Hi guys! I know you are enjoying your time off (I certainly am!) but I thought I would go ahead and recap the past week and let you all know what we will be doing when we return from the break.
As I said in the last post, I was somewhat disappointed in the test scores for my Pythagorean Theorem Test when I administered it on November 13th. So we reviewed that test this past Monday and I gave a retest on Tuesday. We did better (an average of 4 more questions right than we did the first time, for an average increase in score of about 14 points), but we could have done even better than that. On the plus side, I had a lot more "A's" than I have had in recent memory, and we welcomed FOUR new members of the 100 club (J. Ware, D. Franklin, A. Rudd, and B. Spikes)! Congratulations!
After the test, we spent the rest of the week working on the Theordorus Wheel Project. This is a combination of art and mathematics, where the students make a series of right triangles that rotate around a single point. This project also illustrates where irrational numbers fall on a number line. The first triangle you drew was an equilateral right triangle (both legs are 1 inch long), but after that, one of the legs gets longer and longer. The effect looks like a spiral staircase if you are looking straight down on it. Several of you are in different stages of completing the wheel, but remember, you must have a minimum of SEVEN triangles with SEVEN math problems on the back of your sheet and SEVEN properly drawn arcs in order to get a minimum passing grade. To get a "B", the "wheel" must make one complete revolution, and you need a matching number of math problems on the back of your paper as the number of triangles it takes to get your wheel all the way around. If you want an "A", the wheel must be colored in, and if you want an "A+", you will make your wheel a part of a larger picture that you draw in. Remember that this project is worth TWO test grades, so this is your opportunity to make or break your grade in my class.
When the week ended, we weren't quite finished with the wheels, so Monday of next week will be dedicated to getting the work finished. Tuesday is the deadline to get this work completed. The best wheels will be laminated and posted outside my classroom for all the other students to see! After that we will begin our preliminary efforts in algebra, looking at solving equations in one variable. Remember that when we get back, there are only three more weeks remaining until the Christmas Break. That's three more weeks to get your grades up as high as you want them to be. Let's get after it, Knights! Let me add that this week, you may go to http://www.myskillstutor.com/ and start working on the concepts we have taught thus far that you may have been having trouble on. Your user name is your GTID number, and you know your password. Remember the site name is ecma01. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you and your families have a blessed, safe and truly wonderful Thanksgiving! Have a LOT of fun and be ready to get back to work on next Monday. Until then, see ya in the Red Hallway, Knights! 801, SECOND TO NONE!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
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