Act I started in February. I gave my students the AB-level diagnostic test from Master Math Mentor (www.mastermathmentor.com). This is a great resource that diagnoses each student's areas of strength and weakness. I charge the students to work on the test without looking anything up. Then I send them their results analyzed by the MMM formulas. This is great because all the work has been done and I don't have to correct anything, I just hand over the results. I then printed the material from the MMM calculus manual and organized a file system by topic. Students can select which topics they need and can work through them as needed.
This is directly beneath our picture of Sir Isaac Newton (drawn by a former student)...
Act II started this week and for this, I use the material and information from Lin McMullin's blog teachingcalculus.com for our full-class review. He offers ten different problem types for the free response questions and insights and advice for each type. I've taken that advice, printed it out for my students as a packet with the referenced FRQ's and MC questions. Each day is dedicated to a different topic. I started this review system last year - everyone works on the different types together as a class. The point of this is to not only review the material, but to work on what is expected for credit on the actual test.
Act III also started this week. We don't do a lot of multiple choice practice during the year, so it's important for them to see it in the review. I use the D&S review books and students are assigned 15 questions each night for homework.
This may seem like a lot, and it is. But, the results will speak for themselves. My students will perform well on the exam (we have posters with the names of our "double-fivers" in the classroom) and they will be ready to tackle college and, they will really know their calculus!
Isn’t Lin’s stuff great for topical review? (Full disclosure, I’m biased, he was my BC Calc teacher!)
ReplyDeleteExcited to read more!