To help you understand what is happening in your child’s math class, you will be regularly receiving Math Tips this school year. We are starting the school year by using several lessons from youcubed.org's Week Of Inspirational Math in order to set the right tone for the year and invite students into a world of open, creative, and visual mathematics! CPM, the anchor resource we adopted in 2015, believes that all students can be successful in mathematics as long as they are willing to work and ask for help when they need it. Please contact me whenever you or your child have questions. The main objectives of Unit 1 are to introduce the course to the students, allow them to apply previous learning in new ways, and review ideas from previous math courses. You will notice boxes titled “Math Notes”. Math Notes boxes contain definitions, explanations, and/or examples. As the year progresses, I will explain how these notes will be used in class. The homework is in a section titled “Review and Preview”. Each Review and Preview section consists of six to ten problems on a variety of topics and skills. Known as interleaving, this mixed spaced practice approach for homework leads to higher learning and better long–term retention. Students will be asked to begin with the "starred" homework problem, assigned by me, and then work through the remaining problems in order of most to least challenging. Students should spend 20 minutes solving problems and then 10 minutes checking and revising their work using the answer key provided. Periods 1 & 2: We will begin the year with a study of probability. Students will: -Find the likelihood that a specific event will occur. -Calculate the probabilities of two separate events to decide which is more likely to happen. -Find both experimental and theoretical probabilities of events. -Add and subtract fractions, as well as write equivalent fractions. Periods 5 & 7: We will begin the year with a study of expressions, equations, and inequalities. Students will: -Write and simplify algebraic expressions. -Compare two complicated algebraic expressions. -Solve for a variable if you know that two expressions are equal. -Write and solve an equation to solve a word problem. -Recognize when an equation has no solution or infinite solutions. -Write and solve algebraic inequalities. I look forward to seeing you on August 30th for Parent Orientation Night!
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