Post date: May 27, 2017 3:53:27 PM
Math 7H Period 1
SOLs Covered: All Math 8 SOLs; A.6 & A.7d Slope, Intercepts, & Slope-Intercept Form
Math Unit: Math 8 SOL Review; #24 Slope & Intercept
Daily Agenda: May 22-26, 2017
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Math 7H; Intro to Algebra I
Upcoming Assessments: May IXL (1.5+ hours due 5/31); Coding PBL Project (TBD)
MSM2 Period 3 & 4
SOLs Covered: All Math 7 SOLs
Math Unit: Math 7 SOL Review
Daily Agenda: May 22-26, 2017
CCPS Student Digital Resource: MSM2
Upcoming Assessments: CCPS Post-Test (Tues. 5/30 & Thurs. 6/1); May IXL (1.5+ hours due 5/31); Coding PBL Project (TBD)
After School Help Session: Tues. 5/30, Wed. 5/31, & Thurs. 6/1, 3-4PM
That's a wrap... on SOL testing at least since we still have three weeks of school. Testing went without any major hiccups, though unfortunately not all students passed. As promised, SOL scores can be located in Synergy (ParentVUE/StudentVUE). As I've told the kids, their scores cannot negatively affect their grades, but they can help bump up grades if they improved upon their performance on assessments earlier this term. Even some students with failing SOL scores still improved and thus will see a bump to their scores. It will take some time to go through and update everything, but you will notice a new comment added (SOL +Adjust) if they receive this positive adjustment.
For some students, there is still the chance of a retake (scheduled for June 6th) if their scores were within range. Students scoring between 375-399 automatically have a chance at retaking and I've made requests for students with a 360-374 to also be allowed, but those have to be approved on a case-by-case basis. A note has been added in Synergy to indicate whether the SOL score is passing or failing; if the score is failing, there is an additional note to indicate whether the student can, might be able, or cannot retake. Students who can automatically or are approved for retake will be given a letter to be signed by parents/guardians and returned if they permit the retake, though guidance can take a call to get verbal permission. Letters went out for most students last week, so if Synergy indicates a retake is possible, please check with them. I've also given most of the kids eligible for a retake a report detailing the topics they missed and for most, I've already added the unit numbers for those topics; I'll get these reports to the rest next week. I'll be working with the kids one-on-one or in small groups when possible throughout the week and will add in two extra after school sessions (three total) for next week. I will actually be out in the afternoon on Wednesday for a meeting/presentation on the other side of the county, but I'll return for tutoring after. These students are still encouraged to review and work on their own in the days leading up to their retake.
After testing was finished, the honors class had a brief flashback to our work with linear functions and a little more in depth look for slope, intercepts, and slope-intercept form as an introduction to Algebra I, the course they'll be taking next year. From, there along with the rest of the classes, we started working on our coding PBL project. The kids have really gotten into the project and while it's pushing many to step back and reevaluate how they approach problem solving, they've all risen to the challenge! Details on the expectations for the project can be found here on the Daily Agenda and a further glimpse into the project can be found here on my "Coding in Math Class" page, where you can also find and play my version of the video game the kids will all be making. With Chromebooks being collected on June 6th, there might be a need to adjust plans and expectations for the assignment, but I'm hoping we'll get the bulk of the project complete before then and that I'll be able to get computer lab time for any remaining pieces. We'll be continuing the project in class everyday until collections, but kids are highly encouraged to work on it at home. I'm pretty proud of the fact that I had kids asking if they were allowed to do so before I even got to encouraging them to work on it outside of class time. A few students I've struggled to motivate this year were telling me multiple times before they left Friday how much fun this is... that's music to a teacher's ears!
I'm going to wrap things up here but as always, feel free to email with any questions. I've got quite a bit of work to complete over this long weekend for both the math department and for the presentation I've got this upcoming week, but I'll be checking email throughout that time.