Wednesday 9/30

We finished Lesson 3.1 in class today. All students should now be experts in determining the rate of change and unit rate from a graph. Please remember to use the solutions linked above to check and correct your classwork and homework.

Be sure you understand and can use the key terms from this lesson:

• rate
• rate of change
• per
• unit rate
• rise
• run

Homework: Textbook page 143

Tuesday 9/29

Today we took a look at Lesson 3.1 in more detail, learning the four-step process to determine the rate of change from a graph.

Parents: Ask your child to describe the four-step process for finding the rate of change from a graph. If they're not quite confident, you'll know they need to review pages 133-134 before beginning their homework.

Homework: Finish textbook pages 137-139

Monday 9/28

We spent today working in MATHia and also passed back MATHia grades from the grading period that closed on Friday.

Homework: MATHia practice

Thursday 9/24

Congrats on finishing a quick, but productive, week! Enjoy your three-and-a-half-day weekend. :-D

Also, don't forget that the MATHia grading period closes on Friday night at midnight. Have you met your goals yet?

Wednesday HW Solutions: Chapter 3 Pre-Test answer key

Here is this week's extra credit:

Wednesday 9/23

We took our Chapter 2 Test today in class and will be moving on to Chapter 3 tomorrow.

Have you reached your MATHia goals?

Homework: Chapter 3 Pre-Test

Tuesday 9/22

I was not there today, but in my absence you finished Chapter 2 with Mr. Simpson. Together, you took a look at non-linear functions with Lesson 2.7. This completes our introduction to functions, and brings us to the Chapter 2 test.

Math 8 teachers will be available in The Community tonight from 7:30 to 8:30 to answer any questions you have about Chapter 2. All you have to do is log on and post a question, and we'll get right back to you!

Be sure to study tonight, review the key concepts with the Chapter 2 Summary, carefully study the Chapter 2 Pre-Test, and prepare all of your work for tomorrow's test (it's an open book, open assignment test). We want everyone to be successful, so please do your part. Come prepared!

Homework: Textbook page 114 "Talk the Talk"; Study for the test!

Monday 9/21

We continued our conquest of the islands of MATHia today in class. Our second MATHia grading period ends on Friday. Have you met your goals yet? If not, what will it take to get there by the end of the week?

We'll be finishing Chapter 2 tomorrow and taking our test on Wednesday. Please begin your studying right away so you'll be fully prepared to demonstrate mastery on Wednesday's test. The Chapter 2 Pre-Test that you got a couple weeks ago is THE BEST study guide. The textbook chapter summaries, old class work, and old homework make excellent study tools as well.

Homework: MATHia practice

Friday 9/18

Week 6 is in the books and Chapter 2 is now almost complete. That means our Chapter 2 test is right around the corner! Have you been studying and reviewing your homework and class work each day?

Also, are you on track to meet your MATHia goals? You can check your progress in the toolbar above.

Here is this week's extra credit:

Thursday 9/17

We finished Lesson 2.6 today, which now completes our analysis of linear functions. We should now be able to tell all the scenarios when U.S. Shirts is the better buy, and when Hot Shirts is the better buy (and be able to defend our reasoning to our boss!).

If there's anything from today's class work that didn't get finished in class or needs to be improved, please fix it up at home and feel free to check your answers with the link above. Get into the routine of checking your work at home daily and you'll find studying for tests and doing your homework is much easier!

Homework: Finish textbook pages 105-106

Wednesday 9/16

Today we continued our look at linear functions, equations, tables, and graphs with the first part of Lesson 2.6 and wrapped up the last part of Lesson 2.5.

We discovered that we've got a competitor in the shirt-making marketplace and our boss has tasked us with some analysis.

Homework: Textbook pages 96-97 "Talk the Talk"

Tuesday HW Solutions: Simplifying Expressions WS answer key

Tuesday 9/15

Today we began Lesson 2.5, which focuses on using tables, graphs, and equations. Be sure to review the solutions to today's class work to make sure you're on the right track and fully mastering all of these different skills.

Need help with your homework or class work? Be sure to visit The Community and request some assistance!

Homework: Simplify Expressions WS

Monday 9/14

We worked in MATHia today and began the second MATHia grading period. We passed back our first MATHia grades of the year, so everyone now knows their strengths and weaknesses, and what they need to improve upon for this next grading period.

Need help getting MATHia configured at home? Check out Carnegie Learning's MATHia support page.

For those that know they need to brush up on the distributive property and combining like terms, check out the links below for additional practice. It's tough to succeed in Math 8 without being proficient in all your Math 6 & 7 skills.

Distributive property practice
Combining like terms practice

Homework: MATHia practice (30 minutes each week)

Friday 9/11

We took our first common assessment of the year. Many of you did very, very well, while some still have some room for improvement. Here are the new performance bands for common-core based assessments:

Level 4: Standards Exceeded

Level 3: Standards Met

Level 2: Standards Nearly Met

Level 1: Standards Not Met

"Standards Exceeded" and "Standards Met" both represent passing grades for Common Assessments, Final Exams, and the CAASPP test at the end of the year. If you didn't reach your goals this time, don't panic. But please make some adjustments right away to ensure your performance improves as the year continues. We want everyone to be able to demonstrate mastery!

Parents: Ask your son or daughter how they did on today's common assessment. More importantly, ask them why they think those were their results. If they're not pleased with their scores thus far, ask them what plan they'll be enacting to be more successful next time. 

There are a host of things proven to help achievement (reviewing homework and reflecting on errors nightly, seeking peer help in The Community, increasing study time, working harder on class work, increasing MATHia time, coming to see me for help before or after school, using the internet as a resource for concepts not well understood, etc.)

The first MATHia grading period ends tonight at midnight. Have you met your goals yet?

Here is this week's extra credit:
 

Thursday 9/10

We dove into linear functions today with Lesson 2.4. We took a look at how word problems, constants, variables, tables, expressions, equations, graphs, domains, and ranges are connected.

Tomorrow we'll be taking Common Assessment #1. Be sure to study tonight, to get a good night's sleep, and to eat a nutritious breakfast tomorrow. We want everyone to be successful!

Also, the first MATHia grading period ends tomorrow at midnight. Have you met your goals for this grading period yet? If not, make some plans to spent more time in MATHia today or tomorrow. You can check you progress at the link in the toolbar above.

Homework: Textbook pages 89-90 (#1-6)

Wednesday 9/9

We finished our introduction to relations and functions today with the second half of Lesson 2.3. On to linear functions tomorrow, and our first common assessment on Friday!

Reminder: If you'd like to retake your chapter 1 test to improve your grade you can do so during lunch any day this week. The deadline is Friday.

Homework: Summarize what we learned yesterday and today, using and explaining all key terms (there are 10).

Tuesday 9/8

Today we began our look at relations and functions with the first half of Lesson 2.3. We'll finish the second half of the lesson tomorrow.

We'll also be taking Common Assessment #1 on Friday. It'll cover all the topics learned in Chapter 1. A study guide has been uploaded to the Documents Locker. The study guide, textbook chapter summary, and chapter 1 test will be your best study tools.

Parents: Ask your students about relations, functions, input, output, x values, y values, domain, range, mappings, and sets today to determine how much they learned. There were a lot of new key terms presented today that we want them to master.

Homework: Textbook pg 72 (#4-9)

Friday 9/4

We passed back the Chapter 1 Test today and went over the correct solutions. Afterwards, we worked in MATHia for the rest of the period.

If you're not satisfied with your grade, you're welcome to retake the test during lunch anytime within a week. Grades can be improved up to a maximum score of 75% ("C") on a retake. Be sure to study this weekend to get yourself prepared. MATHia can help!

Have a great three-day-weekend. Happy Labor Day!

Here is this week's extra credit:

Thursday 9/3

Today in class we finished our look at making sense of graphs and how they apply to the real world with the second half of Lesson 2.2.

Also the MATHia Results tab at the top has now been updated. Definitely check that link out regularly to see if you're on track to meet your MATHia goals!

Homework: TB pgs 64-65 #4 (a-d)

Wednesday 9/2

We looked at the first part of Lesson 2.2 today, which focused on the characteristics of graphs. By now you should be able to explain the following terms in your own words:

• discrete graph
• continuous graph
• linear graph
• collinear points
• non-linear graph

Parents: Ask your student to describe each graph shown here (also available on pages 57 & 58 in our textbook) using the terms and methods learned today. If they can do it without using any resources, you know they mastered the lesson! 

Homework: Summarize what we learned today, using and explaining all key terms. Extra credit: Post your summary in The Community to share with your peers!

Tuesday 9/1

Today we jumped into Chapter 2 with Lesson 2.1, which focused on sequences. We learned today that often times you have to do a lot of critical thinking and deep analysis to write sequences and discover patterns, clues, and rules. There's no substitute for this careful consideration and critical thinking, and it takes honest, determined practice to get good at it.

Tonight's homework will require this kind of careful consideration. Feel free to use all tools at your disposal (drawings, charts, tables, whatever!). Remember to think first about what the problem is asking you to do (is it only one thing, or more than one thing?). Then consider what you know, and what clues may have been left for you. The next step is to come up with a plan to solve.

Parents: If you're helping your son or daughter at home, please consider asking the above questions first and pushing them to try to "unlock" the problem on their own. It may not come naturally, but that's what they need to practice. The process is the goal, not necessarily the final solution. There are only a few problems on each nightly assignment, but they do require a great deal of deep thinking and careful work.

Homework: Textbook pgs 50-53 (Problems 7, 10, and 11)

Answers for all the class work and homework can be found at the Lesson 2.1 link above. Be sure to try the thinking on your own first, then check to see how you did. Going straight to the solutions robs you of the chance to learn and grow. Getting things "done" is not the point.