Finished ... and the countdown begins!

WHEW!  We just finished our last lesson of required content this year!  It's been tough ... there have been times when we pushed on before students were ready.  But now we can say we faithfully taught all the required content before the high-stakes math test.  (The test counts 15% of the semester grade and a passing score is required for graduation  Our high schoolers have to pass 15 of these tests to graduate ... unless lawmakers make needed changes!)  Our big test is Monday, May 6.

We have 5 class days (actually 9 ... but we have A/B days) to go on a whirlwind review of key topics from this year.  Our PLC members each took a day and created 3 stations and/or activities for each of those days.  Our schedule looks like this:

Day 1: Foundation of Functions and Equations

• Interpret Data
• Solve Equations
• Solve Word Problems (in one variable)

Day 2:  Linear Functions

• Slopes and Intercepts
• Solving for "y"
• Converting to standard form

Day 3:  Linear Functions cont

• Writing/Graphing Equations
• Using Point & Slope
• Interpreting Equations/Graphs

Day 4:  Linear Functions cont

• Transformations
• Is it linear, quadratic or exponential
• Solving systems by graphing

Day 5:  Systems and Test-Taking Tips

• Solving systems using substitution/elimination
• Error Analysis in test taking
• Sharing test taking tips

Obviously there are some topics not included ... polynomials, laws of exponents, quadratics.  We focused on topics from first semester and on topics our students struggled with.

I'll share an activity or two soon ... but since I didn't create all the activities I need to check to see if my colleagues mind if I share them online.

How do you help students prepare for high-stakes testing?