The last week of school before winter break!
Algebra CP – We finished chapter 4. The week started by choosing the best method to solve systems problems, and writing systems from word problems. We had the group quiz on Tuesday, then went over it and did some more review and had the test on Thursday. Friday the kids did some test corrections and then did the Stacking Cups Activity that Fawn wrote about. Some of the kids remembered it from last year – everyone got the equation really well, I think it was better here than in 7th Accelerated (note to self).
Math 7CP – I didn’t get to post some of the “If I Were One Inch Tall” poems my kids wrote, so I want to post them now…
This week we worked on writing proportions from word problems, writing
a little “word ratio” so it would be easier to see which numbers were representing which items. I still need to work more with them on why cross multiplying works – we did examples like 1/2 = 2/4 so they could cross multiply and see the results were the same, but I think next week I want do more with it – I think if we reduce them to the lowest terms it’s easier to see that we are multiplying the same things, so that’s why we get the same answers. We had a quiz on proportions this week and then on
Friday I had 2 different activities – Ultimate TicTacToe and Area Puzzles from a book I had bought (after seeing it on Twitter)…
Math 7 Accelerated – This week we had the chapter 3 group quiz, chapter 3 closure and the chapter 3 test. What a fun week! It was on equations so was really a review of the work we’d done at the beginning of the year, but there are still too many kids not thinking about what they’re doing and not distributing correctly or other errors. We’ll keep solving equations! On Thursday we did Robert Kaplinsky’s In and Out Burger activity and I think they liked it. On Friday the kids worked together to do problems from the Area Puzzles book (see above) and these problems definitely get challenging!
This was a short post because 1) I’m writing it 2 weeks late so don’t remember some of the things we did, and 2) it was the week before the break so it was tests and quizzes before the break! I did like that I found puzzles and fun math activities for the last day, I didn’t want to “have a party and show a movie” this year. This is the end of 2016!
Yes, but WHY? 
I just found your blog and I love the name! I have been wanting to make a poster for my classroom with just one word on it “Why?” However, I thinking adding “yes, but” would make it even better. I have also enjoyed reading many of your previous blog posts. I am impressed by your use of low floor/high ceiling tasks and by how you have found ways to use the wealth of resources and ideas available on the MTBoS in your middle school math classes.
Hi Sara!
Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you can use some of the ideas in your classroom too!!
Well done, especially not having a last-day party & movie – kudos to you for that! Love, Mom