Thursday, January 29, 2015

Pre-Algebra Math - Rational Numbers.  The HW problems from yesterday were corrected, discussed and collected.  Today we reviewed dividing decimals by decimals, this is a skill students should already be familiar with, so students who felt comfortable with this were allowed to start on the daily assignment.  For those who needed a little reminder a discussion was led and reviewed on the steps for dividing decimals by decimals.  HW - Pg 129 9-16

Computer Applications - Students worked on ATRT today to practice and improve keyboarding skills.  NO HW 

7th Grade Math -  Continued to review divisibility rules handout from Monday to better understand and apply these rules.  The final examples on the handout were discussed in class and studnets had to prove why a number was divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.  HW - do problem 1-3 on assigned WS

Change to Late/Missing Work Policy:

Dear Parents,

After much deliberation I have determined a change is necessary for my Late Work Policy.  The goal of the change is to make students more accountable while decreasing the amount of procrastination in completing homework I've observed over the past few months.

My previous policy was to accept late work for 2 weeks after the original due date.  My new policy will be to accept late work for 1 week after the original due date and start effective immediately.

As I mentioned I have seen and increase in the amount of zeros, cases where students are not turning in work.  The intent of allowing work to be turned in 2 weeks late was to accommodate students who were absent, had family emergencies or unforeseen issues that might occasionally come up.  What I've noticed recently was students began to procrastinate and not work on assignments in a responsible and timely manner.  As math is a class that builds upon each skill learned, students who were waiting 2 weeks to complete assignments were only falling further behind and their grades reflected that.

The goal of the new policy is to still give students with absences time to get assignments made up but also put emphasis on completing daily assignments as soon as possible to avoid falling behind and thus compounding the problems created by not practicing the skills as they are taught.

I do not believe in unnecessary homework, therefore I do not assign 40-50 homework problems a night.  When a skill is new I assign 4-8 problems.  After a few days like this, I will assign 15-20 problems for students to practice the skill and demonstrate proficiency.  On these days where 15-20 problems are assigned students always have time in class to work and ask questions, thus limiting the students amount of homework.

The new policy does not change my correction policy.  Allowing students to correct their work for credit will still be allowed and encouraged.  As I have done before I will continue to post late/missing work that can still be turned in so students are aware of work they may have neglected to turn in.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please feel free to contact me.