What's Going On? November 2nd-6th

Triangle Congruence

This week we will continue our study of proving triangles congruence.  At the end of last week we talked about two triangle congruence shortcuts: SSS and SAS.  This week we'll talk about two more shortcuts that can make it easier to show a relationship between two triangles.

Once we have figured out the shortcuts, we will dive into proving two triangles congruent with a two-column proof.  When we are able to prove that two triangles are congruent, we can then use the CPCTC Theorem (Corresponding Parts of Congruent Triangles) in order to show that their parts are congruent.  It seems like a lot of work to do, but we'll take it step by step with a couple of formative checks along the way.


Unit 3 Summative Retake 

This is just a reminder that students who are interested in a retake on the unit 3 summative on parallel lines must complete corrections, extra practice, and the retake by Wednesday (11/4).  Please see me if you have any questions!

What's Going On? October 26th-28th

Important Reminder for All Students

This is a short week where students have school Monday through Wednesday.  We will be following a "Monday-style" schedule for all three days with school beginning at 7:35am each day.  During our AE sessions, students are free to work with teachers and get extra help.  If you would like some extra time in the lab, please let me know and I can issue you a pass.  Students must have a pass prior to the AE session in order to leave the room.


Unit 3 Summative Retakes

We just got the results of the unit 3 summative assessments on parallel lines.  If students are interested in a test retake, the retake process (corrections, extra practice, retake) must be completed by the end of the day on Wednesday, November 3rd.  Please see me if you have any questions.


Unit 4: Triangle Congruence

We are beginning our unit on triangle congruence.  We ended the week by "discovering" properties of isosceles triangles.  This week we will talk about midsegments of triangles (connecting midpoints of the sides of triangles) and triangle inequality.  We will end the short week with a quick formative on triangle properties and by discussing two triangle congruence shortcuts: SSS and SAS.

What's Going On? October 19th-23rd

Practice ACT

Last week we took a shortened version of a math ACT practice test.  This test was made up of 36 questions related to Algebra and Geometry and will serve as our baseline data for the year.  Some of the concepts have been learned already, and others will be taught in the future.  I have analyzed the results from this practice test and found that the class average score was about 22 out of 36.  I have picked out the 14 most commonly missed questions.  The plan is to use ACT-style questions as a warm up question during the week so that we can brush up on our Algebra skills and also prepare for a high-stakes standardized assessment.  By practicing these skills on a weekly basis, we should see some growth on the benchmark assessments that we will take in January and again in April.  Ultimately, this should help us prepare for the ACT test that students take during their Junior year.

Parallel Lines

We have been working hard on crafting our two-column proofs and I think we're starting to get the hang of it.  We have also made the connection between coordinate geometry and parallel lines by writing equations of parallel and perpendicular lines.  This week we will finish up our unit on parallel lines.  Typically we explore Euclidean geometry in this class, but this week we will explore a little bit of spherical geometry.  Students will learn about "lines" in spherical geometry which look more like circles.  We will then review for our summative assessment which will occur on Wednesday for 1st and 2nd period and on Thursday for 4th period.

If you have any questions, PLEASE ASK!  I am here to help!

What's Going On? October 12-16th

Reasoning and Proof

Last week we finished our second unit on "Reasoning and Proof".  This unit introduced students to the art of creating a proof.  We will continue to build on this concept throughout the semester.  If you have questions, please get them answered ASAP!  We need to build a good foundation for proof because we will be expanding on it all semester.

Just a reminder, if you are interested in a test retake for our second unit you must complete it by Wednesday.  In order to be eligible for a retake, you must following complete the following:

• Complete all formative work before the day of the summative assessment
• Make corrections on your original assessment
• Let Mrs. Kamenar know which section(s) you would like to retake. 
• Complete the extra practice
• Retake the test by the due date

Please note that the score of the retake will be entered into Infinite Campus even if the score is lower than the original assessment.  If you have questions, PLEASE ASK! I am here to help.

Parallel Lines

At the end of last week we started our third unit on parallel lines.  We talked about angle relationships that exist when we know we're dealing with parallel lines.  We also talked about how we can prove that two lines are parallel.  This week we will start the week with a practice ACT.  We will take a shortened version of the math portion of the ACT: 36 questions in 36 minutes.  We will use this baseline assessment to determine what we need to focus on in order to prepare you for your ACT during your junior year.  I know it seems like a long way off, but junior year will be here before you know it!

On Tuesday we will take a formative assessment that covers our new knowledge of angle relationships.  We will spend the first half of class reviewing and then take the formative during the second half of class.

Later in the week we will review some important Algebra concepts: including slope and writing equations for lines.  We will then connect this to Geometry by discussing equations for parallel and perpendicular lines.

What's Going On? October 5th-9th

Reasoning and Proof

It looks like we weren't quite ready for our second unit summative assessment on "Reasoning and Proof" so I decided to push it back a bit.  We will continue to review geometric proof on Monday and then students should be prepared for our summative assessment on Tuesday (1st and 2nd period classes) or Wednesday (4th period class).  Students must have all of their formative assignments completed before the test in order to be considered retake eligible.  Please check Infinite Campus to make sure that you are up to date with all of your assignments.

As you prepare for your summative assessment, please check out the video library created by students in first and second period.  They created videos to go along with a lot of the content and some sample problems for the unit.  You can check out the shared document on our BlackBoard class site.

Once we complete the second unit summative assessment we will move onto our third unit: "Parallel Lines".  Students will continue to study two-column proof and learn how to craft a logical argument.  Students will also learn more about special angle relationships that exist when two parallel lines are cut by a transversal.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  If you would like some extra assistance in the morning I am available most days.  Please let me know when I can expect you.

Have a great week!