Indirect Measurement and "Corny" Proportions

 Friday we wrapped up our unit on Similar Figures by working on Indirect Measurement. First thing we did was fill out our mini book Flippable with an example of Indirect Measurement of a Truffala tree from the Lorax) and Max (from Where the Wild Things Are).   We discussed how to determine the height of something if knew the height and shadow length of another thing as well as the shadow of the figure.

After we did that together, we moved on to filling our jar on the different ways that we could use indirect measurements and came up with some great ideas. After that, the students then had to solve word problem about basketball courts.  All students who worked through the word problem and solved it correctly earned a sticker toward a Homework Pass!

Today was a review day since we have a quiz over our unit on Proportions tomorrow. As a review, each student had to come up with their own "Corny" Proportion. It had to be about them and include Candy!

After seeing my example of a proportional candy word problem, they got busy writing. Then after each student wrote their problem, they had to have it approved. Once approved, they went back to solve and decorate. Now, they got a bit of "inspiration" during this time as I passed around some Candy Corn to each student. What a fun way to finish up our unit on proportions.

I honestly can't wait to snap pics of the proportions tomorrow and Wednesday as my students are taking their Proportions Quiz. I know they are more than ready for this quiz and will do amazing!

Don't forget, Extra Credit is due on Wednesday by 4pm to receive a test grade replaced. 

Also, this week's homework is a review from the first six weeks for all my classes.

Making Similar Figures

This week we extended our unit on Proportionality to cover Similar Figures. On Tuesday/Wednesday we made a 3 page Mini Book covering all the various parts of Similar Figures. We also learned that NEW word that I've been teasing about.... SCALE FACTOR! (Remember, if someone emails me by Friday afternoon telling me something you taught them about scale factor, you will earn 3 stickers!)

The outside of our book contained our title as well as our "I Can" statement of what we would be able to do once we had mastered the knowledge behind Similar Figures.  

When you open up the first flap, we began to discuss the definition of similar figures. We then drew examples and came up with the characteristics of similar figures showed us that both shapes can be similar if they are of different dimensions.
To explore that further we went on to create two models of similar figures that we were able to count and test the difference. Then we added in that to be similar BOTH DIMENSIONS must change!  

But how do we know that we are right? We can check it using Ratios! So we created our ratios of our two new quadrilaterals and compared them using cross products. Okay, we have that down pat! Now let's bring in that new word, SCALE FACTOR! Yep, makes life so much easier if we are able to multiply our denominators and numerators by a number (the scale factor) to determine equivalent ratios!
Next up, it was time to try it out! Each group got a baggie of centimeter cubes and went to town creating some amazing models! Check them out below!

If you are a teacher looking for the resources used in this lesson, please check out my TpT Store and my Teacher Blog.

Extra Credit (7th Grade Math)

Late extra credit will NOT be accepted. Time in class will not be given for this project. You must work on your own to create an interactive review game covering the concepts that we have learned or create a video that teaches the material that you have learned (enough that someone who knows nothing about the concept could easily learn).

Questions may be answered in tutorial times only, not in class.

Ratios and Proportions Introduction

We have hit the ground running with our Proportionality Unit! I am so amazed by how well the class is taking to this unit as they have learned HOW IMPORTANT ratios are in the real world and how often we use them. Loved hearing today that they remembered using them in Science just a few weeks ago in a lab! How awesome they are seeing connections cross-curricular!

Day 1: All About Ratios, Simplifying Ratios and Comparing Ratios- pg. 40 in the INB

Day 2- Rates and Unit Rates- pg. 41 in the INB

Day 3- What are Proportions?- pg 42 in the INB

Day 4- Writing Proportions- pg 43 in the INB

Day 5- Solving Proportions from Word Problems- pg. 44 in the INB

All of this has provided some AMAZING conversation in class. We have started going into similar figures now to go along with our proportions and will be doing that the rest of this week. I will post more about that tomorrow.

The extra credit that I will be offering this six weeks involves ratios, proportions and similar figures. I will post the official information on it tomorrow but I will let you know, you will become the teacher and be creative in your project through one of two forms. Be on the lookout for more info.

Side Note: If you are a teacher reading this blog and are interested in the lessons above for Day 1-3, check out the All About Ratios Bundle in my TpT store! The Proportions Bundle will be coming soon as it has been revised from what is currently in my store that I taught with 8th graders. I will also have the entire unit available once completed.

These lessons can now be found in their updated form in my 6th Grade Ratios and Proportional Relationships bundle in my TpT Store as well as in my 6th Grade All Standards bundle.

Ratios and Central Tendency Homework

Dividing Decimals Review

Today I reviewed with 8th period how to divide with Decimals and we created a short but sweet video. Enjoy! :)

Rates and Unit Rates

And to have some review for the math homework this week, here is an example lesson of the first problem for 7th Grade Math Homework.

Once the Proportions Unit is complete with my 7th Graders, I will have the new bundle available in my TpT Store. I have uploaded the Practice Sheets for Multiplying and Dividing Decimals and they are available for purchase by clicking here.

Starting New Units!

Homework this week is a nice easy practice sheet of 12 problems. No excuses on Friday when homework is due! 

7th Grade Math is starting Unit 3 learning about Proportionality! Today we did a review over the different ways to write ratios, how to simplify ratios an how to compare ratios. Make sure your notes are complete! Remember, there will be a pop quiz sometime this week!

Resource Math started Unit 3 on Data and Graphs. Today we identified mean using a pictorial model (chart) and communicated that data into a Frequency Table. Tomorrow will be a Workstation Review day going over Decimals and Number Patterns. Thursday we will be using this data again to determine the median and mode of the letters in our class names as well as a new topic! 

Missing My Class

Dear Students,

I know that I am not there today and that is hard since we started a project yesterday and you are finishing it on your own. I do hope that the instructions that I left on the slide show were detailed enough for you to complete. Don't stress out over me being gone as I am hoping and planning to be back tomorrow. I will work with you to get through the "It's A Party" project as long as you are doing your outside work as well (researching of prices for each choice).

I look forward to looking at the guides this weekend and seeing all the fabulous parties you have planned!  If I am at school tomorrow, I will be available for tutoring until 4:30 pm if you need me. As soon as I return, last week's homework and bellringer grades will be going in so that you may get a more accurate reflection of where you stand in class.

Keep on trying because you are all showing progress!

Mrs. S

This Week's Homework for 7th Grade Math

After last week's lessons, I could definitely tell we needed more practice on this. I have assembled a total of 20 problems for you to practice with multiplying and dividing fractions this week and I know that with more practice you will make great progress. Remember, "Mistakes are proof that you are trying."

Are you ready to Divide Fractions?

Our lesson on Tuesday/Wednesday over Multiplying Fractions and Mixed Numbers with models went amazing! Part of it was a different way of thinking but each student was able to visually see on their model how the multiplication of parts of a fraction worked! SCORE!

I also have put up my 7th Grade Mathematics TEKS "I Can" Statements in class and am starting to have a student read them each period so they will know what they should be able to say THEY CAN do when they walk out of my room. Granted, there will be more practice and follow-up past one time but these are our goals each day based on the TEKS.

Today we will be covering Dividing Fractions and Mixed Numbers with Model and creating a Flippable to show document our steps.

Need a visual to go along with it? Use those 100s charts to help you visualize dividing decimals. Makes a great correlations as you move into decimals and percents!

I am beyond a proponent of Interactive Notebooks and have seen first hand this year how much each of my students are taking the time and investment into keeping up with them and using them as a valuable resource. It's all there.... use it!

Teachers: If you are interested in picking up the Multiplying and Dividing Fractions Flippables, they are available in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop!

Equations Into Word Problems

This week as an extension to learning how to correctly write and solve equations, I had each student pick an equation from their Equation Wheel in their INB and transform it into a word problem.

I will say that this was absolutely the best thing for them because they were able to visualize the different pieces of an equation and how it works together.

Friday they will be working with creating a word problem containing multiplying or dividing of fractions. Look for some recipes to come! :)

Multiplying Fractions

Today we will be working with Multiplying Fractions and Mixed Numbers with and without Models. These will go on pg. 31 and 32 in your INB.

Click on the picture to make it larger if you need to fill in information.

Homework Time

And a video to share with you that refers to working with positive and negative numbers. There are actual several episodes that are available that provide information as well.


10 bonus points on this week's homework if you leave a comment below! :)

Another week! Here we come!

Remember this week is the end of the six weeks. Remaining grades left to be put in are this week's homework, this week's bellringer and the quiz on Friday.

Vocab and Pos/Neg Operations Rules Flippable

On Thursday we added two words to our Unit 2 Vocabulary as well as created a flippable with the rules on how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with positive and negative integers. There were quite a few students out on that day so I wanted to make sure they had all the information to get caught up.

If you are at home and need to construct the flippable, simply create a four-flap skinny flippable with a sheet of solid colored paper (it can be any color). Please use color to decorate the four outer flaps with operations and then pen to write the rules and examples on the inside.

  

INBs So Far...

Are you wondering where you should be so far with your Interactive Notebook? Have you missed a day and need to see where things go?

Enjoy the slide show below of each and every page currently in Mrs. S' INB for 7th Grade Math. Now, there are a few pages we haven't gotten to yet (p. 27-30) but just treat those like a sneak peek!



Leave a comment if you like this. I want to know if you are using it so that I will keep creating them.

7th Grade Math Homework

To make things easier each week, I have decided that Monday's posts will always be dedicated to the homework of the week. Remember, it is due on Friday and if you have a question or need an extra copy, feel free to come in for tutoring!

Social Contracts

As we have done for the past three years in Crandall schools, the first week of school each class was able to answer "Four Questions" about how they wanted the class to run.

The "Four Questions" come from Capturing Kids Hearts which is a model that each teacher in CISD uses to help the flow of their classroom run smoothly.

In my class this year, I wanted my students to realize that each class isn't just a family, but rather ALL of my students are a family and we all work together. So, enter the Anchor Charts....

Each group in our classroom had about 5 minutes to talk with each other about how they wanted to answer the question. Then the Materials Manager went over and stuck their Post-It Note to the board. Simple and easy! And totally effective!

Now, it was my turn to create something wonderful. Enter Wordle! Yes, I typed in every single word from every Post-It note into the cloud and then hit submit so we could get the beautiful Wordle cloud below.

Right now we have a small copy of this hanging in our classroom on the CHAMPS board. I am sending the poster into Office Depot to get printed so I can then hang it up nice and pretty in the classroom and have all of my students sign it. I am totally in love with doing it this way as it allows all the words to be represented and shows which are most important to the students with having a larger (and bolder) font size.

Time to Brag!

After three weeks of working with rational numbers, I gave each student a card with a set of rational numbers on it. They were to write the rational numbers, convert them to one type of rational number (fraction, decimal or percent), correctly order them on a benchmark number line (only containing the whole number they each had and the one number greater) and then explain what they did during the process.

Oh and they had to add color! Take a look at a few that I pulled yesterday when I was grading. They are AMAZING! I love all the different variations, the colorful aspects and how they each are demonstrating to me their level of success with converting, comparing and ordering a set of rational numbers as well as being able to tell me what they did!

So rock on to all of my students! You did an amazing job on this project for your INBs!

Now, are you looking for a way to get an extra sticker in class? Wonder what Mrs. S might give for a reward on Friday with 5 stickers?

Come to school tomorrow (yes, Thursday) and slip me a piece of paper with the answer to everything! Don't forget to put your name and period on it as well so I can credit you!

Hint: You might want to watch the video below.

More INB updates

Where has the time gone? We are already in our 3rd week of school and progress reports go home on Friday! Oh my!

Tomorrow and Wednesday I will be checking notebooks for this six weeks. I will be looking for completeness, table of contents being up to date and your Unit 1 Title Page. More examples of what we have done in class are below. You should have through page 19 filled in.

Unit 1 Cover Sheet pg. 10

2nd Vocab Word (pg. 14) **Page 15 will also be vocabulary) 

Comparing and Ordering Notes (pg. 16)

Also, if you are absent, don't forget to check out the Class Handouts folder for the dates you are absent to get copies of what you missed. As soon as all the Graded Paper files have names on them, you will be able to track your grades by checking your file.

If you need to come to tutorials this week, remember that my times are as follows:

Tuesday 3:45-4:30 pm

Wednesday and Thursday: 8:00 am-8:25 am