ANNOUNCING ...

I hope you are all having a fabulous break.  I have enjoyed spending time with my family, working in our yard, and having Santa visit!  I have also been finishing up details and looking towards what is coming in the new year:

The Past:  
Announcing the winners of the Funny HaHa completed in class, December 18-
First, the punchline:  "On those days the kids have to play inside."

The Joke:  "Why Is a Mother Kangaroo Unhappy When It Rains?"
 - closest guess, period 1:  "What happens when it rains in Olympia?" 
                 *Serina and Vivika
 - closest guess, period 2:  "What happens when it's raining cats and dogs?"
                  *Lily G and Sadie
-And the winners of the funniest haha contest goes to- "On what days does Ilona get a sore throat?"
                  *Alina C and Maisie
All winners will receive one candy point when we return to school.  Congratulations!

The Present:
Remember that completing and bringing in any Quizlet practice test with negative numbers will count as an extra assignment for you.  I also recently posted a new set for adding and subtracting negatives; it's a speed practice set and you can be the first to set the fastest time.  It's great practice and gives you a few extra points in your pocket!

The Future: 
Trans Math students - We will be having the computation section of the negative integers test during the second or third week of January.  We will be covering multiplication and division immediately upon return and then using everything within the order of operations.  I will let you know the exact date as soon as possible, but make sure that you are preparing on your own as well!
P.E. students for Wednesday and Friday - do not forget your swimsuits and towels!
Basketball/Volleyball players - it is possible you can still sign up if you have forgotten as practices will not begin until the second week in January.  I am guessing if there are spots, you can nab one.  Information on the season is forthcoming.

I look forward to seeing you all in 2013~
Mo ;-)

Homework for Monday, Dec. 17

Assignment:  Negative Subtraction #2 (differentiated)

You received your homework during 4th period today unless you were not here.  (imagine that!)
Please take your time to solve each equation, rewriting as necessary so that they are all addition problems ... this will help you keep track of your good and bad cowboys.  Trust me.
*There is a subtraction "help" link on the "Mo'Help" page of this blog.  Stuck?  Please use it.
*Max and Kameko - this is your homework
Due Tuesday, before winter break!

Homework for Thursday, Mr. Gacek's Birthday!

     Happy Birthday Mr. Gacek!
Assignment:  Real Life Negatives B
As I told you in class today (and we practiced) there are two parts to each of the problems on this worksheet and the first part is NOT explained on your worksheet.  So, here it is:
Part 1 - You must write an equation for each of the problems 1 - 6.
*This could look like 5 + (-4) + (-13) + 3 = x
*You may solve it by commuting and associating in whatever way makes sense to you, but you MUST show me the original equation as it would be written according to the story.  This skill (making an equation from a scenario) is critical to future problem solving, not to mention right now.
*Mark the equation clearly; if I cannot find it, you will not receive credit for it.
Part 2 - Solve each equation.
*Again, you may solve it by commuting and associating in whatever way makes sense to you. 
You do not need to write equations for problems 7 & 8 although I would recommend drawing a picture of some sort.
There is a copy of the worksheet here:  Real Life Negatives B
*Did you get the note that the missing number (when the car reverses for the second time) in #2 is 40? P.S - if you downloaded the worksheet above, I have already inserted the 40 for you.  ;-)
Due Friday

Homework for Wednesday, 12/12/12

Assignment:  Subtracting Negatives
A lot of you had not seen subtraction using negatives before and/or had some of the rules confused with other rules.  My recommendation is consistent:  Turn it into an addition problem and think about the cowboys.  If you would like further re-instruction with this, check the Mo'Help page of this blog for further examples.
*copy of this worksheet
Due Thursday - we will be correcting this in class

No Homework, Tuesday, Dec. 11

I hope you all had a great day and will appreciate that David forgot to give you your homework for tonight.  It sounds like you had a good time practicing in class today; thank you for being so terrific.

I hope to be back tomorrow,

Mo ;-)

Homework for Monday, 12/10

Assignment:  More Adding with Negatives
I decided to make this a bit like a "choice" assignment where you were able to select which level of addition problems you felt prepared to tackle tonight.  Many of you are feeling confident as this is beginning to feel "easy" for you, but some of you also realize that the reason it feels "easy" is because you understand it now.  Yes?
*Some of you may have looked at your assignment and changed your mind after realizing that it looked easier or more difficult than you thought it would.  YOU CAN CHANGE!
*Below you will find copies of the variety of assignments I offered in class today.  If you would like to switch assignments, please do.  Obviously you may not redo one that you already did.  ;-)
 - 1.5 Practice ws
-  Adding Negative Integers (big numbers)
-  Adding Negative Integers (long sequences)
- Adding Negative Decimals
    Robyn - I recommend the second or third choice on this list, but it's your choice 
One more thing ...  I realize that I probably haven't remembered to tell you that you can always do extra assignments for full credit if you want to.  That means you can select any or all of the above, whether or not they have been assigned to you, and turn them in.  There is no pressure and I certainly don't want you to feel like you need to do extra work, but some of you like the extra practice (like I wish I had practiced juggling a soccer ball more) and that's cool.
*these types of extra assignments can be turned in at any time this trimester
Homework is Due Tuesday 

Homework for Thursday, 12/6

Assignment:  Adding Negatives
Today is the first time for many of you that you will be thinking about negative integers in the format of an equation.  Do not let it daunt you!  They are still just yellow and blue cowboys represented as a number in this case.  Who wins?  Who is left at the end of the battle?  Same thing ...
*You received one of several assignments today that was differentiated based on now you did on the pre-quiz.  TRUST ME.  If you missed a bunch on the pre-quiz, in spite of your confidence level you will be assigned practice problems that fit where you are.  HOPEFULLY by today they should look "easy."  You've learned a lot already!
*No copies here, but you can send me an email in hopes that I have an electronic copy for you.
Due Friday 

Homework for Wedsnesday, Dec 5

Assignment: Real Life Negatives A
Welcome to the "real" world (as real as it gets in these examples) of negative integers.  Today you are to focus on what you are doing not how you write it. 
*Note - I did not give you the answer to #1, so your task is to find it in any way you want to - ask around, Google it, whatever works for you!  The bottom line is, you need to have the answer and it needs to be correct. ;-)
Mo's advice:
*First commute!  Drive those numbers around until they find where they ...
*Associate!  Remember that these numbers only want to associate (or hang with) numbers with the same "value."  They're not all that friendly, eh?  So if you go down the steps at Hogwarts, all of those downward steps are collected in one place and all of the times you go up are collected in the other.  Make it simple.
*The rest of it is up to you.  Figure out how to decide whether you have a profit or loss, whether you end up above ground or below ground, etc.  Think about how you know that then figure out how to get to that answer.  If you're stuck, remember the cowboys:  who wins?  How did you decide that?  Same thing, now the numbers are bigger and there are more of them. 
*Yes, I do have a copy of this assignment and here it is!
Due Thursday

Homework for Tuesday, Dec 4

         "Who are those guys???"
  *meet the bad cowboys and the  good cowboys.
          (in honor of Patrick)

Assignment:  Commutative and Associative Properties with Negatives ws

*Keep it SIMPLE!!!!
*Today we focused on how it works, NOT what an equation looks like.  We never want to forget the "rules" again, eh?
*Follow the homework directions precisely:
Step 1) commute only;
Step 2) total positive and total negative;
Step 3) Answer.  Make sure to indicate whether it is positive or negative (blue or yellow cowboys?)
*For #5 Mavis, write the steps out yourself.
Due: Wednesday

Homework #1: Monday, December 3

Welcome to the winter trimester!  This is where your math homework begins ...

Homework:  3 - Definitions & Examples 
In this assignment you are to interview three different people regarding negative numbers.  Be sure your interviewee knows what a negative number is before you begin.
Write in detail!  
*Only one person may be a current NOVA student and it may not be another 6th grader at NOVA.  Note that it is not required that you have a NOVA student.
*You may conduct your interview over the phone; there is no excuse not to be able to find three different people.
*Write in the name (and relationship) of each person to you.
*Definitions should be written in as much detail as the person gives you.  Do not worry about accuracy at this time; your interviewee might be rusty. ;-)
*Examples:  your three examples (one per person) must all be different.  I would word the second question something like this - "I need you to give me a real life example, other than 'in math class,' where you would need to represent something as a negative number?"  Push them on this a bit, okay?  They can do it!
Due Tuesday

Starting Winter Trimster

Hello all of you beautiful people!
Your schedules have all been entered into TeacherEase, so you can go there now and have a preview of what you can look forward to this winter trimester.  Thank you all for your patience; it is a lot of data entry even though I have had it all "scheduled" for several weeks.  Enjoy!
*Do not forget to wear tennis shoes for your P.E. class.
*We will all be playing tennis this month, so bring your own racket IF you have one you prefer.

*Retests for the Decimal Application test will be taken in Gruel this week and this week only.
See you all Monday!
Mo ;-)