Post date: Mar 5, 2017 4:30:15 PM
Math 7H Period 1
SOLs Covered: 8.11 Composite Figures; 8.9 3-D Models
Math Unit: #18 Composite Figures; #19 3-D Models
Daily Agenda: February 27-28, 2017 & March 1-3, 2017
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Composite Figures; 3-D Models
Upcoming Assessments: 3-D Models Quiz (Wed. 3/8); Surface Area & Volume Quiz (Mon. 3/13)
MSM2 Period 3 & 4
SOLs Covered: 7.5 & 8.7 Surface Area & Volume
Math Unit: #18 Surface Area & Volume
Daily Agenda: February 27-28, 2017 & March 1-3, 2017
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Surface Area & Volume
Upcoming Assessments: Unit 18 Test (Mon. 3/6); Geometric Transformations Quiz (Mon. 3/13)
After School Help Session: Tues. 3/7, 3-4PM
¡Buenos días! Before jumping into this week's math happenings, I want to give a quick update on grades as we're just over halfway through the term. Letters went out from the 7th grade team to all students who currently have a D or F for the term and/or last semester in Math, English, Science, and/or Social Studies. The letters were only for those students with a D or F, so not everyone will get them, but grades can always be viewed on Synergy (ParentVUE/StudentVUE). Additionally, I'm in the process of making calls to the parents/guardians of students with an F in my class, but I'd like to ask folks to look over their student's grades. Please help me encourage the kids to get their grades up before the end of term and feel free to email me anytime with any questions. Now onto last week's math.
The honors class wrapped up their work on composite figures with overall good results. While the kids did well on the assessment, some are still having a harder time breaking down the figures into their basic shapes. To help with this, I encourage them to give tangram puzzles a try in addition to the strategies given in class. A quick Google search can find loads of resources, but this site and this site are two good ones to get you started. The unit we started after wrapping up composite figures (3-D models) is another that requires strong spatial visualization skills and can thus be another weaker area for students who struggle with "seeing" the shapes. We'll be using this site and kids will play this game while we're working on the unit, but if you have any blocks or LEGOs© at home, I'd encourage students to play with them. They can build their visual-spatial skills and who doesn't like playing with blocks?!
The MSM2 students continued working with surface area and volume throughout the week. They've been doing well, but some have had difficulty with word problems, which is pretty normal for any topic. Friday's quiz became a practice quiz that we went over together as a whole class before students submitted, thus using it as review for tomorrow's test. We spent time discussing what keywords meant surface area or volume as most word problems for the topic do not straight up tell you which one it's looking for. The kids did well, but they are reminded to work carefully through the test tomorrow, writing out the formula before plugging in the values.
I'm going to close things out here, but as always feel free to email with any questions. I hope everyone has an excellent week!