Yes, I am going to make you scroll through all of my NoteTakerMakers to get to the most delicious cake recipe in the entire world. And, boy, do I have a lot a lot to share for this unit: number sets, order of operations, equations, inequalities, and absolute value equations/inequalities. (Want more? Visit my new Alg II files page!)
Let’s begin with this HORRIBLE HORRIBLE first day of Algebra II notes. Hey, did someone say lots o’ definitions and then stupid review problems? I’m interested! The good news is I’ve scrapped it for better things (e.g. Desmos Function Carnival), but you never know when you need a good number sets graphic organizer. I usually just casually mention the sets as needed, but I think maybe this year, I’ll give each student a number and have them group themselves however they want. Maybe they’ll do even/odd, positive/negative, fractions/whole numbers, but then we could divide into even more specific groups? And then reverse it: start engulfing each other until we are all one big happy Real Numbers Family? Anyway, here’s the NTM:
(Ok, less talk, more files, then cake!) Order of Operations:
I even tried doing a Talking Points for Order of Operations!
Then I don’t even want to talk about my actual solving equations notes. I’m going to totally change them up next time. But for now, how about some Find The Mistake?
I only used Comic Sans to make my fellow teacher happy. Plus it can be counted as one of the mistakes to find!
And did someone say word problems?
I do so enjoy the travel chart, however, next year I’ll have them figure out what to do for each case instead of telling them.
And here’s the homework for these two sections:
Now it’s time for some inequalities! Algebra II is the first time the students see interval notation, so this year we played a match game:
Word file here. PDF File here-print 2 per page to get it all on the front of one sheet.
Full disclosure: it was a bit of a struggle and not sure if it was worth the time. I may revert back to this instead, or do a mixture next year.
I made a powerpoint for #1-14 so we could quickly go through them the next day in class, but you may want to use it for whiteboarding or review (each problem is animated step-by-step)
These are the notes we did this year, jumping right into compound inequalities the same day:
Next up, absolute value. I almost feel bad sharing this because I cannot teach this well.
File here. Here’s how I fill in the top boxes:
Moving right along…
Some homework:
And some practice powerpoint for the whole chapter, heavy on absolute value:
And the study guide, which as promised in my #MTBoSDirtySecrets, is very similar to my test.
And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for!!!
My Thing
My thing today is Hershey Torte. This is the yummiest cake in the entire world. On Mother’s Day I tried to make a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. The cake part went horribly, so I rescued it by making the cake portion of this with the peanut butter icing. Then, upon tasting the final result, questioned why I didn’t just make this to start with. Warning: I cannot be left alone with this cake.
Hershey’s Torte
CAKE:
1 box German Chocolate cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
Mix well. Pour into 3 round (greased) pans and bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING:
Cream together:
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Add:
8 oz Cool Whip
1/2 cup pecans (optional if your husband is anti-nut)
6 Hershey’s plain chocolate bars, chopped fine
After you have mixed everything together, frost between layers and on top. Refrigerate.
One taste and then you’ll want to:
