Holiday Break

I have asked my 6th hour class to help me come up with ideas for this blog. They each gave me an idea of something fun to do over holiday break.
1. Snowboarding
2. Play in the snow
3. Study your math facts
4. Open Presents
5. Go sledding/snowboarding/skiing/ snowmobiling
6. Snowball fight
7.Hang out with friends
8. Shop for Everything!!

9. Ice skate with friends
10. Indoor Soccer
11. Think of a new year's resolution
12. Travel!

13. Celebrate Birthdays

14. Sleep in!!

Have a fun and safe holiday break!

November

Wow November is flying by!!

Course 2 students have been working with fractions and will have a quiz on Friday 11/16. We will be playing fraction games/fraction word problems next Monday and Tuesday (11/19-11/20)

Pre-Algebra students are currently talking surveys to gather data for an upcoming project. The project will be introduced on Friday 11/16 and it will be due on Friday 11/30. More information to be posted soon! Some key items is that this will be an individual project and the students will be able to do all of it in school!

End of the Quarter

The end of the quarter is Friday 10/26. This means that all students must have their missing work from Chapter 3 in by Thursday. I will offer 5 points extra credit to any student who writes down their current grade  percentage and gives it to me by Wednesday 10/24. 

Course 2 just finished up their Chapter 3 project. I am excited to grade them! I was really impressed with what they could figure out on Excel. 

Pre-Algebra students are finishing up their Chapter 3. The Test will be on Tuesday 10/23. It seems like most of the points are lost to careless mistakes. Always check your negatives signs!!!!

Field Trip

A big THANK YOU to Mr. Little for planning a fantastic field trip! The students visited the Chicago History Museum today and it was a huge success. The students found many ideas to help with their History Fair Projects.

Next week the Course 2 Students will be starting Chapter 4. We will focus on GCF for the first week.

Pre-Algebra students are doing very well with fractions and we will start solving equations with them this week.

Week of 9/24 and 10/1

This week the course 2 students have been working on mean, median, mode, and range as well as different data displays. The students also have a chance to retake their Chapter 2 Test either Thursday or Friday.

Pre-Algebra is finally finishing up Chapter 2. We have worked on integers, exponents and solving equations. The Chapter 2 test on on Monday 10/1. The first problem packet of the year is due on Tuesday 10/2.

Week of September 10th

I know many students were heading to Darien Fest this weekend. I hope that everyone had a nice time, it was great weather!

This week in Course 2 we will be wrapping up chapter 1. The chapter 1 test will be on Tuesday September 11th. If you are looking for a good review I highly recommend the Chapter Test in the back of the book or using www.classzone.com. 

In Pre-Algebra we will be moving onto Chapter 2: Integers. This is a great chapter and we will be solving equations, a focus of the entire year. Remember that it is important to build a strong  base with integers and solving equations so that we are able to get to more advanced algebraic equations. 

Welcome Back!

I think that the first week of school went very well. This group of 7th grade students are fantastic! They are so full of energy and are great note takers.

This upcoming week in Course 2 we will be exploring order of operations and area.

In Pre-Algebra we are flying through our mini chapter 1. Early next week we will cover equations and solutions and variables in familiar formulas. This has been a great introduction to the year and there will be a test on Friday 9/7


Next Tuesday and Wednesday the students will be taking the MAPS test. Please stress the importance of doing well and trying your best to your child this weekend. Be sure to get a good nights sleep and eat breakfast!

I want to send a special note to everyone that helped with the Career Fair!

We had 16 volunteers and everything went smoothly.

The students enjoyed themselves and I look forward to reading some of their Thank You notes.

Week of 5/21

This is going to be a busy week!

The Course 2 students will be learning area and circumference of a circle then start learning about surface area and volume. 

I will be collecting books starting on Monday. 

Pre-Algebra students will be wrapping up systems of equations and there will be a Test on Friday. 

Friday 5/25 is also the 3rd Annual Career Fair. The 7th grade team has invited parents to come in and share their career. This is a great event and ties directly to the career unit. A huge THANK YOU to all of our parent volunteers. 

Week of May 14

This will be a relaxing week for my students with no quizzes or tests in math.

In course 2 we will be focusing on Pythagorean theorem as well as area of parallelograms, triangles and circles. The students have seen theses before so it will be a quick week!

I am really pound of my Pre-Algebra students for working so hard the past few weeks. We are officially in the wonderful world of Algebra and they are doing very well. This next week we are focusing on systems of equations.

Happy May

The MAP testing went really well this week! I am very proud of all of the students.

Next week the Course 2 students will be finshing up chapter 10. There will be a quest on Wed 5/9 and then we are jumping into our final full chapter 11. Chapter 11 will start off with using the pythagorean theorem, one of my favorites!

Pre-Algebra students have been working on linear equations. This is a large chapter and we are taking our time.

MAP TESTING

Tomorrow the 7th graders will be taking their final Math MAP test of the year!

I know that the students are excited to show their growth. I have been conferencing with each student today during class to go through their goal in math. I am confident that the students will do well. 

Remember to get a good nights sleep and eat a healthy breakfast!  

Thursday 4/5 and Week of 4/9

Tonight is the Easter Egg Hunt fundraiser for Hunter!

Next week in Course 2 we will be review for our percent test that is on Wednesday 4/11.

Pre-Algebra students will be solving inequalities and will have a quiz on Thursday 4/12.

All students will begin their college cost project on Friday 4/13.

Spring Break

I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe spring break.

When we return Course 2 will be wrapping up the chapter on percents. The chapter test will be 4/10.

Pre-Algebra will be finishing up their chapter on solving equations there will be a test on Wednesday 4/4 and Thursday 4/5.

Week of 3/19

The scale drawing projects were great to look at. The students put a lot of effort and creativity into making them. Here are some snapshots from my 4th hour class.

This week the course 2 students will be working on percents. We will be going shopping on Thursday!

Pre-Algebra students are still solving equations.

Week of 3/12

Monday is the last day of ISAT! The students did a really nice job with the schedule changes and the test itself.

This week Course 2 students will be starting the chapter on percents. This chapter will be split between before spring break and after spring break. We will also be doing our College Cost Project at the end of this chapter.

Pre-Algebra students have started chapter 10. This is an in depth look into Algebra. I will be supplementing a lot in this chapter in order to best prepare all students for Algebra next year. We will spend the rest of March solving multi-step equations. I want all students to be fluent in solving by the time they leave for break.

ISAT WEEK

This is a short but important week with ISATs.

Please make sure that you have a calculator starting tomorrow ( Wednesday)

Get plenty of rest!

Eat a healthy breakfast!

I wanted to explain a bit about the scale drawing project that was assigned last week. This project allows students to be creative and design their dream room (realistic or not). The students have a total of 12 actual math problems from the walls and 5 items that they have chosen from a given list. All other items they can create without actual work/finding measurements.

I will be giving in class work days in order to keep the work load light during ISATs.

Friday- 3/2- Students should have picked a scale and completed the 12 problems over the weekend

Tuesday 3/6- Students should begin drawing the items on their poster or computer paper

Wednesday 3/7- By the end of class students should be completed with drawing all required items on their poster/paper

Thursday 3/8- Students should be coloring/adding their dream items

Monday 3/12- Students should be finishing up coloring/dream items

Tuesday 3/13- DUE DATE: Present dream rooms ( not a work day)

All work can be completed in class if time is used wisely. Please take a moment to talk to your child about his/her progress. There are some really neat ideas the students are coming up with! You can email if you have any individual questions.

Pre-Algebra students will be starting the first three chapters of ALGEBRA! This is a fun and exciting time for them. There will be many new challenges but I am available at 7:35 for any questions they may have.

Week of 2/27

ISAT Practice is underway! I was very impressed with the 7th graders the past week. They have really put effort into their review.

Once we are finished the Course 2 students will be starting their scale drawing or their dream room. They may want to pick up a poster sometime soon. The students will be working on this through the week of ISAT.

Pre-Algebra students will be starting their ISAT review on Wednesday.

Week of 2/20

I hope everyone had a relaxing day off today.
I had difficulties accessing the online gradebook and therefore I will update grades tomorrow, or later today if I can get it to load. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Course 2 will be doing an ISAT review this week. We will focus on the multiple choice problems at the beginning of the book and move on to extended responses. These assignments will be graded and the points can add up quickly. It is important to be on time with homework this week as well as put in a good effort. As always I am available at 7:35 every morning to answer any questions.

Pre-Algebra students are wrapping up chapter 8: percents. The chapter test will be on Friday of this week.

Week of 2/13

What an exciting week! Pack the Place is on Monday and Tuesday. Please come out and help support our teams!

I will be getting a pie in the face on Tuesday.

Course 2 will be working on fractions all week. Many of the assignments will be graded. Remember that I will always answer any questions at 7:35 in the morning.

Pre Algebra is cruising through chapter 8 we will be done with it by next Friday.

Week of 2/6

Course 2 students are cruising through chapter 8- ratio and proportion. The chapter test will be on Friday and then we will be starting chapter 9.

Pre-algebra students are busy working on their scale drawing projects. They were able to design their dream room. So far they have been putting a lot of effort into the rooms and I cannot wait to see the results. They will have a small chapter test on chapter 7 on Thursday.

Week of 1/30

Tomorrow is the last day to turn in Cancer Smasher Money. I am really proud of the students in our school for raising so much money.

This week the Course 2 students will be taking the chapter 7 test on Tuesday. It is important to go through all of the old quizzes ( there were 3) to help prepare for this test. Then we are going to start up chapter 8: Ratios and Rates.

Pre-Algebra students will be finishing up their chapter 7 on ratios and rates. On Wednesday I will be explaining the scale drawing project to the students. If you are out and about this weekend you may want to pick up a poster board!

Week of 1/23

Although there is an early dismissal this week the students will be working very hard. In course 2 we are on our final section of Chapter 7. Chapter 7 has been our longest and most intense chapter so far. All students should be looking over their quizzes and asking questions before the test on 1/31. ( We are even reviewing for 3 whole days before the test!)


Pre Algebra is going to cruise right through their chapter 7, Ratios and Rates. There is not a quiz or a test this week but I might be bringing back the homework check this Friday!

Week of 1/16

There will not be school on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Course 2 students are really working at chapter 7. This is a difficult chapter in that it covers a lot of algebra and continues to build. Today (1/13) I handed back the first quiz of the chapter. We went over it in class but if your child is still struggling please have them re-read their notes or the textbook (sections 7.1/7.2) If this is still an issue I am available in the morning before school or during class to answer any questions or re-teach lessons.

We will be moving onto solving two step equations later on in the week and there will be a quiz on Friday 1/20.

The Pre-Algebra students will be excited to wrap up Chapter 6. The test will be on Wednesday 1/18 and then we are cruising into Chapter 7. I assigned the review from pg 334 for homework but if your child would like some more practice there is pg 331 as well as pg 744. They can come and get their answers checked on Tuesday morning.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a great holiday break. The students were pretty sleepy today so hopefully everyone will go to bed early.

This week in Course 2 the students are starting chapter 7. Chapter starts with writing expressions and equations and we will continue until we are solving two step equations. This is on of the longest and more challenging chapters the Course 2 students will go through.

Pre Algebra students will be wrapping up chapter 6. They will be going through volume and surface area of three dimensional figures. There will be a quiz on Thursday.