Post date: Feb 14, 2016 6:59:55 PM
Math 7H Period 1/2
SOLs Covered: 8.6 Angle Relationships
Math Unit: #16 Angle Relationships
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Angle Relationships
Upcoming Assessments: 3.03 Pythag.Th. & Angles Test (Tues. 2/16)
MSM2 Period 5/6 & 9/10
SOLs Covered: 7.7 Properties of Quadrilaterals
Math Unit: #17 Quadrilaterals
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Properties of Quadrilaterals
Upcoming Assessments: 3.03 Pythag.Th, Angles, & Quadrilaterals Test (Mon. 2/15 & Tues. 2/16)
Brrrr! It's most definitely cold outside, so I hope everyone is bundled up and staying warm. At this point I don't want to make assumptions on what tomorrow's weather might hold and what calls the county might need to make as a result, but I'm sitting here in my living room (with an awesome TV marathon running in the background) trying to plan for all possibilities. I'll include my current plans in this week's update, but keep an eye on the calendars for further details on any necessary changes as things become a bit more obvious.
The 7H class worked on angle relationships this week. A huge component for this topic is just keeping the vocabulary straight — vertical, adjacent. complementary, and supplementary. Some of the kids are still struggling with the vocab, so I encourage them to expand on our one angle card (a quick notes version of the full set of notes) by creating flashcards to practice with. The group took the angles quiz on Friday and while the results were overall pretty good, a handful seemed to be tripped up by the TEI questions (most requiring the selection of multiple answers) along with the multi-step questions (normally involving a bit of algebraic problem solving). The test for both angles and our previous unit on the Pythagorean theorem will be on Tuesday. Monday (tomorrow) is supposed to be a review day but if we get hit with the wintery weather that is currently being forecasted and thus end up missing school, I'll post a key for the study guide sometime tomorrow so the kids can check over their work and email/message any questions before the test.
The MSM2 classes worked on the properties of quadrilaterals this week. While at first the topic seems simple enough, there is some confusion due to previous knowledge that trips kids up, especially with the introduction of the diagonals properties. Most of the carried over confusion from earlier years revolves around the parallelogram, rectangle, rhombus, and square. The kids seem to think that there is no connection between the four aside from each having four sides; they think that these shapes are completely independent from each other. To help with this, I compare the concept to dogs... yes, dogs! I ask the kids a few questions. What is a poodle? — A dog. What is a labrador retriever? — A dog. Are all dogs poodles? — No, but some are. I carry this back to the quadrilaterals by discussing how rhombi, rectangles, and squares are all types of parallelograms. We can take this further by comparing the square to a mix breed, like a labradoodle, to extend the discussion about how the square has all the attributes of the rectangle and the rhombus, making it a mix of the two. This all goes a long way to helping clear up some of the misconceptions that the kids have. From there we move on to discussing all the properties for each, working in some of our previous work to help solidify these topics. I've encouraged the MSM2 kids to also make flashcards for this unit, making a card for each shape with their attributes on one side and the name of the shape on the other. They can quiz themselves on properly identifying the shape based on its properties and/or listing the properties for each before checking with their cards. These groups started the study guide on Friday, with many finishing before the end of the block. A key has already been provided so they can check all their answers, but I encourage them to email/message with any questions. Since the MSM2 classes tend to need a bit more time for tests, if we are out tomorrow, then I ask that the kids start their test at home so it can be wrapped up in class the next day.
As long as the temperatures forecasted for Tuesday hold true, I do not foresee the weather having much impact on school that day. If it does, I'll update the agendas to let the kids know how to proceed and I again encourage everyone to keep an eye on the calendars for further updates. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Stay warm folks!