4/25/08 I've been working on my school website this year. Please visit
http://www.century.adams12.org/greenburg.htm
Some of the links we use for computer labs are at the bottom of my schoolnotes, but are also listed on my school website.
Honor Society meets every Thursday until 4:30. We are gearing up for the new member induction at the end of May.
Applications were sent out to qualifying students and are due today. An electronic copy can be emailed if requested by qualified student. Induction ceremony will be held May 28th, 6pm in the large gym. See my website for details.
To all my math warriors out there, congratulations on your successes this year!
Summer is near =)
Parents - charge those math brains with duties around the house...cooking, building, board games, gardening, playing website math games...send me ideas to pass to other parents and students.
For younger audiences (G), check out Cyberchase cartoons on PBS...older audiences (PG+), check out the crime drama series called Numb3rs.
Math counts parents...ask your student if they can "Out Gauss" you by adding 1-100 as fast as possible.
9/17/07
This year brings to me two classes of Math Extensions (remediation/refresher), 2 classes of Math Counts, and an AVID Essentials course for 6th grade. Mr Williams and I are looking to begin our Math Counts Club soon, it will be after school Tuesdays...tell your student to listen for announcements. Honor Society will begin soon with our first meeting. At this time, we are considering meetings on Thursdays after school until 4:30. I will post an announcement soon as well. I will generally be putting out weekly grades on Fridays so you can address items over the weekend with your student. Feel free to email me with questions =) I look forward to meeting you at parent conferences in October!
=)
01/24/07
Redos of the tangram projects were a great improvement for those that completed them. If you do not see a fantastic grade for your student...see if they have redone their tangram project and made up any missing work first.
We also have spent some time redoing some work from before break that was not done well. So we have seen some improvements in scores.
At conferences, we can talk about what they need to finish up , redo, or makeup. I will bring their files as well.
Rumor has it that Pythagoras (greek mathematician) made new students swear to stay away from beans because he thought a bit of a person's soul escaped every time they passed gas. Now ask your child about Archimedes...
The things they teach...ha!
We did not start the math mates as I thought we would...and will be looking at them tomorrow. Next week they will be working on them on their own time as discussed below.
I hope your families are staying warm and the various sicknesses floating around have bypassed you!
=)
01/17/07
Wow...holiday break has come and gone! Before break we had a 100 point tangram project where students were to pick from a given list of math topics and write a children's book using tangrams to illustrate. Students were given a very strict in and out of class deadline, as well as very specific instructions about typing, color, tangram rules, topics, etc... They were returned and that grade either helped them or hurt them. I have given them the opportunity to repair/redo/finish...whatever they need to do with that project, as well as any past work.
Currently, we have been focusing on Perimeter and Area alongside number sense activities.
We will beginning MATH MATES next week. They will receive this assignment at the beginning of the week. They are to finish it by the end of that same week. It can be done if they have extra time in class, or it must be done as homework. This is a change, as we usually don't have much homework, however the MATH MATES provide a rich opportunity to glance at many layers and levels of math on a weekly basis.
Please check with your student to see if they need a new notebook yet. Some are almost out of paper in their current notebook and will need a replacement. Students are expected to store their notebook in their file, which is in my classroom.
Parent conferences are Jan 31(evening) and Feb 1st (day). I will be collecting orders for the Great Source math resource books. Books are from $12-20. I will have a few display copies available for you to see and there are copies in the library reference section your child can check out overnight...so that you can both flip through and see if this is something that would interest your family. Checks are preferred. Other methods of payment can be made directly through the company itself at the website....greatsource.com (products-mathematics-6through8-Math on Call)
or specifically at...
http://www.greatsource.com/store/ProductCatalogController?cmd=Browse&subcmd=LoadDetail&level1Code=05&level2Code=050&level3Code=014&frontOrBack=F&sortProductsBy=SEQ_TITLE&division=G01
Another cool site for you child to check out....thefutureschannel.com
Many interesting clips of mathematics at work in the wild world out there.
Shortly we will be delving into angles, viewing more clips from the futures channel, as well as taking a look at math throughout history. We recently received a copy of the PBS DVD entitled "The Story of 1." We will view clips and work on lessons in conjunction to this DVD.
February will be fractions, decimals,& percents month galore! If on an outing with the family...point out the various sales advertisements displaying percent off...have them work with money....cook with fractions (to get a healthy does of size and measurements)....use tools with fraction measurements...send me an email with some of your exciting ideas. Students/families with the best adventure in math will win extra credit at the end of the month. Perhaps Flo the waitress will make it in this year to demonstrate how these topics are used in the restaurant biz...from tipping and tax, to tallying the bill.
March will bring PI Day. Yes PI ....we will celebrate by with contests, writing, PIE EATING, circle experiments, and more.
12/01/06
Geometry is our next adventure. We have begun our journey with a look at Tangrams, an ancient Chinese puzzle. Tangrams can be found online and printed out for students to show you some of the tricks they have learned so far. We will be using these shapes to study area, perimeter, angles, and to make a children's book the week before break.
I am instituting a new late policy for 2nd trimester whereas I will accept late work at 70% of the earned credit.
After break, we will be continuing work on area, perimeter, volume, surface area and more...leading into a candy package design contest using much of what we've learned.
Over break, if you have internet, get your student online with sites such as funbrain.com (go to mathbrain games) or pbskids.org (go to Cyberchase math games). On pbs, there is a math cartoon titled Cyberchase they can look into. If your student likes CSI - type shows, check into Friday night with Numb3rs...a crime fighting show (parent-approval needed) that uses math to solve tough crime cases with the investigators. Get them to cook, measure, sew, shop, tip, & build too!
With the new year coming soon, students need to reevaluate their supplies needs. Many are in need of a new spiral and writing tools, some have some pretty beat up binders as well.
Talk about stocking stuffers or fun/cheap rewards! Hot items are jumbo pens, mini staplers with colored staples, crazy erasers, fancy pencils, locker items (mirrors, shelves...), new books for SSR, fun stickers for their binders....
Speaking of lockers, have your student bring home stuff that could become potentially stinky/moldy/gross over the winter break.
Be prepared for school calls if your student brings any of their shiny new hi tech stuff to school. Those cool new cell phones and I pods need to stay out of sight and hearing during class time. Texting is the new note passing...watch your phone bills or get a plan that makes it unlimited =) I had one family shocked by a $600.00 phone bill last year. Also keep in mind, that theft of these items is a tragic experience that we cannot always rectify, though we try hard. Oh and one last thing, nothing is more embarassing for a student than their phone going off in class when their parent is calling. Make sure they enter the building with their phone off or silent.
Okay, once last piece to share....rumor and newstories have it that there are teens out there with myspace accounts that state they are older than they are..reveal to much personal information....are used to bully other classmates....you've probably heard things on the news too.
that's the down side.....
on the plus side, they create a social place, that when monitored and used imaginatively, can be a good thing...
so get to know your child's myspace site. I hear how addicted some of them are to myspace...so it is definitely a part of our students' lives.
Take care, stay warm, love math and conquer! =)
Susan
11/3/06
NOVEMBER?!?!? When did this happen?! =)
We have embarked on a NEWS quest in math extensions. Students are putting together lead stories with there topic of interest and must include mathematics in their report. A beautiful report with no math gets no grade. Reports may be done as a newscaster on video or as a reporter via an article and pen name.
We are aiming for quality publishable pieces. We began brainstorming today. Over the weekend, they are to dig for inspiration through magazines, newspapers, newscasts, etc... next week we will look at the bulk of the information and form our pieces. Next we will produce our final pieces.
Encourage your child to still address any NHI's they may have.
Have a good one!
Susan
10/31/06
Happy Halloween! The Honor Society Haunted House was a blast yesterday! Thank you to all of the students that put the show together, and the parents that helped them reach their goal! The funds we raised are going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation.
Yesterday I introduced my AVID students to helpful district, school, and math websites.
In Math Extensions we explored a PBS site involving the math cartoon entitled "Cyberchase."
Our main focus for us has been involving patterns. Students that can function well with patterns may do better with algebra.
Today we had a team building activity - making our Team mascots.
Have a safe and thrilling evening!
=)
10/17/06
Thank you to those of you who came to visit during parent conferences! If I missed you and you would like to chat, feel free to contact me! =) (honor society..see news below)
At conferences I gave an updated progress report and introduced you to some amazing math resource books. I would like to remind you that copies of these books are available for checkout overnight from the school library. If you decide that your family would like copies, I will be sending an order form home soon...they generally run 10-15 dollars. In the past, parents that purchased these books said that they were extremely useful throughout the rest of their student's math career. You can get a headstart at Greatsource.com...go to math link and then browse by grade level. Recommended books...Math on Call, Math at Hand, Algebra to Go, and Geometry to Go.
And a DID YOU KNOW??? :
In our CMP books there are GoONLINE sources throughout . If you go to PHSchools.com and type in the webcode (upper left part of page), you can find more information on the topics at hand...as well as links to other helpful sites. Encourage your student to bring their book home and spend some time surfing with them this weekend. =) I've added the link below. There are even sites listed next to problems that are harder to provide hints and help.
The parent site listed below for CMP has great guides for each unit from 6th to 8th grade, including glossaries and spanish versions.
Math Extensions:
Since last time, we've covered the following topics: Order of Operations, Prime vs composite, Impulsivity, multiplication facts (including patterns for 9's), introduced sites on the internet, the coordinate system/graphing points, division facts, saw a Donald Duck film about how math is found in our world, partial products (multiplying large numbers), mental math strategies, played some grid and hidden treasure games, and had our first Number Talk. We did a major final assessment of graphing by designing our own picture on a grid and creating a list of points to plot. Then we had two others try to recreate our design using our list. This project was worth 100pts and had a huge impact on how our grade looks today.
For the next couple of weeks we will be covering:
Number Talk #2, Vocabulary (from regular math courses), Negative Numbers, Patterns and Variables, more basic facts, Factors vs. Multiples, mental math strategies and games, and decimals. The week before Thanksgiving we will be looking at Tangram puzzles. The assessment project will be a team effort to build a children's story illustrated with Tangrams.
If you think your child will be missing extra school near the holidays, let me know so I can help them plan ahead or assign alternative work ( 720-972-6056). Since we will be working with a team, we will be conducting several team building experiences along the way. Learning how to work interdependently is a major life skill expected in many workplaces and in their regular math classes. My hope is to help your student understand the function of group time to increase their learning during their regular math course.
The only homework your child may have from me is make up work that they have not completed in class and is past due. Students are given ample opportunity to complete assignments and get help in class. If you are seeing a ton of work from this class coming home, please talk with your student about managing class time to get work done or to get help. There are a few that love to take it home and work on it, which is fine, unless it gets in the way of other homework needs (ie, regular core coursework, etc...). Otherwise, papers and spirals are stored in their class file for future use.
Please let me know if you are not receiving email progress reports and would like to do so.
Honor Society News:
We are currently planning a project to raise money for a leukemia foundation. We are putting together an Haunted House for Nov 30th. Any decoration supplies are welcome! =) We will need students and parents interested in putting the house together on the Sunday prior to the event. Our next meeting is Oct 19th.
TIme for the snowy weather! =) Take care!
p.s. We are slowly working on our school website pages (through the district)...I haven't begun to fathom what I can do with it yet. If you have good ideas, let me know...eventually I will make it a more useful place to be.
9/12/06
We've spent the last few weeks getting to know your students through assessments, games, and activities.
To those of you that I met at open house, thank you again for coming in! For those that I missed, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about math extensions or AVID!
Along with math skills we have added habits of mind thinking skills. This week we are focusing on managing impulsivity and your student came up with a goal for this week.
As far as student work and grades, we have not had homework thus far. Classwork is kept in their personal file in my classroom. Grades will be updated for this week now that the IGPro is up and running. Updated grades will include information about journals, assessments, games, notes, and so on.
The phones in the mobiles have not been hooked up as of yet, but I will be checking messages.
Email is the best way to contact me for any reason... and it has changed to:
Susan.Greenberg@adams12.org
We are having a blast and I am excited for what this year will bring!
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