Post date: Sep 25, 2020 6:41:22 PM
MSM2 Block 1
SOLs Covered: 8.2 Subsets of the Real Number System
Math Unit: 03 Real Number System
Daily Agenda: Sept. 21-25, 2020
Upcoming Assessments: 1.02 Real Number System Quiz (Wed. 9/30); Math MAP Test for students who didn't take it during the summer (Thurs. 10/1)
Math 7H Blocks 2& 3
SOLs Covered: 8.2 Subsets of the Real Number System
Math Unit: 03 Real Number System
Daily Agenda: Sept. 21-25, 2020
Upcoming Assessments: 1.02 Real Number System Quiz (Wed. 9/30); Math MAP Test for students who didn't take it during the summer (Thurs. 10/1)
Howdy! Before getting into this week's class happenings, I wanted to do a quick check-in with folks, not just the students but with the rest of their families as well. How are you all doing? Is there anything I can do to help make this whole virtual learning thing easier for you? What roadblocks are you dealing with each day? There are a lot of things outside of my control obviously and while I can't make any promises, I will do whatever I have the power to do to make things easier for you all. I have a few ideas that I'm running by Mr. Strittmatter, but I wanted to see what the biggest concerns are and make adjustments that would best suit my students and their families. Please send any ideas, thoughts, and/or concerns my way.
In relation to this, I've gotten the "all clear" that it would be okay to set up in-person help sessions for anyone who might need something beyond the normal virtual learning setting. Obviously it would have to still abide by the normal social distancing rules we've all gotten used to at this point (small groups, masked, etc.) and we would have to work around our schedules, but I'd happily give a little extra time after school hours or on weekends to meet with a student or two and their families at the library or someplace with free WiFi like Starbucks. This could be used not just for extra math help but also a chance to get a guided tour through Canvas or ParentVUE (for parents/guardians just as much as for students) or troubleshooting non-hardware issues (like linking a student's Google Drive to Canvas, which is a common issue). Of course, I can still "meet" with people virtually during my office hours most days. There are a few days when I have meetings, but I have "open" office hours every Thursday from 1:50-2:30pm (I stay in my office hours Google Meet in case anyone wants to pop in) and I can set up times on other days as needed. Please reach out if I can be of any help.
In regards to math this week, we spent the first two days reviewing for the first quiz of the year, which we took on Wednesday. Most students did really well, but unfortunately my first and second block had to contend with errors in results page. I fixed the three questions (#4, 7, 13) that were affected and have already awarded the points back to students for them, but I sincerely apologize for any stress the kids might have had upon seeing the results. For any questions that were indeed wrong, students can earn back half credit for any they correct using the form found in the Quiz 1.01 module on Canvas.
The rest of the week was spent introducing the kids to the real number system. I started by introducing them to Russian stacking/nesting dolls (aka matryoshka dolls) to help explain how a nested Venn diagram works and connecting that back to the real number system. While there are still a couple areas the kids are having a hard time wrapping their head around (most were just floored by the idea that there are numbers that are not actually real, but they were happy to learn they don't have to really do anything with the not real [imaginary] number yet), I think they're all doing really well. We'll be reviewing it all Tuesday (no school Monday!) and the first bit of class on Wednesday before taking the next quiz.
Yet again, I've gotten a little long winded, so I'm going to wrap things up here but as always, please feel free to reach out with any questions. Hope you all have an amazing weekend!!!