Week of Sept. 29th

This week we will begin discussing percents.

Monday - We will change continue with last weeks information of converting fractions to decimals and convert terminating and repeating decimals where the entire decimal is repeating.

Tuesday - We will introduce percents and convert our fractions and decimals to percents.

Wednesday - We will learn to calculate percent of a number focusing on sales tax, tip, and discount.

Thursday and Friday - We will begin solving simple 1-step equations with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Bonus Question of the Week:

On a piece of paper, copy this problem down and work it.  Make sure you show all your work and that your answer has a correct label.  Turn it in by Thursday, Oct. 2nd for 10 Bonus points.

Ryan transfers 15% of his monthly pay into a savings account. If Max makes $1850 per month, how much will he save in a year?

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014

Today, we will change fractions to terminating and repeating decimals.  To change a fraction to a decimal you divide the numerator by the denominator.

                       .  6

                   _____

ex.  3/5 = 5 | 3 . 0            so 3/5 = 0.6

                   -3   0

                  ______

                          0

The .6 is a terminating decimal because it stops with a remainder of 0.

A repeating decimal is a decimal number that repeats a single digit or group of digits.

                   __

ex.  1/3 =  0.3

When you divide 1 by 3 the 3 repeats.  Once it repeats 3 times you can consider it to be a repeating decimal.  You write the number of group of numbers one time and put a bar on top of the number or group of numbers that repeat.

We will also receive in class a list of 41 fraction to decimal equivalents to divide.

Click here for a list of equivalents that I want you to memorize.

We will also introduce the calculator to help with converting fractions to decimals.

Week of Sept. 22nd

This week we will have our second test, Test 1-2.  This test will cover operations with integers, mixed numbers, and decimals.  We will review on Monday and then test on Tuesday.  We are also supposed to have our first Pep Rally on Tuesday which will possibly modify our afternoon class schedule.  If I feel the students will not have enough time to complete the test I may postpone it until Wednesday.  If that happens I will just flip Tuesday and Wednesday's schedule on my calendar.

Wednesday, we will convert fractions to terminating and repeating decimals.  The students will enjoy this day because we will also introduce the graphing calculators.  The students will also receive a list of 41 fraction to decimal equivalents that I will want them to memorize.  Don't worry, there is a trick to memorizing them.

Thursday, we will carry our fractions to decimals one step further, to percents.

Friday, we will begin finding percent of a number.  We will be looking at sales tax and discount to teach this lesson.  So next time you go shopping have your child figure what the sales tax might be on your purchase.

Bonus Question of the week:

The Rodriguez family went to dinner at Pasta Palace. Mr. Rodriguez ordered a meal for
$6.25; Mrs. R ordered a meal for $7.50; the 2 children ordered individual pizzas for
$4.99 each. The sales tax rate was 7.25% and they left a 15% tip. How much was the
total bill?

Copy the question, solve, and turn it in by Friday for 10 Bonus points.

Decimal Operations

Thursday and Friday we discussed decimal operations.  This is something that the students should be good at because they have been learning decimals since 4th and 5th grade.

Addition and Subtraction

-There is one thing to remember when adding and subtracting decimals:  line up the decimals.  Along with that add zeros as place holders and add or subtract you numbers.

-To multiply decimals you multiply the numbers as though the numbers do not have decimals.  Just line up your numbers and multiply.  To determine where the decimal goes you count the numbers to the right of the decimal in each number in the problem.  The sum is equal to the number of places you move the decimal to the left in your answer.

-To divide decimals you have to make sure your divisor (the number on the outside) is a whole number.  If it is not you move the decimal to the right until it is a whole number.  The number of places you moved the decimal in your divisor you move the decimal in your dividend, the number under the "house."  Once you have moved the decimal in both the divisor and dividend you bring the decimal to the top and divide.

(Images taken from Google Images)

Divide Fractions and Mixed Numbers

To divide fractions we first need to understand a reciprocal.  Reciprocals are two fractions, that when multiplied, equal 1.

Examples:

Fractions                 Reciprocals

     5 = 5/1                   1/5

     3/4                         4/3 = 1  1/3

     3  2/3 = 11/3          3/11

So you turn the number into a fraction if it is not already and then just flip it.

To help us remember how to divide fractions we learned a a little rap.

  To De-vide fractions

  Don't ask why

  Just flip the second

  And Multiply

  To Multiply fractions

  You know you've gottem

  It's top times top

  And Bottom times bottom.

If you would like to listen to the rap click here to here my class.

Here is an example of 

Multiplying Mixed Numbers

The past two days we have been learning to multiply positive and negative mixed numbers.  The students found this to be easier than expected.

To multiply mixed numbers you first must change each number in the problem to a fraction.  If you have a mixed number you use the "Popcorn Method" to change it to a fraction.

If the number is a whole number you just put a 1 as the denominator.  Once you have fractions you multiply the numerators together and then the denominators and simplify your answer.

In this example we simplified our answer by dividing 195 by 20.  The second way we simplified we looked for what 15 and 20 had in common and divided by the common factor.  The students learned that there is a 3rd way to simplify.  You can simplify the problem before you multiply.

Week of September 15th

This week in class we will finish mixed number operations and begin decimal operations.  The students did very well adding and subtracting positive and negative mixed numbers.  I was very pleased with how they performed.

Students will receive their 1st six weeks Progress Reports on Tuesday.  I realize some parents are used to the Parent Portal from the previous gradebook, hopefully, it will be available soon.

Math and Science teacher's will be trained on our new digital textbooks this next week.  So students should be getting information of the books soon as well.

Wednesday is Fall Picture day.

Bonus Problem for Students - worth 10 points

"The training session held 50 people. On Monday 38 people attended. On Wednesday 46  people attended. On Thursday only 1/2 as many as Wednesday's group attended. How many  people attended this week?"

To earn the 10 points you must write the question of a sheet of paper, answer the question with its correct label, and turn it in by Friday, Sept. 19th.