Post date: Jan 28, 2019 8:38:36 PM
MSM2 Periods 1 & 2
SOLs Covered: 8.12-13 Data Analysis (Scatterplots & Boxplots)
Math Unit: 14 Data Analysis
Daily Agenda: Jan. 22-25, 2019
Upcoming Assessments: 3.01 Data Analysis Quiz (Fri. 2/1)
Math 7H Period 4
SOLs Covered: 8.12-13 Data Analysis (Scatterplots & Boxplots)
Math Unit: 14 Data Analysis
Daily Agenda: Jan. 22-25, 2019
Upcoming Assessments: 3.01 Data Analysis Quiz (Fri. 2/1)
Howdy, folks! Another busy weekend has put me behind on posting this update, but I'm going to aim for sending on Fridays when possible to avoid sending later. As I'm sure you know, the term ended on Friday, which means we are officially halfway through the school year! More importantly (at least in the kids opinion), we're past all of our algebra work, which has made for some very happy kids. I'll freely admit that it's a tricky term curriculum wise, but it's important that the kids continue to practice these topics independently to strengthen their algebra skills in order to prepare them for the SOL test later this year and the high school level math they will be taking next year (all CCPS 8th graders take some form of Algebra I). Using ALEKS and Khan Academy (both located in their CCPS virtual backpack) will help them stay on top of their algebra skills, so please encourage them to continue working on it.
Once kids wrapped up the final test of the second term, we spent the rest of the week starting our work on data analysis, specifically scatterplots (a.k.a. scatter plots, scatter charts, scattergrams, etc.). The kids have had an easier time "connecting" with the topic as it's a lot more concrete and they can better understand the real world application, so it's been wonderful seeing the boost in confidence for their math skills. We're continuing our work with it this week and will be moving onto box plots (formerly known as box-and-whisker plots) before quizzing at the end of the week.
Before closing out, I'd like to ask parents and guardians to help me reinforce the importance of staying on top of work this term. I had a lot kids fall behind in work this past term, some from absences and others from choice, to the point they were so far behind they couldn't see a way to get back on top of things. I've been reminding the kids all of last week and again today that if they knock out each assignment right away rather than putting it off, they'll easily be able to stay on top of their work. Of course life has a way of making that harder (for instance, absences due to illness have been slowly increasing), so I'll continue to happily work with students on catching back up, but I need them all (no matter the reason) to put forth equal effort to get back on top. As I reminded them as we were reviewing measures of center, if I put in 100% and they put in 0% effort, that averages to 50%, which isn't enough in the end. However, if they do their part, they'd be amazed by how much they can accomplish!
Well, I'm going to close things out here but as always, let me know if you have any questions. Hope you all have a great week!