, data analysis with an emphasis on histograms.  We'll have a few Math 8 topics to cover after our SOL test as part of the county's Middle School Math 2 curriculum, but since students will not see them on their SOL test and we missed so much time due to weather this year, we decided to save them.



Part of Wednesday was devoted to our first SOL mini-assessment.  Students will be taking five of these in total (10 questions each), which together will represent one practice SOL test.  Students should be familiar with these from last year along with progress charts that will be hanging in the classroom so they can gauge how close to a passing score they'll be at this moment.  While of course we want the students to get the maximum score possible, they need to average 6.5 on each to reach an approximately passing score on the state assessment.  I understand that many parents aren't happy with the major focus being on testing (overall I agree), but it is important that students be prepared for these state tests while they do remain the focus.



We were in the computer lab on Thursday and Friday for the county's SOL simulation test.  Students out on Friday for the chorus field trip will be able to finish the test next week when I booked the lab for one of our fun review days.  I'll use these results along with the SOL mini-assessments to determine areas of strength and weakness for each student, which will then allow me to help students plan out their study plans.  We still have a paper-pencil portion of the test to complete next week, so I'm hoping to have feedback forms to students by the end of next week. We still have several weeks before our test (scheduled for Math 7 on May 28-29), so we'll be reviewing everything we've covered thus far throughout that time.

Weekly Class Summary: Apr. 7-11

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.9,10 & 8.12 Probability
Math Dictionary Sections:  31 Probability
Upcoming Assessments:  SOL Quiz #1 (Wed. 4/23/14); SOL Simulation Test (Thurs. 4/24/14 & Fri. 4/25/14)

I'll be keeping things extremely short and sweet this week since I'm just as ready as the kids to start Spring Break!!!  We devoted the week to working on probability.  We discussed the differences between theoretical and experimental probability along with the basics of single-event probability questions.  From there we branched into two or more events happening, both independent events as well as dependent and how to tell the difference between the two, from the obvious questions that state with or without replacement to the less obvious ones when two things are happening simultaneously.  We even had a bit of time to play one of my favorite games, SKUNK!, in which students have to think about the possibility of rolling ones with a set of dice in order to determine whether to stay in the game or play it safe.  I think the kids really enjoyed the game if their enthusiastic behavior was anything to go by.  We ended the week with a little review and updating the Smart Chart before students took the quiz, which has already been graded and even returned to some of the students if they were still with me when I finished.  Grades weren't quite what I'd hoped for, but students made some pretty common errors (like simply forgetting to multiply the ratios after they set it up... a bit too focused on the upcoming break, I'd assume), which I'm sure they'll catch as soon as they get it back and be able to correct their errors to earn back at least some credit.



So there it is folks, possibly the shortest WCS yet!  I hope all the students enjoy the break and come back ready to settle into SOL review mode!

Weekly Class Summary: Dec. 16-20

SOLs Covered:  SOL 7.11 & 8.13 Data Analysis
Math Dictionary Sections:  "Preview" Graphing Notes (the "real" notes will be covered during the 4th term)
Upcoming Assessments:  Proportions Quiz TBA; Bay PBL Project (Jan. 2014)

I have quite a bit to do before making my way home but the building's closing up soon for the break, therefore this will be a very short WCS.  We did a small intro to statistics and graphing even though it's not quite time for the unit in our pacing.  The students will be using some of the information to help them with their Chesapeake Bay PBL projects when we get back to school from the winter break.  The students got a preview of the project along with some practice on the Chromebooks. Students received letters and rubrics for the project to help them start thinking about ideas for this group project.  They should post at least one website, video, resource, etc. to the class Edmodo page over the break that will help aid them and their classmates in the project.

One of my afternoon errands is to stop by the post office to mail off interim grade reports for all the students.  Since Edline is being underutilized, in part due to some glitches that have kept people from logging on occasionally, I decided to set up a team grade report for the four core subjects.  Be on the lookout for letters from school!

Before closing, I'd like to thank all the students and their families for the wonderful gifts I've received.  I've been overwhelmed by the number of pictures students have drawn to add to my art wall and the generous presents I've received, including a few from former students!  I wish everyone a safe and happy break!

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Instead of a "serious" math resource, here's a bit of fun to get you into the holiday spirit!

Weekly Class Summary: May 20-24

SOLs Covered:  All Math 7
Math Dictionary Sections:  All Sections
Upcoming Assessments:  Math 7 SOL Test (Tues. 5/28-Thurs. 5/30)

It's been another week full of SOL review.  At this point, I've had my mini-conference with each student about their simulation test scores and helped them understand which areas (based on this test, their SOL mini-quizzes, and their work throughout the year) they need to focus their own study time.  They were also given a chart and letter to accompany their answer sheet (which should have all the corrected answers now in order to aid their studying) for the mini-quizzes, again showing for which areas they've reached mastery and the areas they need to work on in order to get to a mastery level.



As previously mentioned in the homework post, for the first time all year I did not give them any formal homework aside from getting their letters signed.  I wanted to leave the time open so they could focus on their own personal areas of need and no one assignment would work for each student to do this.  To help with their efforts, I have updated assignments on TenMarks with everything we've covered throughout the year.  Each student can work on the assignments listed their for which they need to improve.  I've been very pleased to see how many students have been logging in each day to work on TenMarks as well as MangaHigh (we won our Fai-To by the way and captured our opponents' trophy!).



We spent a ton of time practicing with the state's TestNav practice SOL test, though I encourage students to continue practicing with it at home this weekend.  Throughout our review of the practice questions, I went over all the nitty gritty details that could have a negative on their score if they aren't careful:  the fine details in wording (ex. fill-in-the-blank questions that require fractional answers in simplest form), TEI questions with multiple right answers required to get the question correct, math vocabulary and even "regular" words that are vitally important, different intervals given on a graph, etc.  I was able to get through all of the questions with my Block 1/2 class who tests when we return from the long weekend on Tuesday; I should be able to finish up the last of the questions with my other two classes next week the day before each tests.



Because of the complexity and rigorous nature of our math testing, students will automatically be getting an extra "chunk" of time (three hours) added onto our morning testing blocks to ensure they have enough time to properly address each question, though if there are any students who need extra time, they will most definitely be given it as needed.  I hope (and encourage!) all students to take as much time as they need and not to rush just because others are finishing before them; we all work at different paces and we shouldn't try to force ourselves into something that might work for someone else.

While I hope every student takes time throughout the long weekend to study (and feel free to email or Edmodo message me if you have any questions), I hope everyone has time to enjoy their mini vacay as well as appreciate the reasons we get this extra time away from school.  Since quite a few of my students' parents are part of the armed forces, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their service to this country.

Weekly Class Summary: May 6-10

SOLs Covered: All Math 7
Math Dictionary Sections: All Sections
Upcoming Assessments: SOL Mini Quiz #4 (Tues. 5/14); SOL Mini Quiz #5 (Mon. 5/20)

This will be a quick weekly class summary as I'm busy getting next week's materials together for each student, as will be explained further in a minute.  After taking the the third mini SOL quiz at the beginning of the week, the rest of the week was devoted to taking the county's Math 7 SOL simulation test.  The students started taking the test on paper Tuesday and by Thursday most students had finished the entire test and had time to check over their work.

We were in the lab Friday so that students could input their answers into the county's system.  Since they'd pretty much already finished, they were able to use the extra time to work on their homework, which as previously posted was to complete at least five challenges I'd set up for them on MangaHigh.com.  The students were obviously quite happy to have a bit of time for what they saw as just playing games.  I don't think they all realized they were still reviewing for the SOLs as they played, but I can honestly tell you that today was one of the best days so far in my teaching career!  To see how excited the kids got about the games along with their friendly competition was the best way I could have possibly ended teacher appreciation week!  Seeing their pride at getting high scores (all through the use of their math skills) and hearing them say how much they enjoyed today's class was incredibly rewarding for me.



With the simulation testing completed, I'll start analyzing each student's results.  Since the test cannot be sent home per county guidelines, I’ll be conferencing with each student one-on-one next week to go over their results and at that time will provide a feedback form to add to their SOL review folders highlighting (literally) the questions/topics they missed.  A digital copy of the form has already been uploaded to the usual places (Edline, Edmodo, and here) so that students can use the hyperlinks that go with each question.  The links will take them to videos on that topic along with practice items they can work on to continue their review.



They should be studying/reviewing/working on the items in the SOL review folder at least a little every night to help prepare for the SOL test.  The SOLs are definitely much trickier than they used to be; quite often students make minor mistakes that can sadly have a severe effect on their scores.  Starting with last year's math SOLs, the test is no longer strictly multiple choice, so some questions have more than one right answer and require that all the correct choices be given to get credit.  Most of the questions have multiple steps and do not give any kind of partial credit for getting the first few steps correct.  In class we’re going over all the little “twists and turns” found throughout the test, but the more students review at home as well, the easier the SOL should be.  Tests for my class are scheduled for May 28-30.

So not so short after all I guess, but hopefully helpful.

Weekly Class Summary: April 29-May3

SOLs Covered:  All Math 7
Math Dictionary Sections: All Sections
Upcoming Assessments: SOL Mini Quiz #3 (Tues. 5/7); SOL Simulation Test (Start Wed. 5/8)

I have family plans this afternoon that start with my niece's softball game (Go Chester!), so this will be a short and sweet summary.  We've been working hard on our review for the SOLs.  We started the week with our first mini SOL quiz that when added with the others (five in total) will be equivalent to one SOL test.  We'll be charting each student's progress with a few rewards along the way to see which areas students are strongest and those they need to invest more time in and out of class reviewing.  Once the quizzes along with the county's SOL simulation test are completed, we will be sending letters home with each student's individual needs marked to show both students and their parents where they need to devote their personal home studies and review.  An area of strength will not need as much work as the areas students are not quite as strong in at the moment.

Since the quizzes are supposed to emulate SOL testing, students will not be allowed to complete the usual error analysis for the quizzes.  I am however working on an extra credit packet that students will be allowed to complete; the credit earned will be included in the quiz category, which will in turn pull up the score for that category and their overall grade.  If all goes as planned, I expect to have that packet ready in the next two weeks.



As part of our review, each student has made and started adding to their SOL review folder.  So far the folder includes the SOL review booklet assigned for homework this week, the SOL review packet we've been working on in class all week, and the first of their mini SOL quizzes.  With each quiz and packet they receive, we're adding to the table of contents listed on the front of the folder, keeping everything organized in order to help our preparation go smoothly.  The folder and its contents will be collected (and returned to students ASAP so they can continue to study) the week before SOLs and given a test grade; it will be graded for if they have everything (non-assessment items will be posted in the usual places online) and it's for the most part organized.  A ParentLink phone call and email was sent Wednesday evening to let all parents of 7th grade students know of the folder and its importance.

We've been working a bit slower on the packet and homework in class this week than planned, but overall it's been for very good reasons.  With each question we have been going into tons of extra detail about the possible variations that might show up on the SOL as well as the various approaches/methods that can be used to solve each.  Because we haven't gotten as far into the work together, I will not be marking the homework as missing until Monday if it has not been turned in at that point; students need to make sure each of the questions are completed, but they can leave the notes/tips section for when we go over it together in class.  The classwork packet will not be marked as missing until we've finished going over it together.  For that reason, I will probably change the assignment orders in the gradebook (I'd already added it as an upcoming grade, so it is already listed in the grade reports on Edline).



Students should continue working and reviewing on their own a little every night and over the weekends.  They have the knowledge, we just need to work on refining everything so they can get the best grades and scores possible to show they know it.  With the new SOLs and new testing formats, the work is harder, but we've been talking in great detail about how students need to change their approach to problem solving to meet the new requirements.  Not all questions are multiple choice; there are fill-in-the-blank that might require answers given in a particular manner along with questions that have more than one correct answer, which can be tricky if you don't remember to look for other possible correct choices once you've found one that works.  We'll be looking at the state's online practice items in class some next week along with taking the simulation test, so I encourage students to get a head start by trying the site themselves over the weekend.

So this ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, but this isn't the first time I set out to post a quick little update only to end up with quite a bit more.  I'm always finding more I wish to share and while I hope these posts are helpful, any students or parents with questions should feel free to email or leave a question in the comments section if they need anything.  Test prep is hard work, but I'm here to help!

Weekly Class Summary: April 15-19

SOLs Covered: 7.9&10 & 8.12 Probability
Math Dictionary Sections: (44) Probability
Upcoming Assessments: Test 4.1 (Thurs. 4/25); SOL Mini Quiz #1 (Fri. 4/26)

As evidenced by the thick coat of yellow pollen on everything outside, it's spring allergy season here and it's wrecking havic on my head at the moment, so I'm going to keep things short-and-sweet this week.  Students wrapped up the graphing quiz as needed Monday and overall scores were pretty good this time around.  Students have the same opportunity with this quiz to complete an error analysis within the first week (through April 24th) to earn full credit, but no later than the second week (through May 1st) to earn back half credit; students will only be able to earn back credit after that if they "buy" the opportunity using their Liberty or Lambie Points.

Probability Practice from SliderMath.com

Most of the week was devoted to one of my favorite units of the year, probability.  We reviewed the basics of finding the probability of simple (one thing happening) and compound (one thing or another happening) events before delving into independent and dependent events, which were first covered in Math 6.  We spent extra time talking about the SOL "word twists" that can be added to a problem that decide whether the question is about independent events (with replacement) or dependent events (without replacement or simultaneously).  Students took the quiz Friday, which was a bit easier than what they've been having as next week will be the start of our SOL prep quizzes along with the last unit test.  Once all quizzes were finished, I introduced the students to the game SKUNK, a dice game where rolling a one is a dreaded event (looses all points for the round), rolling double ones ("snake eyes") means disaster to your score (looses all points for the game so far), and highest score at the end of the game wins.  The kids really got into it and many said they plan on teaching their family so they can play at home!

Basic Probability Video from Shmoop

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.

Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 11-15

SOLs Covered:  7.5 & 8.7 Surface Area & Volume; 7.11 & 8.13 Data Analysis
Math Dictionary Sections:  (40) Surface Area & Volume; (41) Measures of Center; (42) Graphical Methods
Upcoming Assessments:  Data Analysis & Relations/Functions Quiz (Mon. 3/25); Test 3.3 on SA/Vol, DA, & RF (Wed. 3/27)

I've had a busy week filled with meetings everyday during planning except today, so I plan to make this a short-and-sweet weekly class summary... at least that's the plan, though I've said that several times in the past only to have quite a bit more than expected by the end.

This week started with a wrap-up of our volume and surface area unit on Monday and a quiz on Tuesday.  I still have one set of quizzes to finish grading (thus the reason for the shortened summary), but the grades have been lower than desired.  We've been making the assessments gradually more rigorous (which translates from teacher-speak to "hard word problems" in student-speak for the most part) to help prepare the students for the complexities of the SOL test and this quiz was probably one of the most difficult to date.  Once the students get the quiz back (the plan is Monday), we'll discuss each question to an extent, meaning we'll have a bit of a Socratic questioning session that will hopefully set students on the right path to answering the questions correctly.  They will then be given the task of finishing the corrections on their own for homework.  While they always have the chance to do corrections to earn back half credit for the missed questions, they'll be able to earn back full credit this time as long as they do a proper analysis (show the work and give an explanation and not simply giving a final answer by itself).



Wednesday, we started our data analysis unit, which encompasses a little review of the various charts and graphs students have learned in the past as well as learning about histograms (part of Math 7 in Virginia) and scatterplots (part of Math 8 in Virginia).  We've discussed the differences between bar graphs (which compare fixed amounts) and histograms (which compare the frequency of a range of data), followed by a Scholastic activity that required us to review the number of flood claims and the average amount paid in 2005.  We started to explore the possible errors that are commonly made in histograms along with the other types of charts and graphs that can be made from histograms and vice versa.  We'll continue this Monday before we start our next unit, which will be on the combined quiz the next week.

Histograms from Shmoop

Since I will be one of the teachers going on the science field trip to the Virginia Living Museum Thursday and Friday, next week's class summary may be delayed in its posting.  This is also the reason I'm not able to nail down the date for the next after school help session.  I'm hoping to have another session on Wednesday, but since my students will have to go to another math teacher the day they are not on the trip (the team is split over the two days), I will have to have an extra planning session with that teacher to make sure everything's settled.  Once I've got the next date planned, I'll be sure to post the information here and on Edline.

Finally, I'd like to thank Madi S. and her mother for bringing in McDonald's apple pies to share with her class (Block 1/2) for Pi Day.  That was incredibly thoughtful and is definitely the smartest way to do Pi Day pie as it was quick and easy to give to the kids!  Thank you also to my coteacher Mrs. Powell for baking cupcakes as a reward for our shared class (Block 7/8)!  The kids and I (along with a few other 7th grade teachers after school) really appreciated it!

Weekly Class Summary: Apr. 23-27

SOLs Covered: 6.14 Graphing Data & Data Analysis; 6.13 Classification of Quadrilaterals

Math Dictionary Sections: (27) Graphical Methods, (28) Angles, (29) Triangles, (30) Quadrilaterals

Upcoming Assessments: "You Can Do It!" Quiz #4 (Thurs. 5/3); Math 6 SOL Simulation Test (Fri. 5/4 & Mon. 5/7); Quadrilaterals & Similar/Congruent Combo Quiz (Thurs. 5/10)

This week seems to have rushed by due to lots of work on top of altered schedules on Wednesday (early release day) and Friday (adjusted for an 8th grade assembly).  Students started the week with the data analysis quiz, which was a very rigorous assessment when compared to what students were used to in years past.  The quiz drew on skills from multiple areas, which led to a bit of student frustration, so I turned the quiz into more of a formative assessment.  Students were allowed to use their notes and later went over the work collaboratively, breaking down each questions and discussing what other skills (i.e. proportional reasoning, converting percents to fractions, etc.) were required to get to the final answer.

Before jumping into the newest unit on classifying quadrilaterals, we spent time going over the kids' prior geometry knowledge, specifically reviewing angles and triangles.  Though the two topics are no longer considered part of the sixth grade math standards, they do form the foundation to both our quadrilateral unit and the next unit on similar and congruent shapes.  Once we reviewed the basic vocabulary, we discussed how to use a protractor to measure angles, connecting back to the graphing unit and how the central angles of each section relate to the proportions of each.  Students then got a preview of the online testing tools, which includes an electronic protractor.  For some students, this year's test will be their first time SOL testing online; for others who have tested online, they will need to get used to slight changes in the testing software.  I will be giving the students time to practice using the practice items the VDOE has provided, but I encourage everyone to practice a bit on their own as well, so they do not have to worry about the mechanics of the test and can thus instead focus on the math.

After wrapping up our angle/triangle review, students worked on a quadrilateral matching activity that required matching up not only the names and pictures for each type but also their attributes (ex. two pairs of parallel opposite sides for parallelograms, rectangles, squares, and rhombi).  They also worked on sorting different sized and shaped quadrilaterals into various categories using the same attributes.  We will continue working with quadrilaterals next week, both "on their own" and in conjunction with the next unit (similar/congruent shapes).

Students yet again concluded the week with another "You Can Do It!" SOL review quiz (#3).  In addition to the fourth quiz next week, we are also scheduled to take our SOL simulation test, which will give us all an idea on the areas of strength and weakness in conjunction with these quizzes.  Students should study and review a little every night.  Any students who still have not brought in their folders for the SOL review packets need to do so as soon as possible since I will start putting them together next week.

Weekly Class Summary: Apr. 16-20

SOLs Covered: 6.14 Graphing Data & Data Analysis

Math Dictionary Sections: (27) Graphical Methods

Upcoming Assessments: Graphing & Data Analysis Quiz (Mon. 4/23); "You Can Do It!" Quiz #3 (Fri. 4/27)

After returning from a refreshing Spring Break, we kick-started our graphing and data analysis unit. We went over what students remembered from elementary school with KWL charts. This prompted students with some very interesting questions to add to the "W-Want to Know" column after seeing what some of their classmates remembered, my favorite common question being along the lines of "when do we use each type of chart/graph" or "which is the best chart/graph" since those are major parts of this learning standard.

These questions merged nicely with our first activity that reviewed frequency tables. Using the ♪Lollipop♪ song by the Chordettes, students used the table to track how many times certain parts of the song (i.e. Lollipop, POPS!, etc) occurred throughout the song. After going through the song twice, we discussed the advantages to using the frequency table to gather the data instead of trying to remember how many times everything happened. We then looked at various sample surveys as presented in other tables and continued our discussion on which graphs could then be constructed using the data compiled in each table. Tables dealing with categorical or discrete data can easily be turned into bar graphs and even circle graphs (aka pie charts). Though many of the students remembered both graphs from elementary school, the circle graph is considered a "new" graph since 6th grade is the first year students are responsible for knowing/understanding percents. While discussing both bar and circle graphs, we went over the advantages behind using each: both can show us the commonality of the different categories (most, least, etc), bar graphs shows the exact value, circle graph shows the size of each value. We also discussed line graphs and how they are better for continuous data: showing trends, how things change over time, for things that can taken any value within a range.

As we covered circle graphs, we reviewed fractions and percents and how both related to the graph. Students were shown how to use certain easy fraction/percent benchmarks to interpret graphs and dissect the data (¹/₂=50%, ¹/₄=25%, ¹/₈=12.5%, and ¹/₁₆=6.25% ). For example, if one section on a circle graph for favorite ice cream flavor were ¹/₂ or 50% chocolate and whole the graph represents 20 people, half of the people (10) chose chocolate. Though 6th grade students shouldn't need to delve too far into "yucky" fractions/percents (i.e. fractions with denominators greater than 16, percents with repeating decimals, etc), students should be able to use the previous benchmarks to estimate values for any circle graph they may need to analyze in the future. We'll start next Monday off with a review session before the kids take their graphing quiz to wrap up the unit.

Friday, students took the second "You Can Do It!" quiz, which as previously mentioned are being charted in the classroom. Since this year's Math 6 SOL test should have a passing score equivalent to about a 60%, the charts have "goal" points every six questions (for each of the five 10-question quizzes). Most of the goal points will come with fun rewards: 6, a freezer pop donated by Martin's Grocery Store; 18, a choice between a hat pass or a homework pass; 30 (or a pass on the real SOL test), field day and a snow cone; 42, a goodie bag; 45 (or an advance pass on the real SOL test), lunch and dessert. Students can hopefully earn all of the rewards and for any student who receives a perfect score on the actual SOL test, a $25 gift card will be awarded (county policy requires certain stipulations on the type of card given). Students are encouraged to do lots of studying and preparing on their own in order to get a great score on the state test and to earn all of these great rewards. This week we've also received the schedule for the test; though it is subject to change, the following schedule contains the expected testing dates for my students math, social studies, and language arts SOL tests:

Ms. Ball's Lang. Arts	Ms. Lambert's Math	Ms. Wallace's Soc.St.
May 22: Block 1	May 31: Block 1	May 31: Block 1O & 1E
May 23: Block 2	June 1: Block 2	June 1: Block 2O & 2E
May 24: Block 4	June 4: Block 4	June 4: Block 4E & 4O

Weekly Class Summary: Apr. 2-6

SOLs Covered: 6.15 Measures of Central Tendency

Math Dictionary Sections: (26) Measures of Center

Upcoming Assessments:"You Can Do It!" Quiz #2 (Fri. 4/20); Graphing & Quadrilaterals Combo Quiz (Thurs. 4/26)

The always hectic week before Spring Break saw us wrapping up our unit on the measures of central tendency.   We spent more time highlighting the major differences that middle school math brings for each of the measures.   In elementary school, students were used to median being a little simpler by having exactly one number in the middle of a data set that has an odd number of pieces.   Sixth grade math has students finding the median when given an even number of items within a data set that thus leaves two numbers in the middle, which requires finding the average of the two numbers or even plotting the numbers on a number line to determine what point would be halfway between the two.   The other complication students run into when finding the median is forgetting to put the numbers in numerical order, though this isn't necessarily a new problem.   For mode, students are now dealing with data sets that have three possibilities instead of the one or two they're used to from previous years.  They are finding that instead of having one obvious number occurring more than the others, there are times the data set has no mode (which they might have seen in elementary) or even two modes (aka bimodal).

The students found these changes were fairly easy to handle, however the new way of "looking" at mean took a little bit of time (and Skittles®!) for the students to grasp.   The same "old rules" and definitions still apply, but we now also refer to mean as the "balance point" in a data set, a point on a number line where the data distribution is balanced.  The distance (spaces) of all the points below the mean (on the left) corresponds and balances with the distance of all the points above the mean (on the right).  I compare it to a see-saw that is evenly weighted/balanced on both sides so it doesn't tip in either direction.   To illustrate the concept further, we worked did an activity with Skittles® in the "fun size" packs that had all the students counting the number of candies in their bags. Once everyone finished their counting (and eating!), students wrote their numbers on sticky notes and placing the notes onto a number line drawn on the board in order to create a line plot.  We "guessed" where the numbers should be balanced based on the visual (often where most of the numbers were clustered) and then checked by counting the number of spaces for each point to the left, then to the right of our "guessed point."  In each class, we found we didn't have a perfectly balanced data set with our guessed number, though our hypotheses were very close each time, especially when we calculated and compared to the "old school" mean.  The students were then asked to determine what possible numbers would be needed, in theory from unopened bags, to have the balance point where we wanted it to be.  The activity as a whole, which included several other examples, really helped the students understand this new meaning.

The week ended with two quizzes, the Measures of Central Tendency Quiz on Wednesday and the first "You Can Do It!" Quiz on Thursday.  The "You Can Do It!" Quizzes when combined equal one Math 6 simulation SOL test.   A letter further detailing the quizzes will be sent home after the break since will be in "review-mode" at that point in preparation for the SOL test.   There are still a few new topics we need to cover, but a portion of every week will be spent preparing for the big test.  Students have been asked to bring in two 3-pronged folders when they return from break, which will be used to house our review materials.   Students will be reminded, but they'll be able to receive some of the packets early if they bring them in immediately.

Yesterday we got word from DimensionU the 2012 "DU the Math National Scholarship Tournament" will begin this Monday, April 9th. Running through May 13th, students with the highest number of correct answers per week can compete for their chance at weekly prizes and could ultimately earn a chance to compete for one of for college scholarships in the final round:   one $25,000 scholarship and three $5000 scholarships.  Chesterfield students have been provided with an account by the county but must register at DUtheMath.com to qualify for the tournament.   Use your username (CH+StudentID#) and password to register.   Flyers can be downloaded from Edline for further information.  I highly encourage students to participate not only for the chance to win awesome prizes but also for the huge academic benefits.  The game is a great way to practice and review everything we've covered this year and will jump-start each student's personal SOL review.

Happy Easter!!!  Happy Gaming!!!  Happy Spring Break!!!  Stay safe and enjoy the free time!!!

Weekly Class Summary: Mar. 26-30

SOLs Covered: 6.15 Measures of Central Tendency

Math Dictionary Sections: (26) Measures of Center

Upcoming Assessments: Measures of Central Tendency (Wed. 3/4); "You Can Do It!" Quiz #1 (Thurs. 3/5)

This week after completing the patterns quiz, we jumped into the measures of central tendency, a concept the kids are very familiar with from elementary school. Like with all the other topics we've covered this year, it is a more complex topic in sixth grade math compared to what the students are used to from the elementary level. The basics are still the same, but there are a few more "twists" to the topic as we discussed this week in class: the possibility of having more than one mode, what you do if there are two numbers in the middle when trying to find the median, and a new definition of mean (balance point) that will be explored further in class next week.

As you probably know by now, there was a lose in my family last week that hit me pretty hard. That being said, I'm not quite up to being my usually loquacious self, but I have to sincerely thank all of my students for being so incredibly kind and understanding, showing their concern with cards, letters, and hugs throughout the week and being on their very best behavior, which wasn't necessarily easy as the weather warms up and we quickly approach Spring Break. Thank you for being such awesome students!