Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Functions and Proportions

1.) Proportion Worksheets

2.) Chapter 2, Lesson 3 - Graphing Functions
Do #2, 4, 6, and 7 c and g in book

3.) Call your group members and set up your first meeting time (either face to face, over the phone or on-line)

Due tomorrow!

Notebook collection on Thursday!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Patterns Tables and Formulas

1.) Finish pattern, table and formula
2.) Chapter 2, Lesson 1 - Set I and II

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Histograms and Stem Plots

In packet, pages 62-64:

#1, #3, #6 and #7 a, b, and c (not d)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Work with Vocabulary

1.) Finish the homework assignment from the weekend if you have not already

2.) In your vocabulary section at the back of your math notebook, create a vocabulary chart with 3 categories: Word, Definition, and Example.

Start the list with the following words, and try to define them to the best of your ability. You may need to look in your notes or the packet for help. You can also use other resources (i.e. parents, Internet, friends to help you). Then, draw an example of the word. It can be a picture, or numerical representation.

Words

1.) Data
2.) Pictograph
3.) Bar Graph
4.) Dot Plot
5.) Spread
6.) Range

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Free Agents Almanac PROJECT

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p5pYYge9_OTC2BvV02K2gbg

This has each basketball player's data in a spreadsheet. There are some blank spaces for you to do the math and fill out.

Rubrics will be posted soon!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Practice 5 Number Summaries and Box Plots

1.) In packet, page 55, do #1C, #4-7

2.) Finish up all missing hw and turn in asap! It's too early to fall behind.

3.) Optional: Try making a box plot on your graphing calculator with one of the data sets in your homework.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Data!

8-1:
1.) Read Pages 52 and 53 and highlight the important parts

2.) Obama/McCain POW due tomorrow!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Chapter 1 Review

Review of Arithmetic

Page 61 #5-14 Due Tomorrow (and I am checking for accuracy!)

Monday, September 15, 2008

POW for Sept 15

Name ___________________________ Date ________________
Problem of the Week
September 15 – 19, 2008
The chart below shows the number of “mentions” we’ve seen of each issue by each candidate during this campaign season as of the afternoon of Thursday, September 4 (before McCain’s Convention Speech.) Use this data to answer the following questions.

Obama McCain
Iraq War 3571 2234
Economy/Budget 1827 1503
Abortion 790 505
Health Care 642 509
Environment 424 317
Immigration 350 324
Globalization 208 151
Education 115 47
Civil Rights 7 3
“Issue Coverage Tracker”. Washington Post. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates September 4, 2008.
According to the table, what percent of the total number of “mentions” between the two candidates have related to education? Express your answer to the nearest tenth.


Which candidate has devoted a higher percentage of their issue “mentions” to the issue of health care?



What is the positive difference in the percent of total “mentions” devoted to the Iraq War and total “mentions” devoted to the Economy/Budget? Express your answer to the nearest tenth.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

More Review

Chapter 1, Lesson 3: Multiplication - #6-10, 14-17, 24

Chapter 1, Lesson 4: Division - #1-8, 11-16, 19, 20

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Review of ... Arithmetic!

1.1 Addition - #6-11, 13, 21 and 22

1.2 Subtraction - #6-11, 16, 17, 23 and 24

Thursday, September 4, 2008

First Week's Assignment

1.) Share the letters below and new blogspot address with your parents/guardians.

2.) Write at least one full paragraph about yourself as math learner, and your goals for the year. Think about yourself as a math learner, and how you want to grow. What habits will you keep from last year? What would you like to do differently? What would help you grow as a math learner?

3.) Read the following and answer the questions below:

Because few people have the time (or a paper and pencil) to do arithmetic problems when they're on the go, pocket calculators have become very popular. Although they are easy to use, getting the correct answer to a problem that requires more than one operation is not as simple as it might seem.
Consider the problem:

12 x 5 - 8/4 + 7 x 2

If you push the keys for these numbers and operations in order, a calculator will give the wrong answer.

a. What is the correct answer to the problem?
b. What answer do you think the calculator might give instead?
c. Why would it give that answer?
d. What would you do if you wanted to use such a calculator to get the correct answer to the problem?

Please answer all of the above in your Math Composition Notebook (the quad ruled one with graph paper inside).

Due Tuesday

Introduction to Math and Technology

Dear 8th grade families,

I know most of you from last year, but to those who are new, welcome! I look forward to meeting you and working with your child in math.

This will be an exciting class, and your child will be engaging in math in a variety of ways. The curriculums I will mostly draw from are called Discovering Algebra and Elementary Algebra. These curriculums are both very rich in teaching skills for abstract thinking. I will also be providing handouts from other sources.

In the first semester, students will learn to set up and solve linear equations. We will begin with an intensive review of fundamental operations that will lead to our study of functions and graphs. This unit is called Data Exploration in which students will use graphs and statistical measures to organize and make sense of data.

This year, students will also be working on a semester long Algebra project called The Free Agents Almanac Project, and along with the Algebra skills, it will focus on three 21st century skills: Collaboration, Project Management and Presentation. The objective of this project is for students to design a proposal that would convince the coach of a professional sports team to pick the players that each group selects based on statistical analysis. More information on this will be given in class.

Please refer to the blog http://bms8-1math.blogspot.com for any ongoing announcements and for daily assignments. Should you have any questions feel free to email me at Skanchwala@bmsonline.org or call me at BMS, extension 257.

I look forward to a great year!

Sincerely,
Sheila Kanchwala
BMS Middle School Math Teacher



Dear Families,

The year is off to a great start, and with it are some new technology developments that I am excited to share with you. Over the summer, the school has purchased a brand new lap top cart with 28 transportable MacBooks. These laptops will be a shared resource across the middle and upper grades and will be integrated into the curriculum at each level. The school has also purchased two Smart Boards, which are interactive white boards that can be connected to computers to display the screen and can be written on similarly to a white board. The concept is similar to an LCD project that displays what is on the computer, however, with a Smart Board, we can also write digitally onto the screen. More information about Smart Technology can be found at: http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-us/.

As we move towards using more technology in the classroom, we are asking students to create Google email accounts. The purpose of this is to be able to use Google’s collaboration tools for project management and documentation. Email accounts can be created at www.gmail.com. The format of their email address should be first name.last name, for example, Sheila.Kanchwala@gmail.com. Throughout the course of the year, we will be asking students to think about how technology can enhance or simplify our work. In math this year, students will be working on group projects that call for online collaboration and documentation. I will then be able to review their work and provide feedback on the same document. This will eliminate a great deal of paper waste and promote the school’s value of being green. More information on the projects and their use of technology will be provided in the upcoming weeks, and worry not, the technology skills necessary will be taught in class.

Related to media literacy, students will explore ways in which technology can be used effectively, but also misused, leading to potentially dangerous activity. Students will learn about safety on the Internet and how to dissect the messages of media on the Internet and elsewhere.

Technology is ever changing and we as adults are digital immigrants. It is okay to find that your child knows more than you. They are the digital natives in this field. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Sheila Kanchwala and the MS Team