Tuesday October 11, 2011

***UNIT 2 TEST THIS FRIDAY***

Test will cover...
- Combining like terms
- Evaluating expressions
- Solving 1-step equation
- Solving 1-step inequalities

I will put together a study sheet for students that will cover every type of question from the test. This will go home with them Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday will be strickly Unit review in class so between class time and completing their study sheet at home, they will have plenty of opportunity to prepare for this exam.


Today we will introduce the final concept in Unit 2 - Solving 1 step inequalities

The good news is that 1-step inequalities is VERY similar to solving 1-step equations. The only difference is that we are not dealing with equations (think: equal sign) but instead inequalities (less than, greater than, less than or equal to, greater than or equal to). Students will solve for the variable and graph their solution on a number line.  A closed dot is inclusive (includes the number where the dot is located), an open circle is exclusive (does not include the number where the circle is located)

Below are examples from tonights homework

Solving Inequalities

Solve for x, then draw and graph on a number line

1.)    x + 15 < 34                      2.)   x + 19 ≥ 43                               3.)  x + 42 < 132

   answer: x < 19                             answer: x ≥ 24                               answer:  x < 90

4.)  45 + x ≤ 73                        5.)   x – 12 < 27                                6.)  63 ≥ x – 14

  answer:  x ≤ 28                           answer: x < 39                                 answer:  x ≤ 77

7.) 15x > 45                             8.)  120 ≤ 12x                                    9.)  7x > 77

  answer:  x ≤ 3                            answer:  x ≥ 10                                answer:  x > 11

10.)  x / 15 ≤ 60                      11.)  150 > x / 5                                 12.)  56 ≤ x / 9

 answer:  x ≤ 900                          answer:  x < 750                              answer: x ≥ 504

Monday October 10, 2011

Today students will receive their grades quizzes from Friday. I was pleased with the way many scored on the quiz, but also disappointed with some of the results. Quizes have been hole punched and should be placed in their binder. I encourage parents to ask to see their grades quiz to see where students made mistakes.

There were WAY too many students that were suprised that we even had a quiz on Friday. It has been on the calandar in my room all week, on my blog every day, and I have reminded them every day about the quiz on Friday. It was clear that many students did not prepare AT ALL for the quiz, and their score reflects their preparation. 

Today we will go over the quiz and quickly review each question.

We will also be answering a series of questions about what they have experienced in my class so far this year. I will print out a copy of thier latest grade and attach it to their answers to the questions. Students will use their answers to these questions for the Student Lead Conferences on Tuesday from 4:00-5:00. All parents are encouraged to attend to discuss these answers with their students. Teachers will be in attendance but this is not a parent/ teacher conference (I will be in attendance from 4:00-4:30) . It is an opportunity for students to discuss with students their progress or difficulties in class. The questions they will answer include...

1.)  What has been the most difficult part of 6th grade math?

2.)  What have you done to prepare for quizzes and tests?

3.)  Are you taking notes and writing down examples from class and using them to study for quizzes and tests?

4.)  Do you feel like your grade is an accurate representation of the effort you are putting into class?

5.)  If your grade is not where you like, what can you do to help raise your grade (are you missing homework? quiz/ test grades low? study habits? note taking skills?)

6.)  If there is a concept you have difficulty with, have you asked your teacher for tutoring or extra help?

7.)  Have you used your binder as a way to stay organized in class or does your binder need work? If I asked you to see all of your notes, old homework assignments, quizzes, and tests, would you know exactly where they are in your binder?

Friday October 7

Friday we will use the last 25 minutes of class for our exit quiz over Evaluating expressions and Solving equations

The quiz will consist of 8 questions ( I told the class 6, we added 2 more)

(1) addition 1-step equation  ex.   x + 5 = 20
(1) subtraction 1-step equation    ex.   g - 7 = 23
(1) multiplication 1-step equation   ex.    5h = 30
(1) division 1-step equation    ex.  d/4 = 10

(3) evaluating expressions    ex.    4x - 5  if x=3
(1) write an expression given data

I will also add an extra credit question

Define the term:
SOLVE - To find the value of a variable


The first 25 minutes of class will consist of a group review relay game to practice evaluating expressions. Students will work in teams of 5 to "race" to evaluate a group of expressions

Students have known about this quiz all week and I feel that they have a good understanding of this material. I am looking forward to a lot of good grades on this quiz!

Thursday October 6

First thing today I will check for completion of last night's homework on 1 -step equations. I will take a grade based on the effort they put into homework. If students attempted to complete most of the problems, they will score a 100 for their work. If it is clear that they did not attempt to solve the equations, their grade will be lower.

We will then review the homework and go over any type of problems that students had a problem with. They seemed to "get it" during class when I could help them with their practice,  but I am sure that some struggled when they got home and were on their own.

We will then look into word problems and 1-step equations. There were 4 word problems on their homework that they were instructed NOT to do last night. Again, the EOG loves to put simple problems in word form so students need to be able to translate words into an equation then solve the equation.

An example of an EOG style word problem would look like...

John had a bag with 60 total pieces of candy. He and his friends ate a total of 24 pieces. Write an equation that shows how much candy he has left in his bag.

answer:     24 + X = 60

Many students come up with 60 - 24 = X which is also true. When they come up with this answer, they are actually completing the "isolate the variable" step in their heads. The important thing is that they realize that these 2 answers are the same.



ALSO, reminder that there is TUTORING today from 3:30-4:30. Please have transportation arrangements and have your child sign up in my class if they plan on attending tutoring


Quiz on Friday over evaluating equations and solving 1 step equations.

Wednesday October 5

Today we will continue with SOLVING 1 step equations, but now focusing on equations that involve multiplication and division.

Students will be introduced to different signs that mean divide. Many students have not seen a fraction bar or slash used as symbol meaning to divide, but they will from now on.

Some examples include


s / 6 = 7   (this reads:  "s divided by 6 equals 7")        answer:   s = 42

v / 5 = 9          answer:    v = 45

26 = x / 3        answer:    x = 78

5g = 20           answer:    g = 4

3f = 21            answer:    f = 7


Steps to Solving equations

1.) Isolate the variable (get it by itself) by performing the inverse (opposite) operation
2.) Whatever we do to 1 side of the equation, we must do to the other
3.) Check by substituting your answer into the original equation

Example:

5x = 45

Isolate the variable by dividing both sides of the equation by 5

this leaves us with...   

x = 9

Now substitute 9 into the original equation

5 (9) = 45     this is a balanced equation so we know  x = 9 is correct!


Students will have homework tonight for solving equations. I will be taking a grade on this homework so make sure it is done and brought back in their binder!

There is a quiz over evaluating expressions and solving equations on Friday

Tuesday October 4

Today we will continue working on SOLVING 1 step equations. All of the 1 step equations today will focus on addition and subtraction. Some examples include

Solve for x

x - 12 = 8

x + 74 = 98

x - 46 = 12

19 + x = 26

There is NO homework tonight. There will be homework on Wednesday that will cover addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of 1 step equations

There is a QUIZ on Friday that will cover evaluating expressions and solving equations. I will include sample quiz questions on tomorrow's post

Monday October 3rd

Monday we will begin to get to our 3rd way to do math problems....SOLVE

The last 2 weeks we worked on

Simplify - making a long expression shorter by combining like terms
                 
                ex.  6g + 4 + 3g - 2
                       9g + 2

Evaluate - Substitute number values for letters

              ex.  5f - 4     when f = 5
                    5 (5) - 4
                    25 - 4 = 21

This week we will focus on

Solve - Find the value of a variable

           ex.   p + 14 = 20       solve for p
           
           subtract 14 from both sides to find p = 6

We will start slow with simple one step equations. Students should become familiar with recognizing equations vs. expressions.

An expression is a group of numbers, variables, and/ or operations.

           ex.    6y - 2y + 3 is an expression

An equation is 2 expressions that are equal to each other.

           ex.    6y - 2y + 3 = 27 is an equation (where we could solve for y)