How about some comments

Here are 3 examples of what we talked about in class today. Please leave a comment behind telling me what you like about the example (1, 2 or 3) and how does it explain the questions or ideas we were talking about in class.

The questions or ideas were,
1. Fractions are relations, the size or amount of the whole matters.
2. Fractions represent division with a quotient of less than 1.
3. With unit fractions the greater the denominator the smaller the fraction.

Leave a comment behind at you class blog.

Have a good night

Harbeck

Some Fraction Thinking?!!

On a blank piece of white paper please answer the following.

1. Fractions are relations-- the size or amount of the whole matters.

2. Fractions may represent division with a quotient less than 1.

3. With unit fractions , the greater the denominator the smaller the piece is.

Some Fosnot Homework

Today in class we had an excellent Math Congress. All of you agreed that 10/12 was larger than 7/10. How can you prove this to me using words, numbers and pictures?

We also discussed fractions as division.

In this number string what patterns do you see happening?

How can we use the patterns you recognize in this picture to help us determine whether 10/12 is larger than 5/6?

Welcome to your 3 questions that need to be answered. Once again they are...

1. Today in class we had an excellent Math Congress. All of you agreed that 10/12 was larger than 7/10. How can you prove this to me using words, numbers and pictures?

2. In this number string what patterns do you see happening?

3. How can we use the patterns you recognize in this picture to help us determine whether 10/12 is larger than 5/6?

A couple of How to videos

How to get a Google Account

How to join up to the class blog.

What you need to do at your Google Account or AKA all the Google goodies that are waiting for you!!

Think before you Blog

A Colleague of mine Mr. Kuropatwa created this post for his students. Since it is Internet Safety Week please pay attention to the videos below.

Blogging is a very public activity. Anything that gets posted on the internet stays there. Forever. Deleting a post simply removes it from the blog it was posted to. Copies of the post may exist scattered all over the internet. I have come across posts from my students on blogs as far away as Sweden! That is why we are being so careful to respect your privacy and using first names only. We do not use pictures of ourselves. If you really want a graphic image associated with your posting use an avatar -- a picture of something that represents you but IS NOT of you.

Here are a few videos that illustrate some of what I want you to think about:

Two teachers in the U.S.A. worked with their classes to come up with a list of guidelines for student bloggers.

One of them, Bud Hunt, has these suggestions, among others:

1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.



2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.



3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.



4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.

Another teacher, Steve Lazar, developed a set of guidelines in consultation with his students. You can read them here.

Look over the guidelines and add the ones you like in the comments section below this post; either from one of Steve's students or one of your own. I think Bud's suggestions are excellent. We'll be using the one's I highlighted above as a basis for how we will use our blog.

Cheers,
Mr. K.

I could not have written it any better. Enjoy blogging and use your head. Thanks

Mr. Harbeck

Field Trip Question

Field trip in Akko_1151
Originally uploaded by hoyasmeg.

Room 43 is going on a field trip. The seventh grade class traveled in four separate cars. The school provided a lunch of submarine sandwiches for each group when they stopped for lunch, the subs were cut and shared as follows:

• The first group had 4 people and shared 3 subs equally.
• The second group had 5 people and shared 4 subs equally.
• The third group had 8 people and shared 7 subs equally.
• The fourth group had 5 people and shared 3 subs equally.

When they returned from the field trip, the children began to argue that the distribution of sandwiches had not been fair, that some children got more to eat than the others. Were they right? Or did everyone get the same amount.

Amazing chocolate bar

Amazing chocolate bar
Originally uploaded by svandje.

You have a bag with four chocolate bars in it. You promised to give each of your three friends a chocolate bar, and you want one for yourself. How can you accomplish this, and still have one chocolate bar left in the bag?

Meet the Teacher 2007

Dear Parents and students this year is going to be an exciting one. I am looking forward to teaching your students math and having them engage in 21st Century learning. What is 21st Century learning. I define it as using the communication technology that your students love so much and having it be used to complete math assignments.

I want your students to communicate math as much as possible. I hope they will use their cellphones, videos, blogs and wiki's to learn in a fun safe environment.

Here is a movie that I created to introduce you to math in Room 17.

Parents and Students last year I started the year off with this post. It is still valuable and a good read. Enjoy the year.

Every year there is an opportunity to meet the parents of my students. I get to explain how my course is run and what expectations I have of the students and of parents.

Assessment in the course this year for the first term is based on test and quiz scores, journalling, completion of TLE-8 computer units, mental math activities and interaction with the classroom blog.

I like to give the parents a heads up on the positive aspects of blogging and the importance of the students being responsible for their actions.

Blogging is a very public form of communication. Bud Hunt, a teacher in the U.S. has these guidelines for his students. I will use them too.

1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.



2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.



3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.



4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.

One form of blogging work is Scribe Posts.

Scribe Posts

Write a brief summary of what we learned in class today. Include enough detail so that someone who was away sick, or missed class for any other reason, can catch up on what they missed. Over the course of the semester, the scribe posts will grow into the textbook for the course; written by students for students. Remember that as each of you write your scribe posts. Ask yourself: "Is this good enough for our textbook? Would a graphic or other example(s) help illustrate what we learned?" And remember, you have a global audience, impress them.

Students will be expected to contribute one scribe post every 30 classes or about 4 times a year.

Examples of Scribe Posts from last year.

LaraMae did a scribe post during our algebra unit. Her scribe included a picture that accuratly depicted a piece of paper that had been folded into 5 columns filled with notes. It was awesome.

Norielle through the use of one image described and explained how to find the surface area of a cylinder.

Josh showed how to find the volume of geometric solids in tremendous detail.

The Scribe Post Hall of Fame showcases the best Scribe Posts from around the globe. Our student figure prominantly on this site.

Another way we use our classroom blog is to create Growing Posts.

Growing Posts

Growing posts are like unit reviews. Each growing post starts off as one post by the student answering one question about a concept. Each day the students have to answer a new question and add it to their post. At the end of the unit they will have a comprehensive resource of material needed to study for tests or complete assignments.

Here are some excellent Growing Posts

Michael's Growing Post Ingrid's Growing Post

Sometimes students strive for enrichment. Here is an example of intrinsic creativity

Aldrin's Fraction Growing Post

Dion's Growing Post


The Growing Post Hall Of Fame was created to allow student work to be displayed for the world to see. I am proud of the work that students did last year and am looking forward to this years inductee's.

This years classes will participate in many activities that will prepare them for their future. As parents enjoy their ride through the Sargent Park Math Zone of Room 17. If you dare come along for the ride with them!!

I showed the students this video today. Watch it and see where the world might... is going. It was made by a teacher K. Fisch from Colorado.

Did You Know

Mr. Harbeck

Wheel Of Cheese

Wheel Of Cheese
Originally uploaded by Cooking Up A Story.

Todays Problem


A waitress had always used 4 straight cuts to cut a cylinder of cheese inot 8 identical pieces. One day, she realized that she could do it only 3 straight cuts! How did she do it?

Some weekend work

Oranges are the only fruit
Originally uploaded by Coxar.

Fred bought a bag of oranges on Monday, and ate a third of them. On Tuesday, he ate half of the remaining oranges. On Wednesday, he looked in the bad to find he only had two oranges left. How many oranges were originally in the bag.

Please sign up for a google account if you can

Some weekend work 841

841 only

Hector can run one mile distance from the train station to his parents' house in eight minutes. His younger brother hank can run the same distance 8 times in one hour.

Who is faster?

Please sign up for a google account.

A new year

I am very excited to announce that Sargent Park will have 4 new grade 8 math blogs this year.

816
817
841
873

We will be diving into wiki's, video and podcasting this year.

Thanks for visiting

See you soon.