A couple more great web resources:

http://orion.math.iastate.edu/mathnight/activities/modules/

http://www.edutopia.org/

File Cabinet Updated...

Students and parents,

A comprehensive look at Euclid's "Elements" and the sum of the angles in a triangle is now available at: https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/home/filecabinet

Online Resources for Upcoming Units!

If you have math 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 7th, study up on this website until I get a study guide up: http://cs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/bookI/bookI.html.

If you have Algebra I, get the study guide at: https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/home/filecabinet. We will be studying systems of equations and mixture problems.

Math Resources for Upcoming Units

If you have math 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 7th, study up on this website until I get a study guide up: http://cs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/bookI/bookI.html.

If you have Algebra I, get the study guide at: https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/home/filecabinet. We will be studying systems of equations and mixture problems.

A new resource you need to see...

http://www.mathisfun.com

Math AT Home = Bonus Points!!!

I have a new section of the website called "Math AT Home". These problems are meant for the whole family to get involved. If your child brings it in solved, they will receive bonus points toward their grade. Once the solution is posted, no bonus points will be awarded until the next Math AT Home problem is given.

https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807

Visit PortaPortal for Mixture and Matrix Algebra Links

I have searched out some of the better online guides for these topics and they can be found in the "Student Links" section of my PortaPortal at:

http://guest.portaportal.com/misterberry

Website Address

https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/

Student strategy guides NOW ONLINE!!!

Boy have I been busy! I have made student guides that can help guide students through the current units will full explanations that are the same as the activities and presentations they will experience through this unit. Take it from me, kids who have a printed copy of these and studied them prior to the lesson DO BETTER. I am making them available online to encourage folks to go to the website and read the calendar to keep up with assignments and events, and look at the other files in the file cabinet, help your child receive bonus credit by solving the Math AT Home problems, and see important web links that can help kids away from school. The more people who print out the student guide at home, the more paper we can conserve at school and be better stewards of our tax dollars. Look for parent workshops coming in the not-so-far-off future!

Looking at November...

We have a LOT coming up this month. General math is wrapping up our weather-themed unit with a barrage of application and creative-thinking exercises. Advanced classes are moving on from combining like terms to writing and solving equations and will continue on with writing and solving equations in realistic contexts. We will then gather data and analyze it in the "bell curve". After that we will start into systems of linear equations; a very challenging, but useful, subject. We have a benchmark assessment on Friday, Nov. 20th to see where we stand. Heading into the holiday season it is easy for students to lapse into "visions of sugar plums" dancing in their heads, but we must stay focused and on top of things! We are in the beginning stages of planning tech-trainings for students/parents. Also, I invite you to the central board office on Tuesday the 3rd at 4:30 p.m. for our LSIC presentation.

Progress

In the wake of my father's passing and my week out of school, I have been battling to get caught back up with my work and grading. I feel as though I am finally getting back where I need to be now. I have extended my regrets to the students and have vowed to get back to being the teacher they deserve. I appreciate the support and patience and kind words that have come my way in these difficult weeks. I have updated my Google calendar for the upcoming week and am in the initial stages of planning out some parent workshops for the future, including the Quantile Framework, Thinkfinity, and Edline. Access my site at: https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/

- Mr. B

Illnesses and Absences

Students and parents,

   As we get into the cold and flu season it is not unusual for there to be increased absenteeism due to illness. I will do my best to provide assignments (and in some cases alternate assignments) to help your child keep up. I will put up as much as I can on my class website at: https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/ . If we all use our heads, we should be able to get through this season with minimal problems. I don't know if cleanliness is truly next to godliness, but it sure helps with "healthiness"! 

Update

   It has been a good week for us, getting back into the routine and beginning on our exciting e-project called "Math...for a Healthier You!" You child can access http://www.thinkquest.org 24/7/365 and work on their projects. We've been learning how math can help us manage our food intake and activities, and how making smart food choices can help us be our best. I'm not putting the kids on a diet, but I wanted them to - maybe for the first time - think about their nutritional habits and be informed about their choices. Make sure to talk to your kids about their experience with the content of this unit. Two days were given to experience the various modules included in the project. They have over 3 days to finish the final reflection which can be written, typed, or posted to ThinkQuest. The end of the grading period is coming up fast, and we're working hard learning and gaining knowledge in globally and personally-relevant contexts while addressing skill deficiencies...all in a day's work here at MMS!

Family update

I will not be at school the rest of the week, ending Sep. 25th. My father passed away today and I will be spending that time with family. I will do my best to provide your children with meaningful work while my family tries to deal with this loss. Thank you all for your support and understanding...

Business is picking up!

Grades have been posted on Edline and things are getting busy. Students will have a quiz on topics covered in the bell ringers next week (Sep. 14-19). We are currently addressing content deficiencies uncovered by the pre-test. I also want to encourage you to visit http://www.quantiles.com to see what the "other" score below your student's WESTEST score means. They also have a "Math at Home" section at http://quantiles.com/mathathome/mathathome.aspx

Have a great week and be in touch!

Mr. B

September 8-11, 2009

Two assignments are planned this week. All classes will have activities 1-2 (Wednesday) and 1-3 (Thursday) from the Algebra Activity Kit. Each will be due the day after it is assigned and the "Math Wheels" activity we'll do in class on Friday is available on my class website. Have a great week!

Check Back Often!

Homework for Thursday:
Periods 3, 5 and 7 do p86 #1-8, 27-37 odd in the GREEN Book
Periods 4 & 8 do p12 #13-28 in the BLUE Book
*This is still the first assignment!*

You might notice if you have looked at my website calendar recently, you'll notice that today's homework assignment has changed a little bit for advanced classes. Such has it always been, but putting assignments up ahead of time demonstrates that things do change. As I am getting a better idea of my students' skills I can adjust assignments accordingly to meet needs. You'll be receiving WESTEST results and student profile sheets soon from us. New to the WESTEST reports are Quantile scores, which will look something like '850Q' underneath your child's WESTEST score in math. If you have any questions about Quantiles you can e-mail me or go to http://www.quantiles.com

First Homework!!!

On Thursday, September 3rd we will have the following assignments:

Periods 3, 5 and 7 do p86 #1-8, 27-37 odd in the GREEN Book

Periods 4 & 8 do p86 #14-21, 51-54 in the GREEN Book

These will be due Friday for a Perfection grade (see syllabus)

And so we begin...

Parents, 

   As we begin this year it is my intention to keep all of my classes close together on their content studies for the first few weeks to get a feel for their talents, take inventory of their own personal attributes, gather data on their performance, and get a good overall picture of who I am working with this year. The upcoming week will include some learning style inventories, a unit pretest and self-assessment and basic work on integers. Mrs. Baker (from Team B) and myself have also developed a word problem attack that will be implemented for all classes. All classes will stay on the same topics for a month or so, though I will differentiate the difficulty and pacing of lessons to meet the needs of these diverse learners. After we have the basics nailed down and I have a good idea of the abilities and interests of my students, I will be more prepared to teach each set of classes as its own. 

See the class calendar on my website: https://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/c807/

- Mr. Berry

8th Grade Orientation

8th grade orientation will be August 24th from 6-8 p.m. at the new school. 8th graders report for school on August 26th, do NOT come for the 27th and 28th, and then all students report on August 31st.