Sample A
In yesterday's activity I learned a couple of new buttons and how to use them.  Two buttons that I learned to use were the parentheses buttons.  Using the parentheses buttons is easier than trying to figure out how and when to times the numbers.  Another button that I learned to use was the fraction to decimal or decimal to fraction button, I got the answers wrong because they weren't fractions or weren't decimals.  I also learned one more thing, but it, wasn't a button.  I learned that a slash doesn't just stand for another phrase.  It is also a different division sign.

Sample B
When I saw the worksheet we had to do in my hand I thought I wouldn't be able to do it.  I thought it was hard.  Once I had a scientific calculator it became easier.  When I used the calculator I started to get the hang of it.  Some questions were a bit tricky and I had to ask for help.  For example, at first I didn't know how to turn a number into a fraction on the calculator but now I know how to use 2nd and Ab/c to do that.  The rest of the questions were just a breeze.  I also learned that F<->D turns a fraction into a decimal.

Sample C
Yesterday we got a worksheet to do the first few minutes of class.  I like using the scientific calculator.  It's much like the regular calculator.  If you want to add 3 + 4 you push 3 and then you push the addition sign.  Then you push 4 and the equal.  If you have a whole number you push the second then the arrow it makes it a decimal.  I also learned what square  root was.  The square root of 100 is 10.

Sample D
I learned about using a scientific calculator in Algebra class.  I know how to use the #'s and many other functions.  F<->D turns a fraction into a decimal and a decimal into a fraction.  You can add, subtract, divide or multiply with the calculator.   The sign change, changes the signs from negative to positive or positive to negative.  The 2nd button changes the bottom button to the top one.  The calculator can be helpful in many situations.

Sample E
Doing the activitie yesterday I learned how to find the square root of a number.  An example is the square root of 36 is 6.  I learned a scientific calculator is similar to an everyday calculator.  Only a scientific one is more advanced.  I learned something else.  I learned how to change #'s from fractions to decimal forms.  I learned this in problem #10.

Sample F
Yesterday when we programmed our calculator I found out that if you did one little thing wrong then your calculator didn't work.  We had to put in the exact thing or else we had to do it over.  Some parts were confusing and other parts were plain and simple.  When we did it we messed up a little somewhere and had to get help to fix it.  Once we were doing it was easier and not so confusing.

Sample G
Yesterday when we programmed the calc. I found out that if you messed up the calc. didn't work.  We had to put in the right thing or we had to do it again.

Teacher Comments
These samples are in response to an activity used in January on the first day back from winter break.  Students were given a crossword puzzle style handout.  The clues were given as numerical expressions that included parentheses, whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and a variety of operations.  Students were instructed to calculate solutions by keying the problem into the calculator as a single expression.  Each digit or character in the answer filled one block in the crossword.  The exercise was intended as a review of calculator use, the order of operations, and operations with rational numbers, but I was so amazed by how many new scientific calculator functions the students discovered using this activity (after having used the same calculators for the entire previous semester) I asked for an admit slip about what they learned from the activity at the beginning of the next class period.  Evidence of each student's writing growth really began to appear about this time.  Sample G was the first actual written response to a question other than "I don't know" or "I don't remember."  This student's writing and willingness to write really began to blossom during the second semester.