Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Work, work, work...
To solidify the basic skills we'll need before we dive into the harder fraction stuff, today was a work day to finish up the fraction packet #35. If they did not finish it, they'll need to do so for homework. We'll check this packet tomorrow in class. :)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Ahhhh! The Mixed Numbers!
You'll see posted below pictures of notes from today... all about adding and subtracting mixed numbers. As if just finding a common denominator wasn't hard enough, now we have to worry about those pesky whole numbers... AND what about borrowing from the whole number when subtracting mixed fractions/numbers? Hm?
So yes, today was quite the journey! No immediate work or practice on these skills, however. Tonight's homework comes from #35 -- a packet of mixed to improper, reducing, and simple adding and subtracting fractions. Homework is the last page, #s 9-16.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Fraction Work
Today was all about the fraction. :)
After some quick notes on converting fractions back and forth between mixed and improper, the kids got a packet to do some work on (tons of problems, but went really quickly).
They worked so hard? No HOMEWORK. ;)
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tests back... On to Fractions!
Today the kids got their tests back... and I was very pleased with how they ALL did. Before we started on Tuesday I told them that I had a dream that they all did fabulously on this test... and they did! Now, that doesn't mean that we all didn't miss a few here and there, but overall, everyone proved they knew their stuff. YEAH!
So, test corrections are due tomorrow... Corrections should be completed on the back of the test and nothing should be erased from the original test.
Afterwards, we moved on to our next unit: Fractions. The pictures you'll see below are of the notes we took. The notes from today and tomorrow will all be REVIEW. Monday will be new stuff. Other than test corrections? No homework. :)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Back To School Night!
Reminder that Back to School Night is tomorrow (Thursday) night!
Please aim to be at the MS ready to go around 7:15 and come ready to
visit your child's morning classes, meet their advisors, and
experience some of our electives!
Please aim to be at the MS ready to go around 7:15 and come ready to
visit your child's morning classes, meet their advisors, and
experience some of our electives!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Test Day!
Hi! Today was our first test day! The kids came in, set up their desks, put their notebooks on the ground for me to check and began their test.
It was 40 questions long, across 4 pages. Most everyone finished by the end of the 75 minute period, and a few stayed into break to finish. I haven't gotten a chance to check them yet, but the kids will get them back on Thursday when they come back to see me once we're back on our normal morning schedule.
I promised a longer posting on tests and what they mean for me and my math classes. Look for that this evening once I get home and get settled. Once I get that post up, I'll shoot out an email as it probably won't make the 3:00 PM cut. :)
Monday, September 22, 2008
Test Tomorrow!
Today was spent in preparation for our test tomorrow! We checked our checklists, secured our papers in our notebooks, and got a chance to ask questions about the test tomorrow. (See previous posts for skills listed that will be tested tomorrow.)
Another reminder--tomorrow and Wednesday are our first BLOCK days. The kiddos will see me tomorrow for 75 minutes for their test and then will not see me until Thursday!
I'll post tomorrow to let you know how the test goes. :)
Friday, September 19, 2008
What have you guys been up to?!
Whew! It has been an intense past two days for me! I'm not sure if I've explained how blogging works for me, but I wanted to just let you know what it looks like in terms of my reliability. My afternoon schedule allows me three chunks of time to work on planning/blogging/checking papers/etc. These are M-F at lunch (provided there are no meetings that I have to attend and that I am not on lunch duty), M/W/F during 6th period (again, barring meetings), and T/H 7th period. For emails to be sent out to you on time (they should arrive to your inbox between 3 and 5p) I have to blog what I'm going to blog for the day by 3p. So, in a case like yesterday and today when I'm on lunch duty and have afternoon meetings until 3p... sitting down to blog becomes incredibly difficult! But, I try my best to keep to a schedule, thus insuring you get your daily update as regularly as possible. :)
With that being said, in first period we've been gearing up for our first test which will be on next Tuesday -- our first block week of the year. A number of weeks throughout the year are chosen to be "block" weeks and during those weeks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays morning classes meet for 75 minutes (1st and 3rd on Tuesday and 2nd and 4th on Wednesday). So, next Tuesday your children will take their first test in that 75 minute block period. And then I won't get to see them until Thursday! :/
Today and yesterday was FILLED with review. The kids have in their possession bunches of skill review (I've listed the skills below) that they have been working on in class and at home (at their discretion).
Monday we'll talk about our notebooks. We've been booking it through this first unit and we haven't taken time to sort through our notebooks, clean them up, make sure everything is in order and labeled, what not. During tests is when I collect notebooks and check to make sure they are in tip-top shape -- so your children might need to give some TLC to their notebooks soon. :)
Skills to be ready for Tuesday:
- Multiplying up to 3X3
- Dividing with two-digit divisors
- Exponents (writing them in expanded form, solving them)
- Multiples, Least Common Multiples
- Factors, Greatest Common Factors
- Prime Factorization and Factor Trees
- Prime vs. Composite Numbers
The majority of these (not exponents and prime factorization) are review. I'm expecting great things from them! Let me know if you have any questions between now and Tuesday or if you need any further clarity. Again, thank you for your understanding and your support at home. Have a great weekend!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Short Post
Just a short post on what's for homework... the kids got tons of review sheets today. They DO NOT have to work on them all or finish them all or even look at them tonight. HOWEVER, I strongly recommended they take a look at a few... at their discretion.
Factor Factory!
Instead of simply practicing more factor trees today I decided to invent an entire new activity called... the Factor Factory. :) They are going to be using the factors of many common numbers their entire year in Math 6, so why not make a cheat sheet?!
You'll see a list of names/numbers below. Each child has the responsibility for filling out the chart for their numbers (the number, prime or composite, and the factors) for homework. They'll bring this in tomorrow, compare it with their partner's, and I'll compile a GIANT list of factors. Whoohoo!
Onward!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Answers for PCF...
1. prime, 1, 2
2. prime, 1, 11
3. composite, 1, 2, 4, 8
4. composite, 1, 2, 13, 26
5. composite, 1, 5, 17, 85
6. prime, 1, 61
7. prime, 1, 3
8. composite, 1, 3, 9, 27
9. prime, 1, 83
10. composite, 1, 3, 9
11. prime, 1, 13
12. prime, 1, 31
13. composite, 1, 5, 25
14. prime, 1, 29
15. composite, 1, 3, 13, 39
(bottom line of factor trees...)
16. 2, 2, 2, 5
17. 2, 2, 5, 5
18. 3, 3, 3
19. 5, 3, 3, 2
20. 13, 2, 2
21. 5, 3, 2
22. 1, (2), (5), (7), 10, 14, 35, 70
23. 1, (19)
24. 1, (2), 4, 11, 22, 44
25. 1, (3), (5), 15, 25 75
26. 1, (2), 4, (17), 34, 68
27. 1, (2), (41), 82
28. 1, (2), 4, 6, 12, 24
29. 1, (2), (19), 38
Primes, Composites, Factors... Oh my!
After checking our homework (the factor trees... answers posted below), we reminded ourselves about primes and composites and the kids got some problems to work out on this. They'll need to finish this for homework.
This sheet I do not have electronically, so I can't post it online yet. But I am going to try and remember to post answers. I've got to set a reminder for myself or something! (I was supposed to post answers last night... and that didn't happen! ;) )
Monday, September 15, 2008
Review!
Test... already???
Yup. It's that time and its coming up fast! Test time on all the stuff we've been working on. Take a look at the list of things to review below.
Also, the kids worked to finish their factor trees (I'll post a link to that on the wiki at http://cfsmatthew.wikispaces.com/classdocs) -- and they need to finish this for homework.
I'll post answers to the blog later this evening for checking. :)
Friday, September 12, 2008
Wrap it up, Man!
Today was about tying loose ends together. Just a few notes reminding them that we actually DID learn about factor trees and they were off working on a few and writing the prime factorizations of those numbers.
NO HOMEWORK!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Expo!
Today was all about the exponent. We checked our homework, took a few more notes (see below) and got some more practice problems to be working through. They'll need to finish those tonight for homework. :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Answers to Exponent Fun Posted
The answers to tonight's homework is now available online via my wiki: http://cfsmatthew.wikispaces.com/classdocs
Very full and informative day!
After our warm up and checking our homework, we moved into a conversation and lesson about exponents (see the TONS of pictures below). The kiddos have to fill out a sheet of exponents tonight for homework that they began during class.
The most important thing to remember about exponents? It's all about MULTIPLYING.
Thus, 3^2 (three squared, or three to the second power) is actually 3 * 3... NOT 3+3 or 3 * 2.
To hopefully avoid confusion and speed up checking time tomorrow, I'm going to post the answers to the homework this evening up here on the blog. (NOTE: An email will not be sent out with the answers... you or your child will have to come check it yourself!)
They're doing fabulously!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Workdays
This is a posting that I'm making for all of my morning class blogs:
Matthew... What the heck is a workday?
I am so glad you asked!
I call, at random, for workdays in each of my morning classes when I'm feeling like the kids are getting a bit antsy sitting in those desks day after day and/or they are tired of hearing me yap yap yap about math. A workday is exactly what it sounds like... a day of work, and nothing else. It usually begins with a brief meeting where I lay out the requirements and expectations for the day and the assignment they will be completing. Usually, they are allowed to leave my room and work anywhere in the middle school (including tutor rooms if available and sometimes outside, weather permitting). They are also allowed to work together, provided that the partnership/relationship is mutually beneficial and all parties complete and turn in their own assignments. Finally, most work not completed during a workday is to be completed at night for homework.
I hope this helps with clarity on what a workday is! Have a great evening!
Matthew... What the heck is a workday?
I am so glad you asked!
I call, at random, for workdays in each of my morning classes when I'm feeling like the kids are getting a bit antsy sitting in those desks day after day and/or they are tired of hearing me yap yap yap about math. A workday is exactly what it sounds like... a day of work, and nothing else. It usually begins with a brief meeting where I lay out the requirements and expectations for the day and the assignment they will be completing. Usually, they are allowed to leave my room and work anywhere in the middle school (including tutor rooms if available and sometimes outside, weather permitting). They are also allowed to work together, provided that the partnership/relationship is mutually beneficial and all parties complete and turn in their own assignments. Finally, most work not completed during a workday is to be completed at night for homework.
I hope this helps with clarity on what a workday is! Have a great evening!
Prime Factorizations
After a warm up, we talked today about prime factorization... specifically, factor trees! I just love factor trees, and I think the kids did too. Look below for a few examples from the board.
The rest of the period was spent in "workday" fashion... which I'll explain in another post later in the afternoon. :)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Getting back in order!
We spent much more time today getting our notebooks and papers back in order, but that is just fine because that was where we were and what we needed! The kids got back a lot of papers this morning, filed them away, shared briefly about our weekends and got just a few minutes to get back to our math. You'll see photos of our examples in class below.
Homework tonight: Four long-division problems with two-digit divisors. (#s 1, 5, 9, & 13 on the purple sheet)
Onward!
Friday, September 5, 2008
How long did it take us to do this last year?!
Today began with a multiplication warm up and then we quickly moved into a review of multiples, factors, least common multiples (LCM), greatest common factors (GCF), prime and composite numbers. The most interesting thing? Last year this took us about a week. Now? Just a day! We're growing!
Just a few practice problems during class to solidify, and no homework over the weekend. :)
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