Post date: Oct 9, 2016 4:28:12 PM
Math 7H Period 1
SOLs Covered: 8.4 & A.4b Evaluating Expressions
Math Unit: #05 Evaluating Expressions; #06 Negative Exponents, Powers of 10, Scientific Notation
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Evaluating Expressions; Negative Exponents, Powers of 10, & Scientific Notation
Upcoming Assessments: Neg.Expo., Powers of 10, Sci.Not. Quiz (Tues. 10/11); Comparing & Ordering Rational Numbers Quiz (Mon. 10/17)
MSM2 Period 3 & 4
SOLs Covered: 8.1 Order of Operations
Math Unit: #04 Order of Operations
CCPS Student Digital Resource: Order of Operations
Upcoming Assessments: Evaluating Expressions Quiz (Fri. 10/14)
I'm connected again! That being said, I found I actually enjoyed a bit of time being "disconnected" from the digital world, so I've decided that during the workweek I'm going to disconnect each day by 7PM and will not "reconnect" again until I get to work the next day. Most of the weekend I'll stay "disconnected" in order to regenerate for the next week. Students and parents/guardians should still feel free to send emails/messages, but please be aware that I likely will not respond as quickly as I have in the past; you will hear back from me within 24 hours during the workweek. Now let's get onto this past week's math.
The honors class sped through evaluating expressions (a.k.a. algebraic substitution), though I have to remind students to slow down a bit with word problems as some have made little mistakes that can easily be avoided with a second read of the question. With them working so quickly, I was able to move the quiz up a bit and we were able to get started on our next unit, a review of negative exponents, powers of 10, and scientific notation. This unit will be wrapped up this week before the topics are merged into the next unit on comparing and ordering rational numbers.
The MSM2 classes worked on the order of operations this past week. This is partially a review topic, but it's been "upped" with the inclusion of fractions, negatives, and higher exponents. It also happens to be a mix of Math 7 and Math 8 standards; while the Math 8 components allow for the use of calculators, the Math 7 standards do not, so we've been working without calculators. When students do the work at home, I encourage them to do the work without a calculator and only use one to check their work. As stated in last week's update, I took away the option for digital work on most assignments (the exception being those that involve use of additional sites and can only be completed electronically). I'm also requiring that students show me their work on assessments before I give them the password to submit. While this takes a bit of extra time, it seems to have paid off tremendously for most students as the majority of scores were much better. When I asked one of the students if it was worth all the extra work, she proudly responded with a huge grin that it indeed was. There are still a few students who need to push themselves to put a bit more time and effort into their work, but it's my hope that they'll see how things are paying off for their classmates and that they'll respond accordingly.
If you haven't done so, I'd like to encourage all students and parents/guardians to log into Synergy (a.k.a. ParentVUE and StudentVUE) and check grades as this past week marks the halfway point for the term. I'll be making calls this week to parents/guardians for all students with a D or F average to tell them how their students can improve upon their current scores, but even students with higher grades have things they can do to bump up their grades. Quiz and test corrections are the biggest thing, but I'll also be posting the first extra credit opportunity by the week of October 17th.
I'm going to wrap things up here but as always, please feel free to email/message me with any questions/concerns, keeping in mind it might take a little more time than my speedier responses of the past.