Sunday, March 29, 2015

Week 31

Office Hours Reminder
Due to the Talent Show rehearsals which take place on Monday afternoons, my office hours will be on Thursdays through May 14.

Upcoming Absences
I shared with the students in December that I am pregnant.  I'm about 28 weeks along now and some complications have come to light that require me to see several specialists for extended appointments during the day.  I will be out this Wednesday (April 1) and next Wednesday (April 8).  My due date is June 20 and I hope to finish teaching through the end of the school year, but this may not be something that I can control.  Thank you for your understanding.

6th Accelerated (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/4da00xgz3wfsxk92o874)
This week, we will be reviewing for our 6th Unit Test (Geometric Reasoning).  Students will receive a Study Guide on Monday (which is also available on box).  We will play a review game on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, they will take a Practice Test and the solutions will be given at the end of the period.  The test will be on Thursday, April 2.  I have shared with the students the data regarding their progress towards Algebra 1.  In making the final decision, the math department will be taking into account multiple measures: Semester 1 grade and Semester 2 grade (minimum: 84%B), each Unit Test rubric score (mostly 4/At Grade Level and 5/Above Grade level), an objective final exam (minimum: 80%), and two final short answer questions (minimum: 4/At Grade Level).  Students that meet these criteria will be recommended for Algebra 1 in 7th grade.  Students that do not will considered for 7th Grade Accelerated or 7th Grade Common Core.  I have met individually with each student to let them know what they are "on track" for.  At this point, there is enough data to show students with reliability where they are headed, but there is still enough time (there are 3 remaining unit tests) for students to increase their unit test scores and overall grade, if they are motivated to do so.  If you have any questions, please email me and I will be happy to respond over email or set up a conference.

7th Grade (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/fvpzcxpzao0bdhrp86pg)
This week, we will extend our knowledge of angle relationships (complementary, supplementary, and vertical angles) by adding angles in a triangle to our repertoire on Monday.  We will practice challenging problems that require students to synthesize all of the angle relationships on Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday, we will add another level of complexity: algebraic expressions.  We will practice these skills on Friday (no quiz this week).  Our next Unit Test 5 is scheduled for the following week on Thursday, April 9.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Week 30

Office Hour Change:  Due to the Talent Show rehearsals which take place on Monday afternoons, my office hours will be on Thursdays through May 14.

Practice SBAC

6th Accelerated (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/4da00xgz3wfsxk92o874)
This week, students will take their skills of finding missing angles through angle relationships (complementary, supplementary, vertical, and angles in a triangle) to solve for missing variables of algebraic expressions in angle diagrams.  Their quiz will be on Wednesday this week because on Thursday and Friday they will be doing the Practice SBAC (Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium), the practice test for the standardizes assessment that will take place after spring break.

7th Grade Common Core (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/fvpzcxpzao0bdhrp86pg)
This week, students will be learning about several angle relationships and using those to find the value of missing angles (complementary, supplementary, and vertical).  Their quiz will be on Thursday this week because onFriday they will be doing the Practice SBAC (Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium), the practice test for the standardizes assessment that will take place after spring break.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Week 29

6th Accelerated (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/4da00xgz3wfsxk92o874)
This week, we will finish our series on volume by exploring the proof and formula for volume of all kinds of right prisms.  On Wednesday, we will start our study of angles (adjacent, vertical, complementary, and supplementary).  On Thursday, we will look at angles in a triangle.  There will be a quiz on Friday.

7th Grade Common Core (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/fvpzcxpzao0bdhrp86pg)
This week, we will start our series on volume of right prisms.  Additionally, we will review area and circumference of circles.  There will be a quiz on Friday for volume and a re-take on the circles quiz from last week (the score from this week's quiz on circles will replace last week's score on the quiz on circles).

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Week 28

6th Accelerated (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/4da00xgz3wfsxk92o874)
This week, we will be reviewing the different types of triangles by angle (acute, obtuse, right) and side (scalene, isosceles, equilateral) and plotting them on the coordinate plane.  We will also begin looking at volume.  There will be a quiz on Friday.  Notes and worksheets are available on the Box link above.

7th Grade Common Core (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/fvpzcxpzao0bdhrp86pg)
This week, we will be studying circles (it lines up with the upcoming Pi Day of 3.1415 on Saturday).  We will be identifying the parts of a circle (center, radius, diameter, and circumference) and determining whether word problems are area or circumference.

Week 27

6th Accelerated (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/4da00xgz3wfsxk92o874)
This week, we are extending our knowledge of area to the three dimensional space.  We are sketching prisms in three dimensions and their corresponding nets and finding the surface area.  There will be a quiz on Friday.  Notes and worksheets are available on the Box link above.

7th Grade Common Core (https://sjusd.app.box.com/s/fvpzcxpzao0bdhrp86pg)
This week, we are practicing more on area and focusing on the surface area of both rectangular and triangular prisms.  There will be a quiz on Friday.  Notes and worksheets are available on the Box link above.