{Geo B} {Geo Essentials} Snow Day Extra Credit

On this surprise (for me) snowday here's a little challenge.

Imagine that the snow never stops falling.  Either by using your own estimation, or a weather report, find the rate of snow fall at the worst part of today.  When you turn in your work, either cite your source or explain your logic.

Then imagine that you are going to take refuge on your roof from the ever rising tide of snow (remember it never stops falling).  How long will you have before the snow is so deep all around you that even when reaching your hand straight up, it doesn't reach out of the snow.  Assume, to keep the math easy, that the snow gathering on your roof slides down to match the snow building on the ground around your house so that when it does finally stop there aren't little mounds at each house, just a big open expanse of snow.

Otherwise enjoy the extra day of vacation!

{Geo B} / {Geo Ess} Extra Credit

In honor of our snow day today here is a chance to not miss out on this opportunity to flex the mathematical brain:

Objective:  How many snow men worth of snow is in your yard?

Assumption:
A typical snowman is made up of 3 spheres.  The radii of the spheres are 4, 2, and 1 foot respectively.

Question 1:  How many cubic feet of snow make up a typical snowman?

Question 2:  How deep is the snow in your yard?

To answer this, take at least 4 measurements and average them.

Question 3:  What is the area of your yard?

To answer this, include how you measured the dimensions. 

Question 4:  What is the volume of the snow in your yard?

Question 5:  How many snowmen is that?

Have fun playing in the snow folks!

{Geo Essentials} Weekly Update

This week we've got some real creative opportunities for students:

Due Wed (4th hr) or Thrus (3rd hr) is the School House Rock song that helps students remember the relationships between the various quadrilaterals.

On Friday we'll be doing an art based project to explore the concept of Similarity.  Students will need to bring a picture from the comics about 2 inches by 2 inches in size.  We'll be then drawing a similar picture using the rules of Similarity covered in chapter 7.

Back in the game... finally... sorta

My humblest apologies to everyone for the late start to my blog and the school year.  I will save you all the gory details and simply state that Sunday night, at roughly 1:34 am, I was struck down with the flu.  I was well enough to return to my post Wednesday.

As such things are off to a bit of a rocky start.

E2020 -

This is my rockiest start as the class is still sorting out technical issues and accessability.  We hope to have everything sorted out by Friday this week.  Monday I will start recording grades for this group and talk to the students about reasonable pacing, expectations, homework checks and journaling.


Essentials of Geometry -

We have two fun projects coming up in addition to our core class practice.

In "Show Me the Figure" students are making a mini poster featuring the properties and picture of a given shape.  Each group has a different figure so the class will have all 4 parallelograms covered.

Then the groups change for the second project "Geometry House Rock (chapter 6)" where the students are to write lyrics set to a popular song of their choice that describe the relationship between the various quadrilaterals.   For more details on both projects check the attached PDF's in Skyward.

Also due:

Friday:  October Sky Reaction Paper.   Students were tasked to compare contrast their High School experience with that of the characters in the movie.  This is intended to be one part self reflection and one part "get to know you" activity.  I am hoping to use these reactions to help me get to know the students a little more and try to tailor what we do in class to what they percieve as their needs and plans.

Monday:  Our weekly Quiz!!!

And finally Geometery:

First I'd like to remind everyone enrolled in 7th Hour that they have made a commitment to a class that runs from 2:30 until 4:15 three days a week.  Early dismissal for practice, concerts, performances and the like ~must~ be parent intitiated through the attendance office. 

In this class we are continuing our explorations of quadrilaterals and parallelograms.  If you want to engage your student ask them brain teasers like "Are all squares rhombuses?  Are all rhombuses squares?"

We are also starting in on Coordinate Geometry which uses the distance formula, the slope formula and the midpoint formula.  We're also tying back to things like Parallel and Perpendicular from previous chapters.  It's a lot of back review that the students need to stay fresh on.

Our next Quiz will be on Monday (2/1), and the BA is scheudled for the following Monday (2/8).  In 7th Hour they will be on Tues (2/2) and Tues (2/9), respectively.

Overall I'm excited to be back and reminded again what great kids I have this year and what an honor it is to work with them.