Mr. Fjelstrom's Geometry Blog

Moving On!

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 05:26:18 +0000

Come check out our 2007-2008 Geometry Blog. It should be better than this one!

http://mrfsgeo2007.wordpress.com

A Great Ending

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 03:58:53 +0000

Today ended a great year. The Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup (first West Coast team to win the Cup in history). My senior homeroom graduated last night and went out into the real world. Our class blog reached 3360+ comments. All our finals are done and our summer has begun.
This time next week I will be sitting on a beach in Maui and getting a much need break ~~from my computer~~, so I wanted to thank all of you who made this blog a success. I have enjoyed reading all 3360 comments, and I did read ALL of them.
I hope you all have a safe, fun summer and I wish you a great, successful year for 2007-2008.

The finals have begun!

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:56:01 +0000

Today is day 1 of finals. 5th period was the lucky victim to start off our finals. Tomorrow periods 3 and 4 will meet, and bringing us home are periods 1 and 2 on Wednesday. I will update the grade reports as finals are recorded and imputed, most likely within that afternoon. Check the grade report with Final Grade announcements. Good luck on all those finals!

Start your studying engines!

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Thu, 31 May 2007 06:09:03 +0000

I have added your practice final scores to your grade report, but it will take a few days for your lowest test scores to be replaced. (I have to manually calculate and change EVERY test score.) I have also uploaded a “special grade report” to show you what your final grade would be based on your practice final exam score.
So what are you going to do to prepare for the final? Share you plans.

Practice Final

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:06:18 +0000

Today we took our practice final. Your performance on this test will give you an idea how you will do next week. We also got back attempt #2 of benchmarks 50-59. Our last attempt for these benchmarks will be Thurs/Fri of this week (31/1). STUDY!
I updated our benchmark progress spreadsheet with our current passing percentage. Yellow boxes mean only 2 or 3 need to pass to get 70% of the class passing. Since we get 10 extra points when we hit 70%, re-take those benchmarks first, if needed. Check your grade report if you’re not sure.
And remember, this week is the last week for benchmarks re-takes during office hours (Tuesday after school, Wed/Thurs at lunch). May 31 at lunch is the last day for re-takes!!

Final Exam Topics

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:53:34 +0000

Today we made attempt #2 on benchmarks 26, and 50-59. One more opportunity in class next Thursday/Friday. Our final grade reports were also collected today.
I’ve created a Google Doc with all the final exam topics so you know what to study, as well as what benchmark and a link to a short video example. How ~~geeky~~ cool am I? This will also be VERY helpful for our practice final, which we will take Tuesday/Wednesday of next week. I will also open up all our moodle tests and benchmarks after the deadline so you can take them for extra practice. And I am still working on our last screencasts and benchmark practice for Moodle.
This practice final that we are taking next week will replace your lowest test score, so study hard!
Coming up:

Grade Reports due Today!
BM 50-59 Retakes on Thurs/Fri (31/1)
Benchmark Deadline is Thursday, May 31. Office hours only (Tues after school, Wed/Thurs at lunch) and 3 benchmarks per day max.

Posting for Points question:
Personal Reflection- I’ve used a blog for several years to keep students informed about what went on in class. It wasn’t until this year when I started asking the Posting for Points question. Has posting comments on the blog increased your understanding of Geometry? Why?

Pure excitement

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Wed, 23 May 2007 06:13:51 +0000

I was sure of 2 things that would happen this week. First, Apolo Anton Ohno would win Dancing with the Stars. He did. Second, the blog would reach 3,000 comments. It did. And both of these events happened on the same night, and almost the same time.
3000!! This is just fantastic. I never thought it would pass 2000. Now I know 3500 will not happen, but how high will it reach in 2 weeks time? Who will be the last person to comment on a great year of blogging? But more important: who was #3,000??

Brandon of Period 2
Way to go!

Surface Area and Volume Review

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Wed, 23 May 2007 00:05:24 +0000

Based on our performance on Monday’s benchmarks, we need some more review. So here it is. This assignment is NOT a homework assignment. It is another resource for you to use that will help pass our last 10 benchmarks. These 10 benchmarks on Surface Area and Volume of the Prism, Cylinder, Pyramid, Cone, and Sphere are all on the final exam, too. That would mean these last 10 benchmarks make up about 25% of the final exam!!! These benchmarks are important!!!
Anyway, I’m working on Moodle practice as well as screencasts for surface area and volume of 5 basic solids. It will take another day or 2, so check Wednesday or Thursday. Yes, we will be re-taking these benchmarks on Thursday, but having the Moodle practice is a great resource for review.

The last ones!!!

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Mon, 21 May 2007 21:56:12 +0000

Hold back the ~~celebration~~ tears. Today we took our last benchmarks. Don’t worry, we will be retaking 50-59 both this Thursday and next Thursday, but as far as new ones go- we are done. I’ve already got the first attempts graded and uploaded. What you see on the grade report is your LOWEST possible grade going into the final. I still have about 100 blog comments to enter, but that only helps. You still have benchmark retakes do to, but that only helps (1% increase per benchmark passed). Don’t forget, the last day for benchmark retakes is Thursday, May 31 at lunch. You have only 6 more opportunities left!
One last announcement: Our last grade report is due this Thursday/Friday. I have also put that assignment in the grade report, so you know what you have to do!

More ScreenCasts

Jonathan Fjelstrom — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:07:45 +0000

I finished the screencasts for the circles unit, so make sure you download them all on iTunes or you can view them on YouTube. I was using TeacherTube, but after 60 minutes of uploading (and still no luck), I went back to YouTube.
I have also placed them within Moodle at their respective benchmarks, so you can watch it right before you take them (assuming you are at home). I will keep trying with TeacherTube but cause at least you can watch it from school, too.
Also, this is probably the last group of screencasts. I don’t know if I will be doing surface area or volume due to the time that it takes to make them and the fact that there are only 2 weeks left until the end of the semester. So, enjoy!
Benchmark #44 Screencast
Benchmark #45 Screencast
Benchmark #46 Screencast

Update:
I’ve successfully uploaded to TeacherTube, so you can now watch our super-cool videos at school, too!
BM 44 Screencast
BM 45 Screencast
BM 46 Screencast