9/2/2011 - We are moving on to order of operations today. This is the procedure used to solve expressions (problems) that involve multiple operations. If this order is not followed precisely the answer can vary wildly. There are four steps to remember First you must resolve all operations found within parenthesis. Second you must resolve all numbers with exponents. Now it gets a little tricky. You now resolve all multiplication AND division, going from left to right. The last step is to resolve all addition AND subtraction in the problem, again going from left to right. Students seem to have the most trouble with the last two steps.
**We will be looking to test this week on exponents and order of operations. The test will possibly take place on Thursday, but Friday is more likely.**
9/6/2011 - Homework for Tuesday night is a worksheet called "Mathematicians Agree." It features four order of operations problems. Look for the four steps to follow (order of operations) on that worksheet.
9/7/2011 - For Wednesday night's homework students should randomly choose 5 problems to do (order of operations worksheet). Remember to use the hopscotch checklist!!
9/8/2011 - There is a test tomorrow over squares, square roots, and order of operations. The homework tonight is a review sheet. The problems they are REQUIRED to do are 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, and 16. I recommend that students do more if they can, as practice increases the odds of success. USE THE HOPSCOTCH CHECKLIST!! ; )
9/16/2011 - Still working with comparing and ordering positive and negative numbers right now. The first operation we will cover is adding. To increase conceptual understanding, we will be using two sided counters and number lines.
9/21/2011 - We have been working on graphing ordered pairs on the a coordinate plane. This involves plotting two numbers on a grid. When doing this, always start at the origin (0,0) in the middle of the grid. The first number in the ordered pair tells you to go left (if negative) or right (if positive). After moving left to right, look at the second number and move up (if positive) or down (if negative). Today we should be moving on to adding positive and negative integers, using physical models. The homework will be to solve a riddle using ordered pairs. How-to instructions are attached to the worksheet.
10/7/2011 - Still working with Integers, we are moving on from adding and subtracting negative integers to multiplying and dividing them. This is much less complicated than the former. If the signs are the same (negative x negative OR positive x positive) then the answer is positive. If the signs are mixed then the answer will be negative. Same concept for dividing. No HW this weekend.
10/18/2011 - Reviewed addition and subtraction of negative numbers today for the TEST TOMORROW over all four integer operations. The homework tonight is further review of addition and subtraction. Remember to MAKE zero pairs when adding to clear away and reveal the answer and ADD zero pairs to your workspace when subtracting so that you can "take away" what you need to.
10/28/2011 - We are in the middle of tackling the three headed monster of decimals, percents, and fractions. Today we focus on converting decimals to percents and back again. For this we will use the DP (Dr Pepper) method. It shows us that you move the decimal two spots to the right to go from decimal to percent or two spots to the left to go from percent to decimal.
10/31/2011 - It is absolutely fitting that we move into fractions this Halloween day, as they are no doubt the scariest thing for a kid in mathematics. We will be working on converting them to decimals.
11/02/2011 - More practice on conversion. We have covered decimals, fractions, and percents and can convert between all three now.
11/04/2011 - Last day of the 2nd 6 weeks. Continuing a group poster project on conversions and wrapping up loose ends.
11/08/2011 - Continued PDF conversions
11/15/2011 - Benchmark testing will start today and will probably conclude tomorrow. This test will cover material presented in class to this point.
11/30/2011 - We are now working on multiplying fractions and whole numbers. We read a story today the emphasized the fact that multiplying a whole number by a fraction will create an answer that is smaller than the whole number in the problem. The homework assigned tonight is the front side of a worksheet that models the process of multiplying fractions. The last two problems have not been covered in class. Students are encouraged to try the problems but will not be penalized if they do not understand how to solve the problems.
12/12/11 - The multiplying of fractions continues. We are now working on fraction times fraction problems. We are still using a modeling method to solve these problems. This involves cutting up a drawn square and then shading certain pieces to match the fractional amount given.
01/03/12 - 01/06/12 - Reviewed fraction multiplication from last semester and took a quiz on Friday.
01/09/12 - We will cover dividing of fractions today. When just dealing with the numbers (ignoring modeling techniques) you simply flip the second fraction of the problem upside down and then multiply straight across the top and straight across the bottom to find your answer. For a modeling example, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCCbFFBFYUY
The third way to divide fractions is to first find a common denominator for the two fractions you are dividing. Once that is done, take the numerator of the first fraction and put it as a numerator of a new fraction (this new fraction is your answer). Then take the numerator of the second fraction and put it as the denominator of the new fraction. Done!
01/17/12 - Finishing up fraction operations with adding and subtracting this week. Obviously the most difficult part is finding a common denominator and then simplifying the answer.
02/01/2012 - We have moved on to decimal operations. Monday and Tuesday were spent reviewing addition and subtraction. There is no class today due to testing and early release.
02/06/2012 - Multiplying Decimals continues today with continued place value review as well. Evaluating our answers for reasonableness and estimation becomes important during this unit. For instance, 3.12 x 4.28 is roughly 3 x 4, so we would expect an answer around 12. This can be a valuable test taking strategy.
02/13/2012 - Dividing decimals was introduced at the end of last week and continues today. We will spend time modeling these problems today. Homework: complete two division modeling problems using 10 x 10 grid paper.
02/15/2012 - Much practice doing long division today, moving into dividing with decimals. Homework was to complete two decimal division problems that I gave out at the end of class.
02/22/2012 - Our last quiz on dividing decimals is today. We will be moving on to proportional relationships starting tomorrow (Thursday) For those who do not have decimal division mastered, I will be focusing on that during Thursday's tutoring session. Quiz grades can be made up or replaced at that time.
02/27/2012 - We will continue looking at ratios and proportional relationships today.
02/28/2012 - Worked on breaking down word problems involving ratios. Some of these problems involved the examination of two ratios in an effort to determine if they were equivalent or proportional.
02/29/2012 - Worked on simple proportional relationships today. Began by generating many equivalent fractions and then moved into removing one of the numbers in those fractions to see how we could find the missing number using the concept of equivalent fractions.
03/05/2012 - Wrapping up simple proportional problems this week. We have a couple strategies in place for solving these kinds of problems. Homework tonight: 7,8,9,10 on the proportions worksheet.
03/06/2012 - 03/07/2012 - Benchmark testing on Tuesday and Wednesday
03/09/2012 - Continue with our unit rates today before finishing the day with a quiz. Also quizing on our 4 multiplication facts (4 x 1 through 4 x 12)
03/19/2012 - Continued with proportional relationships, looking at similar figures today. No homework. A re-quiz will be given this week for the proportions quiz given on Friday the 9th.
03/20/2012 - We continue today with similar figures...
03/29/2012 - Students received a four question review for the test tomorrow over proportional relationships. This homework review sheet features each type of proportional problem we have been studying.
04/03/2012 - Geometry is now our focus, specifically on quadrilaterals. Students will work on identifying quadrilaterals and finding area and perimeter.
04/04/2012 - Specific focus today on area and perimeter of squares, rectangles and parallelograms. There will a homework assignment tonight featuring just two problems over area and perimeter.
04/05/2012 - Moving on to triangles and trapezoids today. There will be a quiz on squares, rectangles and parallelograms.
04/09/2012 - The class had a review lesson on angles today, covering obtuse, right, acute, and straight angles. We also examined complementary and supplementary angles. The homework is to complete #'s 3,4,5,6 on the worksheet, which explains complementary and supplementary angles at the top of the page.
04/11/2012 - Today will conclude our focus on trapezoids. We will also practice just plugging in given information to formulas we have covered.
04/12/2012 - More intensive practice with formulas today as we continue working on geometry.
04/16/2012 - Circumference and Area of circles. Homework is to pick two problems on the worksheet and find the area and circumference.
04/17/2012 - Continued practice with circles and plugging numbers into a formula.
04/18/2012 - Quiz today over circles (area and circumference). We will quickly review the ways to classify triangles before moving onto measures of central tendency.
04/23/2012 - Reviewing all period for STAAR test tomorrow!!
04/27/2012 - Working on probability today as students continue to create "trees" to illustrate possible outcomes
04/30/2012 - Notes on probability today. Focus on vocab for the unit.
05/01/2012 - Notes continue as we move into independent practice and work on combining events.