mysterious_jedi
-
Posts
56 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by mysterious_jedi
-
-
Thanks. I will try those things.
Could you tell me what you do as a math teacher when you have a kid like this? If I am there to help his focus, and remind him how, he can do the problems. I leave, then he can't because he's left to order and put everything together. I say he can do fractions but those are probably the hardest for him because he will forget which steps to do...like when do I need common denom.'s etc... But if we are actively working for a few days on one concept it's fine. Leave it for a week and it's gone. I could not review enough for this kiddo.
I'm thinking this surely isn't that uncommon, and I often wonder what level he'd be at in public school. Maybe I've kept him too far trying to get that passing grade on a test...which he often won't get. Maybe I should be okay with showing him a concept, having him demonstrate back to me, then moving on even if he couldn't pass it a week later on a test?
I am going to say he did the three math credits. I will not let his future be dictated by math struggles. I just wonder how others have handled similar situations out in the world.
Alison
At this age, I would get him a scientific calculator that can do fractions. I would also let him use a reference sheet for some of the formulas and such. At our school, when a "low" kid reaches 10th grade, they do Business Math Preparation (basically remedial algebra), and then they do Business Math in grade 11. Business Math is super practical---they learn about interest rates, loans, investments, profit, etc.---but the math itself is not as complicated as our regular (integrated) Math 10 or Precalculus.
-
1
-
-
I'd start with free resources from the web.
http://www.letspracticegeometry.com has some good packets. You might also try Geometry Online If she likes hands-on better than writing, you might try http://www.proofblocks.com.
-
3
-
-
As a high school math teacher, let me assure you that if he really does understand arithmetic, fractions, percentages, etc. then he is not as far behind as you may think. (I once tutored an eighth grader who had trouble with single digit addition and subtraction. Granted, I had her in a pull-out because of her math struggles, and that's not at all standard, but still.)
Most colleges are going to want the three math credits, so I would try to push through. If he does well in other areas, C's in math shouldn't kill his transcripts. (He may have to start in community college and transfer elsewhere later, but that's cheaper anyways).
I would recommend taking a look at jumpmath.org. It only goes through eighth grade, but some of the basic algebra concepts are covered. (Again, you'd be surprised at how many kids struggle to grasp basic algebra).From there, I'd probably go with something like Saxon (except maybe more mastery-oriented) or that teaches the kids how to do the math without making them try to discover it. Inquiry learning is great, but for a kid who has trouble with math it sometimes just leads to frustration.
Also, I would let him use desmos.com when he does his math work. It might help him to "see" the functions graphically.
Feel free to let me know if you have questions---not a parent, but I do teach math at a Christian school.
-
4
-
-
Try some of the puzzle worksheets here: http://mathops.com/free/index.php. Interactive "Year 9" activities from MEP: http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/book9/book9.htm. Also, if he has any particular weak areas with regards to arithmetic, you may want to look into the Math Mammoth Blue series. As has been noted before, fractions are particularly important for algebra. Also, if he needs "drill and kill" for any specific topics, try generating worksheets on mathaids.com.
HTH!
-
I'm currently teaching from it in a classroom setting. I don't know your background, but I wouldn't reccommend it unless you and your son are both very strong in mathematics. Most of the problems are too hard for the average student---I supplement extensively from various websites to give my students more practice with the basics. The explanations and examples are not particularly clear for an American reader---they use different math terminology. That being said, however, the problems are thought-provoking and rigorous. It would be a great set of books for a kid who needs a challenge. I'd probably get Discovering Mathematics (the updated edition of NEM), though. I've only glanced through samples, but I will be teaching from it next year. It is more colorful, with clearer examples, and the problems are set up so that you have basic practice first and the more challenging questions later.
-
Ds is taking Russian, and has lived in Asia. Our 9th grade year has gone so darn good I'm taking the training wheels off next year (aiming for a Keystone diploma "just in case" and doing a history sequence more in line with ps).
He wants to do modern history, of Asia. Communism in China, Vietnam, Japan and WWII, Russia pre and post czar, north and south Korea, Cambodia and Pol Pot, India. Probably also with emphasis on how these events influenced/were influenced by the US, since we are American.
Specifically I'd love some sort of spine, he likes textbooks. And anything else anyone may have in the way of resources- audio, video, literature, whatever. Throw em at me!
Thanks in advance!
When I took 20th century in college, I found the textbook so-so and another book we had to read incredibly boring, but I loved this memoir: http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Persia-Journey-Fathers-Revolution/dp/0307339742/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370201293&sr=8-1&keywords=daughter+of+persia
It gave me a whole new view of Persia and the Middle East. I don't know how it would be for a ninth-grade boy, though---I guess it depends on how good of a reader he is.
-
Or chocolate eclair dessert: line a pan with graham crackers, layer pudding mixed with cool whip on top, then another layer of graham crackers with chocolate frosting on them
-
Pawz4me and Suzanne,
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. My neighbors grooms her two standard poodles herself and one friend grooms her beagle/poodle mix and can teach me to do it, too. I don't plan to spend $40 or $60 every 4 or 6 weeks on grooming. I saw the beagle/terrier mix puppy today. She is very cute!
I am more interested in poodles. I am also thinking about Jack Russel terriers. What do you know about them?
Jack Russels have a reputation for being very hyper...
FWIW I have a rescued Beagle mix and he is very sweet to me but will snap at anyone who approaches to pet him. He has to approach them and give them a thorough, all-over sniffing before he deems them worthy of the privilege of scratching him.
-
23---which I'm actually happy with, considering I have Asperger's
-
Off the top of my head:
baking soda and vinegar
pupil dialation (let them look at each other's eyes or at their own in a mirror while you turn the light on and off)
If you eat mayonnaise in your house, you could try making some homemade to demonstrate emulsification (although this isn't exactly clean...)
Playing with magnets is always fun, as is rubbing a balloon on your head and sticking it to the wall.
Also not clean, but you can make silly putty with borax and glue.
experiment with solutes and solvents: which dissolves better in water, sugar or salt? Does oil dissolve in water? Do things dissolve better in hot water or cold?
-
Misty of Chincoteague. My fourth grade teacher loved this book and I was not a fan of hers. Too many bad memories.
This was the most boring book I read as a child. It's just about horses, not people. And it's not anthropomorphized horses either---just regular horses. What on earth is the point?
-
US history:
The Scarlet Letter
Cloudsplitter (pre-Civil War abolitionism and religion) and Gone with the Wind (not my favorite for post-CW history, but a good look at southern feeling and mythology)
Huckleberry Finn (post CW coming of age)
Angle of Repose (western expansion, especially the mountains)
My Antonia (plains expansion)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (early 20th century New York)
The Grapes of Wrath (Depression)
The Brothers K (a more diffuse and IMO realistic look at the '60s, religion, talent, family)
The House on Mango Street (poetic coming of age, inner city)
Just wanted to point out that Huck Finn is pre-war.
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books are good for late 1800s/pioneer era, but not so much for an adult man. He might enjoy Farmer Boy?
Nazi Germany--- The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
-
I don't know about this. I am both Christian and pro-grammar, but it seems a bit ludicrous to equate the two. Also, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find an English teacher who does not want the students to use proper grammar.
-
:iagree:
Not saying that the Ontario system is oh-so-wonderful, but we do have integrated science for Grades 9 and 10 (each grade is split into four quarters - physics, chem, bio, and earth/space science) and then Physics, Chem, and Bio are each offered as Grade 11U courses (Reg courses) and again as Grade 12U (additional topics and more depth and difficulty so that, by the end of Grades 11 and 12, students have the equivalent of an Honours class). I believe Earth/Space Science is only offered as a 12U course.
Not sure if all math curricula teach dimensional analysis - they should. :) Although (and I say this while ducking)... I don't tend use dimensional analysis myself when I solve chem problems. It wasn't how I was taught back in high school or uni so it's not my "go-to" way of problem solving. It IS important to learn and I definitely teach it to my dd - don't get me wrong!
Dimensional analysis was never part of my formal math education (it wasn't in the textbook), but my Pre-Algebra teacher made us learn it, promising that it would help us out later in the sciences. It did. Plus, in high school chemistry (at a different school), I was way ahead of the game on stoichiometry because I already understood how to set up dimension analysis and solve the problems. Being forced to learn it in middle school was one of the greatest educational gifts I've ever been given.
-
Interesting to me.... Any thoughts?
My sister-in-law works at a a vet's office. She says adult dogs are over-vaccinated: there's probably no need for them to get every vaccine every year. Her dogs are own a rotation where they get one vaccine a year and cycle through the three major vaccines in three years.
However, she is strongly against not vaccinating puppies. She said there has been a rise in puppy deaths due to Parvo (sp?) due to this movement, and that is a miserable way to die. Just something to consider.
-
Mostly I'm a nice person. Really. But...
I'm having trouble figuring out how to rearrange my thinking about short-term mission trips, and I'm sure someone here can help.
I've received many requests from friends/family for donations towards their mission trips. The trips are all about 2 weeks long, and they're always non-specific about *why* they are going, and *what they plan to do while they're there*. The not-so-nice part of me is critical about this, and whispers in my ear that $8000 for a two week trip to Africa sounds like a vacation rather than a true ministry to others. :confused: I'm not proud of my thoughts on this. At the same time, I think of what $8000 could do in the hands of a missionary who's already "on the ground" and has made a greater commitment to a cause and/or ministry. In most areas of life, I'm a cheerful giver, and I love to give when I can to real missionaries, with a goal and a purpose. Is there a reason I should look more kindly on the requests from short-term'ers?
You may find chapter seven of this book helpful: http://www.amazon.com/When-Helping-Hurts-Alleviating-Yourself/dp/0802457053/ref=sr_1_27?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300097884&sr=1-27
Not all short-term trips are created equal.
-
-
If you're getting a dog from the animal shelter or the rescue agency of a breed club, you should be good. It's mainly pet stores and for-profit breeders you have to look out for. You can find more info here:
http://www.solagratiakennels.com/Sola_Gratia_Kennels/Resources.html
-
There are some beautiful hiking and camping areas around Chattanooga. Alternatively, you could drive up to North Carolina and visit the Smoky Mountains National Park.
-
The movie "What About Bob" is absolutely hilarious, especially if you have any experience with psychiatrists. Since (by your avatar) I assume you are a dog lover, I would also recommend looking up old dog-related Dave Barry articles on the internet.
-
Your son sounds like my kindred spirit! My mom used to threaten that any problem I missed on a test I had to rework a couple of times. That was good motivation for me to do it right the first time! My calculus teacher told me that it was mainly lack of organization, not lack of intelligence, holding me back in math. He had me get out different colored pencils/pens/highlighters and mark the answer to each step clearly in a different color. That made it a lot easier to go back and do the final step. As far as neatness...I had that problem too (still do, somewhat). Is it just a matter of doing it too quickly, or are there fine motor skills issues involved? If you think it's the latter, an OT might be able to help. If the former....well, that's up to him.
-
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus (I think)
and obviously Lord of the Rings if he hasn't already read it!
Stephen Lawhead's books. I personally liked the Dragon King trilogy better than the Pendragon cycle, but both are pretty good.
David Eddings' Sparhawk books (I think the first one is Ruby Knight)
-
no suggestions, but :grouphug:. I'm certain you have an amazing daughter to raise, with unique joys and challenges.
-
Ah! Ah!
I checked the manual again and this is what it says:
If you place a spoonful of sugar in a glass of hot water and stir, the sugar dissolves in the water
It mentions HOT water, which isn't standard lemonade temperature. Ok, now I can have DS in the kitchen and try a few things out.
Thanks again Jedi! Now I can see the salt+water is a solution, and sugar+water at room temperature is a heterogeneous mixture.
You're welcome. Have fun making lemonade!
Algebra 1 Test?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
You might try one of the old New York Regents exams at http://www.jmap.org.