Week of May 5 - May 9

Happy Teacher Appreciation week!  I am very grateful for the teachers that I have had in my life and for the wonderful teachers that I work with here at the Academy for Academic Enhancement Gifted and Talented Middle School.  Be sure to thank your teachers this week for the hard work that they do and for the care that they have for each student.

This week, in Honors Math, we will begin the gargantuan task of writing our own math reference guide based on topics that we learned this year.  You will be able to select a partner from your homeroom to work with and you will choose your topic.  We will begin this week by formulating definitions using Frayer Models and will end with developing 3 examples with explanations.  You will be graded on your partner work using a rubric that you will receive Wednesday.

Also, in Pre-Algebra, we will learn more about slope.  In 7th grade, we learned about the rate of change and this week we will develop that concept further as the slope of a line.  We will classify slopes as positive, negative, zero slope, and undefined slope.  We will also determine the slope of the line from a graph.  If time permits, we will also determine the slope of a line from simply 2 points on the line.  If you would like to know more about slope, you can watch Slope Dude: 

Ac2E - IT Seminars

This week, students had the opportunity to attend 2 seminars during our Ac2E Interdisciplinary Thinking Seminars.  In my seminar, students learned more in-depth about the connections between mathematics and art.  Students learned more about how ratio and proportion affects art and enlargements.  Also, students learned about a branch of non-Euclidean geometry, topology and created hexaflexagons.

If you would like to learn more about math and art, you may visit the Virtual Math Museum.

STAAR Ready

This week, we have been preparing for the Mathematics STAAR.  The state exam will be next Tuesday, April 22.  The test will have 54 questions, plus 10 field items.

How can I prepare for the STAAR?

• Study old benchmarks and 6 weeks exams.  Make sure that you can do all questions.
• Ask your teacher for extra help if you are still stuck on a topic.
• Think positively!  Have an optimistic outlook about the test and a "can-do" attitude.
• Get a good night's rest Sunday and Monday night.
• Eat a good dinner and breakfast before the STAAR.

After the STAAR, we will start working on our e-book.  You will work with a partner in your class and you will be responsible for a variety of information on your pages.  I can't wait to see your finished contributions!

Week of April 7 - April 11

STAAR blitz time is here!  We will be reviewing objectives that will be on the STAAR on Tuesday, April 22.  We will especially focus on objectives that were weak on the last District benchmark.

How can you prepare for the STAAR?  First, make sure that you are keeping up with the review.  Second, be sure to ask questions and don't leave school without completely understanding the material.  Finally, be sure to review over old benchmarks and make corrections.  If you know how to do every question, then you are well-prepared for the STAAR.

In MATHCOUNTS news, we are taking a break from The Art of Problem Solving curriculum and we are preparing for our fundraiser.  Be sure to study the MATHCOUNTS handbook to prepare for the fundraiser.

Week of March 24-28

This week we will be finishing up exponents in pre-algebra. In honors math, we will be continuing to explore linear relationships.

Last week, we went to Texas A&M Kingsville to tour the college. We had a great time!

Don't forget that this Thursday are the Gifted and Talented meetings for the district. Remind your parents to go at 5:30.

Week of March 17-21

Happy St. Patrick's day!  If you would like to wish this to someone in Gaelic, you can say "Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh" (Happy St. Patrick's Day!).  If you would like to learn more about the Gaelic language, you can check it out at Wikipedia, here: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language

This week, we are going to look more at linear relationships in tables, graphs, and equations.  If you would like more information about linear equations, visit http://eduplace.com/math/mathsteps/7/d/index.html

Finally, in Pre-Algebra, we are going to wrap up our unit on Exponents.  We will learn how to write very large and very small numbers in scientific notation.  Keep up the good work Falcons - progress reports will come out next week!

Week of March 3-7

Brr.....March does come in like a lion and out like a lamb, as the saying goes!  We are ready this week to dive into linear equations in math and properties of exponents in Pre-Algebra.  If you would like to practice more exponents, check out the following website: http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/exponent-laws.html

Last Friday, we finally got to test out our projects at the Math Carnival!  Congratulations Sayda for having the most profitable game.  Sayda had nearly 100 tickets due to a very creative carnival game that involved Flappy Bird.  Thank you 6th graders for being our testers for our games.  Great job everybody! 

Week of 2/24 - 2/28

Benchmark week is finally here!  The students will be having the Mathematics Benchmark on Wednesday, February 26.  Remember to finish your practice test to study for the benchmark!

Thank you students for your great projects!  I cannot wait to see you try out your games at our Math Carnival on Friday.

Happy Valentines Day

The distributive property is a great way to show someone how much you love them ;)

And if you are not into Valentines, here is one for you:

 

4th 6 Weeks Project Details

Week 6 of 4th 6 weeks

This week, we are wrapping up the measures of central tendency in Honor Mathematics.  The measures of center are the median, the mode, and the mean of a data set.  The range is special because it describes how much the data varies.  PBS Dunk Tank Game on mean, median, mode, and range.

In Pre-Algebra, we are solving 2 step equations by combining like terms and using the distributive properties.  You can practice your algebraic reasoning at www.mathplayround.com.

Also, MATHCOUNTS students are getting ready for the regional competition Friday, February 21 at UTPA.  The team members are Karina Alanis, Karime Lozano, Jaylyn Trevino, Natalie Briceno, Jonathan Trevino, Adrian Garcia, Eduardo Acevedo, Ismene Gutierrez, Ricky Slouenwhite, Eduardo Trevino.

Finally, we are gearing up for the science fair.  The weather is forecasted for a high chance of SCIENCE!

Congratulations!

The following 7th graders are the winners of the "Guess the Volume" contest:

Hexagonal Prism: Actual 310 - Winner: Adrian Z. Guess: 310  
Cylinder: Actual 334 - Winner: Stephanie G. Guess: 336
Rectangular Prism: Actual 264 - Winner: Noe M. Guess: 260  
Triangular Prism: Actual 157 - Winner: JC L. Guess: 140
Cube: Actual 453 - Winner: Deandra T. Guess: 450

Remember, you can find the volume of any right prism or cylinder by finding the area of the base and then multiply by the height.


 If you like estimating volume, you can play more here: Estimate Volume

Week 4-4

We have been studying experimental and theoretical probability this 6 weeks and we are using tree diagrams, lists and area models.  We are going to find expected outcomes this week using percents.

In pre-algebra, we will continue solving equations.

Be ready for a project this 6 weeks!

Fractals groupwork

Great job following your clues and working together!  You can learn more about fractals here.

Hello 2014!

Welcome back to the 2nd semester here at the Academy for Academic Middle School! The topics for this week are properties of addition and multiplication in pre-algebra. You can learn more about them here: http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=qddRGzlS1Co In math, we will be reviewing over the district benchmark. Be prepared to ask questions! Friday, we will be learning cooperatively through "Get it Together" problems.

Have a great week!