Before and After Christmas Break

Hello All,
Yes it has been a while since my last post but we have all been very busy. The class has been slowly progressing through Unit 3 but the results show that a slow progression through this unit with lots of practice is a great thing. The Accelerated class just finished Unit 3 with a 85% testing average, which is better than required. We will all finish up Unit 3 soon and move on to Unit 4 which begins graphing; it starts slow but is necessary for future lessons. The mid term will be after the break, and there will be plenty of review for the material. I myself have been very busy with a newborn Daughter, Annabel, but am still very happy to be teaching my students.

Mr. Reker

A Lot Going On

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the class. We have finished up with Unit 1 and the test scores were in the mid 70's overall. I am starting to see a little bit of worrying from the open response portions of each test since the tests are scored: 50% Multiple Choice and 50% Open Response. Do not worry! We are going to practice open responses and ways, such as RAPS, to take them. Then there will be no worries with ORQ's. On a good note, the retakes of the Unit 2 test were 12 points higher than last time which shows a better effort on the students' part, WAY TO GO! We will be moving into Unit 3 soon, starting with a pre-assessment test, and I will be going at a slow pace to make sure everyone understands what we are doing.

Mr. Reker

Back to Business

Well Fall Break has come and gone and we are back to learning. Unit 1 will finish very soon and we will be moving back to Unit 2 to review or on to Unit 3. From now on each new Unit will have a pre-test so I can assess what you know before you learn it, and each unit will have open response questions to help with writing and with connecting what we are learning to real-world situations. Dracula is also next week(FUN), and we will be going back to the computer lab for another Excel assignment; but this time it will have and open response with it.

Later,

Mr. Reker

Blog for October 11

Hello All,
The tests did not go as well as planned, but we are going to re-review Unit 2 and I am confident that the students will improve with a little extra assistance and time. The students are showing great promise for Unit 1 which will be continued after Fall Break. Make sure that you turn in your Dracula permission slips on time (Friday), it is a wonderful performance that no one should miss. Have a safe and fun Fall Break.

Mr. Reker

Beginning of October

Hello All,
Welcome to October. The students will be taking the test over Unit 2 this week and I have a good feeling about it. Next week we will go into connections to algebra which should carry past fall break. The students have done well up to date and I hope to carry their good work throughout the year. The students received the Dracula field trip forms today and they must be in by Oct. 12, there are also pictures on Oct. 10.

End of September

Hi Folks,
This Unit has been very good to all of the students, but as expected, Distributive property is giving us a hard time, so I will continue to review until I am sure that everyone understands it. We will be having a test in the next coming week, depending on the readiness of th students, then we will be moving on to Connections to Algebra.

Mr. Reker

Week of September 10

Hello Again,
WOW! The test results for Statistics were fantastic!! The average over the four classes was 86.4%, and that shows a will to work hard for you students. Great Job! The news letter will be out later this week, so you parents make sure you read and sign it. This week we are starting into Number Operations and we will be having a quiz sometime next week. Keep up the good work guys!

Mr. Reker

Week of September 5

WOW,
September already? Time is zooming past, and the students are learning great. This week we will be finishing the Statistics unit with a Test on Wednesay then technology lessons on Thursday and Friday. Next week we will start Chapter 1 in the textbook so each student will have one to take home. I will be having the students write for the news letter next week which should be coming out shortly.

Mr. Reker

Friday August 31

Hello Again,
This week has been very productive and the high learning expectations have been met. Over the four Algebra classes that I have, the average of the quizzes is 85%, anything over 80% is considered to be great, so I am happy with the progress that we have been making. Next week's schedule will be as such: Tuesday - Review for the Statistics test, Wednesday - Statistics Test, Thursday - Mobile Lab and Microsoft Excel introduction, and Friday - Computer lab assignment over Statistics on Microsoft Excel. I am excited about finishing up the statistics unit and looking forward to continuing on with more lessons.

Mr. Reker

Week of August 27th

Hello All,
Last Thursday we began the Unit on Statistics. Over the weekend I graded everyone's classwork and it was fine. For this week we will go over Histograms, Line Graphs, and Circle graphs on Monday (with Homework due Tuesday); on Tuesday we will have our first quiz (don't worry it's not hard); Wednesday we will begin work on Mean, Meadian, and Mode; on Thursday we will finish the Unit with Stem and Leaf and Box and Whisker plots. Next week we will be reviewing and testing over the Unit and going to the computer lab for an Excel Activity.

Mr. Reker

Week of August 20th

After looking at the Pre-tests, I believe that a refresher in basic mathematical operations could be very useful. Although I was not disappointed with the scores, I believe that all of the students would benefit by revisiting past concepts to hone their skills; which can only be more of a positive experience for future lessons. As I went through the tests, I noticed many simple and mental errors, which I can only attribute to the length of time between school and summer break, and/or prior teaching or lack there of. Once we are done, we will begin the unit on Statistics later this week.

The First Week

Hello All,
Yesterday was the first chance that I had to meet the students and I was pleasantly surprised at how composed they were. Although, you students did seem a little shy, I like you already.
This week we will not be doing anything but getting to know each other, I feel that it is important to learn about the students that I am teaching. We will do several activities that will give me a better grasp on who you are. Next week we will be testing some (don't be afraid, it won't hurt you). I just need to see the level of algebraic understanding that you are all at.

Welcome To Bullitt Central

Hello Students and Parents,
This is Mr. Reker, your Freshman Algebra Teacher! I decided to add a great technology communication tool for my class so that you would have the opportunity to see what has been going on in class on a consistent basis. On this site you will find assignments that are due and things coming up (even stuff from other classes). If you want to leave a comment just click the comment button below the entry for the day. This is going to be a Great Year for Everyone!

Mr. John Reker