WMS: Math Update: Learning Target 5 and 6 Video LInks

Dear Families,

This week we have been re-learning things students already know and then pushing into something new with algebra. I wanted to let you know that I have heard frustration from a few students because they don't like how they are required to learn a specific structure for their work. They think that they can do it faster in their heads and, to their credit, they are right for most of the simple examples we have looked at.

But for more complicated problems and much larger or much smaller numbers, they are wrong.

So despite their protests, I am insisting on the structure because what they are practicing is the symbolic reasoning that underlies algebra. And that's a mouthful! So here are two small "EduCreations" videos to demonstrate what I'm talking about. They aren't good quality, I'm afraid, but I hope they will be helpful in explaining what we are doing. 

Learning Target 5: I can evaluate algebraic equations. [video]

Learning Target 6: I can solve algebraic equations. [video]

I'm just trying these videos out for the first time this year. So if you find them helpful or useful, please let me know!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Math/Science Update!

Dear Families,

The warm weather was sure nice! Can't wait for it to return. I hear by this weekend it's supposed to be warming up again just in time for Ski to Sea! I just wanted to let you know about what we're doing in math and science right now!

Also a reminder: homework assignments can be found on my website http://www.mrmacnevin.com. I stamp student planners on the day something is due when they turn it in. If they don't have stamps Tu-Fr in their planners, then they aren't turning their homework in.

Math:

• We are working on learning targets 5 and 6 this week!
• LT 5: I can evaluate algebraic equations.
• The kids all THINK they can do this already. And really, they can. But we are focusing on the writing format because in our next learning target (LT 6) they will have to use that format to solve single-step algebra equations. So look out for kids who are skipping steps, or doing things in their heads alone. They should be writing down all their steps.
• Example: Evaluate the expression 3s + 4t where s=2 and t=5.
• STEP 1: Rewrite the expression, replacing the variables with numbers
• = 3(2) + 4(5)
• STEP 2: Rewrite the expression, doing the math as you go
• = 6 + 20
• = 26
• LT 6: I can solve algebraic equations.
• We will be getting to this one more on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Students will be learning the steps to solving "for" a variable.
• Example: Solve for x given the expression 5x = 3. This is the classic beginning algebra solve for type problems that we all know and love. Students will learn to use the writing format they practiced today as a way of recording the steps for isolating 'x' on its own.

Science:

• We have been correlating rock layers between two canyons in the grand canyon.
• Today I also showed students a rubric we will use to evaluate their science notebooks. These rubrics are pretty big and tonight I asked them to try it out on their notebook. We will talk about it tomorrow in class before finishing the correlation discussion.

Thanks!

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Math Update: Quiz tomorrow

Dear Families,

I just want to let you know that tomorrow we are having a quiz on learning target #4: I can write an equation to represent a set of data or a situation. 

Today your child brought home some practice problems. There is a copy of the practice problems and the associated answers located on my files website [link]. Tomorrow's quiz will look remarkably similar to these practice problems (different situations and numbers, but the same basic skills).

There will be no math review quiz tomorrow, however. I figure one quiz a day is plenty. ;)

Thank you,

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Math update. Quiz on Friday!

Dear Families,

We are back to a regular schedule for a little bit. Yay! The field trips were amazing, but I know kids like to know what to predict more regularly. We are now resuming homework and regular math classwork. You can review these notices and also homework assignments on my website http://www.mrmacnevin.com. Students can find answers to the work we are doing on the site http://files.mrmacnevin.com.

Math

• We are coming to a close on the focus on our latest learning target: I can write an equation to represent a set of data or a situation.
• Today in class we have another problem involving writing equations and we are also going to have some homework to practice that skill.
• Tomorrow night we will have a practice quiz for homework.
• Friday we will have a quiz on this learning target.
• NEXT week we will begin our next learning target 5: I can evaluate algebraic equations. We've been working on this one most of the year, so there won't be much new to introduce. The unit finishes up with a last learning target 6: I can solve 1-step algebraic equations. More will come home next week about that. It is a skill in algebra that we probably all heard described as "isolating the variable" in order to solve for it.

Science

• We are correlating our rock samples this week to demonstrate that the layers of rock in the grand canyon are all large layers that spread out over large swaths... they are not just layers in the cliff wall.

I hope the weather holds out! It's so nice to be out of the La Nina years, finally!

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin 

WMS: Math/Science Update

Dear Families,

Science Field Trips: AWESOME!

I just wanted share with you what a WONDERFUL time our students are having on the field trips to the Bellingham School District's Gordon Carter Environmental Education Site. Last week our blue group went, and this week it is the green group's turn. We have had AMAZING weather in a BEAUTIFUL outdoor setting. And we have awesome parent volunteer chaperons! Thank you all so much for your participation and support of this program!

No math homework until Wednesday

I want to let you know that because of the field trips, we will have no homework Monday and Tuesday nights this week. On Wednesday we will start up our math reviews again and we will be getting back to our work on algebra! Once we are back to work on math, we might even have a quiz coming up this Friday on writing an equation to represent a set of data or a situation. But I will tell you more about that as the week progresses.

Welcome to a new and sunny week! I hope you are enjoying the nice weather as much as our students have!

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Elective forms sent home... and today's field trip!

Dear Families,

Yesterday elective forms were sent home with our students. I apologize, but I didn't discover them in my mailbox until later in the day. I arranged with their language arts teachers to have those go home with my green students today. They are due back this week (the exact due date is printed on the materials).

Today's field trip was loads of fun. The kids met their instructors, they had a short experiential education activity, and then they proceeded to explore two different eco-eystems in teh lake Whatcom watershed. Tomorrow they will explore two different aspects of the watershed.

We had AMAZING weather. But I fear that won't hold out. Kids were glad today to haev warm clothes to put on when they were in the woods! And they had lots of water.

Thank you for making this field trip such a success! 

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Math/Science Update

Dear Families,

We are starting a wild schedules week here at Whatcom Middle School. We have field trips and MSP's and schedule changes... oh my!

No Homework This Week

• I will send no homework this week. Instead, I asked students to Sleep (extra?), Rest, and to THINK on the MSP. That homework time they would usually use for math, they can use dreaming about math. Next week there will still be field trips and schedule changes, but I will start homework back up.

Math Topic This Week

• We are still looking at algebra and I anticipate that while we may not have a math review quiz this Friday, we may be ready for a quiz on learning target 4.
• Learning Target 4: I can write an equation to represent a set of data or a situation.
• The greatest difficulty I've seen students have with this so far is trying to write in mathematics what they can say in words perfectly well. I wrote a more in-depth blog post about it last week that you can read here [link]. But we will be working with this throughout the week as we prepare to show we can do this learning target.
• I have tried to help students think through it with a mnemonic device: my ODE to algebra.
• O: Observe a pattern.
• D: Describe the pattern in words, then replace English words with some mathematics words if you can. (AND might become add. LESS might become subtract. GROUPS OF might become multiplying, etc.)
• E: Write an equation that expresses your description in math symbols.

Field Trips This Week

• This week our BLUE group will be going on the field trip on Tuesday and Wednesday. The blue groups are based on your child's language arts group colors. So just ask your child what color group they are and they should know! We leave at 9:30 AM and will return at 2:30 PM to school.

Science This Week

• Aside from the field trips, we are completing our study of the rocks of the grand canyon. We have now collected observations on the rocks' colors, shapes, hardness, composition, fossils presence, and reactivity to hydrochloric acid (also a marker of fossil presence for hard shells that contain calcium carbonate). The field trip will interfere with our research into the grand canyon rocks and their organization a little. But we are building evidence that the rock layers in the canyon are similar between different parts of the canyon.
• The very big picture we are building is that these layers were laid down over millions of years and that the river has cut down through these layers, exposing them as it cuts lower and lower toward sea level.

Our field trips should be so much fun.

Thank you for all you do for your child!

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Field Trip Update: Chaperones set for Green Group. Still need blue group chaperones.

Dear Families,

WOW! What quick responses to getting parent volunteers for chaperons! Thank you so much for the help! We still need more help, though, for the BLUE group!

So if you are available to help chaperon our BLUE group's field trip on 5/8 or 5/9 (next week), we'd love to have you! You can volunteer one day or both days; whichever suits your schedule best!

Thanks again! This should be a fun trip!

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Math Update: Tonight's homework and our present learning target

Dear Families,

First message: please don't let kids work for more than 45 minutes on the homework unless they are enjoying it and want to go on!

Whew! Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to email you because today we started our new learning target. 

Learning Target #4: I can write an equation to represent a set of data or a situation.

Today's lesson was built around Problem 3.1 in the book. It was challenging because it layered three different tasks into one. Here is the PROCESS that the lesson tried to help students walk through when writing an equation for a situation.

STEP 1: Describe the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables.

• For example, a car is going 50 MPH for 6 hours. We observe that as time goes up every hour, the distance the car has traveled goes up 50 miles. A student might wright, "for every hour the car travels, it covers 50 more miles of its trip."

STEP 2: Try to write that relationship in a way that uses adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

• For example, "the distance that car covered is the number of hours times 50."

STEP 3: Rewrite the relationship using math symbols. Replace words with letters.

• For our example car: d= nx50
• 'd' came replaces the word distance. 'n' replaces the words number of hours.

STEP 4: Something new for middle school! If you are multiplying a number times a letter, you can leave out the multiplication symbol and write the number and letter together (number first).

• The simplest form of our example equation would be 
  d= 50n

Tonight's homework is ACE questions 2-4 on page 55. I think that most students will do fine with the homework. But for students who are a little stuck, just remind them that the equations work like our algebra practice on the math reviews. If they replace the variable in the equation with a number, then they can just solve it and get an answer. 

I have posted the answers to the Problems and the ACE questions on my file website [link]. Students should feel free to look at these answers because sometimes they help the questions make more sense.

I hope you have a wonderful evening!

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin

WMS: Science field trips starting next week!

Dear Families,

This is a follow up to let you know that we have some science field trips starting next week. The cost is FREE! Yesterday I sent a letter explaining more about the field trip and a permission form home with your children. The permission forms had a lunch survey on the back.

The permission forms and lunch survey are DUE THIS FRIDAY 5/4/2012 (please keep the letter for your information).

And also WE NEED CHAPERONES (about 3 each day). You needn't commit to both days! If you can volunteer a day or two, please email me to let me know ASAP. [EMAIL LINK]

The schedule is explained in more detail in the letter, but the short version goes like this:

BLUE LANGUAGE ARTS GROUPS

TUE 5/8 & WED 5/9 (not an overnight trip)

EACH DAY: DEP WMS 0930. ARR WMS 0230.

SPEND REST OF AFTERNOON WITH MR MAC

GREEN LANGUAGE ARTS GROUPS

MON 5/14 & TUE 5/15

EACH DAY: DEP WMS 0930. ARR WMS 0230.

SPEND REST OF AFTERNOON WITH MR MAC

STUDENTS WERE INSTRUCTED TO ASSUME THE WEATHER WOULD BE RAINY. Because, well, it usually is around these parts at this time of year. But even if there's no rain, students should have closed-toed shoes, long pants, and a jacket with them (a backpack might be helpful as a carrier in case it's not needed). 

If your child has lost their letter and permission form, please have them see me ASAP.

And if you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin