Calculators
These are the only calculator websites that are allowed for use on my assessments:
Graphing calculator
Linear Regression Calculator
Correlation Coefficient Calculator
Standard deviation Calculator
Polynomial Regression Calculator
Graphing calculator
Linear Regression Calculator
Correlation Coefficient Calculator
Standard deviation Calculator
Polynomial Regression Calculator
Review packets
Algebra summer packet
Midterm Review packet (this packet will be handed out in class a week prior to the midterm)
Midterm Formula Sheet
Midterm Review Checklist
Final Exam Review Checklist (*note: there is NO review packet for the Final)
Final Exam Formula sheet
Midterm Review packet (this packet will be handed out in class a week prior to the midterm)
Midterm Formula Sheet
Midterm Review Checklist
Final Exam Review Checklist (*note: there is NO review packet for the Final)
Final Exam Formula sheet
Help Pages
Big Ideas Textbook Answer key
Use the following websites for extra help when my site does not provide enough help:
Khan Academy
Purple Math
Math is Fun
Use the following websites for extra help when my site does not provide enough help:
Khan Academy
Purple Math
Math is Fun
Notes
Basic Study tips for math
Studying for math is different from studying for almost any other subject. Below are some basic study tips and suggestions that I have used or seen that create success in math class:
****Note****Not all suggestions will work for you!! Part of being a good student is playing around with your learning style and finding tools that do work!!
1) Review and/or rewrite your notes: We all know how to go back and reread our notes, but taking your notes and rewriting them (more neatly, color coded, etc...) allows you to both read and rewrite the concepts.
2) Do sample problems for each concept: This is the biggest piece of "math study skills" that you will need to learn for success. Being a "skill" more than a set of memorized facts (like a quiz on the countries of the world or State Capitals), math should be viewed like any other skill based activity. For example, if you had tryouts for soccer, would you sit at home reading a book on how to play soccer, make flash cards of someone kicking a ball, or memorize the rules of the game? NO!! You would get out and play!! Use your skills that you are going to be assessed on. So go back through your work, redo problems from the book, make example problems that you can then solve for every concept, etc....
3) Ask questions on concepts you are unsure of: This goes without saying, but if you don't ask clarifying questions about the tricky concepts you will never fully comprehend them. Email your teacher, ask questions during class, ask questions before class, ask questions after class, ask to come in for extra help.....
4) Lastly, commit yourself to studying by getting rid of distractions...sort of: Turn off the phone, radio, TV, or anything else that can distract your attention. One trick that got me through my college courses was studying for a solid hour, then 'rewarding' myself with a 30 minute TV break, video game, etc.... This might not work for all students, but chunking my time made studying much more manageable. I was also able to "digest" the information while taking my break. After the break I would go back and review the notes I had studied from previously and see what concepts were still 'fuzzy' and required more attention. Staggering the study time made each study session more tolerable and enjoyable too. You reward yourself for studying!!
****Note****Not all suggestions will work for you!! Part of being a good student is playing around with your learning style and finding tools that do work!!
1) Review and/or rewrite your notes: We all know how to go back and reread our notes, but taking your notes and rewriting them (more neatly, color coded, etc...) allows you to both read and rewrite the concepts.
2) Do sample problems for each concept: This is the biggest piece of "math study skills" that you will need to learn for success. Being a "skill" more than a set of memorized facts (like a quiz on the countries of the world or State Capitals), math should be viewed like any other skill based activity. For example, if you had tryouts for soccer, would you sit at home reading a book on how to play soccer, make flash cards of someone kicking a ball, or memorize the rules of the game? NO!! You would get out and play!! Use your skills that you are going to be assessed on. So go back through your work, redo problems from the book, make example problems that you can then solve for every concept, etc....
3) Ask questions on concepts you are unsure of: This goes without saying, but if you don't ask clarifying questions about the tricky concepts you will never fully comprehend them. Email your teacher, ask questions during class, ask questions before class, ask questions after class, ask to come in for extra help.....
4) Lastly, commit yourself to studying by getting rid of distractions...sort of: Turn off the phone, radio, TV, or anything else that can distract your attention. One trick that got me through my college courses was studying for a solid hour, then 'rewarding' myself with a 30 minute TV break, video game, etc.... This might not work for all students, but chunking my time made studying much more manageable. I was also able to "digest" the information while taking my break. After the break I would go back and review the notes I had studied from previously and see what concepts were still 'fuzzy' and required more attention. Staggering the study time made each study session more tolerable and enjoyable too. You reward yourself for studying!!
Exam study tips
Studying for a math midterm or final exam can be very different from a typical quiz or test. For one, you have A LOT more content to review. Secondly, the order in which the content appears on the exam is typically 'random'. For example, if you took a quiz on operations with fractions you know 100% that you are going to see adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions, and likely in that order. Meanwhile, an exam might go from solving a 2-step equation, to finding the volume of a cylinder, to adding fractions, to.....you get the idea. The questions are more varied and less predictable. This actually makes it more difficult to take an exam because you are always shifting gears between concepts, and oftentimes making mistakes on which concept, formula, or method to use and when to use it.
Here is a helpful link on math exam tips
Below are some strategies that I have found helpful for my learning style. While I would not use these strategies on every quiz or test, and I would never advocate for 'cramming' before an exam, these strategies were helpful for squeezing in a LOT of information at one time. In a perfect world, these strategies should be done over the course of a month or so, NOT the night before the exam. :)
1) Flash cards!!!! No, not flashcards for simple vocab (although if you have to memorize formulas they will help). I am talking about problem-based flash cards. While I was studying for my math exams in college, I would find practice tests online and print them out. I would then cut out the problems and tape them to one side of a notecard. Meanwhile, on the back of each card I would show the work and solution to the problem (color-coded of course). This was helpful because A) I still got the practice of "solving problems" as you should do for any math test, and B) I was able to shuffle up the cards and do a random "rapid fire" study session. Regarding part B, remember: The trickiest part of a cumulative exam is not the content itself, its being able to mentally shift gears between topics. For example, jumping from solving a system of equations, to graphing a rational equation, to calculating a discriminant, to writing the explicit formula for an arithmetic sequence..... Here is an example of a note card I might create:
Here is a helpful link on math exam tips
Below are some strategies that I have found helpful for my learning style. While I would not use these strategies on every quiz or test, and I would never advocate for 'cramming' before an exam, these strategies were helpful for squeezing in a LOT of information at one time. In a perfect world, these strategies should be done over the course of a month or so, NOT the night before the exam. :)
1) Flash cards!!!! No, not flashcards for simple vocab (although if you have to memorize formulas they will help). I am talking about problem-based flash cards. While I was studying for my math exams in college, I would find practice tests online and print them out. I would then cut out the problems and tape them to one side of a notecard. Meanwhile, on the back of each card I would show the work and solution to the problem (color-coded of course). This was helpful because A) I still got the practice of "solving problems" as you should do for any math test, and B) I was able to shuffle up the cards and do a random "rapid fire" study session. Regarding part B, remember: The trickiest part of a cumulative exam is not the content itself, its being able to mentally shift gears between topics. For example, jumping from solving a system of equations, to graphing a rational equation, to calculating a discriminant, to writing the explicit formula for an arithmetic sequence..... Here is an example of a note card I might create:
2) Rewrite your notes: Try to rewrite your notes onto one single piece of plain white paper. DO NOT use more than 1 sheet or this method will not be as effective. Try to cram all of your notes, voac, formulas, and examples onto one single page. Draw in dividers (lines) between topics or chapters, use different colors (or highlighters) for vocab, headers, formulas, etc....., and be sure to star, box, or otherwise 'symbolize' important points. In other words, do everything you did to help you take notes initially, but do them again all on one page. Then, you can use this page to study from. Why does this help???? First, you are "studying" when you rewrite your notes. You are forcing yourself to review all of the content. Secondly, by 'cramming' everything onto one page you are creating a single "important" piece of paper instead of an entire notebook. You only need to study from this one page now! Third, and most important, by color coding and "coordinating" your notes, you are giving you brain a simple piece of paper to recall from. You are essentially creating a 'photographic memory' of this single piece of paper. For example, when you get a problem requiring "Completing the square", your brain will automatically envision this paper in your hands, and you will recall that CTS was in the bottom right corner of your paper circled in green with the other 4 methods for solving a quadratic. You will more easily recall this information than if you were to simply study from a pile of papers. The example below was taken off of a website I found online. It is not the "best" example, but you get the idea:
8th Grade review concepts
These are concepts that are not explicitly taught in the Algebra curriculum, but are either pretaught in 7th grade or taught during class as part of our Standardized testing review. These concepts may appear on our State Testing under the 8th Grade Math content.
Content without a video below include:
- Two Way Tables
- Exterior angles of polygons
I will review these without the use of a video.
Content without a video below include:
- Two Way Tables
- Exterior angles of polygons
I will review these without the use of a video.
Vehiclalgebra Example spreadsheet (the graph may also be created on desmos)
Vehiclalgebra Example letter home
Vehiclalgebra Example letter home