Standardized Test Taking Skills

BOTH GROUPS
MaryBeth Ventura, our Learning Specialist, taught a lesson on Monday about standardized test taking skills. The ERB tests are not high-stakes criteria based test, but norm-referenced tests, which means results are compared to other students around the country who took the same test, rather than specifically on what the students at this school have been studying. The school uses the results of this test to look at what we cover in the curriculum, for example. Learning how to take standardized tests is a useful skill, since most students will be taking them in the future, for example, college entrance exams.

Students generated the following strategies to feel more prepared and less anxious before and during testing.

Before the test:
Stay calm
Don’t think about it too much
Move a little to get blood moving
Eat for energy (whole grains, protein)
Study—keep up in class
Listen to music on way to school
Self pep-talk/prayer
Get lots of sleep
Practice tests
Have materials ready

During the test:
Stay calm
Take your time/Don’t rush
Read the questions carefully
Read all the choices
Look for key terms
Eliminate obviously wrong answers
Make an educated guess (no penalty for guessing)
Preview whole test to pace yourself
Skip questions you’re stuck on and return if you have time
Look over your answers again at end

We also talked about techniques to reduce anxiety. Positive self-talk is the number one anxiety reducing technique. We also practiced two other techniques: tense & relax, and visualization with cupped eyes.

Finally, we talked about strategies specific to math standardized tests:
1. Read question & instructions carefully
2. Open up right files in your mind
3. Use scratch paper
4. Write down the information and quantities given
5. Write down the question to be answered
6. Draw a picture of the problem
7. Try to put quantities into an equation
(+, -, x, /, proportion)
8. Look for key terms
9. Estimate
10. Rule out & guess

In class on Tuesday we practiced taking a standardized test, and discussed our answers and strategies. Class notes may be downloaded here for class 7A or class 7B.

LARGE GROUP
In class 7A we started working on a 3 dimensional geometry problem using nets, flat figures that can be folded and made into boxes. We reviewed some terms from geometry, including vertex, edge, area, surface area, volume, square, and cube. The problem we will continue working on tomorrow is to determine how many possible nets can make a cube.

No homework tonight for LARGE or SMALL groups.

Unit Test

Students took the Unit Test for Accentuate the Negative. Those that finished early worked on an optional logic problem.

Have a great travel week! I will see you again on Monday, May 3.

LARGE GROUP ONLY
Please work on your Dealing Down Unit Project, which is due Tuesday, May 4.

Math Reflections 4, Looking Back & Looking Ahead

LARGE GROUP
Students shared their homework and strategies for winning Dealing Down. We used a Think-Pair-Share to discuss Math Reflections 4, to summarize our learning of the Order of Operations and the Distributive Property. Then students worked on the Looking Back, Looking Ahead, and shared their answers. Class notes may be downloaded here for class 7A or class 7B.

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
Finish Math Reflections 4, questions 1-3 on page 75.
Finish Looking Back, Looking Ahead, questions 1-9 on pages 78-79.
Study for the Unit Test!

Due tomorrow, Thursday, April 22.

SMALL GROUPS
Cory was sick today so students worked for part of the time with MaryBeth, and within the large group for part of the time. Students shared their ACE homework and Math Reflections 4 homework. Then they worked on Looking Forward, Looking Back problems 5-9 as a review for tomorrow's Unit Test.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK
Finish Looking Back, Looking Ahead, questions 1-9 on pages 78-79. Skip problem 4 if you did not learn coordinate graphing.

Study for the Unit Test!

Due tomorrow, Thursday, April 22.

ACE 4.3 Distributive Property & Subtraction

LARGE GROUP
Today we talked more about the Distributive Property, and found that it works for multiplication over addition, and multiplication over subtraction. Students practiced drawing rectangle representations for expressions showing the Distributive Property. We also learned that when using the Distributive Property, you can write the expression as a product of factors (one or both of which have two terms), which is called factoring the expression, or you can write the expression as a sum of addends (one or both of which might be products), which is called expanding the expression. Students worked on Problem 4.3, The Distributive Property & Subtraction. Class notes may be downloaded here.

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
Dealing Down Homework
Make a list of strategies that worked to win Dealing Down. Label by which math concepts they illustrate.

ACE 4.3 Homework
Please choose one of the options below to complete.

Option 1
Problems 5-7 and 33-35 on pages 70-73

Option 2
Problems 6-7, 33-35 and 45-46 on pages 70-74

Do not use a calculator!
Due tomorrow, Wednesday, April 21.

SMALL GROUPS
Students worked with Cory today to learn more about the Distributive Property by finishing the Skills sheet, Properties of Operations, and shared their ACE 4.3 homework. They started working on Math Reflections 4, on page 75.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK

ACE HOMEWORK

Finish Math Reflections 4 on page 75
Problems 17-25 on p.70

Due tomorrow, Wednesday, April 21.

Unit Project: Dealing Down

LARGE GROUP ONLY
Students will be playing the Dealing Down game and writing a report detailing their strategies for winning the game, while providing evidence of their understanding of:

1. Operating with positive and negative numbers
2. Order of operations
3. Commutative Property of addition and multiplication
4. Distributive Property of multiplication over addition and subtraction

The Dealing Down game is described on pages 76-77 of Accentuate the Negative. The handout with the assignment is here, the handout with the game cards is here, and the handout with the score sheet is here.

You will write a report that includes the following Criteria & Procedures:

• Title—“Dealing Down Report”
• Name on paper
• Typed report using size 12 standard font, or handwritten in black ink, skipping every other
line (in order to get the notation correct)
• Introductory paragraph with a topic sentence
• Four detailed supporting paragraphs

1. Operating with positive and negative numbers
2. Order of operations
3. Commutative Property of addition and multiplication
4. Distributive Property of multiplication over addition and subtraction

• Concluding paragraph
• Paragraphs include mathematical examples and explain strategies in detail
• Use correct mathematical vocabulary
• Use correct conventions
• Please use your imagination and creativity in writing your report.

First draft of report due Tuesday, May 4.

Please play 5 rounds of Dealing Down and record your scores on the score sheet tonight.

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 20.

ACE 4.2 Distributing Operations

LARGE GROUP
We discussed the Problem of the Week, Area & Volume. We shared our ideas for figuring out perimeter, the sum of the edges of cubes, area, and volume for these problems. We also discussed the Unit Project--click here for details.

Students also worked on Problem 4.2, Distributing operations. We were calculating the area of subdivided rectangles, and writing math sentences to indicate that the are of the entire rectangle was equal to the sums of the areas of the smaller sections. Class notes are available here for class 7A and class 7B.

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 4.2 Homework
Please choose one of the options below to complete.

Option 1
Problems 3-4, 30, 31b, and 44 on pages 69-74
Option 2
Problems 4, 30, 31b, 32, and 44 on pages 69-74

Do not use a calculator!
Due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 20.

There is also Unit Project homework for tonight--click here for details.

SMALL GROUPS
The small groups worked with Cory today to go over their ACE 4.1 homework, review the Order of Operations, and learn about the Distributive Property. Students made a Distributive Property card, and practiced distributing multiplication over addition with a Skills sheet.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 4.3

Problems 5, 6, and 7 on p. 70 and problem 34 on p. 73

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 20.

ACE 4.1 Order of Operations

Students worked all together today with Sima, and we discussed the order of operations, the order in which you do operations when computing the answer in a math sentence. Here is a helpful mnemonic:

Please
Excuse
My
Dear
Aunt
Sally

or PEMDAS.

1. Parentheses
2. Exponent
3. Multiplication
& Division (whichever of these 2 comes first when going left to right)
4. Addition
& Subtraction (whichever of these 2 comes first when going left to right)

We worked on Problem 4.1, Order of operations. Class notes may be downloaded here for class 7A or class 7B.

ACE 4.1 Homework
Please choose one of the options below to complete.

Option 1 (please do this one if you are in a Small Group)
Problems 2, 8-16 on pages 69-70

Option 2
Problems 2, 17-29, 41-43 on pages 69-74

Do not use a calculator!
Due Monday, April 19.

LARGE GROUP ONLY:
POW Area & Volume also due Monday.