This is, honest to god, an Indiana 7th grade math standard:

7.7.G.3 Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three-dimensional figures, as in plane sections of right rectangular prisms and right rectangular pyramids.

When my 7th graders walked into my classroom this morning, this is what greeted them on the whiteboard:

Amazingly, both of my 7th grade groups chose the “good behavior” option, meaning that the second period of my two-hour block right before a three-day weekend with two and a half weeks left in the school year was spent making shapes with Play-Doh, carefully chopping them to bits, and taking note of the shapes that were produced when you they were cut in various manners.

What?  It’s in the standards, right there.  They’re being tested on this.

For serious.

And then my eighth graders came in, and did a period of post-ECA algebra,(*) and then I pointed out to them that I was remiss in that I had not spent a single second of the school year thus far reviewing this critically important math standard for them, and that it was similarly essential that we spend a class period in review of 7th grade standards in case it was ever necessary that they pre-identify shapes in sliced 3-dimensional figures.  Because that could totally happen to any of them at any time.

I’m preparing these kids for life.

Eleven days left.  I can do this, dammit.

(*) My scores aren’t back, goddammit.  Was supposed to take two business days.  THIS IS DAY TWO.  Day three will be Tuesday.