Math 8

Welcome to 8th Grade Math

Let's Get to Class!

When you come to class, you will need:

Pencils

Spiral notebook

Colored pens

A growth mindset: The willingness to do what the class is doing and try what the class is trying

Core Connections, Course 3 Overview

Core Connections, Course 3 is the third of a three-year sequence of courses designed to prepare students for a rigorous college preparatory high school mathematics course.

On a daily basis, students in Core Connections, Course 3 use problem-solving strategies, questioning, investigating, analyzing critically, gathering and constructing evidence, and communicating rigorous arguments justifying their thinking. Under teacher guidance, students learn in collaboration with others while sharing information, expertise, and ideas. The course helps students to develop multiple strategies to solve problems and to recognize the connections between concepts. The lessons in the course meet all of the content standards and embed the “Mathematical Practices” of the Common Core State Standards released in June 2010.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

  • Represent a linear function with a graph, table, rule, and context and create any representation when provided one of the others.

  • Solve systems of equations by using tables and graphs.

  • Symbolically manipulate expressions to solve problems including those with fractional coefficients.

  • Solve contextual word problems using multiple strategies, including making tables, looking for patterns, drawing diagrams, and creating a table of guesses to assist with writing and solving a variable equation.

  • Describe various geometric transformations on a coordinate grid.

  • Represent data using scatterplots and describe associations.

  • Collect and analyze data and make predictions based on the trend of the data.

  • Compare ratios and calculate unit rates and slope ratios.

  • Analyze the slope of a line graphically, numerically, and contextually.

  • Recognize and solve problems involving proportional relationships.

  • Graph and analyze non-linear functions.

  • Recognize and use the properties of similar figures to solve problems.

  • Use the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse to solve problems in two and three dimensions.

  • Use square roots and cube roots.

  • Represent and simplify expressions using positive and negative exponents.

  • Represent and compare large and small numbers using standard and scientific notation.

  • Perform operations with numbers represented in scientific notation.

  • Use the relationships between angles created by parallel lines with transversals and the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem to solve problems.

  • Compute the volume of a variety of solids.

A Note from CPM

A Note to Students:

Welcome to a new year of math! In this course, you will learn to use new models and methods to think about problems as well as solve them. You will be developing powerful mathematical tools and learning new ways of thinking about and investigating situations. You will be making connections, discovering relationships, figuring out what strategies can be used to solve problems, and explaining your thinking. Learning to think in these ways and communicate about your thinking is useful in mathematical contexts, other subjects in school, and situations outside the classroom. The mathematics you have learned in the past will be valuable for learning in this course. That work, and what you learn in this course, will prepare you for future courses.

In meeting the challenges of this course, you will not be learning alone. You will cooperate with other students as a member of a study team. Being a part of a team means speaking up and interacting with other people. You will explain your ideas, listen to what others have to say, and ask questions if there is something you do not understand. In this course, a single problem can often be solved several ways. You will see problems in different ways than your teammates do. Each of you has something to contribute while you work on the lessons in this course.

Together, your team will complete problems and activities that will help you discover mathematical ideas and develop solution methods. Your teacher will support you as you work, but will not take away your opportunity to think and investigate for yourself. Each topic will be revisited many times and will connect to other topics. If something is not clear to you the first time you work on it, you will have more chances to build your understanding as the course continues.

Learning math this way has an advantage: as long as you actively participate, make sure everyone in your study team is involved, and ask good questions, you will find yourself understanding mathematics at a deeper level than ever before. By the end of this course, you will have a powerful set of mathematical tools to use to solve new problems. With your teammates you will meet mathematical challenges you would not have known how to approach before.

In addition to the support provided by your teacher and your study team, CPM has also created online resources to help you, including help with homework, and a parent guide with extra practice. You will find these resources and more at cpm.org. We wish you well and are confident that you will enjoy this next year of learning!

Sincerely,

The CPM Team