Check out the new links at the very bottom of this page for some websites where you can get some extra help (on fractions, perhaps?)

8 February 2010 - We spent the period today going over questions and answers from the Chapter 6 Review Page, which students had finished up over the weekend. Please continue to use this review page to study from tonight as you prepare for tomorrow's Chapter 6 test! (Integer's Quiz #2 was also passed back today). Have a good night!

5 February 2010 - We started class today by checking (or collecting, in Period 3's case) the homework from last night, as well as doing our daily STAR question review. Students then took the Integers Quiz #2, which will be graded over the weekend and returned in Monday. As soon as each student completed their Integers Quiz, they had the opportunity to begin working on the Chapter 6 Review Page (in preparation for Tuesday's Chapter 6 test). This review page does need to be finished over the weekend...I know I don't normally give homework over the weekend (especially Super Bowl weekend - Go Saints!), but since students did have time in class to start working on this review page AND the review page needs to be corrected on Monday prior to taking the test on Tuesday, I feel that the benefits outweigh the troubles. Thanks for your understanding, and enjoy your two-day break!

4 February 2010 - Homework is Assignment #6.9 (p320, #1-16). Please don't forget about the Integers quiz tomorrow, and Chapter 6 test next Tuesday! Have a great night -

3 February 2010 - Assignment #6.8, p316, #8-19. Progress reports are due tomorrow for anyone earning a 72% or less, Integers Quiz on Friday (along with a couple of STAR questions from the memo books), and the Chapter 6 test next Tuesday. Good times!

2 February 2010 - Homework tonight is Assignment #6.7 (p312 #1-5, 7-20). Try to solve these problems out using the equations examples at the top of page 310, but question #5 might be more easily solved using the "master proportion" we practiced in Lesson 6.6. Also, Progress Reports are due by Thursday for anyone who is currently earning a 72% or lower. Have a great night!

1 February 2010 - ALL students were given a progress report today, and should be sharing it with parents tonight.If the student is earning a 72% (C-) or below, I need to get theprogress report back, with a parent signature, but Thursday, 4February. If the student is earning above a 72%, please just keep the progress report for your records. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. The integer's quizzes from last Friday were passed back, with results which were generally better than with the fractions...plan on another integer's quiz this Friday as well (with the addition of some STAR test prep questions - ask your student about what they can use to help review these questions during the quiz!). Also, the Chapter 6 test will be given next Tuesday, 9 February. There are no math problems for homework tonight, as today was just more of a "bookkeeping" kind of day. Be ready to jump back into the next lesson tomorrow. Have a great night!

29 January 2010 - Students took the first Integers Quiz today, which will be graded over the weekend and returned on Monday. After the quiz, students started on a fractions practice assignment, which needs to be finished over the weekend if it was not finished in class, titled "Chain Code"...see if you can answer the question, "Shampoo is...". Have a great weekend.

28 January 2010 - Homework tonight is Assignment #6.6 (p308 #11-28). Please make sure you are showing your work! We will also be taking the first Integers Quiz tomorrow, so practice with the rules which are glued into your spirals, and possibly using the websites (like Math Drills) at the bottom of this page to get some extra review! Have good night -

27 January 2010 - Homework tonight is Assignment #6.5 (p302, #14-39, 49-54). Chapter 5 tests (signed) are due tomorrow if you have not given them to me yet, and please remember to be studying for the Integers Quiz on Friday! Please also make sure that you are completing your homework FULLY every night...you never know when it will be your period's turn to have homework collected (period 3 was collected today).

26 January 2010 - Sorry for not posting yesterday - we were havinginternet problems here at school, and I was not able to access SchoolNotes. Monday night's homework was to complete Practice Page 6-2 on Proportions (which we first discussed last week), and also to get the Chapter 5 tests signed and returned by Thursday. Today we moved into working with proportions having to do with similar figures. Homework tonight is Assignment #6.3 (p291, #5-16, 21-22 - problems 29-33 are not required, but could be completed by those students who strive for an extra challenge!). Also, we will be starting some STAR test review next week - I would like for each student to bring in an 80-100 page Memo Book (small, 3" x 5" spiral bound notebook) in which to do this review by Friday. I will be discussing how to do this review more during class.

FRACTIONS QUIZ UPDATE: After these first few weeks of fractions quizzes (the results of which have been slightly less than stellar), I am thinking that the root of the issue lays less with the skills and techniques directly associated with fractions, and has more to do with the skills and techniques associated with "integer rules" (in other words, how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative numbers, whether those numbers are whole numbers, decimals, fractions, etc). To help remedy this situation, all students yesterday glued a brand new set of these integer rules into their spirals. These rules are not new, as we have covered them earlier this year, but I felt it would be a good idea to give everyone a new set to eliminate any troubles finding the original set. This Friday's quiz will focus more directly on these integer rules, and be using whole numbers instead of fractions. I am hoping to isolate and practice these integer rules, without having to worry about the fractions aspect of things. Eventually in the next couple of weeks, I would like to bring the fractions back into the quizzes, but for right now, I think we need to take a step back. Please check out some of the websites at the bottom of this page for some Integers review, particularly www.math-drills.com.

Have a great night!

22 January 2010 - Students quickly reviewed, and then took the Fractions Quiz #4 today. Some periods had a few minutes left to review Proportions, others did not. EVERYONE will be reviewing Proportions on Monday, which is when the Fractions Quiz #4 will be returned as well. There is no homework over the weekend.

21 January 2010 - We spent the class period today reviewing Fractions Quiz #3, question by question, in preparation for tomorrow's Fractions Quiz #4. Homework tonight is to continue studying these fraction concepts, and to be ready to go for tomorrow's quiz!

I understand after speaking with several students that the homework last night on proportions (Assignment #6.2) was more difficult than it needed to be, mainly because there wasn't enough time in class to fully cover the information and/or enough time to show all the practice problems needed. We did not check that homework today, and we will be re-visiting proportions tomorrow after the quiz. I know that proportions is a challenging concept, so I want to make sure we devote enough time to it. I apologize if anyone felt any excessive stress as a result of this assignment - we will cover it in more detail tomorrow, and possibly even Monday. Please concentrate tonight on being ready for the tomorrow's Fraction Quiz #4! Have a great night -

If you have not yet finished your Chapter 5 test (or just want to check your answers on more time), I will be in my room at 7:15 AM Thursday morning. Please come and finish up then, for unless you have made prior arrangements with me, this is the last time you will have to finish up!

20 January 2010 - Homework tonight is Assignment #6.2 (p286, #18-29, 42-47, 52-57) on Proportions. Please make sure your homework is getting finished completely every night...you never know when it is going to be your period's turn to have the homework collected (which means it will be worth more points!). I will also be returning the Fractions Quiz #3 tomorrow, and going over it in class. You should still be reviewing for Fractions Quiz #4, which we will be taking this Friday. Have a great night.

19 January 2010 - We started Chapter 6 today. Homework tonight is Assignment #6.1 (p280, #1-8, 12-29, 37, 43-45). Students also had class time to complete their Fractions Quiz #3, and Chapter 5 test from last Friday. Any students who are not finished with their test need to come either Wednesday morning or Thursday morning before school (I will be in my room by about 7:30) to complete them. I will not be available at lunch or after school on Wednesday or Thursday until about 4:00. Tests need to be finished by the time school starts on Thursday! Please e-mail me with any questions.

15 January 2010 - Students took the Chapter 5 test and Fractions Quiz #3 today. Students who did not have a chance to finish will be able to finish next week. There is no homework over the long, 3-day weekend!

14 January 2010 - Today in class we corrected the Chapter 5 study guide, which was given out yesterday, as well as Assignment #5.5. We then used the TurningPoint clickers to do some additional review. All of these was in preparation for tomorrow's Chapter 5 test and tomorrow's Fractions Quiz #3. Homework tonight is to continue studying for these assessments tomorrow! Have a great night -

12 January 2010 - Fractions quizzes were passed back today - please start reviewing them so you will be prepared for the Fractions Quiz #3 we will be taking this Friday, in addition to the Chapter 5 test. Notes for the last lesson of Chapter 5 were started today, and will be finished up tomorrow. Homework tonight is to review the fractions quiz, and study the equivalences we wrote down in our notes today. Have a great night!

11 January 2010 - Fractions quizzes are graded and entered into PowerSchool, and will be returned to the students at the beginning of class tomorrow. Adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and simplifying positive and negative fractions are an important set of skills that all students need to master - in order to practice this skill more, we will start taking short weekly fractions quizzes (probably just 5 questions each). We won't have time during class to review much fraction material, so it will be up to the students to practice outside of class time...reviewing with friends/parents, getting a tutor, practicing with online worksheets, or scheduling a time to work with me after school.

Homework tonight is Assignment #5.9 (p267 #20-35, 47-50, 58-61). We will be taking the Chapter 5 test this Friday (15 January), along with the first of the above-mentioned short fractions quizzes. Have a great night!

8 January 2010 - After correcting last night's homework, we took the second Fractions quiz. Hopefully all the practicing we have been doing this week, as well as the studying outside of class which I'm sure has been taking place, will be reflected in the scores! There is no homework over the weekend. See you all on Monday!

7 January 2010 - Solving equations using multiplication and division of fractions was the tasty morsel of math gobbled up by the students today. Homework tonight is Assignment #5.8 (p261 #10-17, 18-19, 22-23, 26-27, 30-31, 34-35, 49-50, 52). Please continue to study how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative fractions, as that will be the topic of the quiz we are taking tomorrow! Have a great night -

6 January 2010 - Today we focused on solving fractional equations using addition and subtraction. None of this was really any new information, just different pieces which we have already covered being put together in a new fashion. Homework tonight is Assignment #5.7 (p257 #14-28, #35-39). Please make sure you are using correct homework format! Have a great night -

5 January 2010 - We continued to work with fractions today, and will for the rest of the week. PLEASE practice at home, working to get common denominators when adding and subtracting, ALWAYS simplifying/reducing your answers, flipping (finding the reciprocal of) the second fraction and multiplying when the problem asks you to divide, etc. Homework tonight is to finish the worksheet we began in class today (titled Practice 5-4). Make sure your answers are fully reduced and simplified! Have a great night -

4 January 2010 - WELCOME BACK! I hope that everyone had a great break, and is looking forward to getting back to school (feel free to insert any groans here...for everything except math class!) The fractions quizzes we took on the Friday before break were passed back today, and corrections were started in partners or small groups. Any corrections (including all work) which were not finished in class need to be completed for homework tonight. I noticed that many of the mistakes made on the quiz were "silly" mistakes - things that could have been chalked up to "day-before-vacation-ness". We will be taking another quiz on this same type of material this Friday (8 January), so please make sure that review takes place before then! I will be staying after school tomorrow (Tuesday) and Thursday, if anyone would like to stay for some additional review. Have a great night -

17 December 2009 - After going over yesterday's homework and reviewing the addition and subtraction of fractions, we quickly reviewed how to multiply and divide fractions. Homework tonight is from Lesson 5.4 (it might be helpful to re-read this section!), and is Assignment #5.4 (p243 #18-48 even). Don't forget that we will be having a quiz tomorrow on adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals! Have a great night, and I will see you tomorrow on the last school day of 2009!

16 December 2009 - After correcting Assignment #5.1 (which the students re-worked last night), we went on to reviewing the addition and subtraction of fractions, which should have all pretty much been information from 6th grade math last year. Tonight's homework is Assignment 5.3 (p238 #10-28, #43-45). Tomorrow we will be going over the multiplication and division of fractions, in preparation for a short quiz on adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions which will occur on Friday. Have a great night!

15 December 2009 - Today was spent going over homework corrections and reviewing the missed LCM topics from last week. Signed Chapter 4 tests were also collected today, so if you did not turn your test in, please do so tomorrow! Tonight's homework is to redo Assignment #5.1 (p227, #14-24 (all) & #22-50 (even)), particularly problems #18, #19, #20, & #21, as these were the ones which would have been affected by my mistaken instruction last week. Please also double check the other problems, as we will be correcting the whole assignment tomorrow. Have a great night!

11 December 2009 - I'm sorry, but I explained yesterday's lesson on the LCM incorrectly. Please bring Assignment #5.1 back to class next Tuesday (12/15) and we will make the needed changes. The Chapter 4 tests were returned today, and are ready to be reviewed over the weekend. Please make sure they are signed and returned by Tuesday, December 15. Homework tonight is Assignment #5.2 (p232 #18-30 (even) and #38-48 (even)). Changing a repeating decimal to a fraction can be challenging....use the handout I gave you in class today, as well as reviewing the material in Lesson 5.2 in the book to get some assistance. You can also work out some of the odd numbered problems, and then check your answers in the back of the book to see if you are on the right track. Please be sure that you are showing your work, so if you have questions, I know what you are thinking. Have a great weekend!

10 December 2009 - We started Chapter 5 today, going over the LCM and how to use it to compare fractions. Homework tonight is Assignment #5.1 (p227 #14-21 (all) and #22-50 (even)). Chapter 4 tests will be passed back tomorrow, so please look for them over the weekend! Have a great night -