Happy Holidays!

Today, some students took advantage of the opportunity to add a little more to their tests, as many chose NOT to show work yesterday--what were they thinking?? Afterwards, students were treated to singing some reworked holiday songs--with a science or math twist. It was an enjoyable way to ease into a long and well-deserved winter break.

Tonight's Homework: None, unless you wish to complete the extra credit problem you received in class today. Enjoy your break, and be safe. See you in January!

Area and Perimeter Test Today

Students took the test over finding area and perimeter of triangles, trapezoids and parallelograms today. This test took students the entire period to complete, leaving them with no homework for the evening.

Tonight's Homework: None. However, you might want to clean out your notebook, and recycle all papers related to finding the area and perimeter of parallelograms, trapezoids and triangles, as you won't need these in January.

Review for Area Test

Today, we spent time reviewing for the test we will be taking in class on Thursday. The test will cover material in Lessonss 3.5 and 10.1, which deals with the area and perimeter of triangles and parallelograms, trapezoids, and rectangles.

Tonight's Homework: Study for the test by reviewing your work. Also, complete page 154 ( 14 - 16 ) and page 526 ( 11 - 16 ).

Comparing Area Formulae

Today, we began by reviewing how to find the area of a trapezoid. There are two different formulae, and they are very similar. We took another look at the "Trapezoids to Parallelograms" animation, and then worked through the thinking to derive each of the area formulae. Students were instructed to use these answers as review material for the test they will be taking in class on Thursday.

We then looked at another way to determine the area of a parallelogram. This time, we used dot paper, and constructed a rectangle around the parallelogram. Then, using our knowledge of how to find the area of a triangle, we sliced off triangles from the rectangle to determine the area of the parallelogram.

Tonight's Homework: Complete the purple worksheet with the dot grids on it (questions, too). Then do page 729 ( 20 - 24 ). Don't forget to start studying for the test over areas of parallelograms and triangles.

Trapezoids Problem Solving Activity

Students spent most of the period working either alone or in small groups on problems related to finding dimensions of trapezoids. Some of the problems asked for the area to be determined. Other problems asked students to find one of the base dimensions, given the other base dimension, the height, and the area. This work is due on Monday.

Tonight's Homework: Complete the front sides of each worksheet for Monday if you were not able to do so in class today.

Finding Area of Trapezoids

We did an activity called Trapezoid Cut Outs today in class to help us see how to find the area of trapezoids. This activity was followed by a similar activity called Trapezoids to Parallelograms. Students worked in pairs to gather measurements about trapezoids and determine the areas of those trapezoids.

Tonight's Homework: Complete the cream colored worksheet on trapezoids. For extra credit, you can do the Magic Number worksheet (both sides).

Perimeter and Area of Trapezoids

We continued our investigation of perimeter and area today by looking at another interesting shape called the trapezoid. A trapezoid is another type of quadrilateral, meaning it has 4 sides. The unique thing about trapezoids are that they have exactly 2 sides that are parallel. Trapezoids can be thought of as a triangle with its top chopped off.

Tonight's Homework: Finish the purple worksheet, and do Lesson 10.1 ( 17 - 19, 23 - 25, trapezoids only).

More on Parallelograms

We reviewed how to find the perimeter and the area of any parallelogram. To find the perimeter, add the lengths of the four sides together. To find the area, multiply the base measurement and the height. Be sure to use the correct labels! Perimeter labels are in units, while area labels include square units.

We looked at four different ways to determine the area of a parallelogram:
Use the formula: A = bh
Rearrange the parallelogram into a rectangle, and then count the number of squares inside the rectangle.
Rearrange the parallelogram into a rectangle, and then use the formula A - lw
Count the number of squares inside the parallelogram.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 10.1 ( 20, 21, 23 - 25, 38, 45 )

Area and Perimeter of Parallelograms

Today is the first day of the second trimester of the school year. (One down, two to go!) Students received weekly grade slips and were encouraged to begin the term off on a positive note by asking a parent to sign the slip tonight. Reflections and goal sheets were collected at the beginning of class.

A parallelogram is a special kind of quadrilateral. It has two pairs of parallel sides. Students worked in pairs to determine the perimeter of three different types of parallelograms. After we agreed that we could find these with relative ease, we went on to finding the area of the different figures. We determined that the best way to determine the area of a parallelogram is to reconfigure the parallelogram into a rectangle.

Tonight's Homework: Finish the purple worksheet (front and back) and do Lesson 10.1 ( 8 - 14 )

The First Trimester is History!

Classes were shortened today because today is the last day of the grading period, and we had an assembly to promote the holiday food drive. During our 23 minutes together, we cleaned out our notebooks, got our quiz scores, and played a game. Not a bad way to end the term, if you ask me.

Tonight's Homework: Complete the worksheet you received in class today.

Civil War = No Homework!

Students took a quiz over solving multi-step equations in class today. Most were able to finish with time enough to complete the extra credit task.

Because of the big football game this evening, there was no homework assigned. Enjoy the night with no homework, and if you go to the game, be safe.

Tonight's Homework: None

More on Using the Magic Power with Ugly Equations

We went over more problems that had fractions and decimals in them, and determined what we would do to create more pleasant-looking problems for us to solve. Students were really good at identifying the magic number to use for a given equation by the end of the review.

We also did some visual thinking problems--cubes in a row, triangles in a row and dots--to help students see patterns in a different way. We will revisit these problems in the very near future.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 6.3 ( 27 - 38 )

Using The Magic Power with Decimals

We reviewed how to use the magic power to eliminate fractions from equations, and then investigated whether this same idea could be used on equations with decimals. To our delight, we determined it worked, and the magic number was always some power of 10. Students worked in groups to practice clearing out fractions and decimals by using the magic number.

Tonight's Homework: Lesson 6.3 ( 9 - 22 ). Once again, check steps are optional.