December 5th (3 weeks): Geometry (some mix of Number Sense in this unit as usual)
Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about transformations: translations (slides), reflections (flips), and rotations (turns). Your child will learn how to transform figures on a coordinate grid and how to describe a shape after a transformation has been performed.
To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Have your child explain to you what the different transformations are. This will help to reinforce student understanding as well as demonstrate the use of correct mathematical language.
• Help your child identify real-life situations in which transformations are used.
• Have your child practise making designs using a sequence of tranformations on a shape.
• Have your child practise locating and transforming points on a coordinate grid. Your child can create and play a battleship-type game on this grid to practise these concepts.
Remember to visit the link below for more activities.
November 4th (3 weeks): Measurement
GRADE 8
Dear Parent/Caregiver: Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about circle measurements.
To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Find various circular objects you may have around the house and discuss with your child how and why you might measure the circumference and area of these objects.
• Ask your child to share with you the formulas she or he has learned for finding the circumference and area of a circle. Choose a number of circular objects in your house. One person can use the π (pi) key on a calculator to determine the circumference and area of a circular object while the other person makes estimates, using a value for π that is about 3. Compare your answers.
• Continue exploring circles by discussing the best ways to make circles in other practical settings; for example, cutting a circle from a piece of paper, cardboard, tin, or other materials.
GRADE 7
Dear Parent/Caregiver: Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about calculating the area of various regular and irregular shapes using formulas. To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Look for examples of parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids around your home and in the community.
• Discuss situations in which it would be necessary to calculate the area of a room, garden, patio, or park.
• After Lesson 4, have your child explain how the areas of a parallelogram, triangle, and trapezoid are related.
As usual, check out the link below for online resources.
October 17th (3 weeks): Patterning
Over the next two weeks, your child will be learning about patterns and relationships. To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• The calendar is an endless source of patterns. Ask your child to explain to you the calendar H-pattern that was introduced in Getting Started. See if you and your child can find other patterns on a calendar.
• Do some research with your child on the famous mathematicians Gauss and Fibonacci. Find out some of their mathematical discoveries and see if you can apply them to real life today. There are many examples of the Fibonacci sequence in nature. Do some discovering with your child!
• Use a calculator to create a pattern. Write the pattern down and ask your child to write the pattern rule as an algebraic expression (gr.8 only).
As Always: You may want to visit the Nelson Web by clicking here for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and develop a positive attitude toward learning mathematics. As well, you can check the Nelson Web site for links to other Web sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, brainteasers, and challenges.
October (2 weeks) Unit 2: Data Magement
Over the next two weeks, your child will be learning about collecting, organizing, and displaying data, about drawing conclusions from collected or displayed data, and how to use databases to solve problems.
To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Look for the use of data in the media, especially examples of databases and spreadsheets. Discuss the use of these sets of information with your child.
• If you have access to a computer and spreadsheet software, encourage your child to create spreadsheets and experiment with different ways of graphing the data.
• The stock market is an area where extensive use is made of graphs to display the trends of various stocks. Create a mock stock portfolio with a certain amount of “money.” You can either work up a portfolio together with your child or have everyone in the family create their own stock portfolios. You can use the financial pages of a newspaper to decide which stocks to buy, and to follow and record the performance of your stocks over a period of time. After a month, determine which family member has made the most “money.”
As Always: You may want to visit the Nelson Web by clicking here for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and develop a positive attitude toward learning mathematics. As well, you can check the Nelson Web site for links to other Web sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, brainteasers, and challenges.
Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about transformations: translations (slides), reflections (flips), and rotations (turns). Your child will learn how to transform figures on a coordinate grid and how to describe a shape after a transformation has been performed.
To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Have your child explain to you what the different transformations are. This will help to reinforce student understanding as well as demonstrate the use of correct mathematical language.
• Help your child identify real-life situations in which transformations are used.
• Have your child practise making designs using a sequence of tranformations on a shape.
• Have your child practise locating and transforming points on a coordinate grid. Your child can create and play a battleship-type game on this grid to practise these concepts.
Remember to visit the link below for more activities.
November 4th (3 weeks): Measurement
GRADE 8
Dear Parent/Caregiver: Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about circle measurements.
To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Find various circular objects you may have around the house and discuss with your child how and why you might measure the circumference and area of these objects.
• Ask your child to share with you the formulas she or he has learned for finding the circumference and area of a circle. Choose a number of circular objects in your house. One person can use the π (pi) key on a calculator to determine the circumference and area of a circular object while the other person makes estimates, using a value for π that is about 3. Compare your answers.
• Continue exploring circles by discussing the best ways to make circles in other practical settings; for example, cutting a circle from a piece of paper, cardboard, tin, or other materials.
GRADE 7
Dear Parent/Caregiver: Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about calculating the area of various regular and irregular shapes using formulas. To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Look for examples of parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids around your home and in the community.
• Discuss situations in which it would be necessary to calculate the area of a room, garden, patio, or park.
• After Lesson 4, have your child explain how the areas of a parallelogram, triangle, and trapezoid are related.
As usual, check out the link below for online resources.
October 17th (3 weeks): Patterning
Over the next two weeks, your child will be learning about patterns and relationships. To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• The calendar is an endless source of patterns. Ask your child to explain to you the calendar H-pattern that was introduced in Getting Started. See if you and your child can find other patterns on a calendar.
• Do some research with your child on the famous mathematicians Gauss and Fibonacci. Find out some of their mathematical discoveries and see if you can apply them to real life today. There are many examples of the Fibonacci sequence in nature. Do some discovering with your child!
• Use a calculator to create a pattern. Write the pattern down and ask your child to write the pattern rule as an algebraic expression (gr.8 only).
As Always: You may want to visit the Nelson Web by clicking here for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and develop a positive attitude toward learning mathematics. As well, you can check the Nelson Web site for links to other Web sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, brainteasers, and challenges.
October (2 weeks) Unit 2: Data Magement
Over the next two weeks, your child will be learning about collecting, organizing, and displaying data, about drawing conclusions from collected or displayed data, and how to use databases to solve problems.
To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Look for the use of data in the media, especially examples of databases and spreadsheets. Discuss the use of these sets of information with your child.
• If you have access to a computer and spreadsheet software, encourage your child to create spreadsheets and experiment with different ways of graphing the data.
• The stock market is an area where extensive use is made of graphs to display the trends of various stocks. Create a mock stock portfolio with a certain amount of “money.” You can either work up a portfolio together with your child or have everyone in the family create their own stock portfolios. You can use the financial pages of a newspaper to decide which stocks to buy, and to follow and record the performance of your stocks over a period of time. After a month, determine which family member has made the most “money.”
As Always: You may want to visit the Nelson Web by clicking here for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and develop a positive attitude toward learning mathematics. As well, you can check the Nelson Web site for links to other Web sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, brainteasers, and challenges.
September Unit 1: Number Relationships (8) Factors and Exponents (7)
Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about number relationships such as multiples, factors, divisibility, scientific notation (8), powers of numbers, and square roots. To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Look for examples of large numbers in the media, especially when they are written using a power such as 4 × 109. With your child, discuss what this number means.
• Find different calculators you may have around the house and discuss with your child how the calculator evaluates powers and square roots. Have your child determine if the calculator uses the order of operations when it calculates.
• Take advantage of real-life situations that can be turned into problems involving numbers. Ask your child for examples of number problems that could be created and how they would solve them. For example, if your child is going on a trip, determine distances and time travelled and compare these to other destinations.
• With your child, search for facts on the Internet or in world record books, newspapers, magazines, or other types of publications. Create and solve problems involving whole numbers and decimal numbers.
As Always: You may want to visit the Nelson Web by clicking here for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and develop a positive attitude toward learning mathematics. As well, you can check the Nelson Web site for links to other Web sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, brainteasers, and challenges.
Over the next three weeks, your child will be learning about number relationships such as multiples, factors, divisibility, scientific notation (8), powers of numbers, and square roots. To reinforce the concepts your child is learning at school, you and your child can work on some at-home activities such as these:
• Look for examples of large numbers in the media, especially when they are written using a power such as 4 × 109. With your child, discuss what this number means.
• Find different calculators you may have around the house and discuss with your child how the calculator evaluates powers and square roots. Have your child determine if the calculator uses the order of operations when it calculates.
• Take advantage of real-life situations that can be turned into problems involving numbers. Ask your child for examples of number problems that could be created and how they would solve them. For example, if your child is going on a trip, determine distances and time travelled and compare these to other destinations.
• With your child, search for facts on the Internet or in world record books, newspapers, magazines, or other types of publications. Create and solve problems involving whole numbers and decimal numbers.
As Always: You may want to visit the Nelson Web by clicking here for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and develop a positive attitude toward learning mathematics. As well, you can check the Nelson Web site for links to other Web sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, brainteasers, and challenges.