SOLs Covered: 8.10 Composite Figures; 8.7 Geometric Transformations
Math Unit: 17 Composite Figures; 18 Geometric Transformations
Daily Agenda: March 20-24, 2023
Upcoming Assessments: Quiz 3.05 Geo. Trans. (A-Tues. 3/28; B-Wed. 3/29); Quiz 3.06 3-D Models (A-Thurs. 3/30; B-3/31)
Howdy! I've still got a fair amount to do before I can officially begin my weekend, so I'm going to try to keep this week's update quick. I'd like to start by reminding folks that the term ends the week we return from spring break, so time is quickly winding down before grades are set. I've sent emails out to all parents/guardians of students currently at risk of failing and I'm in the process of calling if I haven't heard back, but with limited planning time (I have no planning on A-days and I often have at least one meeting each week during my planning on B-days), it's a slow process. It would be a huge help if folks could respond to the emails letting me know they received them, but if everyone could check Tyler for their student's current grades, it would be greatly appreciated. Last week's update went over the various ways students (no matter their current grade) could improve upon their current grades and I've uploaded a screenshot of the Canvas announcement with directions for accessing the IXL extra credit so parents/guardians can help their students navigate to it when they're working at home.
For this week's math happenings, Monday and Tuesday were "catch up days" as promised to make-up for lost time due to last week's SOL testing. The rest of the week was devoted to the next unit, geometric transformations. The portions covered for this topic at the middle school level are fairly easy, but it is a very visual topic, meaning that seeing the transformations being applied is a huge factor for most kids being able to wrap their heads around the topic. Aside from walking them through the process in class, I also have videos in the unit folder (not my own creations but shared by another teacher) that students can view outside of class to review. Another struggle for students with this topic doesn't always pop-up until they get to SOL testing. For graphing on the coordinate plane with any topic but especially this one, most students count out the points by tapping them out on the grid. This is a great strategy, but the problem comes when they get to the computerized SOL that prohibits them from holding anything up to or over the screen, which also means using their pencil or even their finger to point out the spots on the screen. For this reason, I've pushed the kids to do a little extra with the digital assignments posted on Canvas and we spent a lot of extra time today practicing through a Google Draw assignment together. This meant a lot of running around since many students weren't familiar with some of the advanced tools on Google Draw, but the kids did an amazing job and were incredibly patient. The B-day students will get this activity on Monday, but there are additional digital assignments that I encourage all the kids to practice this weekend.
Well, that should cover everything and I've still got a few more things to do, but as always, please let me know if you have any questions. Hope you all have an amazing weekend!