Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Today was a short class due to PSAT. We began with our assessment over Writing Linear Equations in Point-Slope Form (key, pdf).

We then talked about the midterm (lesson, pdf)

Your homework is:

1. Check the portal for the results of your assessment, fill out your student checklist with your results, and make a plan for retake (if necessary), including making an appointment.
   
   
2. Come to conferences tonight.
   
   
3. Organize your notebook.
   
   
4. Review for the midterm on Tuesday, including ompleting the Midterm Online Pre-Assessment on the Moodle. There are four parts so that you can break it up into shorter sessions if you want, but you should complete all four parts before Monday. Each part should take between 5 and 15 minutes and, as always, you can take them multiple times if you didn't do so well the first time (after seeing the worked out solution, try it again).
   
   
5. Sometimes, when I'm a little frustrated with things, watching a video like this one gives me a little perspective. You definitely don't have to watch it, but some of you might like it. Have a very good, very safe weekend.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

We began with this satisfying opener (pdf).

Then today's lesson (pdf) was figuring out together what was going to be on the midterm (which is next Tuesday), as well as reviewing point-slope a bit.

Your homework is:

1. Prepare for the Writing Linear Equations in Point-Slope Form Assessment tomorrow. There are a variety of ways to do that including, but not limited to: review the online pre-assessment; review your notebook and/or the openers and lessons posted on the blog; review the video, work some practice problems in your textbook or that you find online. You can, of course, also get help from me, another math teacher, a teacher in the Study Center, a peer tutor in the Study Center, or a parent, sibling or friend. Do whatever works best for you, but make sure you're prepared. The expectation is that you should all be able to do very well on this assessment.
   
   
2. Organize your notebooks before conferences on Wednesday.
   
   
3. Make a plan for how you are going to prepare for the midterm next Tuesday (there will be a pre-assessment for the Midterm on the Moodle beginning tomorrow).

Monday, October 10, 2011

We began with this pleasing opener (pdf).

Then today's lesson (pdf) was on writing equations in point-slope form to fit data (in this case, life expectancy).

Your homework is:

1. Finish the lesson (pdf).
   
   
2. Complete the Writing Linear Equations in Point-Slope Form Online Pre-Assessment on the Moodle.
   
   
3. Organize your notebooks before conferences on Wednesday. Just a reminder that conferences are Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00 - 7:30, but that I will only be available on Wednesday evening. If you and your parents can't make it on Wednesday, but still want a conference, please let me know and we can arrange an individual conference.

Friday, October 7, 2011

We began with our assessment over Writing Linear Equations in Slope-Intercept Form and then created the key (pdf). I reminded you that the key would be posted to the blog and that you should check your results on the portal and sign up for re-assessment if necessary (see below).

Then our lesson (pdf) was looking at equivalent algebraic expressions and the three main forms of linear equations (slope-intercept, point-slope, and standard form).

Your homework is:

1. Check the portal for the results of your assessment, fill out your student checklist with your results, and make a plan for retake (if necessary), including making an appointment. Please note we do not have school next Thursday and Friday due to conferences, so I'd strongly recommend re-assessing on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
   
   Some information you might find interesting:
   

   Students who did the pre-assessment on the Moodle
   
   Score on the Assessment:
     5 - Five
     4.5 - Two
   
   Students who did not do the pre-assessment on the Moodle
   
   Score on the Assessment:
     5 - One 
     4.5 - Two
     3.5 - Twelve
     3 - Five
     2.5 - One

2. Reminder: Your Parent/Teacher Conference Reflection on your blog is due before you go to bed on Sunday night.
   
   
3. Watch and complete the Writing Linear Equations in Point-Slope Form video. (You know what to do, and what to write down, right?)
   
   

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

We began with our assessment over Graphing Linear Equations Using Slope Intercept Form (key, pdf).

Then the lesson (pdf) was all about using the point-slope form of a linear equation.

Your homework is:

1. Check the portal for the results of your assessment, fill out your student checklist with your results, and make a plan for retake (if necessary), including making an appointment.
   
   
2. Prepare for the Writing Linear Equations in Slope-Intercept Form Assessment on Friday. There are a variety of ways to do that including, but not limited to: review the online pre-assessment; review your notebook and/or the openers and lessons posted on the blog; review the video, work some practice problems in your textbook or that you find online. You can, of course, also get help from me, another math teacher, a teacher in the Study Center, a peer tutor in the Study Center, or a parent, sibling or friend. Do whatever works best for you, but make sure you're prepared. The expectation is that you should all be able to do very well on this assessment.
   
   
3. On your personal Algebra Reflective Blog, create a new post titled "Parent/Teacher Conference (Fall) Reflection". This post is due before you go to bed Sunday night, but please don't wait until the last minute. Here's your prompt:
   
   Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up next week. Since these conferences are about you, I think you should be there. It makes very little sense to me that we should have a conference about you and you’re not there, so I’m encouraging your parents to come and to bring you with them. Please bring your Algebra notebook as well, so that we can look at your work if we need to.
   
   Whether you end up attending or not, I want you to spend some time thinking about what you want your parents to know about this class and how you are doing. Here are some questions for you to respond to:
   
   • Has class met your expectations? Why or why not?
   • What’s going well for you?
   • What’s challenging for you?
   • What could I do as your teacher that would help you be more successful?
   • What could you do as a student that would help you be more successful?
   • Is there anything your parents can do to help you be more successful?
   • Is there anything else you think your parents should know about this class or about how you are doing in this class?
   
   Please be thoughtful and specific in your responses, and please don't wait until the last minute, as I want you to put some real thought into this. The more you put into it, the more valuable it will be for you, me and your parents. Thanks.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

We began with this lovely opener (pdf).

Then today was a Carnegie Hall Day - practice, practice, practice - lesson (pdf).

Your homework is:

1. Prepare for the Graphing Linear Equations Using Slope-Intercept Form Assessment tomorrow. There are a variety of ways to do that including, but not limited to: review the online pre-assessment; review your notebook and/or the openers and lessons posted on the blog; review the video, work some practice problems in your textbook or that you find online. You can, of course, also get help from me, another math teacher, a teacher in the Study Center, a peer tutor in the Study Center, or a parent, sibling or friend. Do whatever works best for you, but make sure you're prepared. The expectation is that you should all be able to do very well on this assessment.
   
   
2. Complete the Writing Linear Equations in Slope-Intercept Form Online Pre-Assessment on the Moodle. (This is very similar to the assessment we're taking tomorrow, so it will also help review for that one.)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Today's opener (pdf) contained three problems very similar to what's on Wednesday's assessment. It would be a great idea to look over them.

Then for our lesson (pdf) we looked at applying a linear equation in slope-intercept form to the problem of determining how long it takes alcohol to leave the human body. Hopefully you have an even greater appreciation for the dangers of driving under the influence, driving while ability impaired, and just the general knowledge that it takes an awfully long time to get back to normal ability after ingesting alcohol.

While I would hope that as you begin to drive you make good driving decisions at least partly because you don't want to hurt yourself, your friends, or other folks you come into contact with, you might also want to watch the following for more selfish reasons to be smart.





Your homework for tonight is:

1. Review the lesson (pdf) from today. Make sure you understand where the slope and y-intercept in our equation came from. Then make sure you understand how we substituted in for x when given a time (a certain number of hours after midnight), and how we substituted in for y and solved the resulting equation when we were given a certain BAC (to figure out what time the BAC would drop below a certain level). If you don't understand this, please come in for help ASAP.
   
    
2. Complete the Graphing Linear Equations Using Slope-Intercept Online Pre-Assessment on the Moodle.
   
   
3. Finish the blog post that was assigned on Friday if you haven't done that yet. It's due before you go to bed tonight.
   
   
4. Watch and complete the Writing Linear Equations in Slope-Intercept Form video (you know what to do).