SOLs Covered: SOL 8.14 Simplifying & Evaluating Algebraic Expressions; 8.4 Consumer Math
Math Unit: 09 Consumer Math
Daily Agenda: November 7-10, 2022
Upcoming Assessments: Quiz 2.01 Consumer Math (A-Thurs. 11/17; B-Fri. 11/18); Q1 Benchmark Test (A-Mon. 11/28; B-Tues. 11/29)
Greetings! I hope everyone has had an amazing week! It's been a short one with the kids this week, so I'm going to try to keep this update short. We started the week by fully immersing ourselves in our consumer math unit, which we previewed while reviewing ratios, rates, and proportions last week. The kids have done well with it thus far and this unit generally draws a little more attention from the kids as they can connect with it a little easier as many might already have money of their own that they are spending. We cover balancing a check registry; percent of a number; percent of change; calculating the amount of discount, tax, tip, commission, and markup along with the final price/pay; and calculating simple interest with the final balance. This unit will continue into next week and we'll take the quiz right before we head out for fall break. Once we return from the break, we'll be immediately taking the first benchmark test of the year. With these bigger things coming up, if you know ahead of time that your child will be out and are able to let me know ahead of time, I can make sure the student receives any papers in advance so they don't fall behind.
With this unit, I'd also like to ask families to, if possible (and it wouldn't cause the grownups more headaches than the activity would be worth), have the kids can join their grownups on the next grocery shopping trip or having discussions about how they go about planning their shopping. If you're in the store and see an item on sale, have the kids compare the original price, discount amount, and sales price or even see if they can figure out what the percent of change was when just given the original price and the sales price (I showed them an example in class using the restock of playdough for our fidget bin). If your family goes out for dinner in the next week or if a trip to the salon/barber is planned in the near future, try to involve your child in a conversation about how you calculate the tip. On the next trip to the gas station, show the kids what the price per gallon is and then what it would cost to actually fill the tank. Show the kids where the subtotal, tax, and final total are listed on a receipt. All of these things can help the kids see how this topic can immediately be used in their lives now. Of all the units we cover in 8th grade, I think this is probably the most important as no matter what career path the student decides to take in the future, they'll 100% need to understand these topics.
Well, that should cover everything for this short week, but please let me know if you have any questions. I can't close this out completely without acknowledging the reason we're off tomorrow, especially considering how much of our community is connected to Fort Lee. I'd like to thank all those who have ever been in any of our armed forces for their years of service to this country. One of my grandfathers was a Marine who fought in the Korean War and I've had many students with family members in some branch of the armed forces, predominately from the Army, so Veterans Day has always been important to me. Thank you to all the military veterans out there!