Welcome to the new school year! Everyone is excited, and many are nervous and scared. I am excited and looking forward to another wonderful year of teaching. This will be my 23rd year teaching, my 22nd here at Windsor Middle School. Following is some information about how my Math class works:
Typical Day: The students follow the routine of greeting Mr. Daniel at the door, coming in, getting out their homework, and Math Toolkits/Warm-up folders, and beginning the Warm-up which is on the board. A typical warm-up has 3 parts; 1)Challenging "think outside the box" problems of three levels. 2) Reteaching and review of difficult concepts, and 3)Pre-teaching new concepts.
The students have been taught to follow this routine as the teacher takes attendance, checks in with individual students he has concerns with, and passes out graded assignments and tests. This usually takes 5-10 minutes.
Going over the warm-up. Teaching new assignments. Reviewing homework and reworking difficult problems. Beginning new homework. Ideally the students will have 10-15 minutes a the end of class to begin and finish half of the night's homework assignment. This gives them time to ask the teacher questions before going home so that they are sure they understand it.
The class ends when time runs out and a student raises their hand and exclaims "Time flies when you're doing math!" :-)
Things to Know - Homework is given daily. It is rare that the students don't have homework. This includes Fridays. I never collect work early so if your child says they are finished you can ask to see it. Accelerated Math had been part of our program for the past 20 years and might come back with the online version. It is also possible that we switch to the IReady program for this part of our curriculum. The powers that be at the District Office are looking at it and we will incorporate whatever program they decide on at that time. Which ever program we decide on will be designed to have that part of the class individualized which will have each student working at things that will benefit them the most, what ever level that is.
Parent Portal - Hopefully you have registered for the Aeries parent portal. This will allow you to check your child's progress in most classes weekly. I post my assignments daily and most grades within a day of the due date. This is a great way to see if your child is keeping up or struggling. If you haven't signed up, please visit the office between 7:30am and 4:00pm on any school day.
Typical Day: The students follow the routine of greeting Mr. Daniel at the door, coming in, getting out their homework, and Math Toolkits/Warm-up folders, and beginning the Warm-up which is on the board. A typical warm-up has 3 parts; 1)Challenging "think outside the box" problems of three levels. 2) Reteaching and review of difficult concepts, and 3)Pre-teaching new concepts.
The students have been taught to follow this routine as the teacher takes attendance, checks in with individual students he has concerns with, and passes out graded assignments and tests. This usually takes 5-10 minutes.
Going over the warm-up. Teaching new assignments. Reviewing homework and reworking difficult problems. Beginning new homework. Ideally the students will have 10-15 minutes a the end of class to begin and finish half of the night's homework assignment. This gives them time to ask the teacher questions before going home so that they are sure they understand it.
The class ends when time runs out and a student raises their hand and exclaims "Time flies when you're doing math!" :-)
Things to Know - Homework is given daily. It is rare that the students don't have homework. This includes Fridays. I never collect work early so if your child says they are finished you can ask to see it. Accelerated Math had been part of our program for the past 20 years and might come back with the online version. It is also possible that we switch to the IReady program for this part of our curriculum. The powers that be at the District Office are looking at it and we will incorporate whatever program they decide on at that time. Which ever program we decide on will be designed to have that part of the class individualized which will have each student working at things that will benefit them the most, what ever level that is.
Parent Portal - Hopefully you have registered for the Aeries parent portal. This will allow you to check your child's progress in most classes weekly. I post my assignments daily and most grades within a day of the due date. This is a great way to see if your child is keeping up or struggling. If you haven't signed up, please visit the office between 7:30am and 4:00pm on any school day.