Embedded Files
Welcome back!
It's been great being back at school, and students are off to a terrific start in math class. Most are taking solid notes in class and actively participating. These are two very important keys to success. We are doing daily graded practice (started in class, homework if not finished) so students can receive quick feedback about how they're doing with the skills we are learning. Students are taking this practice seriously, using their class time to work on it, asking questions about it, and turning it in on time. I expect great things from our students this year!
Our first unit:
For our first unit of the year, students reviewed key skills from 6th and 7th grade. They then took an open-note quiz on these. Each skill assessed students' performance of the rules associated with the skill, as well as students' computational abilities, since they were not allowed to use calculators. The sections of the quiz were:
1) Operations with fractions
2) Operations with integers (positive and negative whole numbers)
3) Use of the order of operations when performing computation
4) Ability to simplify expressions by combining like terms
5) Understanding of the distributive property
6) Evaluating expressions when given the value of the variable
The most common errors involved working incorrectly with negative numbers. While a calculator will be allowed throughout the rest of the year, continuing to practice working with positive and negative numbers mentally will improve fluency and help students become stronger mathematicians. It is also important when we then ask students to check the reasonableness of their answers or to estimate answers before performing computations.
Chapter 1:
Chapter 1 is about solving linear equations. We are halfway through the chapter, and so far, much of the work should feel familiar to students since we did some of it last year. Now they're just working with more complex numbers and putting together the skills they've learned (such as how to distribute or combine like terms) to solve an equation. If students are struggling, they should see me to get some extra support.
For this chapter, there will be two summative assessments:
1) A quiz on lessons 1.1 and 1.2 on Wednesday, September 9
2) A test on lessons 1.1-1.4 on Wednesday, September 23
Here is a breakdown of the lessons in the chapter and what students are expected to learn in each:
Example problems from each lesson are below. These are the types of problems students can expect to find on their assessments.
Lesson 1.1:
-4 + x = 10
-0.8x = 2.4
5 = 10x
Lesson 1.2
3 - x = 11
-2x + 4 = -35
3(2x - 5) + 6 = - 9
Lesson 1.3
2 - 3.6x = 8.1x + 17
-3(4x + 6) = 5(3 - 1.5x)
Lesson 1.4
Solve the equation 3y + 4x = 9 for y
Word Problems:
Students have to both write the equation and solve it.
I put the same amount of money in my bank account each month. At the end of the year (12 months), I have $600. How much did I deposit each month?
I bought an item on sale. I paid $15 LESS than the original price. I paid $53. What was the original price?
The landscaping company charged $25 to cut my lawn and $10 per bag of mulch they used. If I paid them $65, how much mulch did they use?
Chapter 2:
* coming soon
Page updated
Report abuse