Week 21 - REPORT CARDS & Start of Quarter 3

February 2, 2015

During the last couple weeks, I have had a lot of work to do!

I had to create over 120 exams, mark those exams and leave comments about those exams.

Many students did really well during exam week, while some are struggling.


Math 9

Some students will be working on expanding their knowledge on exponents, square roots, polynomials, linear relations and rational numbers.

Other students will work on a review of certain areas to ensure they meet grade 9 outcomes and so they can make an accurate decision on which math stream they should follow next year.

Webquest - Linear Equations

Science 8

We will be learning about Matter and Energy for this quarter!  After February break, we will begin science projects so start brainstorming about what you want to research!

Science 7

We will be learning about Heat and Temperature for this quarter!  After February break, we will begin science projects so start brainstorming about what you want to research!

Week 20 - exam week

Grade 8 Science

Week 18 & 19

January 19, 2015

Sorry about not posting last week!  I'm working hard to ensure students have outlines and materials to review for their test next week!

Math 9 

We had a test last week and some students are doing really well with the material while some are struggling.  I will be holding tutoring sessions on Tuesday and Thursday at noon this week to ask any questions about the material.

I have created study guides with each chapter of material we have covered:
Chapter 2: Exponents (FRIDAY, January 16)
Chapter 3:  Rational Numbers (MONDAY, January 19)
Chapter 1:  Square Roots (TUESDAY, January 20)
Chapter 5:  Polynomials (WEDNESDAY, January 21)
Chapter 4/6:  Linear equations and inequalities (THURSDAY, January 22)

Study guides includes review of the main points in each chapter and an assignment with questions that will be on exam.  For example, exponents will be page 1, rational numbers will be page 2,.. etc

If students are having trouble with any concept youtube videos can be found online.  I am available from 8am-start of school on a daily basis and tutoring sessions on Tuesday and Thursday at NOON HOUR this week.  I will also be available Wednesday after school for an hour.

Science 8

I have given the students an outline of the material required for the exam, we will use the rest of classtime this week to complete their own review of the material and ask questions.  The test will ONLY cover the light and optics unit, since it is only a 1 hour exam.

Science 7

I have given the students an outline of the material required for the exam, we will use the rest of classtime this week to complete their own review of the material and ask questions.  The test will ONLY cover the matter unit, since it is only a 1 hour exam.

Week 17 - WE'RE BACK!! - January 5-9

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

Math 9 
This week we will be reviewing through video games and coordinate pictures then moving on to learning about inequalities!

Next Test will be on Thursday, January 15.

Our MidTerm is on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 from 9-11am.  We will be covering all material we have learned so far.
Chapter 1 - Surface area and Square roots
Chapter 2 - Exponents
Chapter 3 - Rational Numbers
Chapter 5 - Polynomials
Chapter 4&6 - Linear Algebra
We will be reviewing all chapters from Friday, January 16 - Thursday, January 22.

Science 8
This week we are reviewing and learning more about Visible Light.  We will be finishing our light and optics unit next week and start our review on January 19-23.

Our MidTerm is on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 from 9am-11am.  We will be covering all material we have learned so far.

Unit One: Life Science – Cells, Tissues, Organs, and Systems 

Unit Two: Physical Science – Optics and Vision 

Science 7
This week we will be finishing our unit on Matter.  We will do labs and experiments next week then we will review the material.

Our MidTerm is on Thursday, January 29, 2015 from 9-11am.  We will be covering all material we have learned so far.

Unit One: Life Science – Interactions within Ecosystems 

Unit Two: Physical Science – Mixtures and Solutions 

Week 16

Last week until the Christmas break!

My classes are all finishing their Bill Nye projects and they are looking fantastic!  

We will have some Christmas fun at the end of the week and then 2 WEEKS OFF!

Have a great Christmas and I'll see you next year on my blog!

Math 9 Games about linear equations:

http://www.mathplayground.com/SaveTheZogs/SaveTheZogs.html

http://hotmath.com/hotmath_help/games/kp/kp_hotmath_sound.swf

https://www.mangahigh.com/en-us/games/saveourdumbplanet

Week 15

Two more weeks until Christmas!

Not that anyone is counting :)

Math 9
We are close to completing our linear algebra unit and will continue to learn more in January before our midterm exam.  An assessment of the information we have learned so far will take place on December 11.  It will be done differently than other tests because students will work in partners to complete the assessment.  One test will be handed in for each set of partners.  Hopefully, this kind of assessment will help students that are not understanding the material to understand it better with help from their peers.

**Remember videos on the math concepts we are learning can be found on previous blog posts...

On Friday, we will begin creating Bill Nye Math Videos.  The students are excited to get started and it will help them to go more in depth into math concepts that we have been learning.

Science 8
We are starting to work on Bill Nye Videos.  So far I have been very impressed with the work ethic of the grade 8 classes!

Science 7 
We are finishing our Bill Nye videos. The videos should be done, or almost done, by the end of the week.

Week 13 & 14

Week 13 & 14

I've been pretty busy the last week so I didn't get a chance to post. So this week I have posted for both week 13 and 14.

Math 9

We are moving on to Linear Algebra.  Last week, we learned about domain and range of a graph as well as slope-intercept form, which is y=mx+b.  We have learned that slope (m) is equal to rise (up if positive and down if negative) over run (to the right) and the point where the equation touches the y axis is b (otherwise known as the y-intercept).

This week we are learning how to find the slope and equation if only given two coordinates as well as how to plot a graph if the equation is in point-slope form.  We will also try to find the intersection of two equations as well as be able to find equations that are parallel and perpendicular to each other.  We will also learn about inequalities and addition/elimination techniques.

YOUTUBE VIDEO HELP:

Domain and Range
Ordered pairs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg9JJceywA
Graph:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObEucyZX464

Slope
Graphing in slope-intercept form:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj-9Zc9yKYU
Replacing x value:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sg8h0Y8oZk
Finding slope from 2 points:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMUk_XRvRQ
Point slope form:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG9m9HnixTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bqr9Fo3Qi8
Intersection:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he5HPPIIdVY
Perpendicular and Parallel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZg7O-3GLNI
Graphing Inequalities:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unSBFwK881s
Elimination Method:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tphSgpilNv8
Substitution Method:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SFk17Ea5wo

QUIZZES TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE:

Domain and Range
http://www.rcsdk12.org/cms/lib04/NY01001156/Centricity/Domain/5668/4.2_Relations_Functions_Quiz.pdf
https://www.thatquiz.org/tq/practicetest?uz4ojbpxc9ik

Slope-Intercept
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=slopeintercept-form-quiz
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/math/studytools/cgi-bin/msgQuiz.php4?isbn=0-07-860390-0&chapter=5&lesson=3&headerFile=6&state=na

Point-slope form
http://www.sophia.org/tutorials/point-slope-form-from-two-points--3

We will have a test on December 11, 2014 on Linear Algebra.  We will then start our project on Bill Nye the Math Guy which is due December 18, 2014.  We will have a Christmas Fun Day on December 19, 2014 before the Christmas Banquet.


Science 8

We are beginning a new unit on Vision and Optics.  We are learning about light and how it can be blocked, reflected and refracted.

Bill Nye - Light and Colour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxivAEGm4KM
Bill Nye - Optics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvOBerOpSag

We will be starting a project called the Bill Nye the Science Guy Project on December 5 (8B) and December 8 (8A).  The students will be required to create a Bill Nye video that they will share with the class on December 17 (8B) and December 18 (8A).  We will be having a Christmas Fun Period on December 19, 2014 (8B).


Science 7

We are still learning about Matter and have started a new project where students are creating a Bill Nye the Science Guy video.  The assignment will be due December 10, 2014.  The students will present the videos they have created on that date.  We will then finish up our notes on Matter and have a Christmas Fun Day on December 18, 2014.

Bill Nye - Matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EDJ5m4gQho