Today we started our new patterning unit by using Gizmos on www.explorelearning.com. The website has applications that will support students throughout the unit. We also started looking at the Fibonacci Sequence that will help us to find patterns in the world around us. Over the weekend, we will be looking for patterns in real life, and taking pictures to share them with the class.
We just completed our Measurement unit all about circles. We learned to find the diameter, radius circumference, and area. Using these ideas, students found the area and perimeter of composite shapes with parts of circles and applied these skills to real world contexts. Our two major assignments were finding the perimeter and area of a block letter "Q" and making the perfect pizza by totalling the area covered by each type of topping.
We are still working on using the GRASP problem solving method to organize and plan our work. G- given information R- required information A- application, what is our plan? S- solve, showing all steps P- prove your work, explain what it means
We have been working hard so far this year in the grade eight math classes! So far we have learned:
1. The mathematical process "GRASP" using Fermi Problems 2. Operations with integers and how to apply them in the real world 3. Data Management using histograms, scatterplots and measures of central tendency to research and prove an argument Through learning these, we have created some really great projects. First, we made Fermi posters solving problems like, "How many peanuts are eaten at a baseball game?", "Which is higher, the CN tower or $1 million in loonies?", "How many smarties would fit in our classroom?" and many others. Next, we finished our integers (Number Sense) unit by tracking statistics in either baseball, weather or stocks and comparing our results using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and supporting our results with what we could learn about our topic. For example, we found that cities below the equator had an overall positive change (heading into spring) while cities above the equator had a negative change (beginning fall) and cities near the equator had little or no total change over the two week period. Recently, students created "Infographics" using the website www.infogr.am . The products turned out amazing! They used primary and secondary data to prove an argument including, "Blue Jays are the best baseball team", "Teens need more education about Mental Health", "Dance is a sport", and much more. The products are cool to look at so ask your child to show you theirs. The example below is what they were shown as a starting point ![]()
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December 2015
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