Math IA
The handouts we will be using this week are Area problems and Carpets and Stripping problems.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Accelerated Math 7
Pool and miniature golf problems have been the focus of our studies in Accelerated Math 7. I have often wondered what went through the minds of anyone walking by my classroom and overhearing my instructions detailing how to put a cue ball in the pocket using a three cushion shot. Little do they know that our current topic is geometry or, more specifically, transformation geometry and that the focus of the lesson is line reflections.
We've also begun reviewing material from the beginning of the school year. This week we will finish discussing review sheet number two.
Accelerated Math 8
About a month ago, I gave each of my Accelerated Math 8 students their very own copy of the green book. The green book is a small paperback that contains the last seven Regents exams. This week we will finish discussing the August 2009 paper. Each night their homework is to complete a specific section of each paper and the next day we go over their answers.
Each of them has also been given a graphing calculator which they will be allowed to use during their Regents exams. Each day I choose several questions and instruct them on the use of their new calculators to solve the problems. My very intelligent Math 8 students often point out that they have discovered an easier way to solve the problem, but as I have pointed out repeatedly, some of the problems I have chosen are simply examples I have chosen to demonstrate the capabilities of their calculators. My goal is to give them several options they can choose from when the time comes to complete the real exam.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Accelerated Math 7
It can be very frustrating for algebra students when they don't get immediate feedback on their work. This week we made a transition from frustrating to satisfying, or at least I hope so. For the last few weeks, we have been practicing and practicing the various methods of factoring. This is a difficult topic for my seventh graders because they are never quite sure if they came up with the right answer. This week we took our factoring skills and applied them to solving equations. This may not sound exciting but it does give your son or daughter a chance to discover immediately if they are getting the right answers to the homework. When you're solving equations, you can always check your work. We have a quiz this Wednesday on factoring and solving equations and perhaps a review question or two. As we get closer to the end of the year, more and more I have been reviewing material from the beginning of the year. My students know that any review is fair game for their quizzes.
Accelerated Math 8
By the end of this week, all of my accelerated math 8 students will know how to add and subtract fractions that may or may not have common denominators. You may recall that this particular topic has already been presented and mastered in the fifth grade. However, by the ninth grade we find the need to reintroduce this topic because the fractions are now algebraic. I mention the ninth grade as a reminder of the level of work I expect from my accelerated students. They are studying algebra. They are studying the topic in math which has traditionally been reserved for high school freshman. Almost daily I remind them of some of my expectations because this is a ninth grade class they're in now. I expect that all their homework is complete if not all correct. I expect they will ask questions when they don't understand something and not sit quietly in ignorance and hope no one notices. And I expect that these eighth-graders will be very successful on the ninth grade algebra exam that they are preparing to take at the end of the year.
It can be very frustrating for algebra students when they don't get immediate feedback on their work. This week we made a transition from frustrating to satisfying, or at least I hope so. For the last few weeks, we have been practicing and practicing the various methods of factoring. This is a difficult topic for my seventh graders because they are never quite sure if they came up with the right answer. This week we took our factoring skills and applied them to solving equations. This may not sound exciting but it does give your son or daughter a chance to discover immediately if they are getting the right answers to the homework. When you're solving equations, you can always check your work. We have a quiz this Wednesday on factoring and solving equations and perhaps a review question or two. As we get closer to the end of the year, more and more I have been reviewing material from the beginning of the year. My students know that any review is fair game for their quizzes.
Accelerated Math 8
By the end of this week, all of my accelerated math 8 students will know how to add and subtract fractions that may or may not have common denominators. You may recall that this particular topic has already been presented and mastered in the fifth grade. However, by the ninth grade we find the need to reintroduce this topic because the fractions are now algebraic. I mention the ninth grade as a reminder of the level of work I expect from my accelerated students. They are studying algebra. They are studying the topic in math which has traditionally been reserved for high school freshman. Almost daily I remind them of some of my expectations because this is a ninth grade class they're in now. I expect that all their homework is complete if not all correct. I expect they will ask questions when they don't understand something and not sit quietly in ignorance and hope no one notices. And I expect that these eighth-graders will be very successful on the ninth grade algebra exam that they are preparing to take at the end of the year.
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