Month: November 2023

6th Grade Math – Mrs. VonFeldt 

The sixth graders are finishing up Chapter 3 with a test on Thursday. We have learned about negative numbers and their uses. We have also learned to compare and graph rational numbers (including negatives). Lastly, we have graphed ordered pairs on a coordinate plane.

7th Grade Math – Mrs. VonFeldt & Mrs. Evans

The 7th graders will begin Module 5 in which we further our percentage skills. We will review on Monday and then proceed to learn how to find the percent increase or decrease when a quantity changes. We will then find a final value given the initial value and percent change. Here is the basic formula that students can use to find the percent change:

Percent change is a concept we use in our day to day lives, especially when we are shopping! As you go about your shopping this week, look around for examples that you and your student can discuss!

Below is a summary of how to convert between fractions, decimals and percentages for you and your student to review as needed.

8th Grade Math – Mrs. Evans

Before Thanksgiving our class learned how to apply the laws of exponents to simplify expressions involving exponents. In our previous post, the laws were given along with an example of how to use them. This week, we will review the laws and continue our study of exponents as we learn to write large and small numbers in scientific notation. Scientific notation is a useful way to write very large and very small numbers. We will learn how to apply the laws of exponents to numbers written in scientific notation. Here is a summary to help your student:

Algebra – Mrs. VonFeldt

In Algebra, we are beginning Chapter 4: Writing Linear Equations. Our focus will be writing equations in different forms: slope-intercept form, point-slope form, and standard form. Students will learn to find important parts of equations and identify how they are used in real-world applications. At the end of the week, we will look at parallel and perpendicular lines and discuss how to recognize them in equation form.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving next week, know that we, your MS Math teachers, COUNT you among our blessings! (We are very good at counting!)

IMPORTANT!

Remember if your student is struggling with confidence or skills in math have them practice a little extra each night in their IXL account. It can make a BIG difference in their experience of math. IXL | Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish

6th Grade Math – Mrs. VonFeldt 

The sixth graders are using their graphing skills this week. They will be plotting points on a coordinate graph. When they have this skill down, we will find ways to use graphing to solve problems, including finding the distance between two points. The video below is a good review of the vocabulary associated with coordinate planes and how to plot ordered pairs:

7th Grade Math – Mrs. VonFeldt & Mrs. Evans

The 7th graders began Module 2 last week, learning about rates, unit rates and constant rates. Unit rates are just rates that compare to one unit.

Unit rates are relevant to everyday math. We use them when we compare items at the grocery store. As you notice unit rates this week, as a family, point them out to your student!

After we looked closely at how to write rates as unit rates, we analyzed whether series of rates were constant, which is to say that they have a unit rate that does not change. When rates are constant we call them proportional and we can write proportional equations to represent them, as well as representing them in tables and graphs. This week we will be learning to show proportional relationships in graphs, tables and equations. Here is a video about proportional relationships from Khan Academy:

This week we will reinforce all these lessons and take a test on Module 4 on Thursday.

8th Grade Math – Mrs. Evans

Last week, we are finished our introduction to basic functions in 8th grade math. After we finished with functions we reviewed what we know about exponents and prepared to expand on them this week. We will learn to use negative exponents and simplify using the laws of exponents. Here is a list of the rules of exponents that is very helpful. We will have a quiz on exponents (lessons 1 and 2 in chapter 3 of our book) on Thursday.

Algebra – Mrs. VonFeldt

In Algebra, we are finishing up Chapter 3. There will be a test on Thursday. Students should be able to graph linear functions using a variety of strategies. They can create an x, y table and plot points; they can find x and y intercepts, using them to draw a line; and they can use slope-intercept form (y = mx + b) to graph a line using the y-intercept and the slope. We also learned how to write equations in function notation this week.