No Homework and Notebook TLC

We spent time today prepping our review sheets for the Chapter 1 Test next Tuesday, and cleaning out and up our notebooks. (There will be a notebook check during the test!)

No homework!

No Updates

No updates today--it's Adolescent Issues Forum!

Homework

No homework tonight!

Heads-up: Jacobs, Chapter 1 Test is NEXT Tuesday, February 5.

Lesson 6, Set I

We played with more Number Tricks today--and the kiddos are to finish Lesson 6, Set I, #s 1-10, and 12 & 13.

Heads up--The test for Chapter 1 Jacobs will be NEXT Tuesday. (It would have been the end of this week, but we've got the whole funky schedule with staff development and Adolescent Issues Forum.)

A Note on Email Updates

You will notice a new box on each of the blogs--"Subscribe to get email updates"--or something to that effect. If you enter your email in that little box, click the button, enter a code, reply to an email they send you, you SHOULD get an email update once a day (between 3-5p) if there are updates to the blog -- which there will be.

This is just one more way to (hopefully!) make your life easier! (And reduce reminder emails from me :) )

You can also keep checking the blog--since they will only send out one email per day.

Onward!

Deductive Reasoning!

With no homework to check today, we spent most of our time playing around with deductive reasoning problems. One was a problem I call... the marble problem :) Ask them about it.

The other time was spent playing with number tricks... and proving they work using deductive reasoning.

Here, you try one!

Pick a number.
Add five.
Double the result.
Subtract four.
Divide by 2.
Subtract the original number.

What was your answer?

Was it 3? It should have been! There's deductive reasoning for ya--try it with any number--it works!

Rolling on through Lesson 4, onward to Lesson 5

We checked over Lesson 4, Set II and then talked about two examples of where inductive reasoning fails to deliver... again. :)

Which brings us to Lesson 5 -- Deductive Reasoning. Deductive reasoning is what we use when theorems and fundamental mathematical laws are in play.

For example, the kids figured out, deductively, how to win a game involving paper clips and colored pieces today. (It's the picture posted below.)

And because they've had quite a lot of homework, no homework tonight! (And it's looking like none over the weekend either.)

Processing Lesson 4

We checked over Set I today, and started work on Set II. They'll need to finish this for homework--and some parts might not be so easy. I'm just a phone call away, though!

Onward!

Homework 1/22

Thevkiddos should finish up Lesson 4, Set II for homework tonight.

Don't forget to check the podcast!

Sent from my iPhone

Check your blogs and even newer technology!

Hi all!

You may have realized that you haven't gotten many reminder emails from me in awhile! I'm experimenting with laying off the emails--to see if you'll check your child's class blog. :)

You may notice, when you check your blog that you'll see a new little green window up there in the right corner under a title "Audio Updates from Matthew." I have discovered a website called gcast.com that will let you phone in a podcast and stores your files for free. Podcasts are those things you've heard about in iTunes. Now, you could go and "subscribe" to this, but for now, just know that every day I'm going to phone in a message about homework for all of my morning classes and post it online on the blogs. If you click on the Play Button, it will play the latest message -- but it will keep playing the old messages as well. If you click on the "Posts" button, you'll see the list of podcasts I've made so far. (The two earlier ones are just test messages.)

We'll see about the future of these podcasts. Maybe we'll link it up through iTunes so yall can listen to me on your iPod! Ha!

Just another way to help keep you informed. :) Have a great weekend!

There is a time for everything...

We spent the first part of today checking over Set I of Lesson 3.  (Ask them about the cool Keynote we used.)

Then I let the children begin on Set II -- and I did assign it for homework.  There is a flow to Jacobs and we are right in the middle of it, and not seeing them Monday worries me a bit.  There is value to working together on these problems as a class, and then as a group as well.  There is also value in them sitting down and working on it by themselves, struggling, getting a little angry, and working through that.

So, Set II is for Homework: Due Tuesday.

Delay

As of 6:07, we are on a 2-Hour Delay.  School begins at 10:30a.

Totally Forgot!

Today we went through the answers to Lesson 2, Sets 1 & 2.

Plus, we talked about how Jacobs has been going and started talking about inductive reasoning -- which is our topic for the next lesson.  In fact we started up on Set I today (and they should finish tonight for homework if they didn't get done in class--but most got really close!).

Sorry it's so late!

Snow dance... snow dance...

NO Class Today

First, let me apologize for taking so long to post homework yesterday. It was one of those days/afternoons that I just couldn't pull myself away for 5 minutes to sit at my computer! Until, of course, I figured out how to send blogs from my phone (how cool!)! So, in the future, that's how I'll solve that problem.

Tomorrow we'll continue our work in Jacobs by wrapping up Lesson 2 and beginning Lesson 3.  Say bye-bye to those billiard tables!

HW Tonight

By Wed they should be done with Sets 1-2 of Lesson 2.

Sent from my iPhone

More in Lesson 1, Transitioning to Lesson 2

We checked Lesson 1, Set II and then the kids transitioned into Lesson 2 on their own and began Set I.  I told them to stop in their tracks and we'd pick it up on Monday.

Lesson 1, Set 1

Today we checked #s 1-8 -- and finished out the set by answering questions #9-14. These final questions required us to look at the tables we drew yesterday and deduce some patterns from them.

Afterwards we began Set II and the kids' homework is to complete the set (Set II) OR work for at least 30 minutes.

I want to take a minute to describe what my process looks like for kids who do not complete their homework. (This is normally how it goes, but once Jacobs starts in Pre-Al this seems to happen more often...) They will have to sit in study hall at some point to make up for their time--but what really disadvantages them is that they have to leave the room when we are checking the homework they did not complete, and then when they come back into the room (they could be working on the homework they didn't complete) they will have missed what we did together as a class and then have to make THAT up at night. Double-whammy! Moral of the story? Do your homework!

Tomorrow will be finishing up Set II and tying up loose ends before the weekend.

Jacobs, Chapter 1, Lesson 1, Set 1

Does the title look confusing??

It can be!  The chapters in Jacobs are organized by a number of lessons and within those lessons are 3 "sets."  Most of the time we focus our work on the first and second sets, but not always.

Today we started off (for real this time) our study of Chapter 1 on inductive and deductive reasoning.  The first lesson (as well as the second lesson) focus on the "path of a billiard ball" -- and using a variety of mathematical experiments (if you will) to deduce patterns.  If you are curious, just grab your child's book.

To start off our work, however, we watched a few videos of some of the amazing things that people who are extremely talented (or really bored and have A LOT of free time) can do with billiard balls, a cue and a pool table.  If you would like to take a look, I've posted them on my wikispace.  The link is at the top of this page, or you can just click right here --> cfsmatthew.wikispaces.com/jacobs

They do have some homework.  I want them to complete #s 1-8 of Set I.  They should have gotten graph paper from me to draw their tables.  No need to go further--I like to process their tables in class.

Hope all is well!

Putting Geometry to Bed and Waking up Jacobs

Today we finalized Geometry. That meant filling out a reflection on the entire unit which I'm going to read over this evening.

I also took up their Geo Part II Tests (which were the measurements and problems they solved from their Gingerbread House). I'll be processing those tonight as well.

This brings us to Jacobs. :)

Back many, many years ago there was a shift in the middle school math curriculum with respect to the amount of time we had to teach the course known as "Jacobs." As such, the first and second chapters of the Jacobs text were handed down to Pre-Algebra. I can't tell you what a great opportunity this is for kids. The next two months (give or take a few weeks) will be spent in these two chapters of the Jacobs text. This will be one of the first real (other than their other textbook) textbook they will experience. (If you want to get particular, I use that text more as a problem holding vessel.) Regardless, the Jacobs text is unlike any other textbook they will see--especially in terms of math texts!

Jacobs at first can be demanding. Gone are the days of here is the skill, practice the skill, test the skill, you know the skill. :) Well, it sort of still is with Jacobs, but this is one of the ways I explain it to the kids. The Jacobs text is very reading intensive--a concept can be introduced in question #2 and will be referenced in question #15 of the same set... and could be referenced 30 pages later! It could be described as constructive as well (in that, within a chapter each lesson builds on one another, each question in each set builds upon the questions you've already answered).

I say all of this to give you a big heads-up! Tonight their homework was to read pages 1-3, the Introduction. Many of them will struggle with the questions and problems that the author presents in those first few pages. The kids actually don't have to "do" the problems--we'll process them together in class.

This is where we sometimes can hit a wall. Most kids find the transition into this text to be not as easy sometimes as they think or thought it might be. That's part of the reason why I love that it's included now in Pre-Algebra! I get them, I get to answer all their questions, and hold their hands through this experience--which in turn prepares them to think critically and solve problems in totally new ways--and gets them ready for full-blown Jacobs next year.

Whew! I hope I have not given you too much to read! If you're wondering what this is all about, go grab your child's book and take a look. (It is a clear-covered, spiraled Kinko'd creation... ask them about what happens if something happens to the book!) Or if your children are being incredibly careful--come find me in the middle school and you can borrow a copy to read through.

I hope you are well as you read this. More soon!

Back to it!

Hey, hey!

Welcome to 2008! I know it's going to be great! (I just love rhyming...)

Today we reoriented ourselves with each other. We shared about our breaks, started to process the geometry unit (and get our notebooks in order!), and looked ahead at our next unit.

Tomorrow we will finish processing the geometry unit and put most of it to bed. Remember that there were 3 parts to the geometry test: Part I was solving problems, Part II was SA and Volume of their GB house, and Part III was the Memorizing-Formulas Test. 

They got their Part III tests back. Many kiddos did wonderfully, missing only a few to acing it.  If they want, they do have the option of a retake. We spoke today about what I'm after on this test. Is it about memorizing formulas? Sure. Is that all I'm after? Heck no! Memorization is a crucial skill to have in life! And formulas is how I do it in Pre-Algebra.  I care less about how many times they take it or that they didn't nail 100% on the first time.  Can they memorize a large set of information?  That's what we're after.

We're about to start the Jacobs component of Pre-Algebra! That's on the horizon for mid-week. More about that in a later post.