Math 7H Blocks 1 & 2
SOLs Covered: 7.1, 8.3, A.3 Squares & Square Roots +Cubes
Math Unit: 02 Exponents, Powers, & Roots
Daily Agenda: September 7-10, 2021
Upcoming Assessments: Quiz 1.02 Real Number System (Fri. 9/17); Fall Math SOL Growth Assessment (Thurs. 9/23)
MSM2 Block 4
SOLs Covered: 7.1 & 8.3 Squares & Square Roots
Math Unit: 02 Exponents, Powers, & Roots
Daily Agenda: September 7-10, 2021
Upcoming Assessments: Quiz 1.02 Real Number System (Fri. 9/17); Fall Math SOL Growth Assessment (Thurs. 9/23)
¡Buenas tardes! It's been another short yet busy week here at the Nest! On top of our regular school stuff, we also had MAP testing on Wednesday (math) and Thursday (reading) and all the kids got new Chromebooks on Friday. We're all super excited for the new Chromebooks, students and teachers alike. Since some of the kids have been plugging away for almost two years on the same Chromebook, you can probably imagine the tech frustrations they've had to deal with, so it will be nice to have fully functional Chromebooks again. Of course since they're new, that also means there are new features we'll need to get used to. I haven't noticed anything major yet, but there were already a few new things I noticed before the kids even left from first block. These new things were all things I think will eventually come in handy, but they might take some time to get used to. Hopefully it goes without saying, but I'm happy to help the kids figure out any of the new features.
In regards to our regular math class happenings, this week we covered squares and square roots. While this starts off as a review topic since the kids covered perfect squares and square roots last year, we continue to build on the knowledge by now including the not-so-perfect (aka imperfect) squares and their roots. While they might not be perfect, we still love them all equally! The kids tried to argue with me about that, but they quickly jumped on board when I pointed out they'd be happy with 200 if we through a $ in front of it... they mostly agreed... but then wanted me to give them $200, to which I had to respond that I'm just a poor ol' math teacher, so they were barking up the wrong tree!
Some of the kids were a little worried at first since they knew they wouldn't be able to easily calculate the imperfect squares the same way they did the perfect squares, but then I reminded them they are allowed to use a calculator (specifically the VA Desmos scientific calculator) on this and all other work this year. Yes, you read that right, they can use the calculator on everything this year, but for those parents/guardians who still hear their childhood teachers hollering at them that they need to be able to work without a calculator because they won't always have access to one, I do still cover how to go about each of our topics without a calculator before introducing all my Desmos tricks. Additionally, I've told/warned the kids that I might surprise them throughout the school with pop questions for which they could earn Lambie Points. They'll need to be able to answer quickly without the use of a calculator for a chance to earn points. For instance, with this topic I might pop up and ask them what 19² or between which two perfect squares 10 lies. I'll do this all year long with all of our topics, so they'll need to continue reviewing our topics the whole year.
We wrapped the week up with our first quiz of the year. I haven't had a chance to look at the last blocks results yet, but the earlier classes did really well. As I told the kids, all quizzes are open notes for my class, but that can only be helpful if they do a good job keeping up with their notes and adding enough detail. I think a few kids learned this the hard way, so I expect they'll invest a little more time into their notes and work leading up to the quiz in the future. That being said, the kids also get a second attempt on all quizzes. This is something I started last year because of the uniqueness of the year but I decided to continue as I found it decreases test anxiety and kids have generally done better on their first attempt due to that alone. Any question that is still wrong after the second attempt can be corrected using the Canvas correction form to earn back half credit for any correctly answered question. I'll be going over that in more detail with the kids on Monday to show the full process.
Now with this quiz, that makes for the third graded item for this year, yet I still have several students who haven't completed one or more of these items. The kids have all been reminded both in class and with a Canvas message to complete these items. The kids are also expected to complete their required 10 ALEKS topics each week (last week was waived since the county was still adjusting classes on the site). If parents and guardians could help me with encouraging the kids to complete these assignments, it would be greatly appreciated.
Well that should more than cover everything for the week but as always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Hope you all have an amazing weekend!