SOLs Covered: SOL 8.3a,b Squares & Square Roots; 8.2 Subsets of Real Number System
Math Unit: 01 Exponents, Powers & Roots; 02 Real Number System
Daily Agenda: September 19-23, 2022
Upcoming Assessments: Fall SGA SOL (A-Thurs. 9/29; B-Fri. 9/30); Quiz 1.02 SN & Comp/Order (A-Thurs. 10/6; B-Fri. 10/7)
Good evening, all! Well, it's already almost 7PM and I can hear the crowd from the football field, so I'm going to try to keep myself in check and keep this on the "short and sweet" side. Before we get into this week's math though, I want to prepare everyone with the information that we will be taking the state's fall Student Growth Assessment (SGA) next week (Thurs. 9/29 for A-day, Fri. 9/20 for B-day). The SGA is basically the pre-test for the SOL test, which gives us a baseline for students and will allow us to compare their scores throughout the year to ensure we're on target and that the kids are learning and growing as we go. While I know the kids aren't looking forward to any form of testing, this one should be a low-stress one as it's just giving us the baseline and the kids can even look at it as practice with the testing program and like any other review we do in class. Last year was the first time this was implemented in the state and was a little different than it will be this year or in the future as last year also factored in school's closing due to COVID. We don't quite know what the data will be like at this time as the state hasn't released some of those materials yet, so I can't make any promises on what parents can expect to see at this point.
Now in regards to this week's math work, we started by wrapping up our work with the real number system and moved onto reviewing for our first quiz on the first two units, so it included our work on squares and square roots, both perfect and imperfect. As part of that review, I actually decided to go over the entire Unit 2 formative check with the kids, going into all the math in detail but also going over possible tech concerns (like ensuring we don't accidently change an answer by hitting the arrow keys on our keyboard while trying to scroll) and all the things I refer to in class as "SOL tricks," those things that the kids just call mean (and honestly I agree with them) because they test whether you are paying close enough attention to the tiniest detail (ex. 4.0 would be a natural number because it's really just 4 when simplified; how 22/7 isn't equal to pi, just close to it, so we can't call it irrational). I'll do this all year long as I find that kids know way more math than the SOL test sometimes shows so I want to ensure I've given the kids every possible tool to get them through it WITHOUT being tricked.
Thursday and Friday were then devoted to taking the quiz, which just like the formative checks, gives the kids an extra attempt (though just one instead of unlimited). The kids are also allowed to use their notes on quizzes just like the checks, though as I'd warned them, I give less help with questions during their first attempt at the quiz. I do however help them talk through their thoughts and will help them pinpoint in their notes where to look. Even after the second attempt, kids can still complete quiz corrections to earn back half credit for any questions that are still wrong. These extra supports (aside from test corrections) are taken away once we get to tests of any kind (both PG and state tests). As I explained it to the kids, I look at it like going from a tricycle, to a bike with training wheels, to getting those training wheels removed and riding your first "big kid bike" (formative check to quiz to tests). By the time we get to the test, they should hopefully feel secure in their own understanding, but I will continue to be there by their side for those first shaky pedals and I'll be there to catch them if they do "fall" at any point.
There were a few interruptions to our schedule the past two days, so some kids still need to finish their second attempts with a few even needing to finish their first attempts. There were also a few absences, but since the quiz is open notes and they can use the Desmos calculator on the whole thing, I am more than okay with them working on it at home. Kids can "pin" any question they want to discuss with me first thing next week, but I'd like to encourage them to try to do as much as they can outside of school since we'll be losing those two days at the end of the week for the SGA as mentioned.
Well, the cheers are getting louder and I still need to make a few copies before I can head out, but as always, please let me know if you have any questions. I hope everyone has an amazing weekend!