Monday, May 24, 2010

ACE 3.3 Making Cylinders & Prisms from Nets; Linear Equations

LARGE GROUP
Students shared their ACE 3.2 homework, and we talked about the problem involving a room full of cylinders. Then we focused on nets and surface area of cylinders, with Problem 3.3, Making Cylinders & Prisms from Nets, which you can download here. Student groups designed nets to try to duplicate a cylinders they chose (salt shakers, glasses, etc.) and then they worked from nets (you can download the prisms and cylinder nets here) and calculated the surface area of the cylinder and 2 prisms, and their volume. Class notes may be downloaded here for class 7A or class 7B.

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 3.3
Option 1
Problems 15-17 on the handout, which you can download here.

Option 2
Problems 17 and 31-32 on the handout, which you can download here.
(Note that you already did problem 26!)

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, May 25, if you are not busy with Play Practice.

SMALL GROUP
Students did more work on Linear Equations with MaryBeth. They worked on Problem 7 on the handout which you can download here.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 1.3
Finish Problem 7, do 8 and 9 on the handout which you can download here.

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, May 25, if you are not busy with Play Practice.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

ACE 3.2: Filling Cylinders and Linear equations

LARGE GROUP
In large group today we did a warm-up identifying prisms and pyramids and solving some measurement problems. We talked about how to find the volume of triangular vs. rectangular prisms, multiplying the area of the Base by the height of the prism. And we also reviewed circles, and found that a little over 3 radius squares fit in the area of a circle.

Then we went over Problem 3.2, in which we compared the volume and surface area of two cylinders, one made of a sheet of paper the long, thin way (Tom), and one made out of the same size paper the short, fat way (Jerry). Students made conjectures about whether the cylinders would have equal volume, then tested to find out. They did the same with surface area. We found that the Jerry cylinder had a larger base circle area, and that the volume ended up being larger than the Tom cylinder, even though the Tom cylinder was taller. We also found that the Jerry cylinder had bigger surface area, because although the curved surfaces were equal, the Base area of Jerry was larger. The problem may be downloaded here, and class notes may be downloaded here.

We don't have another math class until next Monday. Have a great rest of the week!

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 3.2

Problems 2, 8-12, and 26 on the handout, which you can download here.

Due Monday, May 24.

SMALL GROUP
Students worked with Cory today. They shared their answers from the Additional Practice homework, then work on parts A and B of Problem 1.3, Raising Money, which you can download here. Students also looked at Linear Equations like ax+b=c and ax=c, and how they show up on a graph, and how we can write them from story problems.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 1.3

Problems 6 and 7 on the handout, which you can download here.

Due Monday, May 24.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Volume of Prisms & Linear Function Equations

LARGE GROUP
Students completed a reflection about the ERB, answering these 3 questions:
1. What went well for you?
2. What was difficult?
3. Do you have any questions about any of the math on the test?

Then we discussed Problem 3.1, Filling Fancy Boxes, which you can download here. Student groups made 4 prisms with an increasing number of sides out the same size sheet of paper, with equal height, and compared their volumes and surface areas in different ways. Some groups filled them with unit cubes, others filled them with beans or lentils, and others made measurements and calculations.

We found that the conjecture that the volume increases as the number of sides of the prism increases was correct. Tomorrow we will discuss what happens to the surface area. Class notes may be downloaded here (class 7A, class 7B).

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
ACE 3.1 Homework

Problems 1 and 23-25 on the handout, which you can download here.

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18.

SMALL GROUP
Students completed a reflection about the ERB, answering these 3 questions:
1. What went well for you?
2. What was difficult?
3. Do you have any questions about any of the math on the test?

Students worked with MaryBeth today on more about linear functions and equations, working on ACE 1.2, problems #3 h-j, 4, and 5 in Group A, and problems 3h-j and 4 in Group B. The problems can be downloaded here.

Goals for the class were:
1. To understand how rate shows up in a table and on a graph (the higher the rate, the steeper the line).
2. To write equations that can be used to calculate distance traveled in a given number of hours.
3. To use x and y as variables in the equation instead of d and t and understand why (independent and dependent variable).
4. To understand how rate shows up in an equation.
5. To solve equations for either x or y.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK:
GROUP A: Additional Practice Investigation 1, problems 1-4 (which you can download here)
GROUP B: ACE #5 which you can download here; Additional Practice Investigation 1, problems 1-4 (which you can download here)

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

3D Geometry & Linear Functions

LARGE GROUP
Today the large group finished working on the packaging blocks problem. In the problem, students took 24 cubes and figured out how many different rectangular prisms (boxes) they could make, their dimensions, their surface area, and their volume. They found that long and skinny boxes had big surface areas, whereas short stubby ones that looked more like cubes had smaller surface area, and thus used less paper (more eco-friendly!). We also talked about prisms and pyramids. Class notes may be downloaded here for class 7A and class 7B.

We also talked a bit about exponents and powers, examining patterns in the powers of 10 and powers of 3 with some Montessori materials that illustrate this well. Understanding square and cubic units relies on a good understanding of exponents and powers.

No homework tonight, but students should remember to bring a calculator with them tomorrow for ERB testing.

No math class until Monday; have a great weekend!

SMALL GROUPS
Students met with Cory today to continue work with Linear Functions. They worked on Problem 1.3 from Moving Straight Ahead, and on problems 1-7 on the Skill Sheet on Linear Relationships, which you can download here.

No homework tonight, but students should remember to bring a calculator with them tomorrow for ERB testing.

No math class until Monday; have a great weekend!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Review of Graphs, Unit Test, Fraction Operations, Geometry; Small Group Linear Functions

LARGE GROUPS
The large group covered a lot of ground today. We shared homework analyzing graphs from the work we did Thursday. Then we discussed the Unit Test answers from the Accentuate the Negative unit. We had a quick review of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions, sharing strategies, including converting mixed numbers into improper fractions, and decomposing mixed numbers into whole plus fraction numbers using the distributive property. Finally, we talked a little more about 3 dimensional geometry, including pyramids and prisms. You can download class notes here for class 7A and class 7B.

No homework tonight. Get lots of rest for testing tomorrow. No math class till Wednesday.

SMALL GROUPS
The small groups met with MaryBeth today. Students shared homework analyzing graphs from the work we did Thursday. Then students reviewed coordinate graphing, including negative integer coordinates. We made a card about linear functions and linear graphing, and students started work on Problem 1.2, Linear Relationships in Tables, Graphs, and Equations.

No homework tonight. Get lots of rest for testing tomorrow. No math class till Wednesday.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Using Graphs to Interpret Information

Today all the students met together with Sima. Large groups received their Unit Tests back. We all talked about different kinds of graphs, and which kinds of graphs display certain kinds of information best. The graphs we discussed were bar graphs, pictographs, histograms, line graphs, pie graphs (also known as pie charts), and stem and leaf plots. Class notes may be downloaded here.

HOMEWORK
Please complete one of 3 handouts asking for interpretation of different graphs.

What's the Weather may be downloaded here; it asks for interpretation of one pictograph.
Name Your Tune may be downloaded here; it asks for interpretation of 4 different pictorgraphs.
History of Populations may be downloaded here; it asks for interpretation of 4 different pie graphs.

LARGE GROUP: Please make corrections to your Unit Test in colored pencil.

Due Monday, May 10. Have a great weekend, and don't forget to bring a calculator for ERB testing every day next week.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

3D Geometry: Nets, Surface Area, and Volume

LARGE GROUP
We talked about 3-dimensional geometry today. First we worked on a problem at a box factory, where Emma had to find all the possible nets (2 dimensional figures that can be folded into a box) that would create a cube; the problem can be downloaded here. Both classes found that there were 11 unique nets that can make cubes. Then we worked on another box problem where a factory wants to find all the possible boxes with volume 24 cubic inches possible. Students were reminded of a couple of formulas:

volume = length x width x height
surface area = 2 (length x width) + 2 (width x height) + 2 (length x height)

Class notes may be downloaded here for class 7A and class 7B.

LARGE GROUP HOMEWORK
Please complete problems 1-5 and 7-14 on the handout, which you can download here.

Due tomorrow, Thursday, May 6.

SMALL GROUPS
The small groups worked with Cory today. Students received their Unit Tests and made corrections, going over their work with Cory, including a review of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with fractions. Then they worked on some concepts in 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional geometry including terms often used on standardized tests.

SMALL GROUP HOMEWORK
Please make your corrections to the Unit Test in colored pencil, without erasing or scratching out your original answers.

Due
tomorrow, Thursday, May 6.