CST Week

CST Announcements
This week is CST Week!  Students will be released at 12:42pm every day.  Students will go to all class periods on Monday and then from Tuesday to Friday, I will see each class (except 1st period) one more time.  I will see 1st period every day this week.  Students will take the 6th Grade Math Part 1 on Tuesday in the first testing block, the Math Part 2 on Wednesday, Language Arts Part 1 on Thursday, and Language Arts Part 2 on Friday.  There are two testing blocks each day, but the 6th grade students only test in the first testing block; the second testing block is up to the discretion of their 4th period teacher.

Plan For This Week
Monday - Grade homework & ask any final questions.
Rest of the Week - Since I'll see each class once for a short period of time in the middle of CST testing week, we'll play a game called the Four Nines.  Each class period will try to use order of operations and four nines to create each number from 1 - 100.  The class period that comes up with the most numbers from 1 - 100 will receive a popsicle party!

For example:
1 = (9 + 9) ÷ (9 + 9)
2 = (9 ÷ 9) + (9 ÷ 9)
...
99 = 99 * (9 ÷ 9)
100 = 99 + (9 ÷ 9)

First Period
Since I will see 1st period every day this week before their testing block, here is our plan for the week:
Tuesday - Four Nines
Wednesday - Math Olympics
Thursday - Sustained Silent Reading (bring a book to read)
Friday - Writing & Sharing Mad Libs stories

There is no math homework this week.

CST Prep Week 2 of 2

Algebra Readiness Test
The Algebra readiness will be administered on Tuesday, May 15.  In order for students to move on to Algebra 1 next year, they must pass with a score of at least 80%.  In addition, they must have an A or B average in class.  We have already begun reviewing for this test in our warm ups and will hit the Pre-Algebra concepts again once the CST is over.

This Week
This week, we will continue to review for the CST.  On Monday and Tuesday, we'll practice the big skills that will be covered.  On Wednesday and Thursday, students will take a final CST practice exam.  During the practice test, I will be pulling out small groups to target some of areas for development.

Homework is as follows:
Monday (4/23)CST Released Packet #51-60
Tuesday (4/24)CST Released Packet #61-70
Wednesday (4/25)CST Released Packet #71-80
Thursday (4/26)CST Released Packet #81-90
Friday (4/27)CST Released Packet #91-96

CST Prep Week 1 of 2

For the next two weeks, we will be preparing for the 6th grade math CST.  It will be a review of material that students have seen this year.  Homework for the next two weeks is going to be from the packet of released CST questions.  This packet is published by the state of California and has actual CST question that are no longer on the test.  The packet is printed small, so students should show work on a separate sheet of paper.  Treat this like a textbook that you can't lose (because it takes a lot of paper to reprint if it's lost).

In an effort to cover all 96 practice questions in the next two weeks, we will have homework every night (including Friday) of 10 problems.  Students can work ahead if they desire.

Homework is as follows:
Monday (4/16) - CST Released Packet #1-10
Tuesday (4/17) - CST Released Packet #11-20
Wednesday (4/18) - CST Released Packet #21-30
Thursday (4/19) - CST Released Packet #31-40
Friday (4/20) - CST Released Packet #41-50

Week 31 - End of Probability & Statistics

This Week
This week is the last week of new material before the CST.  We will be finishing our unit on Probability and Statistics.  Monday will be the final new lesson on taking a sample.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be working on a project in class.  The unit test will be on Thursday and on Friday, students will receive the results and have an opportunity to correct any mistakes.

Homework for the week is as follows:
Monday (4/2) - WB 7-7 all
Tuesday (4/3) - Probability / Statistics Project
Wednesday (4/4) - Probability / Statistics Project
Thursday (4/5) - No HW (Unit Test today)
Friday (4/6) - Enjoy Spring Break!