The week of Oct.17th - Oct. 21th, 2011

Math IA

Scatter plots and number types are the big topics this week.  I am predicting that we will spend most of our time multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers.  In my experience, this is often one of the most challenging topics for algebra students.  But, hopefully, if we prepare a good foundation now then later, when we introduce variables with fractional coefficients, they are more likely to be successful.   I am planning to give a large exam at the end of this week.  Any time you can spend practicing with your son or daughter would be helpful.

The week of Oct.12th - Oct. 14th, 2011

Math IA

We will spend a short week exploring real numbers.  Whenever we cover this topic, I am reminded of an old proverb…

Don't be like the frog at the bottom of the well who looks up at that small circle of stars and thinks that is all there is to heaven.  

My job this week is to expand my students’ sense of what is a number.  They know how to count, and they understand zero, but do they know where to put the square root of five on a number line? Can they tell a rational number from an irrational number? And if we have time, we might even discover complex numbers.