Intermediate Algebra Wednesday, September 30

Hi all,

I was out sick yesterday (Tuesday, September 29). Students had an independent, self-paced work day and overall did really well with it. They took a very quick pretest on solving equations to see where they were at, then watched a review video and took notes. There is one pink worksheet that was given as homework and is due on the block day.

Solving Equations Homework

We used our time in class today to practice solving multistep equations and literal equations. There was one tarsia puzzle students completed and one worksheet. Students were given the option to work alone or with a partner.

Students will be taking a benchmark on solving equations on the block day. They must pass with 80% (or 8/10) or higher. There is a retake available if students do not pass the first time. However, I encouraged students to study tonight and work hard to they pass the first time. I've listed some IXL that may help students review.

IXL- Algebra 1
J5, J6, J8, J9

Updates for Classes; Monday, September 28

Intermediate Algebra

Students are presenting their data and statistics projects today. So far, they have gone pretty well! Most students used their class time well last week and came ready to go. A lot of groups had interesting questions (how many hours of television do you watch a week? how many pairs of shoes do you own? how many followers do you have on instagram?) and did well explaining their results.

There is no assigned homework tonight. The next thing we will cover is a quick review on solving equations (both multistep and literal). I suggested that students watch the following videos on my webpage if they are feeling rusty:
-Solving Literal Equations
-Solving an equation with variables on both sides

Students will take a pretest on Solving Equations tomorrow. This will let me see where each student is at and how much practice they need. I also told students to feel free to email me if they would like some IXL/additional practice sent to them.

Investigations

We will be finishing up our activities regarding probability sometime this week or early next week. At least one grade will be entered every week so please check schoolview regularly. Most of the time when an assignment is missing students have it but forgot to turn it in. Students are also usually exempt from an assignment they miss when they are gone from school.

As always, feel free to call or email me with any questions.

IA Partner project due Monday, September 2

Students had time in class to work on their partner project. Most students used their time well and have little to no homework this weekend. Students will be presenting on Monday with their partner(s). Their grade for this project will go into the 90% part of their grade as this is in place of a unit test.

Intermediate Algebra Wednesday, September 23

Hello all!

We finished all of our notes on data and statistics today! Our last topic was on misleading graphs.  A lot of students chimed in to share their opinions and we had some great contributions. Students had the last 20 minutes of class to finalize their topic for their group project. Students are working in groups of 2 or 3 and posed a question that will provide them with numerical data. Most students need to get some data taken outside of the classroom (they need 40 data points total) and need to have this taken by Thursday/Friday (whenever their block day is). We will use the block day to analyze our data and make our presentations. At this point I am planning on students presenting on Monday.

Students will be taking their second concept quiz on data and statistics Thursday/Friday. It will be in the grade book by the weekend.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Intermediate Algebra Tuesday, September 22

Hello all! Today in Intermediate Algebra we spent time summarizing everything we have learning about analyzing and describing data. A lot of students are becoming more familiar with all the new vocabulary we are learning (skewed left, skewed right, bimodal, standard deviation) which is great. I am excited to see what students do for their partner project and how their data turns out.

Tuesday 9/22 Homework (due Wednesday)

Tomorrow will our last day learning about data, and it will be a short discussion on misleading graphs. Students will then have time to work on their partner project. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the project!

***There are some students that need to retake the Cycle 1 Formative Assessment. Just a reminder that students have 2 weeks from Monday (the day the formative assessment was returned) to complete the retake. This gives students until October 5. I am after school Tuesdays and Thursdays and am available some days during lunch.***

IA Monday, September 21

We are getting close to wrapping up our data and statistics unit. Students will take their last set of notes in class tomorrow and will begin their partner projects on Wednesday.

Students had one green worksheet (on evaluating expressions, combining like terms, and the distributive property) as homework tonight. If a student got 16/17 or 17/17 on the cycle 1 formative assessment they were told they do not have to complete the homework.

Homework- Evaluating Expressions and Combining Like Terms

A lot of students have also asked for extra practice to help prepare for their cycle 1 formative assessment retake. I emailed additional practice and am also linking it below. An answer key is attached so students can check their work as they go.

Students need to complete the green worksheet (homework tonight) and make corrections before they can retake the cycle 1 formative assessment. Some students requested I email them copies of their formative assessment so they can work on corrections at home- those emails were sent after school today. 

Distributive Property

Evaluating Expressions

Just a reminder on times I am available for students to come in:
Tuesday: during 8th grade lunch, after school
Wednesday: during 7th grade lunch
Thursday: after school
Friday: during 7th and 8th grade lunch

End of week 2; Friday September 18

Hello everyone!

Intermediate Algebra Updates
We have been working hard on our data & statistics unit. Students have learned about collecting and displaying both categorical and numerical data. They have also learned about (and been practicing) describing data in terms of shape, center, spread, and outliers. There will not be a unit test- instead students will be completing a partner project for their final unit grade. Students will work in groups of 2 or 3, will pose their own experiment, collect data, and then analyze it. Each group will be giving a short (2 minute) presentation. I've advised students to pick a partner they trust and work well with, as they will receive the same grade as their partner. Depending on time, we will be doing this at the end of next week or the beginning of the following week.

As an FYI, I do track student completion of homework and this can be viewed in Schoolview. Students are required to stay after if they have 2 or more missing assignments. Most students are doing great with homework completion this far and have been very responsible. A lot of students have been willing to answer questions and share their opinions which is wonderful!

Investigations Update
We have continued our activities that focus on building our group work skills. There are 2 grades for students that should now show up on Schoolview. Both were reflections for completed activities. The majority of students did well. If students lost points it was generally because they did not write in complete sentences or they did not answer the questions entirely.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a great weekend!

Int. Algebra 9/15/15

Hi all,

We started our first unit today on data and statistics. We took notes together as a class for the first part of class. Students were provided a fill-in-the-blank notes sheet, which is generally how we will do notes. There is one worksheet for students to complete as homework. It is yellow, double sided, and is due tomorrow. Students were given 10-15 minutes to begin this in class and a lot of kids got a good start.

Below is a link to the homework if your student lost their original and/or was absent:
homework 9/15/15

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

End of the first week!

Hi all! Please see below for updates regarding IA (intermediate algebra) and Investigations. A syllabus was sent home with each student (for both classes). A lot of students have already returned their syllabus after looking at it with a parent/guardian and getting it signed. Please encourage your student to do this if they haven't yet. You can find an extra copy of either syllabus on this website.

Intermediate Algebra:
We have had a busy week! On day 1 students got introduced to the class, did an activity with the syllabus, and contributed to our "back to school questions" wall. On Thursday and Friday students took the semester 1 pretest. This pretest is not graded; it is a way for me to see where students are at. We will spend some time in the beginning of next week talking about habits of mind, and will then move into our first unit (data and statistics). No other homework has been assigned yet.

Investigations:
Classes have been great so far! I see students twice a week, following our A/B schedule. I saw my "B" day students once. We spent that first day going through the syllabus and filling out "all about me" sheets so I can get to know them. I got to see my "A" day students twice. We spent our first day the same way as the B day students. The second day (Friday) we did two different activities- one where students had to try to spell out the word "fly" from pieces and another where they were given a bag of materials and had to make the longest creation possible. It was a lot of fun!


***I also wanted to mention that auditions are being held for the school play next Monday and Tuesday. There are a variety of roles that need to be filled. We will also need students to help build and create the set! I will be helping Wednesdays after school with this. Encourage your students to get involved. Feel free to call or email me with any questions. We are also looking for parent volunteers to help throughout!***

Welcome to Ms. Miller's Website!

Welcome! My name is Ms. Miller and I will be teaching Intermediate Algebra and 7+ Investigations this year. Last year I taught the same classes and the spring before that I spent time doing intervention work with 6th-8th grade students. I received my Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and my Teaching License from the College of St. Scholastica.

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This webpage is a great resource to see what we did in class this week, what homework was, a copy of the syllabus, and any upcoming assessments. The IA Videos tab is where you will go to find any videos and resources that are being used for instruction. The Announcements tab will be regularly updated with what was covered in class that week. New posts will go up multiple times every week so please check back regularly! You can also reach me by phone or email with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to a wonderful year!