Post date: Sep 8, 2018 5:47:53 PM
MSM2 Periods 1 & 2
SOLs Covered: 6.6 Integers & 7.1 Absolute Value
Math Unit: 1 Integers & Absolute Value
Daily Agenda: Sept. 4-7, 2018
Upcoming Assessments: County Pre-Test (Tues. 9/11, not graded); 1.01 Integers, Squares, & Square Roots Quiz (Fri. 9/14?)
Math 7H Period 4
SOLs Covered: 6.6 Integers & 7.1 Absolute Value
Math Unit: 1 Integers & Absolute Value
Daily Agenda: Sept. 4-7, 2018
Upcoming Assessments: County Pre-Test (Tues. 9/11, not graded); 1.01 Integers, Squares, & Square Roots Quiz (Fri. 9/14?)
Greetings! I'm Kim Lambert, your 7th grader's math teacher at Elizabeth Davis Middle. Each week I'll send (via ParentVUE) and post (on my class website) an update about what we've been up to in class. This being the first week back, each block has mostly been filled with passing out then collecting paperwork, establishing class routines/norms, and just getting back into the swing of things. In addition to these weekly emails, you can also get a glimpse into my classes through my "official" teacher Twitter and Instagram accounts. You can check out one of my first day activities with the kids on either account already.
At the top of all of my updates you will find information on the SOL(s) covered over the last week, to the unit folder(s) and my daily agendas, and a look ahead at upcoming assessments. Both the unit folders and daily agendas contain digital copies of all assignments, even if we do the work on paper in class. Please note that our first assessment will be the required county pre-test, though it will not be a graded assignment; The second assessment is only tentatively planned for next Friday (9/14) as it will depend on how far we get this week; if I feel we need a little more time, I'll bump this first graded quiz to the following week.
We did of course get into some math this week, reviewing one of their 6th grade topics (integers and absolute values) as it is the groundwork for several of our first 7th/8th grade topics. Yes, you read that right, 7th/8th grade. In CCPS schools, 7th graders taking MSM2 wrap up working on Math 7 and complete all of the Math 8 Virginia SOLs, ending their year by taking the Math 8 SOL test. Those students taking Math 7H will also take the Math 8 SOL test and get introduced to several high school Algebra I and Geometry topics. Unlike their previous math SOL tests, the Math 8 is all calculator active and for this year, the students get a choice between the traditional TI-30Xa calculator they've been using and a "new-to-us" online calculator via Desmos.com (scientific calculator for middle school; graphing calculator for high school). It's my understanding from released VDOE materials that starting next school year, students will be required to use the online calculators for all of their testing, so I'll work to ensure that all students become comfortable with them this year while it's still optional. I'm a huge fan of the online calculators already as I believe the kids will find them much more user friendly and that these calculators will help eliminate a lot of the typo errors kids had in the past (it totally stinks when you find out you only got a question wrong because you typed it into the calculator wrong!). Bonus, this online calculator is also completely free!
If you couldn't tell by that last paragraph, I'm a bit of a nerd (being a fan of online calculators probably gave that away). It's common knowledge among most of the EDMS faculty and students that Ms. Lambert is one of the tech nerds they can go to for help, so I will quite happily help the kids with any of their Chromebook struggles throughout the year. Obviously it's part of my job as their math teacher to help with that side of things in my class, but I've told the kids they can come to me if they need a little extra tech help for any of their other classes. With our new hours, I think my previous after school tutoring/help time usually won't work out, so I've told the kids I can help with extra math and tech help during lunch most days as long as I don't have lunch duty or a meeting at that time.
I have several online resources that I'll help the kids bookmark next week once Chromebooks have been distributed, but I'd like to encourage parents/guardians to explore my class website whenever you get a chance. I also run the school's site, so I'd also like to encourage everyone to check it out as well. If you happen to take any pictures at school events, I'd love for you to send them my way to share on the site if you don't mind. You can email them directly to me or use one of the "drop box folders" I've set up at the bottom of some pages (academic, athletics and each team page, or clubs).
Well, I'm going to wrap things up here since I have a few new updates that were just sent to me for the school site, but please feel free to contact me at anytime throughout the year if you have any questions/concerns. Email is generally the best way to reach me (I usually reply by the end of the workday but no later than 48 hours), but you can always call the school and leave a message for me with the front office, send a message directly through ParentVUE, or use the Google Form on my contact page. I hope everyone had a great start to the school year! I can't wait to see what this year will bring!