LATE WORK is accepted throughout the semester. Students must send me an email stating that they have completed any missing work, along with any required attachments.
Late work will be scored up to 1/2 credit of the original assignment.
Students who are absent for class are not required to make up classwork or homework, but they are responsible for learning the material covered whether through an attached video or notes (see Agenda), seeing me during Office Hours, or some other means.
I will offer full credit for Late Work up until the first Progress Report (approximately October 10th).
OFFICE HOURS are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 2:20pm to 3:10pm.
Go to your Google Classroom and view the Stream - there is information there how to join Office Hours.
MATHEMATICAL FLUENCY is a rather large goal that I have for the students to complete this year. Considering the time we have missed and the focus of Common Core Mathematics over the past eight years, mathematical fluency has diminished greatly in the student population. I have students that will be in high school next year who are struggling with basic math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).
Within Aeries you will see an assignment entitled "Mathematical Fluency". This is a computer-based program that starts every student at Addition, the works through the other basic operations. The order of practice is always the same: Addition, then Subtraction, then Multiplication, and finally Division.
Initially, the students have 6-seconds to answer questions such as 6 + 4, 9 - 3, etc. We spend approximately the first 10 minutes of class time working within the fluency program and I am carefully charting their progress daily. I have designed stages within this process that build fluency that the program allows me to use:
LEVEL 1: Basic operations up to the tens at 6-seconds of maximum time.
This will be worth 40 points (10 points for each operation)
LEVEL 2: Basic operations up to twelves at 3-seconds of maximum time.
This will be worth 40 points (10 points for each operation)
LEVEL 3: Basic operations up to twelves at 2.5-seconds of maximum time.
This will be worth 40 points (10 points for each operation).
LEVEL 4 (optional): Basic operations up to twelves at 1.5-seconds of maximum time.
This level is Extra Credit and only for the bold; "fluency" is defined at simply under 3-seconds
For example, if you see a score of 40 points, the student has completed Level 1 of the program and is on to Level 2. If you see a score of 70 points, the students has completed Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication at the 3-second interval (Level 2) and is working on Division in Level 2 currently.
The goal for all students is Level 3. Having this level of fluency in basic operations will help them greatly as the move forward into high school and even functioning in every day life. And, not unlike learning to ride a bike, this is a lifetime benefit that will be hard-wired into their brain for most if not all of their life.
COURSE MASTERY is another important goal set forward for all students. We are starting at Grade 2 and pushing for mastery of that grade demonstrated by a score of 90% or better in Khan Academy profile. We will then move on to Grade 3, then Grade 4, and so on, pushing as far as our time together permits.
There will be "Checkpoints" along the way, smaller goals for the kids to target, while we work toward mastery of each. You can see the progress of the Course Mastery of any grade level by simply viewing "Course Mastery" from the Khan Academy account.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM, as I'm sure you know, will be used daily. I will keep your work as direct and simple to complete as possible while you learn new and challenging math. Each day we meet, there will be straightforward things to do and accomplish. I will probably simply number them for you. For example:
Math Fluency and/or Course Mastery - we will dedicating some class time to this, especially in Math 7 and Math 8.
We will now have real-time math lessons (all of my purchased equipment is here and I have installed it - surprisingly, it is working.
There will almost always be a video that accompanies the lesson for students who are absent or need/want to review.
Check for understanding regarding the core concepts we are learning.
Ask any questions you may have.
Complete independent practice while I am with you in the virtual classroom to help you; check your answers as you go.
Homework: A day to day determination, but always in the day's Agenda at Google Classroom.
COMMUNICATION will be paramount. Some families will be want to maintain a "normal" school day schedule and some families may not have the opportunity to do that consistently during this time of Distance Learning. To the best of my ability, I will be available after "regular work hours" to help students with math issues they may be having. You can reach me any time using the following methods:
Email: mmiser@menifeeusd.org
Remind: (see "Communications" page for information and class sign up)
If a matter is urgent, you can text or call me directly @ 951-350-4520
... and older news ...
UPDATED on 9.05.20
Labor Day Holiday is upcoming this Monday, September 7, so I will not see Periods 1, 3, or 5.
MUSD's iReady Diagnostic has been mandated to be given to the students. Teachers have had much to say about this, but the mandate remains so we will do as instructed by the District Office.
Please do not stress over this test ... there will be several of these mandates throughout the year.
Just do the best you can do and take your time.
We will be giving this diagnostic beginning on Wednesday and concluding on Thursday or Friday - that will be enough time to complete the test.
The test is taking much longer than the advertised 50 minutes that the math teachers were told. Currently, we are at 100 minutes with only one-third of the students finished.
I am petitioning to have future mandated diagnostics to take much, much less time.
I will track the Mastery progress of students each week or so, but it will not actually be reflected in their grade until Progress Report (about Week 10) and their final Semester grade (next January).
You may see a grade worth 90 points (90% mastery is the goal), but students can earn up to 100 points (100% mastery) for extra credit.
The percent the students' have currently achieved will be next to the column with the 90.
We will use Google Classroom, as I'm sure you know. I will keep your work as direct and simple to complete as possible while you learn new and challenging math. Each day we meet, there will be straightforward things to do and accomplish. I will probably simply number them for you. For example:
Course Mastery - we will dedicating some class time to this, especially in Math 7 and Math 8.
We will now have real-time math lessons (all of my purchased equipment is here and I have installed it - surprisingly, it is working.
There will almost always be a video that accompanies the lesson for students who are absent or need/want to review.
Check for understanding regarding the core concepts we are learning.
Ask any questions you may have.
Complete independent practice while I am with you in the virtual classroom to help you; check your answers as you go.
Homework: A day to day determination, but always in the day's Agenda at Google Classroom.
Communication will be paramount. Some families will be want to maintain a "normal" school day schedule and some families may not have the opportunity to do that consistently during this time of Distance Learning. To the best of my ability, I will be available after "regular work hours" to help students with math issues they may be having. You can reach me any time using the following methods:
Email: mmiser@menifeeusd.org
Remind: (see "Communications" page for information and class sign up)
If a matter is urgent, you can text or call me directly @ 951-350-4520
UPDATED on 8.29.20
Labor Day Holiday is upcoming on Monday, September 7, so I will not see Periods 1, 3, or 5 that day.
Week 3 is now over, actually only two full weeks of instructions.
All students had a quiz on their last math day of the week.
I will be dropping the lowest score on the math quizzes for the semester.
I am reassessing the pacing of giving quizzes vs time taken from teaching ... it will likely be altered.
MUSD's iReady Diagnostic has been mandated to be given to the students. Teachers have had much to say about this, but the mandate remains so we will do as instructed by the District Office.
Please do not stress over this test ... there will be several of these mandates throughout the year.
Just do the best you can do and take your time.
We will be giving this diagnostic beginning on Wednesday and concluding on Thursday or Friday - that will be enough time to complete the test.
I will track the Mastery progress of students each week or so, but it will not actually be reflected in their grade until Progress Report (about Week 10) and their final Semester grade (next January).
You may see a grade worth 90 points (90% mastery is the goal), but students can earn up to 100 points (100% mastery) for extra credit.
The percent the students' have currently achieved will be next to the column with the 90.
We will use Google Classroom, as I'm sure you know. I will keep your work as direct and simple to complete as possible while you learn new and challenging math. Each day we meet, there will be straightforward things to do and accomplish. I will probably simply number them for you. For example:
Course Mastery - we will dedicating some class time to this, especially in Math 7 and Math 8.
Watch a video lesson and take notes.
Check for understanding regarding the core concepts we are learning.
Ask any questions you may have.
Complete independent practice while I am with you in the virtual classroom to help you; check your answers as you go.
Homework: day to day determination, but always in the day's Agenda at Google Classroom.
Communication will be paramount. Some families will be want to maintain a "normal" school day schedule and some families may not have the opportunity to do that consistently during this time of Distance Learning. To the best of my ability, I will be available after "regular work hours" to help students with math issues they may be having. You can reach me any time using the following methods:
Email: mmiser@menifeeusd.org
Remind: (see "Communications" page for information and class sign up)
If a matter is urgent, you can text or call me directly @ 951-350-4520
UPDATED on 8.23.20
Week 1 is over and we have a much better idea what to expect from the technology and programs we are using.
All students had a practice quiz on their last math day of the week, though it was graded and placed in the grade book
This practice quiz was repeatable up to 100% and students stopped when they were happy with their grade
I will be dropping the lowest score on the math quizzes for the semester
There will be a quiz at the end of each week based on the Spiral Review work that we complete
I will track the Mastery progress of students each week or so, but it will not actually be reflected in their grade until Progress Report (about Week 10) and their final Semester grade (next January).
You may see a grade worth 90 points (90% mastery is the goal), but students can earn up to 100 points (100% mastery) for extra credit.
The percent the students' have currently achieved will be next to the column with the 90.
We will use Google Classroom, as I'm sure you know. I will keep your work as direct and simple to complete as possible while you learn new and challenging math. Each day we meet, there will be straightforward things to do and accomplish. I will probably simply number them for you. For example:
Spiral Review Math - this will always be review and there may be a short quiz on the last day of the week
Watch a video lesson and take notes
Check for understanding regarding the core concepts we are learning
Ask any questions you may have
Complete independent practice while I am with you in the virtual classroom to help you; check your answers as you go
Homework: Work on your long-term Math Mastery goals via Khan Academy
Communication will be paramount. Some families will be want to maintain a "normal" school day schedule and some families may not have the opportunity to do that consistently during this time of Distance Learning. To the best of my ability, I will be available after "regular work hours" to help students with math issues they may be having. You can reach me any time using the following methods:
Email: mmiser@menifeeusd.org
Remind: (see "Communications" page for information and class sign up)
If a matter is urgent, you can text or call me directly @ 951-350-4520
UPDATED on 8.06.20
Welcome to something completely new ... hopefully we can resume school as we used to know it very soon.
I know that anxiety is very high and expectation for success may be low in some people's opinion. As your math teacher, please know that I take my responsibility to you and your family very seriously. I began working on this year's material in mid-May when I realized that we are probably not returning to the school site. I have worked almost every day and I'm just about done, but there is still more to to do before August 14, when we first meet. I will do my best to complete preparations before we begin.
We will use Google Classroom, as I'm sure you know. I will keep your work as direct and simple to complete as possible while you learn new and challenging math. Each day we meet, there will be straightforward things to do and accomplish. I will probably simply number them for you. For example:
Spiral Review Math - this will always be review and there may be a short quiz on the last day of the week
Watch a video lesson and take notes
Check for understanding regarding the core concepts we are learning
Ask any questions you may have
Complete independent practice while I am with you in the virtual classroom to help you; check your answers as you go
Homework: Work on your long-term Math Mastery goals via Khan Academy
Your schedule with me will be either Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday.
Within each day on Google Classroom (GC) I will post the "bell schedule" so we can keep on time.
My class periods are as follows:
Math 7 ... GC code: ntbsbrl
Algebra ... GC code: qfd4vje
Math 8 ... GC code: gylvz67
Math 8 ... GC code: a7mgzla
Math 8 ... GC code: 7uhr736
Algebra ... GC code: b437dmp
Math Mastery via Khan Academy will be a consistent and monitored goal for all of our students.
Mathematics, unlike most every other discipline, is completely cumulative. The math learned on Monday and Tuesday will be needed to understand the lessons on Thursday and Friday. By this time far too many students have missed out on 10-20-30 percent of the math they need each and every year they have been in school. It's like the foundation of a building missing 20% of its structure and strength, then the first floor is missing 25%, and second floor is missing 30%, and so on ... eventually the building is unsustainable and we cannot go forward. These are significant (and debilitating) gaps that have developed and need to be addressed somehow. Before my students move on to high school, I am committed to helping them fill in those gaps as much as we can.
Mastery will be the students' primary homework ... and I will be taking all of the students back to Kindergarten math.
The goal: Gain Mastery in primary grade levels of their math, beginning in Early Math, then 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. We may another level (i.e. Arithmetic) as time and success allows.
Mastery is considered 90%+ and will be scored as an ample part of their grade.
Mastery will be primarily asynchronous, meaning their independent and primary homework to be completed by an upcoming deadline (working toward a long-term goal is very important at this age).
Weekly mastery targets will be posted so students will know if they are on pace to complete the work for full credit.
There will be much success here ... and some surprising challenges, even in the 2nd - 4th grade levels. This is to be expected and enjoyed.
Communication will be paramount. Some families will be want to maintain a "normal" school day schedule and some families may not have the opportunity to do that consistently during this time of Distance Learning. To the best of my ability, I will be available after "regular work hours" to help students with math issues they may be having. You can reach me any time using the following methods:
Email: mmiser@menifeeusd.org
Remind: (see "Communications" page for information and class sign up)
If a matter is urgent, you can text or call me directly @ 951-350-4520