SIXTH GRADE

There is no homework today. The class spent quite a bit of time doing the Fast Math (it's like a warm up and the beginning of class). They also had a lot of questions on the assignment from yesterday. We will start fresh tomorrow with multiplying decimal numbers!

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: Today, we played a dice game where the students practiced adding and subtracting integers. It was challenging, but a lot of fun!

Geography: The class took notes over landforms and then we began reading from our book. There were a lot of questions about the sun, moon, Earth, the solar system, other planets, etc. It was a great discussion and I was glad to see them so curious! We will continue learning about the Earth tomorrow, but we will need to focus on latitude and longitude lines, the seasons, and time zones.

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra: Multiplying Scientific Notation. I made a video and it is uploading to SwickeyTube now! I will embed it here when it is available. It's done, so here you go!

Algebra I: Order of Operations using the distributive property. I also made you a video! Here it is:

See you all tomorrow,

Mrs. Swickey

SIXTH GRADE

Today, you are rounding again! I made a video for you that explains each section. It's not fully uploaded yet, but it should be soon. I will come back and update this spot to embed the video. If you are anxious, you can also try my YouTube channel: swickey678. It shouldn't take too long!

Okay....here it is now!

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: Subtracting Integers. Remember the rules:

Change the subtraction sign to addition and change the sign of the NEXT number. Then, just follow the adding integer rules!

Geography: Map Activity worksheets. Everyone finished painting their globes today! Well...actually, not everyone finished, but today was our last day to paint. They turned out terrific.

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra: Today, we started working on multiplying in scientific notation. It is a bit complicated, so the class does not have to do the homework tonight. If you feel so moved and want to try a few, that's fine. But we will work on them in class tomorrow!

Algebra I: Order of Operations using the Distributive Property. Just do #1-9 on the front side of the worksheet. We will continue practicing these tomorrow and you will finish the assignment then.

See you tomorrow!
Mrs. Swickey

SIXTH GRADE

Today, we practiced rounding decimal numbers. Remember, to round a decimal number, first find the place that you are supposed to round to. Then look at the number to the right. That number tells the first number what to do. If the number on the right is 5 or greater, then the first number goes up one. If the number on the right is 4 or less, the first number stays the same. Drop all numbers after the number you rounded to. Here are a few examples:

Example 1: Round to the nearest thousandth:

0.00587

The 5 is in the thousandth place. If you look to the right, you see an 8. An 8 would make the 5 go up one - so the 5 changes to a 6. Then drop the numbers after the 6. Your answer would be:

0.006

And that's it!

Here's another one:

Example 2: Round to the nearest hundredth:

25.02378

The 2 is in the hundredth place. If you look to the right, you see a 3. A 3 would make the 2 stay the same. Then, drop all the numbers after the 3. Your answer would be:

25.02

Here's one more that's more complicated:

Example 3: Round to the nearest hundredth:

5.9975

The second 9 is in the hundredth place. If you look to the right, you see a 7. A 7 would make the 9 go up one. But going up one would make it a ten. You can't put a ten in one decimal place, so you put a 0 and carry a 1 to the next place to the left. But that's a 9 too, so now it goes up to a ten. Put a 0 there as well and carry another 1 to the next place to the left...that would be where the 5 is now. So the 5 ends up going up 1 to a 6. It would look like this:

5.00 ------ this is the same as just a plain 5, so you could just write 5.

Now, after you have rounded all the numbers on the page, go back to each of the numbers I circled and write the number that was printed on the page (not your answer) and write that number in words. So, for Example 1 above, I would write:

Five hundred eighty-seven ten-thousandths

Example 3 would be written as:

five and nine thousand nine hundred seventy-five ten-thousandths

Be sure to write if you have any questions!

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: We talked about how to subtract integers today. It is a little complicated, so we just spent time going over it for the class period. There is no homework!

Geography: We continued painting our globes. They are looking terrific! They may not be "perfect" but everyone is really getting a good sense of where the continents are on the Earth. It's a very good spatial activity.

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra: Is It Scientific Notation? worksheet. Remember to first change all of the numbers in improper scientific notation to correct scientific notation. Then take those numbers and write them in standard form.

Algebra I: Order of Operations. Do the evens on both sides of the worksheet. Then, write 3 "stories" using an animal and a food that demonstrates order of operations. You must use 3 operations on at least one story. On the others you must use at least 2. Here is an example:

Rocky hid 7 acorns under the pine tree. Then he stacked 2 piles of 6 acorns each behind the large rock. How many acorns did he hide? This would be: 7 + (2 x 6) = 19! Be creative! We will share our best story tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Mrs. Swickey

SIXTH GRADE

Today, the class practiced some more with adding and subtracting decimals. On the assignment, do #1-22 and 27-30 only. Please use a separate sheet of paper for at least #11-22 and #27-30. Parents, just so you know the class is settling down and worked much better today! They are a talkative bunch, but so far, they are eager to learn and very willing to answer questions. I'm looking forward to a great year with them!

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: Today, the class wrote down the rules for adding integers. The assignment is another full page of integer addition with a few integer word problems on the back. The key to understanding integers is to just practice, practice, practice! Here are the rules:

ADDING INTEGERS

When I say, "adding integers" I mean that there is a + sign in between the numbers. You may not actually add the two numbers together:

When the signs are the SAME, add the numbers and KEEP the same sign.

(+3) + (+5) = (+8)      AND   (-2) + ( -9) = (-11)

When the signs are DIFFERENT, subtract the numbers and use the sign of the bigger number. (Remember, by "bigger" we are looking for the number that is bigger without it's sign...or you can think about which number is further away from zero on the number line.)

(+5) + (-9) = (-4) -----------signs are different, so subtract. 9-5=4. And since -9 is further away from zero than +5, you will use -9's sign to make the answer -4.

(-3) + (+10) = (+7) --------signs are different, so subtract 10-3=7. And since +10 is further away from zero than -3, you will use +10's sign to make the answer +7.

Geography: We began painting the continents on our globes today! Some continents are a bit misshapen, but the students are really trying and our goal is to get a good idea of just how big they are and where they are on the globe in relation to the other continents. We will be finishing up by Wednesday.

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra: More scientific notation. Remember, you are changing each number into scientific notation. If you start with a really BIG number, the exponent will be positive. If you start with a really small number, the exponent will be negative! Here's the video from Friday. It will help you on today's assignment as well:

Algebra I: Multiplying and Dividing rational numbers. Remember the rule for signed numbers. If the signs are the same, it's positive. If the signs are different, it's negative! It doesn't matter if they are fractions or decimals. You still follow the same rules. Remember, when multiplying fractions, you first look to see if you  need to change any mixed numbers into improper fractions. If so, do the u-turn and then cross cancel. For dividing fractions, remember to change the division to a multiplication and flip the second fraction. Then cross cancel! Send me an email if you get stuck anywhere else. I'm here to help.

Your assignment is #8-94 (or 96?) EVENS only!

See you tomorrow,

Mrs. Swickey

SIXTH GRADE

Today, we began our unit on decimals. The assignment is to compare and order decimals. Remember, you only need to order from least to greatest. Where the worksheet states to order from greatest to least, just ignore it and do least to greatest. Also, remember that a good strategy is to write them in a column and then look at the columns of numbers starting on the left. You can find the order easily that way. If you need help, send me an email!

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: Integer Addition. Remember, if you are using the tiles,  the red ones are negatives and the yellow ones are positives. If you have (-3) + (5), then you have 3 negative tiles and 5 yellow tiles. Every pair of one red/one yellow is equal to zero. So, you pair up 3 reds with 3 yellows to equal zero. You have two yellows left, so (-3) + (5) = 2.  If you have questions, email me! I'd be happy to help.

Geography: Page 23. Population Distribution. Just do the questions in the paragraph titled Practice the Skill.

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra:

I made a video for you! Send me an email if you are still stuck:

Algebra I:

I decided you didn't need a video after all. You are just identifying the different properties. If the descriptions on the top of the worksheet are confusing, just look at your own notes! For the back, just follow the instructions. If you are confused, send me an email or text!

See you tomorrow,

Mrs. Swickey

SIXTH GRADE

We worked on a class activity today. The class worked in pairs to determine the fastest talker! It required a lot of arithmetic and the class worked very well and understood how to find each answer easily. It was a bit noisy, but for the most part, a good kind of noisy! Ask your child who the fastest was. There is no homework!

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: Today, the class used the whiteboards to practice working division and multiplication problems and then we did some mental math exercises.

Geography: We started making our models of globes using papier mache. They were a bit messy, and I apologize for any unplanned loads of laundry you may have had to do this evening! But the class had a great time. We will continue working on them for the next day or two.

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra: Today we reviewed conversions between percents, fractions, and decimals. It was a rather easy assignment and was really meant to make sure they remembered how to do them. We are gearing up to begin our new pre-algebra curriculum in earnest.  The homework is a quick review worksheet.

Algebra I: Today, the class took notes on the properties of numbers. There is no homework.

See you tomorrow!

Mrs. Swickey

SIXTH GRADE

Today, the class took another timed test. This one was 100 multiplication facts. Some students will need to get a bit faster! The homework is to finish the front side of the assignment from yesterday. You still don't have to do the back side with the word problems.

SEVENTH GRADE

Math: Today's assignment is to do Column D on Lesson 1.4 and columns D & E on 1.5. Then, do the word problem page that is numbered as homework #3.

Geography: We spent some time talking about the different kinds of maps today. There is no homework!

EIGHTH GRADE

Pre-Algebra: The assignment is homework #4. All operations with fractions. Please send me an email if you are having trouble. I'd be happy to help!

Algebra I: I tested out my new iPad app that makes videos today and it worked great! I explain how to put the numbers on a number line in this one...which includes how to find which two numbers a square root is between. Here is that video and then below, I explain how to do absolute value.

 

For absolute value, remember that absolute value means how far away a number is from zero on the number line. This goes only for whatever number is between the absolute value lines. So, here are a few examples:

 For a), you see that the -2 is between the absolute value lines, so the absolute value of -2 is 2. 

For b), you see that the 5 is between the absolute value lines, so the absolute value of 5 is 5. (Remember, it's how far away the number is from zero on the number line....absolute value doesn't mean "the opposite" of a number.)

For c), you see that the -4 is between the absolute value lines...so the absolute value of -4 is 4, but there is a negative sign in front of the absolute value, so your answer to c) is negative 4. That first negative doesn't go away.

Also, you will have one or two where you have to add or subtract BEFORE you find the absolute value. So if you have -2 - 5 between the lines, you would first find the answer as -7. Then you would find the absolute value of that, which would be 7.

Email me if you are stuck! I'm happy to help. Always. 

See you tomorrow!

Mrs. Swickey