Thursday, October 28, 2010

Thursday October 28, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class by trying to read the posters their classmates created the past two days. Nobody was able to do so, as the posters did not meet Mr. Olsen's expectations. Thus, students are going to re-make their posters, and now that they have seen examples of what does not work, they are expected to redo and correct their assigned poster in order to be useful for everyone.

Assignments: 1. Review Homework #13 is due first thing Friday. 2. Distributive property worksheet is due at the end of class on Friday. 3. Chapter 2 test corrections are due on a separate sheet of paper on Monday morning.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. We then transitioned into section 3.2 in the text book on bar graphs and line graphs. Today we talked about and practiced creating bar and double bar graphs.

Assignments: Review Homework #14 is due on Friday. Also due on Friday in their at home text books, p. 120 # 1-11.

Science: To begin class today, students were assigned their disease or illness that they will research and put together a Wanter Poster on of the illness. Every disease or illness affects specific organs or organ systems in the body and students are researching facts about the illness as well as treatments and prevention. Friday will be another student work day.

Assignments: None.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wednesday October 27, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day. We then revisited the poster building project. Groups completed their assigned poster in class, and Mr. Olsen will hang them around the classroom to be used as reference points throughout the school year.

Assignments: Review Homework #13 is due Friday.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. We then revisited the class discussion on being able to recognize a biased survey. We again defined what bias means, and talked about examples of how a survey could be biased by sampling a specific population instead of a sprinkling of the entire population the survey could affect. Students practiced being able to recognize and define why certain surveys may be biased due to "loaded" questions. With a partner, students came up with their own biased questions in order to truly understand the concept.

Assignments: Review Homework #14 is due on Friday.

Science: To begin class today, students took part in a quick class wide review session led by Mr. Olsen. We discussed the eleven different body systems and their major functions, as well as other pertinent questions related to the human body. After about fifteen minutes of review, students cleared their desks and we took our body systems quiz. After the quiz, Mr. Olsen introduced the next activity/project, The Organ Trail. Students will be assigned a disease or virus and they will research and develop a Wanted poster to illustrate key facts surrounding the illness.

Assignments: None.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tuesday October 26, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day. We then began a couple day project of building informational posters to hang around the classroom, consisting of important concepts we have covered in the first two chapters of our textbook. Students were paired up and assigned a concept and asked to create a poster that defines the key concept and provides examples of how to move through a certain problem step by step.

Assignments: Review Homework #12 is due Wednesday.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. We then jumped back into chapter 3 section one and corrected the worksheet that was yesterday's homework. We then had a class discussion on being able to recognize a biased survey. We first defined what bias means, and talked about examples of how a survey could be biased by sampling a specific population instead of a sprinkling of the entire population the survey could affect.

Assignments: Review Homework #13 is due on Wednesday.

Science: To begin class today, students completed some book work to re-enforce the key concepts concerning the human body systems. Students were allowed to bring their completed reading guides home to help study for their quiz on the Human Body Systems tomorrow in class.

Assignments: Finish the human body systems reading guide if they did not finish in class. We will be having a quiz concerning the body systems tomorrow (Wednesday).

Monday, October 25, 2010

Monday October 25, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students spent the class period finishing up the chapter 2 test this morning.

Assignments: Review Homework #12 is due Wednesday.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. We then jumped back into chapter 3 section one on finding the mean, median, mode and range of data sets. After reviewing the definitions of each vocabulary word and practicing finding each with many example problems, students were handed the section 3.1 worksheet to practice their skills.

Assignments: Finish section 3.1 worksheet for class on Tuesday. Review Homework #13 is due on Wednesday.

Science: To begin class today, students participated in a class wide discussion on different ways to improve upon their presenting skills. Students got into small groups and developed lists of at least five possible areas they could improve. After spending some time in their small groups, each group shared one idea with the rest of the class, and all students copied the list we generated as a class into their science notebooks for future use. We then transitioned into some book work. Students were assigned to read chapter one in the Human Biology and Health text books, and answer questions presented upon a worksheet handed out by Mr. Olsen. We will revisit this worksheet tomorrow, to aid students in preparing for their quiz on the human body systems on Wednesday of this week.

Assignments: None.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Thursday October 21, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the opportunity to ask specific questions on concepts from chapter 2 that Mr. Olsen could model examples for the entire class to benefit from. After about 15 minutes of questions and examples, the class moved into a review activity structured to have students group up in groups of three, and move around the room to four different stations. Each station dealt specifically with an important concept from chapter 2. Our chapter test will be tomorrow morning.

Assignments: The Chapter 2 Test will be TOMORROW!!

7th Grade Math: Today students were handed back their chapter 2 retests. Students were asked to make corrections on their errors and to turn those corrections in to the math bin on a separate piece of paper. We then transitioned right in to chapter 3 and introduced data sets and defined the mean, median and mode of said data sets. We will revisit these concepts tomorrow. Also, this is the last week to turn in any missing assignments for chapter 2. ALL missing work must be turned in by Friday of this week!

Assignments: Students are to finish making corrections to the errors they made on the chapter 2 test, on a separate piece of paper to turn in on Friday.

Science: We finished up the group body system presentations in science today. After the final presentation, students were handed an evaluation worksheet, designed to allow students to provide Mr. Olsen with feedback on their own projects, their partners and ideas on how we could improve projects like this in the future. We spent the final 10-15 minutes of class writing a reflection in their science notebooks on the Human Body Quest project we just finished up. PARENTS: As a reminder, tomorrow (Friday) our counselor Ms. Donaldson is coming into our science classrooms to deliver a presentation/informational session on the Reproductive System of the human body.

Assignments: Groups who presented today and handed out question worksheets to their classmates to fill out while following along during the presentations, are to grade their classmates work and return the graded worksheets to Mr. Olsen on Friday.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wednesday October 20, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before we corrected the worksheet from section 2.7 on solving equations using decimal operations. The rest of the hour was spent on beginning the review process for the chapter 2 test. Students were allowed time to organize their math notebooks, as well as work on the chapter review in order to ask questions if they encountered problems.

Assignments: Review Homework #11 is due Thursday. The Chapter 2 Test will be this FRIDAY!!

7th Grade Math: Today students were retested on important concepts from chapter 2. Also, this is the last week to turn in any missing assignments for chapter 2. ALL missing work must be turned in by Friday of this week!

Assignments: Review Homework #12 is due Thursday.

Science: Students continued giving their assigned body system powerpoint presentations in class today. Five groups in each class were able to present.

Assignments: Groups who presented today and handed out question worksheets to their classmates to fill out while following along during the presentations, are to grade their classmates work and return the graded worksheets to Mr. Olsen on Thursday.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Tuesday October 19, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before we jumped into section 2.7 on solving equations with decimal operations. After reviewing the rules for calculating decimal operations for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, the class did many examples before being finishing the 2.7 worksheet in class.

Assignments: Finish section 2.7 worksheet if they did not finish in class for Wednesday. Also, do problems #12-35 on page 105 of the students take home math text book for Wednesday. Review Homework #11 is due Thursday. The Chapter 2 Test will be this FRIDAY!!

7th Grade Math: Today students were handed back the chapter 2 test. The results were not very positive classroom wide. So, Mr. Olsen decided to revisit certain concepts and the students will retest on the major concepts of chapter 2 on Wednesday. Also, this is the last week to turn in any missing assignments for chapter 2. ALL missing work must be turned in by Friday of this week!

Assignments: Students are to make corrections on the chapter 2 test they were handed back in class today and bring the corrections into class tomorrow. Review Homework #12 is due Thursday.

Science: Students began giving their assigned body system powerpoint presentations in class today. Five groups in each class were able to present.

Assignments: Groups who presented today and handed out question worksheets to their classmates to fill out while following along during the presentations, are to grade their classmates work and return the graded worksheets to Mr. Olsen Wednesday.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thursday October 14, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before we jumped into section 2.6 on solving equations with variables using division and multiplication. We reviewed the division property of equality before moving into the multiplication property of equality. After some teacher led instruction and many examples, students were handed the section 2.6 worksheet to practice their skills.

Assignments: Finish section 2.6 worksheet if they did not finish in class for Friday.

7th Grade Math: Today students took the chapter 2 test.

Assignments: Review Homework #11 is due Friday.

Science: Students were given class time in a computer lab to continue working on their powerpoint presentations. Today was the final in class work day for these presentations. Students should be done with their powerpoints and working on the assignments for tomorrow.

Assignments: 1. Turn in one completed assigned body system checklist worksheet for each group. 2. Turn in one completed powerpoint planner worksheet per group. 3. Generate at least 5 questions (and answers) concerning your assigned body system.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Tuesday October 12, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before we jumped back into section 2.5 on solving equations with variables using addition and subtraction. We reviewed the subtraction property of equality before moving into the addition property of equality. After some teacher led instruction and many examples, students were handed the section 2.5 worksheet to practice their skills.

Assignments: Review Homework #10 is due Wednesday. The section 2.5 worksheet is due tomorrow (Wednesday) if they did not finish in class.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. We then revisited section 2.7 on converting metric measurements. After some teacher led instruction and many examples, students were handed the section 2.7 worksheet in order to practice their new found skills.

Assignments: Finish section 2.7 worksheet for Wednesday if they did not finish in class. Chapter 2 test will be this coming Thursday.

Science: Students were given class time in a computer lab to begin working on their powerpoint presentations. Unfortunately, science 2 had a powre outage during class while we were in the computer lab, and many students lost their information. Extra time will be granted to those in need.

Assignments: I have encouraged students to continue/finish their research on their assigned body system at home in order to make up for lost time.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Monday October 11, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before having the quiz they took on Friday passed back to them. We then spent the remaining 20 minutes of class correcting any errors made on the quiz.

Assignments: Review Homework #10 is due Wednesday.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. Students were handed the quizzes they took on Friday and asked to make corrections to any problems they missed on the quiz. Students then revisited section 2.6 on measuring with the metric system.

Assignments: None. Chapter 2 test will be this coming Thursday.

Science: Students were given a quick run through of how to use the powerpoint program before being allowed to break into their groups and continue researching their assigned body system. Students should be just about done researching, and should be ready to begin building their presentations in powerpoint in class tomorrow.

Assignments: None.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Thursday October 7, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before jumping into section 2.5 on solving equations with variables using addition and subtraction. After a bit of teacher led instruction and many, many examples, students worked with an elbow partner to develop an equation utilizing the Subtraction Property of Equality. Students then shared their equations with their classmates and all students solved these equations as their ticket out of class.

Assignments: Review Homework #9 is due Friday.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. Students then revisited section 2.6 on measuring with the metric system. After some teacher instruction and some example problems to practice these new skills, students were handed the section 2.6 worksheet to practice their skills.

Assignments: Review Homework #10 is due Friday. Finish the section 2.6 worksheet if they did not finish in class.

Science: Students were introduced to the next project where students were broken into groups of two and assigned a specific body system. These groups will research their assigned body system, and put together a powerpoint presentation in order to "teach" their classmates about that body system. Students will be given four to five days in class to do their research and put their presentations together before getting up in front of the class and presenting their research.

Assignments: None.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wednesday October 6, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before jumping back into section 2.4 on solving equations with variables. Students were given the first 15-20 minutes of class to complete the even problems on the 2.4 worksheet, before we graded the work and continued with example problems in order to help bring a higher level of understanding of the concept to the class as a whole, before introducing new material.

Assignments: Review Homework #9 is due Friday. For Wednesday night, students are to complete problems from their at home text book. Pages 87-88, #1-19 all and #21-31 odds for class on Thursday.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. Students then graded the section 2.5 worksheet on scientific notation, before introducing section 2.6 on measuring with the metric system. After some teacher instruction and some example problems to practice these new skills, students were handed review homework #10, which is due on Friday.

Assignments: Review Homework #10 is due Friday.

Science: Students were introduced to the first themed unit of the year, Human Biology. After spending about 15-20 minutes of class writing a list of everything the students know about the human body in their science notebooks, we began our activity for the day. Students paired up and then traced one partner on a large sheet of construction paper and the pair then drew, or made diagrams and labeled as many organs and body systems that they could come up with on their human outline.

Assignments: Students are to find and bring in a list of the eleven body systems that support the human body for class on Thursday.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Tuesday October 5, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before jumping back into section 2.4 on solving equations with variables. After some teacher led instruction and and several examples, Mr. Olsen handed out the 2.4 worksheet and asked that students do only the "odds" for tomorrow.

Assignments: Section 2.4 worksheet, odds only for Wednesday. Quiz #2 will be tomorrow (Wednesday)!!!

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. Students revisited section 2.5 on scientific notation, and after some teacher instruction and some example problems to practice these new skills, students were handed the 2.5 worksheet and offered time in class to complete the work.

Assignments: Review Homework #9 is due Wednesday. Finish section 2.5 worksheet if not completed in class.

Science: There is no science on Monday or Tuesday of this week, as we are completing the first cycle of MAPs testing. The students completed the writing portion of the testing today.

Assignments: None.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Monday October 4, 2010

8th Grade Math: Students began class with the problem of the day, before grading the section 2.3 worksheet on simplifying variable expressions. After answering some questions and doing a few examples, we moved into section 2.4 on solving variable equations. We will jump back into section 2.4 tomorrow (Tuesday).

Assignments: None.

7th Grade Math: Today students began class with their flashmasters. Students revisited section 2.4 in the book, on dividing decimals. We did a few more example problems in order to refresh our memories of dividing decimals. We then moved into section 2.5 dealing with scientific notation. We will begin class tomorrow with some more instruction and examples.

Assignments: Review Homework #9 is due Wednesday.

Science: There is no science on Monday or Tuesday of this week, as we are completing the first cycle of MAPs testing. The students completed the reading portion of the testing today.

Assignments: None.