A New Year means a New Start

Happy Holidays Everyone,

It is getting close to the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015. 2015 will be a big year for my 8th graders. This is the year you will enter high school but before you do we need to prepare you.

If you remember, last week you had a bell ringer asking you to write down your goals for 2015. Several of you wrote that you would like to do better in school. One of my goals for this next semester is to help prepare you for high school and if you are in 7th grade help you become more successful in your own learning.

I have big plans for next semester. Be prepared for a big change in the way I am "teaching."

My personal goal as a teacher for 2015 is to reach EVERY student. By reaching every student, I mean I hope to make sure every student learns the concepts and is not left behind. I want to help you learn how you learn best. This goes along with my change in the way I will be teaching. I understand students learn in different styles and at different paces. I am working on plans to allow each student to work on meeting goals at their own pace but in a certain time frame.

 I was so impressed with my 8th graders' project, I have decided each unit we will have an overall project will take the place of homework. Along with the projects, I will be having ticket out the doors to help me determine the level of understand each student is at.

Since all of you are my focus for 2015, I have a quick survey to help me learn what worked and what did not work for you in first semester. Click here for survey.



I am excited about this new year! I hope this break allows you to come back refreshed and ready to learn.


Have a Fantastic Break,
Mrs. Gilliam

8th Graders: Introduction to Variables on Both Sides of the Equation

On Wednesday and Thursday, we discussed the problem below:

Amber and Blake bought the same amount candy.

They both received the candy in a different way.

• Amber received 2 boxes with an unknown amount plus 4 candies in a bag.

• Blake received 1 box of an unknown amount plus 10 candies in a bag.

Write an equation and solve how many pieces of candy are in each box?

Several students started out by creating two expressions, one for Amber and one for Blake.

2x + 4       and 1x + 10

A few students decided to make an equation for each student.

C= 2x + 4              and            C= 1x + 10

C= the amount of candy in one box

We then discussed one of the most important words in the problem, SAME.

Everyone remembered, same meant an equal quantity.

We also decided if C=C then,

2x + 4 = 1x + 10

Next, we decided we needed to combine like terms but this time we had to take into account the equal sign being in between the variables.

We remembered the golden rule for equations, when crossing the equal sign we must complete the inverse operation. Below is how we finished solving it.

Finally, we discussed how do we know if this makes sense. Several students suggested plugging in 6 to each of the expressions/equations above to see if the students received the same amount of candy.

They both received 16 candies. We can say x = 6 is correct because Amber received 16 and Blake received 16 or you can say because 16=16

We will continue working on solving real world problems and equations with variables on both sides of the equal sign tomorrow. We are testing on Unit 2, next Monday and Tuesday.

Have a Great Night,

Mrs. Gilliam

GO LJHS Volleyball! Beat WJHS!

7th Graders: How to Study for the Unit 2 Test

Good Morning Parents and Students,

I have decided to start a blog for the class to help the parents that are struggling with Edline. My goal is to use this blog as a one-stop spot to get a better idea of what we are doing in class and how you can support your child. I want my classroom to be transparent as if you were sitting in the classroom with your child. If I make grammatical errors or misspell words, it is more than likely due to me rushing.

How to Study for the Unit 2 Test:

1. Review your notes from your math notebook.

2. Work extra practice problems like the ones found here (multiplying and dividing integers), and here (lots of worksheets with answers to check) On the second link, you can also click dividing fractions and decimals or any of the links on the side that is fractions and decimals.

3. Watch tutorial videos online and work through the problems with them:

Multiplying Fractions: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-seventh-grade-math/cc-7th-fractions-decimals/cc-7th-mult-div-frac/v/multiplying-negative-and-positive-fractions

Multiplying Mixed Numbers: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra/fractions-pre-alg/mixed-number-mult-div-pre-alg/v/multiplying-mixed-numbers

Dividing Fractions: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-seventh-grade-math/cc-7th-fractions-decimals/cc-7th-mult-div-frac/v/examples-of-dividing-negative-fractions

Converting Fractions to Decimals: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-seventh-grade-math/cc-7th-fractions-decimals/cc-7th-fracs-to-decimals/v/converting-fractions-to-decimals-example

Multiplying Decimals: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-arithmetic-operations/cc-6th-multiplying-decimals/v/multiplying-decimals

Dividing Decimals: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-arithmetic-operations/cc-6th-div-decimals/v/dividing-decimals

Multiplying Decimal WP: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-arithmetic-operations/cc-6th-multiplying-decimals/v/mulitplyling-decimals-3

Great Resource for Extra Practice: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-arithmetic-operations

Reminder: We are only looking at rational numbers (no exponents).

As you can tell I used Khan Academy for all of these. Khan Academy is a great resource to give students the ability to practice problems with a saftey net (the hints).

4. Come in for a last minute study session Monday morning at 7:30.

The students have been working really hard on this unit. If they take their time and remember the rules, they will do great on this test.


Have a Great Day,
Mrs. Gilliam