Today's blog title refers to a handout I provided and a subsequent conversation we had in class today regarding our math notes. I strongly encourage families to ask students to see today's handout and then reference the student's math notes to see where areas of potential improvement exist. The 8th grade team as a whole has been made aware that lots of students are having organizational issues and so it is worth remembering that in the math class students are also expected to maintain a binder.
For your reference the binder is comprised of five sections; four of which students should already be making use of. They are:
1. OB Class Notes - the most significant portion of the binder. Students should be working on these notes both in class and AT HOME. They are not traditional notes and require much more maintenance than students are perhaps accustomed to.
2. Home Nuggets - all home nuggets, including those that have been graded and handed back, as well as those that are not collected, should be found in this section.
3. Handouts - often I provide students with problem sets, additional practice, detailed explanations, rubrics and so forth. All of these handouts should be stored in this section.
4. Assessments - all quizzes and tests belong in this section.
5. Guide-To - this is a section that we have not yet explored, but it will essentially consist of 'guides' that the students put together for each chapter we cover in the text.
Furthermore, all papers within each section of the binder must have the date and student's name on the top right hand corner of the sheet. This way each section can be chronologically sorted from older materials to newer materials. At the end of each term, we will empty the binders of all materials, store them in manila folders and begin a new term.
Tonight, students are asked to work exclusively on their class notes for this week. Ultimately, students should be in the habit of working on notes every night. Again, kindly reference the handout provided today for suggestions on what should appear in the notes as well as the rubric I provided last week for how the notes are graded.
ATTENTION! All students were provided with printed instructions for how they and their families can log on to the snapgrades website. Kindly log in over the next few days and if issues arise, feel free to contact me.
Home Nugget #10
Assigned on Wednesday September 23, 2009
Due on Thursday September 24, 2009
Use both the handout provided today titled "How to Make Your OB Math Notes Work for YOU!" as well as the rubric I handed out last week to work on the class notes for 9/21, 9/22 and 9/23.
There are no FCAs today.
